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Revelers party to the finish

Christopher Rodkey  •  Staff writer
Published May 8, 2006

Kayleen Bedeski high-fives passing Bloomies from the lap of her friends Synthia (behind, partly hidden) and Kassandra Anderson, right, 18 and 15 respectively. (Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review )

There is a common theme among the spectator parties that line the Bloomsday course: Everybody has a beverage.

Be they mimosas from a champagne glass in Browne's Addition to coffee at a house on Lindeke Street, there is often more hydration for spectators than for participants. Though the cold weather pushed some parties back indoors, many others braved the weather to cheer runners along.

"We need more costumes," shouted Willy Bothman, who watched racers from a condo along Riverside Avenue. "And people need to enjoy themselves more."

Bothman joined friends in lawn chairs to watch the teeming masses pass by. He said his plan of taking one sip of his drink for every 10 people that passed was quickly spiraling out of control. He cheered at clever T-shirts and racers cheered back.

"That's what Bloomsday should be about," he said, grinning. Though watching is fun, he pledged to round up his friends and compete as a team next year.

At a home after the top of Doomsday Hill, Heather Bach shared a lawn with a dozen companions, stomachs full from a morning of food and drink.

"For the first two hours we cook bacon," Bach said. Once that is consumed, activity transfers to the front lawn, and partygoers cheer the runners along.

This particular party springs up every year, she said.

"I haven't run all of the races but I've always been at this party," Bach said, who noted her favorite part about watching the runners was the military groups that passed by.

While his friend David Steegstra held a sign that read, "Free Showers," Bud Zimmerman said a few raindrops weren't keeping people from taking up his offer.

"We've got just as many people asking for it as we would on a hot year," Zimmerman said as his friend launched a stream of water into the middle of Lindeke, dousing a group of willing children.

Still, others along the course found a way to earn some cash.

A tattered cardboard sign hanging from an apartment balcony near Spokane Community College advertised beer for sale at $1 a can.