The muste season at
The Gorge continues
though the fail.

The following is a lineup of
upcoming shows:
¥Sunday, August 11 —
KJR Greatest Hits of the 70’s, .
featuring Styx and Kansas.’
Show starts at 6 p.m.
Saturday, August 17—
Steely Dan, starring Donald
Fagen and. Walter Becker.
Show starts at 7 | p.m.”
Labor Day Weekend —
Friday, August30—

an’t Stop Rockin’ Tour,

tarring Foreigner, Reo
Speedwagon, and
Peter Frampton.
Show starts at 7 p.m...

abo Day Weekend. -
Saturday, August 1 |
The Steve Miller Band, with
very, special guest Pat Benetar.
Show starts at 7p.m.
Monday, September 2.
Def Leppard, with Tripping

, Show starts at 6p.m.

Saturday, September 7 —
An Evening With James
Taylor. Show starts at 7 p.m.
Friday, eal 27—

Sunday, August 11, 1996 - North Shore News - 13

- NOTHING left to do but smile, smile, smile — The magnificent vistas ‘surrounding The Gorge Amphitheatre | in:
Central Washington provide a stunning backdrop for the sounds emanati
amphitheatre i is playing host te 20 shows this summer, including last month’ $ Further Festival (above).

by Andrew McCredie

ae sewaseavarecvaveraey

Community Editor

IT was straight out of

an Abbott and Costello skit.
.“l was just down at the Gorge
for a music festival”

“Oh, | here there's great
windsurfing down there.”
“No, you're thinking of the
Gorge, Oregon. | mean the
Gorge in Washington.”
“Washington?”

“Yeah, near George,
Washington” =

“The Gorge In George?”
“Yeah.”

So went a number of recent conversa-
tions I’ve had with North Shore friends.

Exactly 500 kilometres from the North
Shore, The Gorge Amphitheatre is one
of the best kept summer secrets for
music-lovers in the Pacific NorthWest.

Nestled in the‘natural setting of basalt
cliffs overlooking the Columbia River
gorge in Central Washington, the 18,500
seat outdoor amphitheatre provides all the
amenities —- including on-site camping —
for those in search of hot music’and hot
fun i in the summertime.

» And Ido mean hot. A brochure for the
site boasts 310 days of sunshine per year,
with temperatures in the 21-31 C® range

a oo a ee er a

(70-90 degrees Fahrenheit). But during
the Further Festival on July 26, the desert
setting lived up to a desert-like climate as
the mercury pushed 35 C°.

And although the camp ground has
limited amount of shade (number of trees

[The Gorge
[Amphitheatre

ait" snr! a3

: NEWS Graphic Tinda opie

= none), free showers and free drinking
water kept the crowd cool.
Cool would also describe the laid-back
and well- ~organized atmosphere of the
“This is a cool place.”
Approaching the site on the only access
road to the amphitheatre (via Exit #149

_off 1-90), vehicles‘are funnelled into two

lanes — one for day parking; the other for
overnig he camping. ‘

from the stage. .The 18,500 seat

We artived about noon the day of the
show, and within five minutes of paying,
$20 to camp (per vehicle) we were setting
up our tent off the tailgate of the truck.
Though only about 12,000 showed up. for”
the Further Festival (featuring former |

members of the Grateful Dead, Hot Tuna,
Los Lobos and Bruce Hornsby), the
Gorge has space for camping if all 18,500
of a sold out show decided to pitch tents.
In addition, the Gorge Store stocks all
the necessities for a weekend of camping
and watching great bands perform. There
is also an outdoor Food Plaza within the
amphitheatre’s gates, featuring such old
favorites as Domino's Pizza and Subway
booths, I'd recommend the Longhorn
Barbecue, followed by a cool one in the
adults-only beer tent (Note: They check

everyone, and ] mean everyone, for [.D.).

And as an old music fan once noted,
“It’s not the destination, i its the journey”,

: a trip to the Gorge from the North Shore

gives you ample opportunity to check out —
a part of Washington State that lies off the

bearen track. Take the [-5 from Vancouver

to Seattle, then head east on I-90.

If you leave early in the moraing you'll
be able ro roll up to one of the great
restaurants in any of the small towns in
Central Washington. The kind of place
where a huge breakfast will cost you $2.99
and the waitress leaves a thermos of hot,
strong coffee on the table.’ :

‘In the case of the Gorge near ‘George,
the journey and the destination are
reasons for packing the: tent and buying.
some tickets. | _ :