Ponderay marks eighth-annual Neighbor Day amid year full of big news

By Zach Hagadone
Reader Staff

Ponderay has long been called “the little city with the big future,” and that certainly seems to be coming true. Ponderay opened Phase 1 of the long-envisioned Field of Dreams Recreation Complex with a history-making gathering on Aug. 29. Meanwhile, the Front Yard Project — connecting Ponderay with its lakefront and the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail — is ongoing.

Now, it’s time for the eighth-annual Ponderay Neighbor Day on Saturday, Sept. 14, and there’s much to celebrate.

“This is a big year for Ponderay all the way around,” Ponderay Planning Director KayLeigh Miller told the Reader. “We’ve seen a huge increase in population and have some really great long-term projects that are coming to life this year.”

With the theme of “Celebrating our Connections,” events run from 1-6 p.m. at Harbison Field, located behind the Hoot Owl restaurant on Highway 200, with parking on Emerald Industrial Drive.

Local band One Street Over will perform from 1:30-5:30 p.m., alongside carnival games, kids crafts, inflatables, bungee trampoline, pony rides, face painting, a beer garden, food trucks, kettle corn and more. 

This year’s event features the largest number of vendor booths in its history, and city booths will provide information and outreach on the Comp Plan, Front Yard Project, The Pond seasonal skating rink and renewal of Ponderay’s 1% local option tax, which is up for renewal on the November ballot.

Sponsors include the city of Ponderay, Ting Internet, The Co-Op Gas & Supply Company, HMH Engineering, P1FCU, Umpqua Bank, Pony Go Round, GCH Garden Custom Homes, Selkirk Sealcoat, Mountain West Bank, Avista and Goodwill.

For more info, visit cityofponderay.org/ponderay-neighbor-day.