Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett. (Sara Bruestle / Herald staff)

Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett. (Sara Bruestle / Herald staff)

Amid criticism, Everett gun show on graduation day postponed

In the wake of the nation’s second-deadliest school shooting, parents expressed concerns over the adjacent, coinciding events.

EVERETT — The organizer of a weekend gun show at Angel of the Winds Arena postponed the event a day in response to criticism that multiple Everett Public Schools graduations were to be held in the building at the same time.

“We don’t want students’ memory of graduation to be that of controversy,” said Craig Terry, owner of Big Top Promotions, the company behind the gun show.

Nobody asked the company to change the dates of the event, Terry told The Daily Herald. But, he said, “we live here too, and try to be good citizens in our community.”

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

The company chose to move the event “out of the potential for bad optics and conflict,” Terry said. The two-day gun show was scheduled to open Saturday at Angel of the Winds Arena but will now start on Sunday.

Spokesperson Kat Guenet said the arena “appreciates everyone’s assistance and all organizers working together to come up with the best solution.” She declined to say whether coinciding events are typically communicated to groups that book the space on the same dates.

After the school district sent an initial email to families notifying them of the gun show, many parents took to social media to share their concerns.

“My daughter is graduating this weekend and I’m disgusted this was allowed to happen,” wrote one mother in the comments of a public Facebook post. “… The scheduling of these two events should never have happened.”

State Rep. April Berg’s daughter also will be graduating Saturday. When Berg opened the district’s email Wednesday, she said, she had to read the message a few times before it set in.

The country has been reeling from the second-deadliest school shooting on record at a Texas elementary school just three weeks ago. As of 11 a.m. Thursday, there had been 268 mass shootings in the United States in 2022, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

Leaders of Everett Public Schools only learned of the adjacent event this week.

“It was just happenstance,” said Kathy Reeves, district spokesperson. “We were doing a walkthrough (Tuesday night), and the event manager said, ‘Oh, by the way, this (gun show) is happening.’”

The district reserves Angel of the Winds Arena up to five years in advance, according to an email to families. Reeves told The Herald that Everett graduations are currently scheduled through 2030. Their contract with the event space does not require the arena to notify the district of other leasers or reservations, Reeves said.

The district updated parents by email Thursday afternoon.

“We are pleased to let you know there has been an adjustment to the schedule at Angel of the Winds Arena for Saturday, June 18. Everett Public Schools graduating ceremonies will be the only event occurring that day,” the email said. “We appreciate working with our community partners, all of whom live in the community and care about our community and want to have a day that is focused on celebrating our amazing class of 2022 graduates.”

Twila Wilkin, whose daughter graduates from Henry M. Jackson High School on Saturday, said she is “relieved” the event schedules changed, but she worries about how to prevent future incidents. Wilkin has another daughter set to graduate in 2027, “but even if this were my last child to graduate, this year, I’d still have an interest in saving future graduates from this kind of thing.”

She suggested a city code or state law preventing disparate event bookings from intersecting — or, at minimum, venue staff should be aware of potential conflicts and alert event organizers.

“I can appreciate that mistakes happen, and it’s easy to look at someone else’s job and criticize or over-simplify. However, there should be someone responsible (like the venues) for ensuring that they don’t book conflicting groups,” Wilkin told the Herald via Facebook Messenger. “The venues know who they’re selling space to. If the gun show organizer was the one to offer to reschedule, then kudos to him.”

Terry, the gun show organizer, said he booked the conference center, which is part of the arena complex, about a year ago. The arena did not tell him at the time what other events were planned, he said.

Few customers will walk out with guns on Sunday, Terry said. Background checks for people buying handguns or semiautomatic rifles take about two business weeks. The only exception is shotguns, which can be taken home hours after a federal background check clears. All purchases come with a locking device.

Customers cannot carry loaded firearms into the event, and all firearms for sale at the show are tied and inoperable, Terry said.

He told the Herald he feels his event should be treated no differently than “a hot tub show” or “Disney on Ice with all the little princesses,” which also are held at Angel of the Winds Arena.

“We are not a menace to society,” he said.

Signs with QR codes for customers to scan will be posted around the gun show, Terry said. The code will launch a website where people can get in touch with their legislators and advocate for better mental health care and locked schools.

As a former Everett School Board member, Berg said, she knew the district books events years ahead of time. The district was likely just as blindsided as parents.

Still, she wondered why Angel of the Winds allowed the two events to coincide. Graduates have “gone through 12 years of active shooter drills in school,” Berg said. “And it’s this flagrant display of — ‘Guess what? You’ve gone through all that, you’re crossing the finish line and here’s a gun show.’”

Mallory Gruben is a Report for America corps member who writes about education for The Daily Herald.

Mallory Gruben: 425-339-3035; mallory.gruben@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @MalloryGruben.

Isabella Breda: 425-339-3192; isabella.breda@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @BredaIsabella.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Customers enter and exit the Costco on Dec. 2, 2022, in Lake Stevens. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Costco stores could be impacted by looming truck driver strike threat

Truck drivers who deliver groceries and produce to Costco warehouses… Continue reading

Two Washington State ferries pass along the route between Mukilteo and Clinton as scuba divers swim near the shore Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ferry system increases ridership by a half million in 2024

Edmonds-Kingston route remains second-busiest route in the system.

News logo for use with stories about Mill Creek in Snohomish County, WA.
Suspect captured after leading police on a chase from Mill Creek to Everett

After a 46-year-old Tacoma man crashed his vehicle into an Everett yard, he was taken into custody a short time later.

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. Trump, furious about delays in delivering two new Air Force One jets, has empowered Elon Musk to explore drastic options to prod Boeing to move faster, including relaxing security clearance standards. (Al Drago/The New York Times)
A frustrated Trump wants Boeing to deliver his new Air Force One pronto

The president regards Boeing as almost a lost cause, according to people close to him

A COVID-19 and influenza vaccine on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
15 in Snohomish County killed by flu, highest in three years

Emergency department visits and hospitalizations related to the flu are also higher than previous years, county health officials said.

Robin Cain with 50 of her marathon medals hanging on a display board she made with her father on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Running a marathon is hard. She ran one in every state.

Robin Cain, of Lake Stevens, is one of only a few thousand people to ever achieve the feat.

People line up to grab food at the Everett Recovery Cafe on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Coffee, meals and compassion are free at the Everett Recovery Cafe

The free, membership-based day center offers free coffee and meals and more importantly, camaraderie and recovery support.

Anthony Brock performs at Artisans PNW during the first day of the Fisherman’s Village Music Fest on Thursday, May 16, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
20 musicians to perform at Fisherman’s Village Musical Festival

The three-day music festival is scheduled to take place from May 15 to 17.

The Everett Wastewater Treatment Plant along the Snohomish River on Thursday, June 16, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett water, sewer rates could jump 43% by 2028

The rate hikes would pay for improvements to the city’s sewer infrastructure.

The bond funded new track and field at Northshore Middle School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024 in Bothell, Washington. (Courtesy of Northshore School District)
Northshore School District bond improvements underway

The $425 million bond is funding new track and field complexes, playgrounds and phase one of two school replacements.

Arlington
Man steals Snohomish County deputy’s vehicle, captured moments later

Deputies say the suspect from a hit-and-run earlier Wednesday crashed into the home of a relative before attempting to escape.

Everett fire destroys home under construction, damages adjacent structures

The fire happened around 1 a.m. Wednesday. No injuries were reported.