Grand Opening Ceremony: Sandpoint, Idaho
We are just overjoyed and honored that the very first public Solar Roadways installation will be in our own hometown of Sandpoint, Idaho. The ribbon-cutting ceremony will be Friday, September 30 at 3:00 p.m. at Jeff Jones Square, in downtown Sandpoint. We will stay at the Square into the evening. We are so looking forward to talking to everyone who is able to make it.
Finally, there will be a public place for all interested people to see and walk on a Solar Roadways installation! It will also be monitored 24/7 on the city’s web cam after the unveiling. You will be able to watch it on Sandpoint’s website:
http://www.sandpointonline.com/current/index.shtml or on ours:
www.solarroadways.com.
We are so grateful to the many people who helped us on our way:
• The over 50,000 donors who have helped us to raise over $2,270,000 on our Indiegogo Campaign: (
igg.me• Our fantastic employees and volunteers who work so hard.
• Idaho political leaders such as Senator Shawn Keogh and Senator Mike Crapo who have endorsed, helped, and supported us.
• Idaho Department of Commerce which funded much of this installation, as well at the Sandpoint Urban Renewal Agency who pitched in with a grant.
• City of Sandpoint officials who have supported us and worked tirelessly to help bring this installation to life.
• Solar Roadies (our name for our supporters) in Sandpoint and around the world who cheer us on and brighten our days with words of encouragement.
You are all welcome to stop in to our headquarters at 721 Pine St. to say hello as well. We’re usually open Monday – Friday, often on the weekends as well. We’ve had visitors from all over the world. We have a souvenier shop with SR t shirts, bumper stickers etc. in our lobby (all sales go to our R & D to help move the project forward), and many people like to chat and have pictures taken with us.
We will hold a joint press conference with City of Sandpoint officials (must have a press badge to attend) prior to the event at 1:00 p.m. at Columbia Bank. We will also make ourselves available to the press for one week after the event. We’ve been turning down interviews for a long time in order to focus on engineering. Now we’ll be happy to take a week to devote ourselves to answering questions.
The fall color is just beginning and should be in full glory by the 30th. Hotels may book up, so reserve a room quickly for the best availability. Sandpoint has many terrific hotels and there are more in nearby Sagle and Ponderay: http://www.sandpoint-idaho-hotels-lodging.com/. Camping opportunities abound too:
http://www.sandpointonline.com/rec/camp.html
Sandpoint is home to our gorgeous Panida Theater, which opened in 1927. They just happen to be showing the Manhattan Short Film during the weekend following the event:
http://www.panida.org/event/manhattan-short-film-festival-2-2016-10-01/
Anyone planning a trip to Sandpoint for the unveiling or at any point can find more information about things to do in the area here:
http://www.sandpointonline.com/current/index.shtml
The closest commercial airport is in Spokane, Washington, about 90 minutes away. Amtrak also has a station in Sandpoint and many people come to see us via the train.
There are many reasons it makes us so happy to have the first installation in Sandpoint. First, it’s just an amazing feeling to feel the acceptance and support right where we live. We love to meet our supporters. We’ll be here to meet with visitors, not just the first week, but most weeks (except when we are traveling to install or for speaking engagements elsewhere).
Having the first installation so close makes monitoring and maintaining the first installation so much easier when we can drive there in a couple of minutes. We can even walk. If something goes wrong we can be there in a flash to take care of it.
Sandpoint is a lovely, pristine, small community not far from the Canadian border. It’s truly a four season resort, with a 43 mile long lake, skiing and just relaxing into nature. We feel like we live in four different places as each season is so completely different. Beauty of nature abounds, whichever way your gaze settles. Animals are everywhere. Scott and I counted 49 deer on the way home one evening recently. This summer, we’ve had to slow down for a family of raccoons, a family of wild turkeys, coyote and elk.
If you are not able to make it to this event, perhaps you will come at a later time to see it. Winter is a magical time in Sandpoint, especially for skiers and snowboarders who appreciate our ski resort: http://www.schweitzer.com/. We know from experience with our first prototype on our own property, how beautiful the panels look in wintertime. It’s amazing to see snow around the panels, but the panels themselves remain snow free and even dry to the touch!
If you have more questions about an upcoming trip, you can email me at julie@solarroadways.com. Hope to see many of you soon!
Julie Brusaw
