Community news
Chamber meets
The Columbia Falls Area Chamber of Commerce will hold their general membership meeting at the North Valley Hospital Community Room, 235 Nucleus Avenue, on Tuesday, Nov. 8, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Guest speaker will be Paul McKenzie, from F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber Company, who will talk about 100 years of history and what the future has in store for the timber company. Cost is $10 for lunch. Reservations are not necessary.
Eagles dinner
The North Valley Fraternal Order of Eagles will offer a lutefisk and meatball dinner on Saturday, Nov. 5, at 5 p.m. at their club on the U.S. 2 strip. The menu also includes gravy, potatoes, cole slaw, green beans and beverages. Cost is $15 adults and children 13-and-older, $7.50 children 6-12 years old, and free for children 5-and-under. Proceeds will go to the Auxiliary Scholarship Fund. For more information, call 892-4081.
Horsemen meet
The Back Country Horsemen of the Flathead will meet at the Fish, Wildlife and Parks offices, 490 North Meridian Road, in Kalispell, on Tuesday, Nov. 8, at 7:30 p.m. The meeting is open to the public. The volunteer organization is dedicated to protecting stockowners' use of wilderness and backcountry trails, education of horse owners on Leave-No-Trace principles and support to backcountry agencies. For more information, call 212-8107.
Online auction
The Glacier Institute is holding an online auction to support youth education at its Big Creek Outdoor Education Center up the North Fork. The auction at www.charityauctionstoday.com/glacier25 started Nov. 1 and will continue until Sunday, Nov. 27, at 5 p.m. Bidding for gifts, paintings and Glacier National Park experiences starts at $1. More than 24,000 Flathead Valley elementary school children have visited the institute's Discovery School three-day immersion learning program at the Big Creek Outdoor Education Center. For more information, visit online at www.glacierinstitute.org or call 755-1211.
Barbershop chorus
The Flathead Valleyaires barbershop chorus will sponsor "United We Sing," a patriotic concert to benefit the Northwest Montana Veterans Food Pantry, in the Glacier High School auditorium on Friday, Nov. 11, at 7 p.m. The Valleyaires will be joined by the Five Valleys Sweet Adelines, area high school choral groups and two barbershop quartets. Tickets are $10 at the door, with children under-12 free. For more information, visit online at www.flatheadvalleyaires.org or call 755-1755.
Wellness fair
The Flathead Disability Health & Wellness Fair will take place at The Wave in Whitefish on Saturday, Nov. 12, from noon to 5 p.m. More than 20 federal, state, nonprofit and other groups will be represented. According to the 2010 census, more than 10,000 people in Flathead County have disabilities and 6 percent are children. Guest speakers will appear throughout the event, and prizes will be raffled off. To register, visit online at www.whitefishwave.org/disability/healthfair. For more information, call 406-249-4122.
Wilderness art
The Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation will hold its 15th anniversary dinner and celebration at Glacier Discovery Square on Saturday, Nov. 5, with the dinner with appetizers starting at 5 p.m. The event is also the fifth annual Voices of the Wilderness event, with artist presentations, an art exhibition, drinks and desserts, and a silent auction, starting at 7 p.m. Featured artists from the Artist-Wilderness-Connection residence program include Montana artists Julie Wulf, Sandra Marker and Lois Sturgis, who stayed at a the remote Spruce Park Cabin in the Great Bear Wilderness. Tickets are $12 for the art event at the door, $18 dinner only (must RSVP) and $25 for the dinner and art show. To RSVP or for more information, call 387-3847 or e-mail exec@bmwf.org.
Boating class
Fish, Wildlife and Parks will hold a free boating education class at the FWP offices, 490 North Meridian Road, in Kalispell, on Thursday, Nov. 17, at 6:30 p.m. The class will include an overview of boating safety equipment requirements and the rules of safe operation. Participants must pre-register and read the boating manual prior to the class. Montana law requires youths 13 and 14 years of age to pass a boating safety course in order to operate a motorboat or personal watercraft without an adult on board. Students must be at least 12 years old to register. A parent or guardian must accompany students under 16. To register, call 752-5501 or go to the FWP offices.