The Davenport Hotel Employee Gingerbread House Competition!

And the winner is...The Housekeeping Department!

This team made an incredible effort with their creative use of ingredients such as Chex Cereal and Pretzels! Thank you to everyone who participated for helping make our Mezzanine look beautiful and festive. And a special shout-out to Sales and Catering! A great effort and nice way to tie in the US Figure Skating Championships! Here are the all the photos! They are also on display on the Mezzanine until December 25th, so go check them out for yourselves. Just try not to eat them!

Christ Kitchen Gingerbread House Competition!

On this past Sunday,nine teams of local Spokane chefs and architects came together to raise money for Christ Kitchen. The professionals decorated their gingerbread houses in 3 hours in the Grand Pennington Ballroom as the public cheered them on! This years theme was Children's Movies.

People were also welcome to join in on the fun for $7 to benefit Christ Kitchen. Christ Kitchen is a "job-training project providing work, instruction, discipleship, support, and fellowship for women living in poverty in the Spokane area. Through the production and sales of gourmet dried food products and catered meals, this project enables women to learn to work, to become employable and, eventually, to support themselves and their families without reliance on government programs or destructive relationships."

Thank you to all who participated and helped out to make this yet another successful event for a great cause. And a special congratulations to the Yoke's Fresh Market Team and architect David Smart for creating the winning Snow White House!

Here are the houses!

Charlie and The Chocolate Factory
The Davenport Hotel and Chris Morian Executive Chef: Bryan Franz
Pastry Chef: Rosario Mendoza
Architect: Chris Morian








Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Off the Wall Events
Chef: Sonia Duffy
Design Engineer: Chris Duffy
Architect: Barry Nance



Snow White
Yokes Fresh Market
Steven A. Meek Architects
Chef: Teresa King
Sous Chef: Megan Womak
Dessert Coordinator: Kathy Skomer
Merchandiser: Elise Shmoorkoff
Architect: David Smart
Vendor: Mick Short
Decorator: Mindi Howland

Whoville
Integrus Architect, Sew Sweet
Structural Engineer: Aaron Zwanzig
Structural Draftsman: Chris Cuddy
Intern Architect: Rob Wiese
Marketing Assistant: Kristen caro
Baker: Jennifer Work
Architects: Jodi Kiltel/Craig Caro
Office Manager: Denise
Interior Designer: Maria Vanhoff/Lindsay Aaseby
Administrative Assistant: Jade Tipke

Santa Conquers The Martians

Globe Bar and Grille
Chefs Howard Batmen, Chris Copenahaver, Greg Jacobson





Lady and the Tramp


Europa
Chef: Christie Sutton
General Manager: Jessica Jackson








Twas the Night Before Christmas


Northern Quest Casino
Pastry Chef: Pepi Safford
Baker: David Knight




Peter Pan

Coeur D’Alene casino/Baker Construction
Executive Chef: Adam Hegsted
Pastry Chef: Susan Brunelle
Apprentice Chef: Alex Stoy
Design Manager: Joseph Stoy


Jonah A VeggieTales Movie



Marsells Cakes
Bakers: Marcel Kopplin and Stephanie Lentz
Apprentice: Cheyenne Orndorff

Davenport Chef's in The Spotlight!

Throughout the last month, The Davenport Hotel chefs have been particpating in events and making media appearances. This blog is dedicated to the Chef's and a huge thank you to all of them who help make the Davenport so special through the wonderful food that they create. A special thanks to Chef Bryan Franz who particpated in the National Tour Association's Reno Dinner Convention and received rave reviews as well as making appearances on KHQ and KREM!

Here are some photos and video from these events. Thank you Chefs!

Silver Bells

The holiday spirit is alive at the Davenport Hotel Lobby with trees decorated and holiday music being played on the piano!

Christmas Tree Elegance Returns To The Davenport Hotel

Photos from 2008 Christmas Tree Elegance


Every year people from all across the world look forward to the first signs of the Holiday Season. That day is here for Spokane! The Spokane Symphony, in collaboration with The Davenport Hotel, has kicked off the month of December with Christmas Tree Elegance!




Christmas Tree Elegance is celebrating its 27th Anniversary which, for good reason, has became a great local tradtion creating many memories while raising money for the Spokane Symphony.



Starting today, December 1st, the festivities include luncheons fashion shows, decorared trees displayed with a lighting ceremony, Galas, raffles and of course music! All these wonderful events take place at The Davenport Hotel. Here is a schedule of events and stay tuned for more updates!




CHRISTMAS TREE ELEGANCE 2009 SCHEDULE:

Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009
5:30pm
Tree Lighting Ceremony in The Davenport Hotel Lobby

Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009-Saturday Dec.12, 2009
Tree Displays around The Davenport Hotel Mezzanine and $1 raffle tickets for sale


Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009-Friday, Dec. 4,2009
11:30am-1:30pm
PJ Models Style Show and Luncheon


Friday, Dec. 4, 2009
6pm
Gala Dinner Dance (Dancing to 6' Swing)

Saturday, Dec. 5, 2009
8am-11am
Mobius Kids Santa Breakfast in the Grand Pennington Ballroom

Sunday, Dec. 6, 2009
6pm
Eckart & Friends

Monday, Dec. 7, 2009
11am-1pm
Holiday Hat Luncheon

Saturday, Dec. 12, 2009
9pm-11pm
Raffle ticket drawing in the Davenport Hotel Lobby

For reservations or information regarding these events, please call 509-458-8733!

Regional PCMA Members Volunteer For Service In Sync!
For two hours this past Thursday, The Davenport Hotel and Tower employees along with other Spokane-area management employees, dedicated their time to the Second Harvest Food Bank in Spokane, Washington through Service In Sync. Service In Sync is a program that encourages members of the Professional Convention Management Association to help out in their respective communities during November.




Each year, all across the United States, Service In Sync volunteer’s set aside time to volunteer in their communities to help people less fortunate than them. The Davenport Hotel and Tower employees have been teaming up with the Second Harvest Food Bank and Service In Sync for several years. The volunteers go in “blind” not knowing what their task will be until they arrive. This year their job was to take bulk pasta and repackage it into smaller packages to be distributed across Eastern Washington.



This year the team members filled 96 boxes totaling 768 pounds of pasta in just two hours! Thank you to all who helped volunteer and make Service In Sync possible. And a special thank you to Second Harvest Food Bank!

Happy Friday The 13th!

Do you believe in ghosts? Well, even if you don't, it's difficult to not find the Davenport Hotel's documented encounters with spirits of the dead intriguing. And what better day for a good ghost story than a possibly snowy, overcast, Friday the 13th in Spokane, Washington?

The most famous apparition legend involves a one Ellen McNamara from 1920. As the story goes, multiple guests and employees of the modern day Davenport Hotel on separate occasions have reportedly seen a ghost of a woman dressed in what appears to be 1920's fashion. The stories were all consistent in that she was always spotted roaming the mezzanine and the Grand Lobby saying "Where did I go?"

The same story was reported so many times, that employees of The Davenport became curious. Could this be true? Was there someone who died at the hotel in the 1920's who has unfinished business with The Davenport?

After some thorough research, an article was found in the Spokesman Review on August 18, 1920 with a headline reading "Matron falls to death through hotel skylight."

The article reads on to describe the mysterious case of Ms. Ellen McNamara, an affluent guest from New York City. While touring the West Coast with a few women family members, they stopped in Spokane en route to a National Park. Ms. McNamara retired to her room before dinner time, siting that she was not feeling well. While the other women went downstairs for dinner, McNamara stayed in her room.

Because no one was with Ms. McNamara, the exact details of her death are unknown, but here is what was pieced together. While hundreds of people were dining downstairs, Ms. McNamara was attempting to step out of her room for a breath of fresh air. At that point, she must have been confused and accidentally opened a wrong door. That door led to the glass roof, which is the ceiling for the Grand Lobby. Ms. McNamara might have thought that it looked like a checkerboard floor, so went ahead and stepped on it. The glass, unfortunately, was not strong enough to hold her weight, and she fell through the glass landing in the Grand Lobby while other guests (including her family) were eating dinner.

As people rushed to her side, the only words she uttered were "Where did I go?"

Suffering from a major skull injury, McNamara died in her room an hour later.