Community briefs for Dec. 18

Reading

Reverend Canon Bradley S. Wirth will hold a reading of A Christmas Offertory, on Wednesday, Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. at All Saints’ Episcopal Church.

A Christmas Offertory is Wirth’s original work which centers around a homeless man left with no hope, and a handful of animals who are drawn together in a most unlikely way on Christmas Eve.

There is no charge for admission, but in keeping with the theme of the evening’s reading, people are welcome to give an offering which will benefit RezQ Dogs. RezQ Dogs is a nonprofit organization located just east of Havre in north central Montana. They are dedicated to finding homes for abandoned and unwanted dogs from the Rocky Boy and Fort Belknap Indian reservations.

The church is located at 2048 Conn Road, Columbia Falls, just 1/8 mile south of Montana route 40, halfway between Whitefish and Columbia Falls.

Refreshments will be served during intermission and following the reading in Memorial Hall adjacent to the church. For more information email the church office at allsaintsmt@gmail.com or call 406-862-2863.

Ice Show

Glacier Skate Academy and Stumptown Ice Den are hosting Christmas on Ice on Saturday, Dec. 21 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 22 at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the ice rink.

2014 Olympic Silver Medalist and Canadian National Champion Dylan Moscovitch will be featured, along with skaters Kristin Cowan, Sean Wirtz and nationally-ranked pairs team Kamden and Kayla Black.

Tickets are available at the door or at www.glacierskateacademy.org

School Farmers Market

Whitefish Middle School fifth-graders will be holding a Farmers Market on Wednesday, Dec. 18 from 4-6p.m. at the Center for Sustainability and Entrepreneurship on the high school campus.

The market is a culmination of a multi-day program at the center where fifth-graders in conjunction with high school agricultural education students have been creating their own business model and growing microgreens and sprouts to sell. Proceeds will support the CSE and local nonprofits of their choosing.

New Year’s Eve Party

Funk band 20 Grand is hosting a New Year’s Eve Party on Tuesday, Dec. 31 at the O’Shaughnessy Center. DJ Vladimir Computin will open the evening with music beginning at 9 p.m. followed by 20 Grand, and music runs until 2 a.m. Re-entry is allowed. Complimentary Bonsai Brewing beer, wine and coat check. A food truck, photographer and selfie backdrop will be on site. Limited supply of tickets available at Bonsai for $75, or online for $75 plus a $5 service charge. Limited tickets will be available night of at the door for $90

To purchase tickets, visit www.20grandfunk.com.

Bird Count

It is December and time for the annual Christmas Bird Count. This is the longest running citizen-science project in the world, and you are invited to participate! Veteran birder and counter Josh Covill will present an extraordinary program at the regular Flathead Audubon Society meeting on Monday, Dec. 9, at the United Way Conference Room in Kalispell from 7-9 p.m. Covill’s program will focus on likely birds to be seen, identification tips and counting techniques. He may even have some predictions on new additions to the lists. Two large counts dominate the Flathead — the Bigfork count and the Kalispell count. The 21st annual Kalispell count will be on Sunday, Dec. 29 and the 46th annual Bigfork Christmas Bird Count will be held Saturday, Dec. 14. Both count compilers (Craig Hohenberger and Pete Fisher) will be present at the meeting to sign people up and answer questions. Information about other counts in the area will also be available at the meeting. Flathead Audubon meetings are free and open to the public.

For more information, go to www.flatheadaudubon.org.

Writing contest

The Authors of the Flathead has opened their annual writing contest for all Flathead-area high school students, including home-schooled students. The deadline for submissions is March 13, 2020. The two categories are short story and poetry. Cash prizes are awarded. Short story first place: $400; second place: $300; third place: $200. Poetry first place: $300; second place: $200; third place: $100.

First prize winners also receive a scholarship to attend the Flathead River Writers Conference Sept. 19 and 20, 2020.

Submission guidelines and rules are available from high school English instructors and school writing centers, or on the Authors of the Flathead website at www.authorsoftheflathead.org

Christmas trees

People planning on finding a Christmas tree on tree Flathead National Forest can purchase a $5 tree permit online or at a Flathead National Forest office in Kalispell, Bigfork, or Hungry Horse. Flathead National Forest is one of 13 national forests participating in the online permit system through Open Forest.

Fourth graders are eligible for a free tree permit as part of the Every Kid Outdoors initiative by printing out an Every Kid Outdoors pass voucher from the program’s website, and bringing it to a Flathead National Forest office to exchange for a permit. Every Kid Outdoors tree permits cannot be obtained via Open Forest.

People should pay attention to the species of trees available for cutting, and take a moment to review guidelines to ensure that harvest activities improve forest health.

Christmas tree permits purchased online must be printed and are only valid for trees harvested from Flathead National Forest.

For more information about Christmas tree permits, please call 758-520 or to purchase visit https://openforest.fs.usda.gov/christmas-trees/forests/flathead

‘Christmas Story’

The Bigfork Playhouse Children’s Theater presents the stage version of “A Christmas Story” on Dec. 20 and 21.

This classic holiday tale centers on a mischievous, bespectacled boy, Ralphie, who dreams of getting a BB-gun for Christmas. In the weeks before the big holiday, Ralphie, his friends and his family get into all kinds of situations, including run-ins with a bully, a tongue stuck to a flag pole, a bar of soap in the mouth, a garish leg lamp, a major award and a Chinese Christmas dinner. With a brilliant musical score that will make this a Holiday extravaganza.

Performances will be at the Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts on Friday and Saturday Dec. 20 and 21, at 7:30 p.m.

Regular ticket prices are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors, $9 for students and $8 for children under 10 and can be purchased online or at the Box Office one hour prior to performances.

This production is fun for the entire family. For more information, call 837-4886 or visit www.bigforksummerplayhouse.com.