January 9 Community Events

Gardening Preparation and Strategies

The Swan Ecosystem Center will host their second annual gardening program at the USFS Condon Work Center on Jan. 24 from 7-8:30 p.m. Long time local gardeners, Cookie Beers, Jan LaPlant, Leanna Grubaugh and Roberta Stroden are among the local gardeners invited to share their tips and strategies for raising produce in the Swan. Their favorite references and web sites will be part of discussion.

The program is geared for beginners and novice gardeners to benefit from expertise specific to the long winter/short summer growing season in the Swan and surrounding areas.

There is no fee for the meeting, but donations will assist SEC’s education program. The sign up deadline is Jan. 18. For more information and to sign up, call the Swan Ecosystem Center at 754-3137.

Pachyderm Club

The Glacier Pachyderm Club will meet at the Red Lion in Kalispell on Friday, Jan. 11 and 18 at noon.

Their Jan. 11 meeting will not have a speaker and will focus on regular business.

Their Jan. 18 meeting will feature guest speaker Will Deschamps, the State GOP Chairman. He will speak about the state of the GOP in Montana and the work and goals of the party in the coming two years as well as answering questions from the audience.

For more information, call club president Mark Johnson at 253-7467.

Children’s Theatre Fundraising Continues

The raffle for an iPad Mini held in conjunction with the Bigfork Children’s Theatre production of “A Christmas Carol” last month was won by Stephanie Gulick from Kalispell. The raffle generated $1,200 and combined with donations in the fourth quarter of 2012 brings the fund’s proceeds to $21,000.

The funding target is $100,000 to exercise an option by the end of 2014 for partial ownership of the center on Grand Ave. in Bigfork.

For more information, contact Brach Thomson at pct@bigforksummer playhouse.com or Dennis Yarbrough at 837-6991.

Bigfork Area Democrats

The Bigfork Area Democrats will host the Flathead County Democratic Party/Central Committee for their regular meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 15 at the Swan River Community Hall, across the road from the Swan River School on Montana 83.

Spaghetti will be served prior to the meeting at 6 p.m.

There will be a speaker at 7 p.m. to discuss the agriculture economy in Montana and the Flathead Valley.

To RSVP, contact JoLynn at 756-8992 or jlyenne@gmail.com by Sunday, Jan. 13.

Blacktail TV

changes

Residents of Polson, Bigfork, Kalispell and the west shore of Flathead Lake who use Blacktail TV will be losing several channels this month.

Polson — KAYU 28.1, FOX, and KXLY 4.1 ABC.

Kalispell — KAYU 28.1, FOX 28.2, KXLY 4.1 ABC, and 4.2 ME TV.

For more information, call Blacktail TV Tax District President Steven Fite at 249-3251.

Speech and Drama seeks judges

Bigfork High School needs volunteer judges for the Northern B/C Divisional Speech, Drama and Debate meet on Saturday, Jan. 19. Judges should be at Bigfork Elementary School by 8 a.m. and can stay for a half-day until 12:30-1 p.m. or full-day until 5 p.m. Half-day judges participating in the later half need to arrive by 12:30 p.m.

A judges clinic will be held at BHS on Thursday, Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. in room 209. Instructions on how to judge each round will be given out during the tournament.

For more information, email head coach Charlie Appleby at charliea@big fork.k12.mt.us or assistant coach Shannon Appleby at shannonapples@hotmail.com or call 837-7420 ext. 242.

Old Time Fiddlers

The Montana Old Time Fiddlers will be holding their monthly gathering at the Bigfork Inn, 604 Electric Ave., on Saturday, Jan. 12 from 2-5 p.m.

Participants can bring fiddle, guitar, banjo or related instrument; players of all levels are welcome to join.

Cowabunga Variety Show Auditions

Friends of Bigfork Schools is holding auditions for the 11th annual Cowabunga Variety Show on Jan. 22 and 23 at the Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts from 3:30-5:30 p.m.

This year’s theme is “Lepre’Cow’s Pot o’ Gold,” inspired by the St. Patrick’s Day weekend the show is scheduled for. Performers are encouraged to incorporate St. Patrick’s Day themes into their talent act, but it is not a requirement.

Acts of all varieties are welcome, as long as it’s creative, but should aim to entertain all ages and be about 1-3 minutes long.

Adults, students, children, singles or groups are all welcome to audition.

A large audience is anticipated for the show, and only 10-15 acts will make the cut along with the specially invited guest performers.

Show proceeds support school and youth programs in Bigfork.

Audition sign-up forms are available at the Bigfork Elementary School office or can be emailed.

For more information call Director Diana Rahdert at 250-5594 or email diana@montanasky.us.

January Driver Safety Classes

NW Montana AARP Driver Safety Classes are scheduled throughout the valley for the month of January. The following are the dates and locations.

• Jan. 14 — At the Troy United Methodist Church in Troy from 8 a.m. to noon. Call 293-0100 for a reservation.

• Jan. 21 — At the Libby Christian Church in Libby from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Call 283-7000 for a reservation.

• Jan. 26 — At The Summit in Kalispell from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Register at 751-4500.

• Jan. 28 — At the North Valley Senior Center in Columbia Falls from noon to 4 p.m. Register at 892-4087.

Library Open House

A community open house will be held on Jan. 11, 4-6 p.m., at the Main Library in Kalispell. All ages are invited to tour the newly remodeled library, kick off the library’s new Friday evening hours and enjoy refreshments.

For more information about FCLS services and locations, visit www.flat headcountylibrary.org

Swan River Community Hall Board Meeting

A public meeting for the Swan River Community Hall Executive Board will be held Tuesday, Jan. 15 at 6 p.m. in the Swan River Community Hall.

New officers will be elected for the year and the board will review the by-laws of the organization. Public input and participation is welcome.

The Swan River Hall is on the corner of Swan River Road and Montana 83.

Landscape Raffle for BHS senior class

Bigfork High School’s senior class is raffling off a $5,000 extreme landscape makeover. Cost is $20 per ticket or six tickets for $100 and only 750 tickets will be sold. Tickets can be purchased from any BHS senior. The raffle drawing will be held April 16, and landscape work will be done May 18.

For more information, call Dwight or Anne Lamm at 755-1155.