Washington State Apple Blossom Festival 2011 Schedule

The 92nd annual Washington State Apple Blossom Festival starts this week in Wenatchee, Washington.  We'll be taking some time off from our Wenatchee home inspections to attend our favorite events.  We've listed a few of them here but you can view the complete schedule at http://www.appleblossom.org/.

Memorial Park Food Fair
Dates: April 28-May 8
Location: Memorial Park @ Orondo & Chelan
Time: Daily 11am
From lunch through dinner, many tasty treats satisfy the appetite and make meal plans during the Festival a snap! There will be entertainment during the lunch and dinner hours.

Verizon Wireless Entertainment at Memorial Park
Dates: April 28-May 8
Location: Memorial Park @ Orondo & Chelan
Time: During lunch & dinner hours & all day on weekends - FREE

Funtastic Shows Carnival
Dates: April 29-May 8, P.O.P Nights: May 2-5 - $25
Location: River Front Park at the foot of 5th Street on the Columbia River

2nd Annual Apple Blossom Corvette Rally & Cruise
Date: Saturday, April 30
Cost: $10 registration fee

The Keyes Fibre Youth Parade
Date: Saturday, April 30
Time: 11am
The Festival’s Youth Parade is one of the only parades in the state to feature so many of Washington’s youngsters. Over 4,500 children ages 14 and participate in this celebration!

Bocce Ball Recreational Tournament
Date: Sunday, May 1
Location: Walla Walla Point Park Shelter #

Les Schwab Classy Chassis Parade & Car Show
Date: Parade, May 6; Car Show, May 7
Car Show: Eastmont Community Park
Time: Parade 6:30pm; Car Show 10am-5pm
Cost: Free to watch; $25 for Participants; $75 for Commercial Participants
The Les Schwab Classy Chassis Parade has become an Apple Blossom weekend favorite, so you’ll want to claim your spot on the parade route early for this 6:30pm Friday night event Check-in will begin at 10am with festivities in full swing by noon. In addition to good food and great music, you won’t want to miss the Apple Bin Races at 2pm or the Awards Ceremony at 4pm.

Apple Blossom Run
Date: Saturday, May 7
Time: Registration- 8am; Start time-9:40am
Tickets: Pre-registered - $12; Race Day - $15, Kids Race Free
Registration: Online at wvmedical.com

The Stemilt Growers Grand Parade
Date: Saturday, May 7
Time: 11 am

Wine-Apple-Oosa!
Date: Saturday May, 7
Location: Performing Arts Center Plaza
Time: 1pm– 5pm
Cost: $20 wine tasting
Ticket Info: www.wenatcheewines.com

“Rock on the Ave.” sponsored by Verizon Wireless
Date: Saturday, May 7
Location: Wenatchee Conventions Center; downstairs
Time: Doors open @ 8pm; Band starts @ 9pm
Cost: $5 wristbands, purchase online at appleblossom.org or at the door

Zillow Goes Public

"Real estate site Zillow.com filed for a $51.75 million initial public offering Monday.  The Seattle-based company didn't say in its Form S-1 filing how many shares it planned to sell, nor how it would price each share. However, it did say that Technology Crossover Ventures and PAR Investment Partners agreed to buy a total of $5.5 million of common stock directly from Zillow."

Source: NEW YORK (CNNMoney) By Julianne Pepitone, staff reporter (April 18, 2011: 4:50 PM ET)

Overall home sales may still be down since the boom, but the real estate tech industry is looking good.  Trulia, Zillow, Estately and Redfin have started to thrive in the dot com world.  Capitalizing on social networking integration and web advertisement these companies are providing better tools for the home buyer, seller, real estate agent and other real estate industry professionals.  As a home inspector working from Seattle to Wenatchee these websites have been a valuable tool for marketing our services over a board service area.  I'm looking forward to the many opportunities these sites present as they grow.

Wenatchee Home Inspection Photo: Can you see the problem?

Wenatchee Home Inspection

At first glance you may think the green algae is the issue in the photo, but not really.  This photo was taken under an exterior deck and algae is typical in those areas.  The real concern is the wood laying on the ground next to the home.  This a great place for wood destroying organisms to start residing and to begin gaining access to your lovely home.  Carpenter ants love decomposing wood!