CHECK-IN, ROAD CLOSURES, MUSIC
Friday, April 29, 2016
SPOKANE, WA—Check-In for this Sunday’s 40th annual Lilac Bloomsday Run has begun at the Spokane Convention Center, and volunteers are busy handing out packets and signing up late registrants. Check-in and late registration are available on Friday, April 29th, from 11:30 a.m. until 8:00 p.m., and Saturday, April 30th, from 9:00 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. Race entry is not available on Sunday, May 1st, although out-of-town runners who have already entered can pick up their packets between 6:30 and 9:00 a.m. that day.
“The most common question we get is, ‘Can someone else pick up my packet for me?’” said Bloomsday Race Director Don Kardong. “The answer is yes, as long as the person picking up knows the exact name used to register, age and date of birth.”
Along with Check-In, the Bloomsday Trade Show is in full swing, with a variety of sports, fitness, and general interest exhibitors on site. Bloomsday sponsors at the show will be distributing eight “character trading cards” that have proven especially popular with Bloomsday’s youngest participants. The Trade Show is open during the same hours as Check-In.
Security for this year’s Bloomsday includes restricted access to the starting area for registered runners only, as well as a restriction on backpacks. Certain types of small fanny packs are acceptable, and full details are listed in the Race Information section of the Bloomsday website. Anyone riding the STA shuttle should leave backpacks and gear bags with their vehicles at the shuttle lots (except Corporate Cup participants, who have special instructions for gear bags).
On Sunday morning Mead High School student Kaitlyn Clayton will sing the national anthems of the United States and Canada. In addition, a full slate of entertainment is scheduled along the Bloomsday course, as nearly 40 performers (including radio stations) are scheduled for race day. This year’s on-course entertainment includes music to please a variety of tastes, including rock, pop, punk, blues, bluegrass, oldies, accordion, Jewish and Christian.
Helping the crowd get started on Sunday will be celebrity starter Shelly Monahan-Cain, who is known to many long-time residents of the region as “Sunshine Shelley.” In the first three years of Bloomsday, Sunshine Shelly rode in KJRB’s VW Rabbit, which served as the lead vehicle for Bloomsday.
“We’re really pleased that Shelly, who played such an important promotional role in our early years, will be at the start to help us celebrate number forty,” said Kardong.
When the run is over on Sunday, Bloomsday entrants will be able to vote for their favorite performers again this year by logging on to www.bloomsdayrun.org after the race, and prizes of $500, $300, and $150 will be awarded to the winning entertainers. A full listing of this year’s performers is on Bloomsday’s website by clicking Race Information, then On-Course Entertainment on the drop-down menu.
Streets in downtown Spokane will begin to close around 5:00 a.m. on Sunday. Additional details about road closures are on the Bloomsday website by clicking the Race Information button and choosing Road Closures on the drop-down menu.
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