GAINING VELOCITY
In a reverse Ted Lasso, Spokane Velocity FC has hired Liverpool-native LEIGH VEIDMAN as head coach of the new USL League One professional men's soccer team. He comes to Spokane after assistant coaching for the Charleston Battery of USL Championship league. During his first and only season with the Battery last year, the South Carolina team made it to the Championship final. Veidman previously helped take the OKC Energy FC from one win all season to playoff contention in the next. He grew up playing for the Liverpool FC youth academy before coming to the U.S. for college, earning All-American honors as a student athlete and playing professionally for four years with the Toronto Lynx in USL League Two. Veidman definitely makes more sense as a soccer (football?) coach than Lasso, and here's to hoping his career across the pond is just as successful. (ELIZA BILLINGHAM)
HOLIDAY CHEER
The Inland Northwest is home to a caring, generous community, and those sentiments are only amplified during the peak of giving season. One of those many large-scale efforts is NO-LI's 25 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS, an annual December campaign to raise money for 25 regional nonprofits. The Spokane brewery has been running the holiday-themed initiative for eight years now, choosing a variety of nonprofits to each receive $1,000 on a designated day from Dec. 1 through 24. On Christmas Day, one final organization gets $10,000. Thanks to matching donations, this year's event is set to distribute a total of $53,000 (some organizations get $2,000) to groups that uplift the arts, education, nutrition, animal welfare, affordable housing and more. The big recipient of $10,000 is Giving Back Spokane. See the full list of nonprofits and learn more at nolibrewhouse.com/25days. (CHEY SCOTT)
TEA'S COMPANY
Cozy up with a steaming cup and get to know your (new) neighbors this holiday season. This Saturday, Dec. 9, local nonprofit Thrive International, which helps recently arrived refugees find temporary housing among other services, is partnering with Manzanita House, which also supports the immigrant community, to host a WINTER TEA TASTING & BAZAAR. Held from 10 am to 2 pm at the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center (500 S. Stone St.), the event showcases local immigrant-owned small businesses with a vendor fair offering handmade gifts, food and more. Visitors can enjoy free multicultural teas and baked goods from Feast World Kitchen and Boots Bakery, along with free henna art and crafts. Organizers hope the fair lets local refugees connect with one another, while simultaneously showcasing their rich cultural diversity and contributions to the region. (CHEY SCOTT)
