Community events for week of Feb. 28

‘Addams Family’

The Alpine Theatre Project Kids (ATP Kids), the educational outreach program offered by the Alpine Theatre Project, is holding auditions for its spring session, culminating in a production of the macabre comedy musical, “The Addams Family.”

Auditions for “The Addams Family” will be held on Tuesday, March 6 at 4:30 p.m. at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center, 127 Spokane Avenue in Whitefish. The session is open to all students in grades seven to 12. Students will be given material at the audition to sing. Classes/rehearsals will take place starting March 12 in Whitefish. Students will work with ATP Artistic Staff five days a week from 4-6 p.m. Performances will take place at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center on April 27-29.

The weird and wonderful family comes to devilishly delightful life in “The Addams Family.” This magnificently macabre new musical comedy is created by “Jersey Boys” authors Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, and Drama Desk Award winner Andrew Lippa (The Wild Party).

Taught by theatre professionals, over the course of six weeks, students work on a full musical production.

A $120 tuition fee is charged to help cover the cost of the program. Scholarships are available for families who require assistance.

Interested parents and students can contact ATP at 406-862-7469 or info@atpwhitefish.org for more information.

Solar talk

Climate Smart Glacier Country, the city of Whitefish, and community partners are hosting a workshop to help citizens understand the ins and outs of installing residential solar. The workshop will take place Wednesday, March 7 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Whitefish City Hall. For more information, visit http://climatesmartglaciercountry.org/?event=solar-ease-workshop

Softball

Columbia Falls Youth Softball Association registrations are being expected now. All area young ladies interested in softball and invited to register. The deadline is March 10. Registrations can be completed online, at www.wildkatsoftball.org. For questions, call Tangie at 253-6069.

Mountainfilm

Tickets are now on sale for the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation’s 2018 Mountainfilm on Tour, scheduled to stop in Whitefish on March 22.

This event will feature a number of short environmental and outdoor adventure films. Tickets cost $15 and proceeds benefit the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation.

Online tickets may be purchased until Sunday, March 18 at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3224411. Organizers anticipate that a limited number of tickets will be available at the door.

‘Behanding’

The Whitefish Theatre Co. is holding auditions for a Black Curtain theatre production of “A Behanding In Spokane” on Tuesday, March 6 at 6 p.m. the O’Shaughnessy Center in Whitefish. The north door at the back of the O’Shaughnessy Center will open at 5:45 p.m.

In this darkly comical work, the mysterious gun-toting Carmichael has been searching for his missing left hand for decades. Enter two bickering lovebirds with a hand to sell and a hotel clerk with an aversion to gunfire, and soon life and death are up for grabs.

The cast will be composed of three men (ages 18 to early 60s), including one African American role, and one woman (ages 18 to early 40s). No experience or preparation is necessary to audition. Pages from the script will be provided at the audition. Copies of the entire script can be previewed at all local public libraries.

Renee Frances Conn is the director for this production. As a Black Curtain show, actors will remain on book during performances and there will be minimal costumes and set. There will be maximum of nine rehearsals and one tech night on March 23. There are two performances over one weekend on March 24 and 25.

For more information, call 862-5371.

Special Olympics

The Special Olympics Montana — Glacier Area is hosting the Regional Winter Games at Whitefish Mountain Resort on Monday, March 5. Individual with intellectual disabilities will compete in alpine skiing, snowboarding and snowshoeing events. Volunteers are needed to assist with the event, which runs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. To volunteer, contact Outreach Director Aaron Gleason at 509-993-6841 or visit online at http://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b094daca72baaf49-2018

Moon ski

Glacier Nordic Club is hosting its final full moon community ski for the season on Thursday, March 1. Enjoy cross country skiing under the full moon on 12K of trails at the Whitefish Lake Golf Course. In the event of a cloudy night 4K of trails are lit. Free skiing (no pass fees) will start at 3 p.m. Ski rentals are available at the Glacier Nordic Shop for half-day rates starting at 3 p.m. and the shop will be open until 9 p.m. Visit glaciernordicclub.com or call 862-9498.

Audubon

The Flathead Audubon Society will provide an informative and entertaining program on loons on Monday, March 12 from 7-9 p.m. at the Gateway West Community Room, US Highway 2 West in Kalispell. Chris Hammond, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Regional Nongame/Mitigation Biologist in Kalispell will discuss the history of Common Loon conservation in Montana and summarize research from the Montana Loon Study in the early 1990s and the Loon Ecology Project from 2002 to 2008. He will share the successes and what he believes to be potential failures, as well as what we may expect to see in the future. Hammond is responsible for survey, inventory, management, and conservation of primarily nongame wildlife species. He also works on mitigation projects that involve conservation easements, acquisitions, and habitat restoration. His undergraduate and graduate work focused on the ecology of common loons in northwest Montana. In 2010, with collaboration from members of the Common Loon Working Group, he completed the Conservation Plan for Common Loons in Montana. Hammond is currently a co-chair of the Montana Common Loon Working Group. The meeting is free and open to the public. For more information go to www.flatheadaudubon.org.

‘Edward Tulane’

Three shows remain of the Whitefish Theatre Company’s extraordinary tale of “The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane”. Performed at the O’Shaughnessy Center in Whitefish, final shows for this magical young-actors production are on March 2 and 3 at 7:30 p.m. and on March 4 at 4:00 p.m.

Based on Newbery-winner Kate DiCamillo’s (“Because of Winn-Dixie”, “The Tale of Despereaux”) beloved book, “The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane” is a breathtaking story of finding friendship, finding yourself, and eventually finding your way home.

Tickets are $20 for adults, $18 for seniors, and $10 for students with reserved seating. Tickets can be purchased at the Box Office at 1 Central Avenue in Whitefish or by calling 862-5371. Box Office Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and one hour before a performance. Individual tickets can also be purchased online at www.whitefishtheatreco.org. This show is sponsored by Harlette, Underscore Art, and Flathead Electric. American Bank is sponsoring the education outreach for this show.

Fire talk

This winter local wilderness organizations are partnering to host the Wilderness Speaker Series.

The series brings timely and interesting wilderness topics to the public and is presented by the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation, the Montana Wilderness Association Flathead-Kootenai Chapter, the Northwest Montana Fire Lookout Association, and the Natural Resources Conservation Management Program at Flathead Valley Community College.

The series will be presented at the FVCC’s Art and Technology Building, in room 139. Lectures will be held monthly, February through April, from 7 to 8:15 p.m. All events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Carol Treadwell at exec@bmwf.org or 387-3847.

Events in the series:

On Wednesday, March 7 is “The Untrammeled Observatory: Lessons from Wilderness Fire” as presented by speaker Andrew J Larson, Associate Professor of Forest Ecology, Department of Forest Management, University of Montana. He will present results from several years of fire and forest ecology field research in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. Topics include the scientific and educational value of wilderness, the fire ecology of the Northern Rockies forests, and the importance of wilderness areas as a source of information to help society sustainably manage non-wilderness lands.