“One River, Many Voices” Laser Light Show — Attraction in Grand Coulee

The light show was a great way to share the history of damming a giant river such as the Columbia. Watching the water spill over to create the white background was cool all on its own. I'm not sure what some of these reviews mean by "woke," given the laser show and history is just that-history. It includes the tribal nations, so maybe that is their issue, but that is still our history (and the dam ism on the Colville reservation, so why wouldn't you share that history!). The facts of the dam are immense and the website is amazing. If you don't have time to take the tour of the dam, at least carve the time to do the laser light show. It is a fun way to learn about the dam. I didn't much care for he beginning cartoon-like stuff, but was glad it changed from the cartoons to the story fairly quickly. We were there on a Monday night and it was not too crowded. The area where you watch the show is well thought out with a large parking lot. Bring a cushion for the seat if you are sensitive to cement seating. It is just the right length of time (not too long) and just when you are ready to go,...

The Grand Coulee Dam Light Show is like watching the bones of American ambition lit up by neon memory. Massive, strange, and unforgettable—this isn’t just a dam; it’s a cathedral of power, and at night it becomes a storybook carved in concrete and lit in lasers.

The animated history show is impressive—well-produced, informative, and at times, deeply nostalgic. You feel the New Deal weight of it, the push of progress, the strange old optimism of another era. Kids will love it. Adults will feel the past flicker.

That said, as an artist, I couldn’t help but wish for something a little more—more abstraction, more poetic motion, more art for art’s sake. What if those lasers painted dreams instead of facts? What if the dam became a surrealist canvas for water and light?

Still—standing there at dusk with the reservoir behind you and the sky melting from gold to bruise-purple? The show is worth it. It’s grand. It’s weird. It’s very, very American.

Go. Watch. Wonder. Then imagine what else...

Having missed the operating hours of the visitor center and coming in after dark, it was a little confusing to know where the seating for the laser show was. Didn't see any signs for it even when we drove around the completely empty parking lot at the top of the hill. The outdoor seats at the visitor center aren't easily visible when driving thru that parking lot at night. Other people who had come for the show were all parked down the hill at the picnic area (which is where Google Maps takes you, as well). So, not knowing any better, we drove down there. The show was still nice to see from the picnic tables, but there weren't any speakers. It was impossible to know what the narration was saying since it couldn't be heard. The images made it seem like it might be an intriguing story, though. We were especially curious to know why the coyote looked so sad. Also, I was glad the picnic bathrooms were left open for laser show...