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Happy Monday, Meridian! Hope you got through the weekend without melting — we've got one more hot one today before things start to loosen their grip. On deck: the city's art festival is back with a new name and a much bigger footprint, downtown neighbors finally have opinions about that fenced-off lot by City Hall, and Friday night gives you two competing outdoor movies. Coffee up. ☀️

🧠 Trivia: Before it was Meridian, this town went by a completely different name for a few years in the early 1890s. What was it? (Answer at the bottom.)

Six Meridian outings between now and next weekend. Two of them are free and involve a screen and a lawn. 🎉

Monday, July 20

Tuesday, July 21

Thursday, July 23

Friday, July 24

Saturday, July 25

☀️ Monday, July 20 — Meridian

Overnight low ~70°F · Sunny and hot · hazy at times

One more scorcher to close out this stretch. Expect a bright, dry Monday with highs right around the century mark and hazy skies from regional wildfire smoke drifting through. Relief is in the forecast later in the week, but today is a splash-pad, shade-tree, don't-touch-the-steering-wheel kind of day. Check the latest at the National Weather Service.

Meridian's annual celebration of local artists is coming back with a new name and a much longer day: Art Spark at Kleiner Park, Saturday, Aug. 29, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The city is promising an expanded food court, hands-on art stations, murals and chalk-art battles, pop-up dance and spoken-word performances, community art booths, and a beer garden from Loose Screw Beer Co. The Afrosonics close it out with live music from 5:30 to 7 p.m. If you make things and want a booth, applications are open until 5 p.m. on Aug. 1 and a spot runs $40. Read more →

Now that plans for Heritage Square are public, Idaho News 6 went and asked the people who actually stare at that empty lot every day. Shawn Garrett, general manager at Voodoo Brewing steps away, said customers have been asking about the site roughly once a month for four straight years — "and of course, you know, for four years, nothing." Shoppers nearby called the change "bittersweet" but said they're looking forward to more places to go in the small downtown core. Developer Tommy Ahlquist told the station the project "will change the trajectory of downtown Meridian for a long time," and says the goal is to finish in about two years. Read more →

Add another vet to the north Meridian rotation: Livewell Animal Hospital of Meridian is holding its ribbon cutting at 2644 N. Eagle Rd. on Tuesday, July 28, at 11 a.m. Chamber ribbon cuttings are open to the public and usually involve oversized scissors, a short speech, and snacks — a decent low-effort way to meet a business before you need it at 8 p.m. on a Saturday with a limping dog. Read more →

Brought to you by Meridian Local Scoop. Movie night at the park is for the whole family, and the dog has already picked his spot. Want your business in this slot next to the whole town? The open spot's up top. 🐾

Trivia answer: Hunter. The settlement here was originally called Hunter, after a railroad official, and kept that name until residents renamed it Meridian in 1893 — after the Boise Meridian survey line running through the area. Two names, one imaginary line, zero regrets.

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