Pilot calendar: spring gear swap May 3

The Parks and Recreation department will be holding its first annual spring gear swap May 3 at the Roy Duff Memorial Armory from 8 a.m.- 3 p.m. All proceeds from this event will support the city’s youth ski programs. Drop off used spring gear on May 2 from 10 a.m.- 6 p.m. at the Armory. Consigners receive 80 percent back on their gear. The Parks and Recreation department will be accepting all types of spring and summer outdoor gear including but not limited to fishing, hunting (no guns please), camping, hiking, biking, boating, paddleboarding, climbing, golfing, skateboarding, baseball, soccer, and lacrosse gear. This year’s sponsors are Big Mountain Ski Club, Soroptimist International, Montana Coffee Traders and Piggyback BBQ. For more information or to volunteer for the event, please call 863-2472.

Sportsman and Ski Haus and Great Northern Cycles will host the annual spring mountain bike demo day Saturday at the Whitefish Bike Retreat on Beaver Lake Road from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Whitefish Bike Retreat and Beyond the Boundaries are putting together a kid-friendly mountain bike challenge. Bring your kids and their bikes to take a spin on a short time trial course. Multi-cultural wraps, bowls, gyros, salads, and burritos available for sale all day by Wrap and Roll Café.

The annual Project Whitefish Wine and Food Festival is set for May 7 at Grouse Mountain Lodge from 6-9 p.m. The annual event raises funds to support kids in the community through sports and the performing arts. All proceeds go to Project Whitefish Kids, the organization that maintains the Smith Fields Sports Complex for several sports teams, and the Whitefish Theatre Company. Seating is limited to 200. Tickets are $60 per person or you can sponsor an entire table for ten for $600. Purchase tickets at The Village Shop, Towne Printer, Imagination Station and the O’Shaughnessy Center. You can also purchase tickets online at www.whitefishtheatreco.org.

The Whitefish Chamber of Commerce’s annual awards banquet is set for April 30 at 6 p.m. at Bar W Ranch. The banquet is going Western this year as the chamber celebrates and honors the community’s top businesses and community leaders. Awards are presented for business of the year, tourism business of the year, volunteer of the year, chamber ambassador of the year and the Great Whitefish award. The event will include a Montana-style barbecue, music, dancing and door prizes. Awards are set for 7:15 p.m. with the hoedown beginning at 8 p.m.

The Whitefish Women of the Moose will be holding a benefit dinner on Wednesday, May 14 from 5-7 p.m. The “Italian splendor” dinner will benefit the community events support by the Women of the Moose. Tickets are $8 per person. Contact Pat Gilbertson at 862-3943.

A fundraising raffle to benefit the Whitefish High School senior party has been extended. A new Jeep Patriot from the Don K car dealership is being raffled off. Tickets are $100 each. Only 300 tickets are being sold. The drawing will be held on May 16. Tickets sold at Whitefish High School or Don K. Call 890-8516.

The American Red Cross of the Flathead Valley will be hosting a Whitefish community blood drive on May 15 in the gym at The Wave from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Identification is required and appointments are recommended. To schedule your appointment, call Jean at 862-4332. All Whitefish blood drives for the remainder of this year are scheduled on the third Thursday of odd numbered months at The Wave.

A “Fork it Over” community night fundraiser May 5 will benefit FarmHands. The event is at Three Forks Grill in Columbia Falls from 5-9 p.m. FarmHands is a group of farmers and consumers dedicated to increasing public appreciation of farming in the Flathead Valley. The group creates and distributing the FarmHands map and accompanying website. The detailed map and website shows the location and provides a description of more than 50 working farms. For more information, visit www.whoisyourfarmer.org. To make reservations call 892-2900.

Did you know that HALF of the world population doesn’t own a pair of shoes? Most of us have shoes sitting in the closet that we never wear. Donations of gently-used shoes and blankets are being collected until May 30 at the Whitefish Dairy Queen and the Whitefish Assembly at 1549 Karrow Avenue in Whitefish. Place your shoes in a plastic bag or tie them together and take them to one of the drop boxes. Shoes will be delivered to Provision International in Billings to be placed in containers and shipped worldwide. If you would like more information, email adanac@adanacsleds.com or call 406-881-2909. For information about Provision International, Share-A-Pair, go to www.shareapair.org or www.provisioninternational.org.

Rosella Mosteller will lead an ongoing Cultural and Art History Club meeting at Stumptown Art Studio from 10 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, May 13. The discussion will be centered on Montana artist Shawna Moore as a beginning point to an exploration of history, the person, medium, etc. The next group of discussions is intended for delving deeper into the history, technique, psychological, mathematical, and social implications of the life and times of American artist Norman Rockwell, European artist Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, and world artist Ai WeiWei. The discussion could be more interesting if one does research prior to the meeting. It is designed to be open to input from all attending. Sign up at Stumptown Art Studio with an annual membership or drop-in for $5 a visit.

Deadline for the Huckleberry Days Arts Festival poster contest is May 1 at 5 p.m. The poster can be created in the media the artist thinks best exemplifies the festival — think summer, art, huckleberries, mountains, Montana and Whitefish. The artwork must contain the following text: 25th Annual Huckleberry Days Arts Festival, August 8-10, 2014 and Depot Park, Whitefish. The poster will be used in print and online to promote the festival. In addition to the $200 prize for the winning artist, a “People’s Choice” award will also be given out to the poster/artist voted on by the public during the festival. For complete contest rules visit www.whitefishchamber.org or call 862-3501.

The Glacier Institute is holding its annual volunteer work day on Saturday, May 3. The workday will begin at 9 a.m. Volunteers are needed for cleaning, painting, light carpentry, and outdoor work. Volunteers are needed at both the Glacier Park Field Camp and the Big Creek Outdoor Education Center. Lunch and a group dinner will be provided. Tools are not required, but are extremely helpful. Interested volunteers should RSVP by contacting the Glacier Institute at 755-1211 or register@glacierinstitute.org.

Flathead Valley Roller Derby will hold a silent auction May 31 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Great Northern Bar in Whitefish. The auction will feature handmade items from skaters and other league members as well as donated items from businesses around the Flathead Valley. For questions contact Amy Weeks at aswegg@centurytel.net or 871-1870.

The Pachyderm Club guest speakers on May 2 will be Derek Skees, running for Public Service Commission, and Matt Rosendale running for U.S. House of Representatives. The meeting is at noon at the Red Lion Inn in Kalispell.

The Flathead Democratic Party and the Flathead Democratic Women will host the annual spring dinner fundraiser Saturday, May 3 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Kalispell. The featured speaker will be John Lewis, candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives. Come early for a meet and greet with Democratic candidates from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. followed by a social hour at 6 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m. John Bohlinger, candidate for U.S. Senate, will also be in attendance. Music by guitarist Jeff Arcel. Tickets are $50 through April 28 and $60 thereafter, with reserved tables of eight for $375. Call Nancy Fenner at 752-0298 for tickets or purchase them online at www.FlatheadDemocrats.com.

A Glacier Institute course on Glacier’s Harlequins is set for Saturday, May 17 at 8:30 am. The course will be led by instructor John Ashley. He has worked to conserve harlequin ducks in Montana, Alberta and British Columbia for many years. Register for the course by calling 755-1211 or online at www.glacierinstitute.org. This course is $65 per person. Courses are rated for skill level, the “Glacier’s Harlequins” course is rated “easy.” The group will walk about two to three miles along the Going-to-the-Sun Road and the elevation gain will be less than 100 feet.

The spring membership special for season tickets for Flathead Valley LIVE on Stage ends on May 15. The season features Wai Mizutani on violin, Matt Herskowitz playing the Steinway grand piano, Rob Verdi’s saxsational show, which will include members of local high school bands performing with him, and the fiddle/guitar duo of Alex DePue and Miguel De Hoyos. The special spring pricing is adult, $65, seniors age 62 and over $55, students $35 and families of any size $150. Order tickets from a community worker, online or by mailing a check to FVLOS at PO Box 894, Kalispell, 59903. For questions, call David at 837-1026, Betsy at 752-0605, Bob at 756-7937 or Danlynne at 756-6357.

Montana State Parks is presenting an edible and medicinal plant workshop at Lone Pine State Park on Saturday, May 3 from 11 a.m. to noon. Herbalist Tom Tracy from Swan Valley Herbs will take participants for a hike through the park to learn which plants can be used as natural remedies. For more information call the Lone Pine State Park Visitor Center at 755-2706.