SPOKANE, Wash. — The scorching heat didn't seem to bother outdoor enthusiasts who trekked out to this year's Spokatopia. More than 4000 people came out for this year's event. Shallan Knowles founded the event with her husband five years ago.
"For most of the people that come they think this is just a really fun day. There's a great sense of community. There are lots of different things to do," said Knowles.
The event featured all different types of outdoor equipment, such as bikes and kayaks as well as adventure passes for people to test them out.
"You want to try a road bike, you want to try mountain bike," said Knowles. "So it reduces the barriers to people being able to try the different recreation activities that they want to try."
Mountain biker Luis Miron stopped by the event, looking for a new set of wheels.
Just like everything else, inflation has forced Miron to hold off buying a new bike. "I want to say we're going to face some rough times probably," said Miron.
Knowles says prices have gotten higher, but says they try to keep things more affordable.
She said, "We're not here to make a ton of money. We're here to make sure that people are having fun. People can access the outdoor recreation."
More than 50 vendors and local businesses were out selling equipment and fixing bikes, including bike saddle owner Paul Swift.
"You get to meet a lot of cool people. Everybody here is kind of like minded. And so you know, we all have this certain affinity and it's kind of nice to be around. People that want to be healthier people that want to be outside," said Swift.
Visitors also didn't need to be super active to attend either, since Spokatopia brought back its live music and beer garden.
"We've already started planning for next year we have lists going of things that we can do better and things we need to add and how we can make this better for people," said Knowles.
While all the main events are on one day, organizers hope to make it a two day event in the future.
Outthere Outdoors says if you missed today's event don't worry, you can catch the Great Outdoors Bike and Expo next February.
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