Inside issue number nineteen:
tent cities, 24 hours of zine-making, periods, poetry, comics, Sundance Kids' tour diary, Spokane's Fucking Bike Club, star balloons, donuts, the horses of Vantage

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Summer is the off-season for professional theatre, and the summer theatre that is performed is very hit-and-miss, usually consisting of volunteer community productions, unless you happen to live in a giant theatre center like Los Angeles. So when I saw fantastic professional theatre in Western Montana featuring two talented profssionals from Spokane, I knew I had to spread the word! Theatre lovers, take a little road trip and treat yourself to some excellent productions.KEEP GOING

All of you need to grab your favorite written work, photos, and comics and send them to thefinger (at) forsleepwalkers.com, or post them to this website. Issue #19 of the finger is about to be produced, and we need your help. Hurry. The deadline is July 28. Let us know if you have any questions.

GO SEE IT!

Interplayers’ production of Waiting for Godot, Samuel Beckett’s masterpiece about two lonely, presumably homeless, men who are waiting for days on end for the mysterious Godot, is truly outstanding. If you like theatre at all, do not miss this one. Really, it is not as depressing as it sounds!KEEP GOING

The Revelers Drama Club at SFCC is currently performing Othello. The show runs through March 15. Go to http://www.spokanefalls.edu/Academic/Drama/DramaBrochure.pdf for details. I won't waste words explaining why Othello is one of the best tragedies ever. Here are a few reasons to go see this particular version:KEEP GOING

A proposed amendment to Spokane's cabaret ordinance could leave all ages events without homes.  The amendment would require all venues with live entertainment to purchase insurance policies with million-dollar coverage.  Similar requirements severely impacted all ages venues in Seattle from 1985 to 2002, when their Teen Dance Ordinance squeezed many all ages venues out of business.  Seven years since Seattle's ordinance had been repealed, all ages events have again become commonplace, with reliable venues supported by the community.KEEP GOING

I'm PEEVED.

I've bit my tounge one too many times and remained dispassionate beyond disbelief. But this time things have gone too far. Way too often I hear young people in Spokane talking about their glamorous plans to move away. While sometimes this can be a good thing (especially for those who've not lived elsewhere) usually its just an unoriginal case of "the grass is greener" and a failure of personal strength and imagination to take ownership for one's hometown to make things better where it is most needed.KEEP GOING

West Main Street is home to numerous community treasures including the recently resurrected Magic Lantern Theater, Thin Air Community Radio and a family of grassroots organizations hosted in the appropriately named Community Building. Soon, the newly forming Main Market Co-op will become a neighborly addition. In its future location of 17 W. Main, the co-op will provide a space for local farmers and vendors to sell their goods and a “community table” for members to meet. To learn more, visit mainmarket.coop.

ISSUE 18.1 IS NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE!

From the inside cover of this issue:
README: Like many fumbled beginnings, some things naturally call for revision. These pages mark the fourth year of The Finger, just as they celebrate four years of tired eyes and wide smiles, memorable debauchery and friends.
This issue of The Finger will be printed in multiple editions. Version 18.1 of The Finger is a special, low-budget edition with a print run of 50.
Finger 18.2 will be released with a higher print run, additional content, a whoapow cover and an updated compilation CD that includes more bands.
Check thefinger.forsleepwalkers.com for daily development snapshots and official releases of upcoming versions of this issue of The Finger.
Want to sneak your own work into Finger 18.2? Want to help us distribute or organize shows or sit on the lawn and watch lightning play with the moon?

Email us right now.
Send us letters: p.o. box 743, olympia, wa 98507

Interested in having a real life copy of Finger 18.1 and the Finger Finger Comp Comp delivered to your home? Email us.

ALSO: This issue includes a compilation of bands that have played at the finger complex:
Flee the Century, Small Sur, Cataldo, Paleo, Mathematicians, Polka Dot Dot Dot, Ramona Córdova, Johanna Kunin, Briana Marela, Please Step Out of the Vehicle, Adam Jessup, Shelby Turner, Finn Riggins, World History, PWRFL POWER, queen of refuse, Moustaches.

Interested in downloading Finger 18.1 or the compilation? OK, click here.

 KEEP GOING

As I waited on July 4 for a troupe of anarchists to march loudly through downtown Spokane, other folks were eating elephant ears, playing in the fountain, waiting for the fireworks.

Earlier I walked to where demonstrators had burned American flags three years ago – a grimy skate park under the freeway. There were no burn marks left on the cement, and no sign of demonstrators.

Last year 17 demonstrators were arrested. Police surrounded the demonstrators who were trying to have a picnic.KEEP GOING