LOCAL
WEDNESDAY, JULY 17, 2019
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A9
Women’s coalition to
host economic summit
By ANTONIO SIERRA
STAFF WRITER
T
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Post Malone performs during Saturday’s Pendleton Whisky Music Fest.
Post Malone lights
up Pendleton
Whisky Music Fest
By WYATT HAUPT JR.
STAFF WRITER
A bet by concert pro-
moters on the appeal of rap
in a region where country
music is king paid off Sat-
urday night as about 17,000
people fl ocked to Pendleton
Round-Up Arena to catch
two of the genre’s biggest
names — Post Malone and
50 Cent — at Pendleton
Whisky Music Fest.
The daylong event drew
people from across Ore-
gon, as well as neighboring
states, on a beautiful sunny
day when the temperature
hovered around the high
80s only to cool off a bit
and give way to a star-fi lled
evening sky by the time
Post Malone took the stage
amid much fanfare.
For some concertgoers,
such as Jake Thomas of
Madras, the event marked
his fi rst visit to Pendle-
ton. But it was the second
time he attended a con-
cert at which Post Malone
was performing. Thomas,
who came to the show with
Bridget Neikirk of Bend,
said the fi rst time he saw
Post Malone perform was
in Brisbane, Australia.
“It was just a random
event,” said Thomas in
recalling a moment leading
up to the performance.
“OK. So let’s go see
(American DJ) Diplo and
Post Malone ends up open-
ing for him. And I’m just
like, ‘This could be the best
night of my … life.’”
Thomas and Neikirk
were pumped to be in the
company of the thousands
of people sitting and stand-
ing shoulder-to-shoulder on
the arena’s grass-covered
grounds fl anked by thou-
sands of other fans in the
grandstands.
“We are really enjoy-
ing it,” said Neikirk prior
to an electrifying perfor-
mance by 50 Cent. “We just
got here a couple of hours
ago. Went and had dinner
over at Hamley’s … it was
wonderful.”
The performance by 50
Cent energized the crowd
and served as a power-
ful lead-in to Post Malone,
who opened his set with
“Too Young.” Post Malone,
who is not shy about his
embrace of adult bever-
ages, took the stage clad in
a multi-colored two-piece
ensemble that looked like it
came straight out of Pend-
leton, and a 16-ounce red
Solo cup in hand.
He repeatedly encour-
aged the crowd to party as
he deftly worked his way
through a nearly 90-min-
ute show that included
songs
“Better
Now,”
“Candy Paint,” “Wow,”
“Sugar Wraith,” and his lat-
est, “Goodbyes.” The per-
formance of “Goodbyes”
marked the fi rst time he
played the song at a concert.
Post Malone rounded
out his set with “Congrat-
ulations” and then made
an emotional salute to the
crowd before slowly mak-
ing his way off the stage.
“I can’t explain to you
my life has been … crazy.
But no matter what the …
is going on in my life —
to be able to come out and
sing these … songs with
y’all means the … world to
me. Thank you so much. I
hope you all had a good …
festival.”
He added, “I love you
all to death. I hope you all
have a good ... night. Drive
safe, be safe.”
The festival, which also
featured
performances
by Tyla Yaweh, Blanco
Brown, Grieves and DJ
Sovern-T, capped a music-
fi lled weekend that kicked
off with a Friday night
party on Main Street in
downtown Pendleton that
drew thousands of people
and packed bars.
Whisky Fest co-orga-
nizer Doug Corey said
Monday “it took a whole
bunch of people” to make
the event happen.
“We couldn’t do this
without the support of the
community,” said Corey,
who also extended thanks
to Pendleton Mayor John
Turner, the city council,
police and fi re personnel
as well as the vendors and
others who helped make the
event a success.
He said the event, which
wrapped up its fourth year,
drew the second largest
crowd. Last year, the com-
bination of Pit Bull and
Blake Shelton pulled in
about 18,700 people.
“I really think a lot of
people had a great time,”
said Corey, who co-founded
Whisky Fest with Andy
McAnally. “We’re really
pleased with it.”
he Eastern Oregon
Women’s Coalition is
gathering big names
and big companies in Herm-
iston to discuss the eco-
nomic status of the region.
“The inaugural Eastern
Oregon Economic Summit
will offer in-depth discus-
sion about factors affecting
rural Oregon’s economy,
from the impacts of legisla-
tion enacted during the 2019
session to changes in tech-
nology, demographics and
environmental resources,” a
press release states.
Coalition
President
Bobby Levy said the event,
which is slated for July 26
at Hermiston High School,
differs from other economic
summits because it targets
the entirety of Eastern Ore-
gon rather than a specifi c
city or county.
“In visiting with private
and public sector leaders,
there was no singular event
to address Eastern Oregon’s
economic issues or how to
grow rural Oregon’s pres-
You deserve total audiological care.
Professional. Experienced. Local.
Stanfi eld class
of ‘69 plans 50-
year reunion
There’s still time to
make plans to catch up with
the Stanfi eld High School
class of 1969 during their
50-year reunion.
Organizers for the event
are fi nalizing plans and
hope to hear from class-
mates who haven’t con-
fi rmed with an RSVP. In
addition, other Tigers are
invited to join the class
of 1969 for their reunion
activities.
The event kicks off Fri-
day, Aug. 2 at 5:30 p.m. in
the school’s cafeteria. The
meal will be catered by
Delish Bistro. In addition
to visiting and catching up,
classmates Larry Simmons
and Kelly Bissinger will
serve as master of ceremo-
nies. The cost is $25.
The following morning
features a breakfast pre-
The Eastern Oregon Eco-
nomic Summit requires
registration and will run
from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
on July 26 at Hermiston
High School, 600 S. First
St. For more information,
visit www.easternore-
gonsummit.com.
pared by the Hermiston
Rotary Club. It will be held
Saturday, Aug. 3 at 9 a.m.
at Bard Park, Stanfi eld.
There is no set fee; peo-
ple may make a donation to
help offset costs.
In order to ensure there’s
enough food, those plan-
ning to attend either event
are asked to RSVP by Fri-
day, July 26. For more
information or to regis-
ter, call Gloria Rodriguez
at 541-377-1353 or Larry
Simmons at 541-561-5853.
Local family
steps up with
shoe drive
A Umatilla family is
hosting a shoe drive to raise
money for RettSyndrome.
org.
Megan and Brandon
Brown’s 3-year-old daugh-
ter is impacted by the rare
syndrome and are hop-
ing to collect 300 pairs of
shoes by October. All sizes
and styles of new or gently
used shoes can be donated.
Megan Brown said the
effort raises money through
the sale of the shoes by
“micro entrepreneurs” in
Third World countries.
Rett Syndrome is a rare
neurological disorder that
is mostly diagnosed in
females. It impacts cogni-
tive, sensory, emotional,
motor and autonomic func-
tions of the brain. It is
sometimes misdiagnosed
as autism, cerebral palsy or
as a non-specifi c develop-
mental delay.
Shoe collection sites
in the area include Neigh-
bor Dudes, 405 N. First St.,
Hermiston; the Hermiston
branch of Banner Bank,
101 E. Main St.; Peach
Tree Produce, 81700 Peach
Tree Lane, Umatilla; and
by contacting the Browns
at megan@pittraffi c.com
or 253-217-1458. For more
about Rett Syndrome, visit
www.rettsyndrome.org.
1090 W. Hermiston Ave.
Hermiston, OR
541-567-8229
JeremyJLarsonDMD.com
1739 N. First St.
Hermiston, OR
541-564-0264
Delgado’s
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to schools
schools throughout
throughout the
the community.
community.
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Levy added that the coa-
lition has organized a gov-
ernor’s luncheon during
Round-Up week for the past
six years.
The summit has already
booked speeches from U.S.
Rep. Greg Walden, R-Hood
River, as well as two mem-
bers of the state Legisla-
ture’s northeast Oregon del-
egation — state Rep. Greg
Smith, and state Sen. Bill
Newspapers in Education
620 E. Main St.
Hermiston, OR
2237 SW Court, Pendleton
Bobby Levy,
Coalition President
Thank you to the following businesses for supporting
Rick’s
Car Wash
Renata Anderson, MA
“This summit
will bring a wide
variety of issues
under one roof…”
Hansell. Walden’s speech
may be given via live video.
The event will also fea-
tures talks from leaders at
PAE ISR, a Virginia-based
defense contractor that has
based its West Coast drone
operations in Pendleton, and
Woodgrain Millworks, a
Fruitland, Idaho, moulding
manufacturer that bought
sawmills in Pilot Rock and
La Grande in 2018.
In the afternoon, the
summit will transition to
discussion panels that will
cover various economic
topics, including state and
federal policy, housing, nat-
ural resources, broadband,
and business recruitment.
BRIEFS
OldWestFCU.org
We Hear You!
ence in Salem and beyond,”
she wrote in an email. “This
summit will bring a wide
variety of issues under
one roof and help attend-
ees leverage the area’s eco-
nomic growth. We intend
for this to be an annual
event.”
750 W. Elm Ave. Hermiston, OR 97838
541-567-6414 • UmatillaElectric.com
DuPont Pioneer
Hermiston
541-567-1860
pioneer.com
2212 SE 9th St. Hermiston, OR 07838
BertsAutoSalvage.com
30775 Baggett Ln.
Hermiston, OR 97838
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BUSINESS HERE:
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