Presentation: Engineering the Mars Perseverance Rover

Description:
Have you ever wondered how to keep a robot alive on a frozen desert planet 140 million miles away? We’ll talk nuclear batteries, daredevil landings, and a tiny helicopter named Ingenuity that changed planetary exploration. Come hear the story of Perseverance from someone who worked on its power source, and find out what the rover has been up to on Mars.

Presenter:
Amanda Gates, she/her, is a Mechanical Engineer who spent six years at Idaho National Laboratory working on the nuclear power source for NASA’s Mars Perseverance Rover ahead of its 2020 launch and landing. She currently works here in Wenatchee as a Manufacturing Engineer at Diamond Foundry where lab grown diamonds are fabricated for jewelry and tech applications.

Ground Control offers a small discount for folks who bring their own reusable cup for on tap orders. Outside food is also welcome, as Ground Control does not sell food or snacks.

Get ready for a night of festive fun as we dive into all your favorite holiday movies—from the classics to the chaotic. Gather your crew, flex your film knowledge, and compete for gifts, glory, and serious bragging rights.

We’ll be serving up seasonal specialty drinks, and you can upgrade your night with an optional festive beer + holiday treat pairing curated just for this event. Cozy vibes, holiday magic, and friendly competition await—come make a merry memory with us!

Join the creators of The Rag and Strange Garden Zine for a night of creativity, collage and creating your very own zine.

Along with Strange Garden and Ground Control (The Rag), Crowded Table Craft will have all of the supplies and tools you could ever need to create your masterpiece.

Learn about different collage types, composition, and what goes into putting together and publishing your zine.

You’ll also have an opportunity to submit one or two of your pages to our collaborative zine, which will be projected on a loop at Ground Control during December’s First Friday Art Walk.

Feel free to bring old magazines/books/newspapers if you have them to spare.

This is a free event, but we are asking those who can to donate towards supply costs- so we can keep doing fun events like this.

Come join Wenatchee River Institute for Science On Tap! This casual, free event is a great opportunity to gather, socialize, and learn about an exciting science topic from a member of our community. No prior science knowledge necessary! Speakers will give a talk on their latest research or a science topic they are passionate about, with some time afterwards for discussion or Q&A. Presentations start at 7pm – arrive early to grab a drink and get a seat!

Presentation: What Our Greenhouse Gas Emissions Tell Us

Description: The presentation will focus on the findings from the first-ever greenhouse gas emission inventories for the City of Wenatchee and Chelan County. Topics will include where and how much greenhouse gas emissions are originating in the city and county, the role hydropower and carbon capture in the Wenatchee-Okanogan National Forest play in keeping emissions lower, and what potential new strategies can be enacted to reduce local emissions in the future.

Presenters:

Marlene Farrell is the Executive Director of Sustainable NCW, a nonprofit focused on fostering stewardship of our environment and community through education and opportunities for action that reduce waste, lower our carbon footprint, and strengthen the health of people and place.

Steve Maher is the Coordinator of Our Valley Our Future, a regional outreach, visioning, and planning nonprofit that guides the development of community Action Plans. Prior to his current role, he was an editor and reporter with The Wenatchee World for more than 20 years.

Come join Wenatchee River Institute for Science On Tap! This casual, free event is a great opportunity to gather, socialize, and learn about an exciting science topic from a member of our community. No prior science knowledge necessary! Speakers will give a talk on their latest research or a science topic they are passionate about, with some time afterwards for discussion or Q&A. Presentations start at 7pm – arrive early to grab a drink and get a seat!

Presentation: Sensory-based Wildlife Conservation

Description: Understanding an animals’ sensory world can help us to know how and what might be a threat. We can also use the communication that animals make to better study species that may be difficult to study otherwise. We will dive into a few examples of how sensory ecology and conservation biology work together to protect species and habitat.

Presenter: Megan Friesen has studied sensory systems in wildlife, especially in seabirds, for the past 15 years. She completed her PhD studying the sensory ecology and conservation of tube-nosed seabirds at the University of Auckland and her master’s at UC Davis. Megan joined the biology faculty at Wenatchee Valley College in 2024 and is keen to continue involving students in aspects of sensory conservation.

Alyssa Bones (pen-name, Sue Pepper) writes not so cozy mysteries for millennials in the Pacific Northwest where she lives with her two kids, elderly dachshund, and real life action hero husband. A former resident of Jackson Hole, Wyoming pushed out by the billionaire-caused housing crisis, she enjoys writing revenge and redemption for the fictional residents of her Jackson Hole Moose’s Bakery Not So Cozy Mystery series, starting with her debut, Mountain Town Murder. See all her books here!

Come join Wenatchee River Institute for Science On Tap! This casual, free event is a great opportunity to gather, socialize, and learn about an exciting science topic from a member of our community. No prior science knowledge necessary! Speakers will give a talk on their latest research or a science topic they are passionate about, with some time afterwards for discussion or Q&A. Presentations start at 7pm – arrive early to grab a drink and get a seat!

Presentation: The Road to Better Transit: Strategies, Success, and Going Fare-Free

Description: Have you ever wondered what really makes transit systems work—not just locally, but across the country? With her nearly two decades of experience shaping transit networks nationwide, Cristina will take you behind the curtain to explore what drives great service. From the planning decisions behind Link Transit's regional network to how the agency made the case to go fare-free, she'll also reveal how smart strategies and big ideas come together to move communities forward.

Presenter:
Cristina Barone is the Founder of Barone Transit Planning, a company providing professional transit planning consulting services for agencies in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Prior to founding Barone Transit Planning in 2024, Cristina’s most recent role was Planning & Development Manager at Link Transit.

ATTENTION ALL SWIFTIES!

Join us on October 2nd from 7-10pm for the ultimate release party celebrating Taylor Swift’s new album, The Life of a Showgirl. Enjoy TSwift trivia, specialty drinks, and a listening party as the album drops at 9pm.

Show your Swiftie spirit and compete for exclusive prizes throughout the night. Don’t miss this unforgettable evening for fans!

☕️✨ Gilmore Girls Trivia Night! ✨☕️

Calling all Stars Hollow stans!
Think you know your Kirk careers, Chilton drama, and coffee orders by heart?

📅 Thursday, Sept 19
🕖 7pm
💵 $5 per person
👯‍♀️ Teams up to 6

🎁 Prizes, bragging rights, and endless cozy vibes.

‼️ Spots are limited!
We highly recommend reserving for your whole team at once to make sure everyone gets in.

🧠 Fast talkers, deep cutters, and trivia nerds—this one's for you.

Linocut your own resistance postcard with Ari, of Rings and Rituals and Crowded Table.

Build community, carve, ink, and print your own postcards as acts of resistance. Send them to reps, hang them on your wall, or trade with friends. No experience needed— all materials provided.

Suggested donation of $15-20.

Get ready for a full day of sour-powered fun at Ground Control’s first ever Pickle Palooza!
We’re talking fermented food battles, spicy pickle dares, briney beverages, and ridiculous games—all with that perfect salty twist.

Fermented Food Showdown – 6PM
Bring your best fermented fare and compete for the crown in this culinary contest!
From kimchi to kraut, miso to dill—if it’s fermented, it’s fair game.
People’s Choice voting + weird bragging rights.
Sign up to compete in the fermented food showdown using the link provided.

Spicy Pickle Eating Challenge – 8PM
Can you handle the heat and the vinegar? Test your limits with pickled fire in your belly. Sign-up to compete on-site.

Briney Beverages all day
Specialty pickle drinks, mocktails, and picklebacks (the booze-free kind too)!

Themed games, silly prizes, and salty vibes from open to close.

Free to attend | 21+
Costumes, pickle flair, and general absurdity encouraged

Don’t be salty—be sour.