COMMUNITY10 l July 11, 2012 SAMMAMISH REVIEW

10

By Lillian Tucker

The sun was not the only one that showed up for the 2012 Fourth on the Plateau celebra-tion.

By the time the event officially kicked off at 6 p.m. July 4, blan-kets and chairs already quilted the lawn outside the Sammamish Library. While the dueling scents of kettle corn, barbeque and curry mingled in the air, around 10,000 people poured into the free Independence Day event. On the upper commons, families kicked back to the sound of live music while on the lower com-mons children scurried and cart-wheeled between the playground and the bouncy-houses.

Threaded among the thou-sands of picnickers and partiers were 76 volunteers.

“They are vital,” said Joanna Puthoff, event coordinator with the city of Sammamish. “Our whole entire department is 10 people. Even with all of our people working the event, there is no way we could do it without our volunteers and like I said, we have some phenomenal volun-teers.”

Those that enlisted to help included everyone from people with search-and-rescue back-grounds to high school students who enjoy face painting. The vol-unteer crew attended an orienta-tion training the week before and

was awarded with t-shirts and on-site parking passes.

“That is definitely a perk, they can bring their whole fam-ily and volunteer for a few hours and enjoy the whole event,” said Puthoff. “Our volunteers have a great time. (Volunteer coordina-tor) Dawn (Sanders) does a great job making them feel like they all have a job to do. We also try to make the jobs fun in nature like go talk to people; here’s some fly-ers; here’s a radio.”

It is a family tradition for Jennifer McConaughey and her daughters Alissa and Alex to vol-unteer every year. Her husband, Greg McConaughey, is a mem-ber of the Sammamish Plateau Amateur Radio Club. The group of two-way radio enthusiasts vol-unteer their services each year to make sure staff have ample com-munication.

“It’s great they have this free event,” said Jennifer McConaughey. “We really enjoy this fireworks display and it’s great just to camp out in the grass.”

In years past, the girls’ vol-unteer duties were relaxed as they offered general support, mostly answering people’s ques-tions. But this year Jennifer McConaughey and her daughters were tasked with a two-and-a-half hour shift in the kids area.

Corralling little ones wasn’t high on her list of favorite ways

to spend a summer evening, said Alex, 15. Her mom, however, was optimistic.

“I’m used to kids,” said Jennifer McConaughey. “It might get crazy back there but who knows. There tends to not be an

issue. Usually, they are pretty safe.”

Anh Vo likes the behind-the-scenes knowledge that comes with volunteering.

“You’re excited about the event because you know what’s

going on… I get to see the map, I know where everything is,” she said. “To volunteer gives you a piece of ownership of the event and the process.”

Volunteers are at the heart of Fourth on the Plateau

Photo by Lillian TuckerTaryn Cummings (right) waits with her friend for their turn to enter the giant inflatable airplane.

See FOURTH, Page 11

By Lillian Tucker

Sammamish’s Pine Lake Park is set to transform into a family-friendly, grooving bandstand this summer with a concert series that promises to have crowds dancing and singing along.

Organizers have been listening to demos since the beginning of the year and all their hard work is about to pay off. The 2012 Sammamish Summer Concerts in the Park Series starts with a bang and a few bangles July 12 when The Spyrographs are set to take the stage with their take on ‘60s pop.

“It’s fun music, really diverse and very, very upbeat. Everyone wants to dance to it,” said lead singer of The Spyrographs, Cheryl Serio.

The vocalist in go-go boots explained that the band aims to take audiences on a tour through the ‘60s pop experience by chan-neling everything from James Bond tunes to Nancy Sinatra to Dusty Springfield.

“It’s a great chance to bring the kids out and see live music and cultivate the next generation

of people who are going to enjoy music,” Serio said.

Lynne Handlos, recreation coordinator with the city, said

this year’s selection of bands reflects Sammamish’s efforts to pick groups that are family-friendly and danceable.

“We tried to have cover bands this year because we know that people like to sing along,” she said. “This is the first year in a while that we’ve had tribute

Get set to shake, rattle and roll at summer concert series

ContributedThe Spyrographs will be the first band in the summer concert series.

See SERIES, Page 11

The Bard in the parkFree Shakespeare per-

formances are once again coming to Pine Lake Park. The Wooden O Shakespeare Company is set to delight outdoor theater-goers this summer with free produc-tions of both “Twelfth Night” and “The Winter’s Tale.”

“Twelfth Night” will be at 7 p.m. July 21. “The Winter’s Tale” will debut at 7 p.m. July 28.

Organizers encourage attendees to bring blankets, chairs and picnic baskets for the shows.