🎡More People Will Show Up To The Fair Than Live In Moses Lake
Grant County Fair pulls 75,000 to 85,000 people into a town of under 30,000 — more than double Moses Lake's population, for one week. It's been happening in some form since 1911, when the first fair set up in Wilson Creek. The one variable that shrinks the crowd: smoke, or triple-digit heat.
HOLY SMOKES
💨I Built An Air Filter Out Of A Box Fan And Duct Tape. It's Actually Working.
I built a Corsi-Rosenthal box because it got smoky recently, and it hasn't really let up since. Grant, Douglas, Adams, Okanogan, and Chelan counties are all under a fire weather watch this weekend. There's a chance of some relief Sunday, but it's expected to come right back.
The whole thing is a box fan, four furnace filters, and duct tape — you tape the filters into a cube using the fan's own box as a rough template, and the basic version took me about 20 minutes start to finish. I went one step further and cut a cardboard shroud for the fan's intake side: trace a circle with a pencil and string, cut it out with a box cutter. That part's optional — the plain box works fine without it.
Here's how I know it's doing something: the filters are turning visibly brown, a little more every day, which is equally gross and satisfying to watch. Indoors, I don't smell smoke at all anymore — but the second I step into my garage, where I actually do my work, it hits me immediately. That contrast convinced me enough that I'm building a second one for the garage this week.
The plans are free and simple, straight from the foundation that designed them:
HOUSING
🏡Grant County Home Prices Just Dropped 8%
The median home in Grant County sold for $368,390 over the three months ending in May — down 8% from the same stretch a year earlier, according to Redfin. Whether that reads as relief or a warning sign depends on which side of the transaction you're on.
DEVELOPMENT
🎫New Concert Hall Is Coming To The Bluffs Near Quincy
The team behind Gorge Amphitheater has picked ZGF Architects to design The Grotto — a planned concert hall and cultural venue overlooking the Columbia River near Quincy. No timeline yet on when it opens.
ENTERTAINMENT
🎥Moses Lake's Alexys Sanchez Is Back For Grown Ups 3
Moses Lake native Alexys Nycole Sanchez is reprising her role as "Becky" in Grown Ups 3 — production has officially begun on the Adam Sandler comedy, now filming for Netflix.
🎉This Weekend
Fire weather watch remains in effect for Grant County and neighbors through the weekend, with some smoke relief possible by Sunday.
Locally: Candle Making 101 in Mattawa, Saturday at noon (ages 12+, adult supervision required)
Creative Writing Series meets in Moses Lake Saturday, 2:30–4:30 p.m., all skill levels welcome
Soap Lake's Kindness Rock Garden is an ongoing drop-by project at the library through August — paint a rock, leave one, take one.
📆 On The Calendar
Fri, 8/7
Bilingual Storytime & LEGOs Free Build Day, Moses Lake
Sit and Stitch at the ERC, Ephrata
Tue, 8/11
Storytime with Valor, Moses Lake
Crafternoon for Kids, Quincy
Stories and Coloring, Royal City
Wed, 8/12 — Family Games, Royal City
Thu, 8/13
Grant County Health District Mobile Outreach, Quincy
Switch Gaming at the Library, Moses Lake
Fri, 8/14 — End of Summer Read Over!, Royal City
Downstream
Ephrata schools approved a status-quo budget for 2026–27 • Ephrata's library closes Aug. 10, reopening early 2027 • Grant PUD's draft plan leans into clean energy • Port of Mattawa is pushing back on a new air-quality rule • Grant County waived demolition fees for Beverly fire victims • Moses Lake's 90s Flannel Fest returns in October • A new app shows only campgrounds with open reservations
The Final Word
Heat, smoke, harvest starting, kids back in school in a few weeks… it's a lot, all stacked at once. If you need permission to take five quiet minutes today and do nothing with them, consider this it.
Until next week,
The Canal