Community briefs for May 15

Bag sale

The Soroptimist Thrift Haus will hold a spring bag sale from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 18. Fill a grocery bag for $5. All proceeds benefit local nonprofits with a focus on improving the lives of women and girls. The Thrift Haus is located at 303 First St. in Whitefish.

Band sale

The Whitefish High School Band Boosters will hold a parking lot garage-style sale on Saturday, May 18 from 9 a.m. to noon in the north high school parking lot. Come buy gently used items or purchase baked good and coffee for sale. For more information, contact WHS at 862-8600.

Bear Aware

A Spring Bear Aware Guided Hike is being held on the on the Whitefish Trail on Thursday May 23, 6-8 p.m. at Lion Mountain Trailhead. Join Whitefish Legacy Partners for a guided hike to learn about bear behavior and biology, how to recreate safely in bear country, what to do in an encounter, and practice using inert bear spray canisters Tis event is free and open to the public and is family friendly. Met at the Lion Mountain Trailhead at 6 p.m. and come prepared for an easy 1-2 mile hike. For more information about this hike and other scheduled outings, visit www.whitefishlegacy.org or call 406-862-3880 or email info@whitefishlegacy.org.

Dementia Care

A workshop presented by Kerry Nagel will be held on the subject of dementia care in the home on Wednesdays, May 22 and June 26 from 6-8 p.m. To sign up, visit whitefish-adult-ed.coursestorm.com. For information, call 612-231-5271.

Authors

The Authors of the Flathead is hosting several events in May.

On May 16, Dan and Joyce Miller will talk the nitty-gritty details on copyrighting with their presentation “Copyrighting for the Author” at FVCC, Room 118 in the Broussard Building from 7–9 p.m.

The open reading sessions will continue on May 23. Bring up to six pages (1,500 words) of a work-in-progress to read aloud and receive feedback from fellow members. Check the website for specifics on guidelines, at authorsoftheflathead.org. The Authors of the Flathead is a nonprofit that supports anyone who loves writing. Members range from novelists to non-fiction writers, screen to short story writers and poets to journalists.

Audubon

Flathead Audubon will offer another opportunity to view spring bird arrivals in the Smith Lake area on Saturday, May 18 from 8 a.m. until noon. The group will drive the Smith Lake Road looking for recently arrived sparrows, orioles, warblers and other breeding migrants. They will proceed to Smith Lake to look for waterfowl and other wetland species. There should be a good diversity of habitats and birds. This is primarily a driving trip with several stops to get out and bird. Bring binoculars and scopes and appropriate weather gear. For details and to sign up contact Cory Davis at 406 471 3314 or email piranga99@gmail.com. This trip is limited to 20 participants, is free and open to the public.

For more information, visit the Flathead Audubon website: www.flatheadaudubon.org.

Choral auditions

The Glacier Chorale conductor, Dr. Micah Hunter, invites singers in all voice ranges to audition for a spot in the 70-voice choir. He is especially interested in hearing baritone and tenor voices.

The auditions will be held on Friday, June 14 and Saturday, June 15. Potential singers will need to contact Dr. Hunter at micahai@hotmail.com to schedule an audition time on one of these two dates.

Auditions take about 30 minutes each and consist of a brief interview, vocal exercises, sight-reading, and some tests of basic musicianship. Auditions will take place at the Glacier Symphony and Chorale offices at 69 N. Main Street in Kalispell.

The Glacier Chorale will perform on three concert weekends during the music organization’s 37th concert Season. The first will be held on Nov. 9-10 and feature the entire ensemble in a selection of choral music. The second will be the beloved classic “Handel’s Messiah - Valley Tour” in three Flathead Valley communities on Dec. 6-8. The Chorale finale will be April 25-26, 2020 with Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, a magnificent mass that is rarely performed and highlights four voice soloists along with the full Glacier Orchestra.

Occasionally, members of the Glacier Chorale have been invited to perform in prestigious events. In December of 2018, 20 members of the Chorale went to New York City to sing at Carnegie Hall where they performed Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 “Ode to Joy” and Choral Fantasy under Maestro Jonathan Griffith under the auspices of Distinguished Concerts International.

For additional information about the Glacier Symphony, orchestra and chorale visit www.glaciersymphony.org or call 406-407-7000.

Library program

A program about the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument will be presented by the Friends of the Missouri River Breaks Monument at the Whitefish Community Library on Monday, May 20 at 7 p.m. the monument area comprises 375,000 acres of public land in central Montana. The 149-mile Upper Missouri National Wild and Scenic River flows through the monument.

Glacier Park volunteer day

Glacier National Park Volunteer Associates is sponsoring a Volunteer Work Day in Glacier Park for members and non-members on May 18. This is an opportunity to spend time working on projects covering a wide range of park activities including work at the park’s Native Plant Nursery, preparing the Artist-in-Residence cabin for the summer and other GNP projects. This is a great way to help the park and meet people with similar interests — volunteering in the park. Meet at the Community Building (look for signs near park headquarters) in West Glacier at 8:30 a.m. Bring along water, lunch, work clothes and gloves. The Glacier National Park Volunteer Associates is a non-profit, all volunteer official park partner with no paid staff. RSVP to gnpvolunteers@gmail.com so the group can know how many projects to schedule.

FVCC kids college

Flathead Valley Community College’s Continuing Education Center reminds parents that Kid’s College classes keep children and teens engaged in meaningful learning throughout the summer. Kid’s College offers a variety of week-long morning and afternoon courses beginning June 10 and concluding August 16.

There are still spots available in several classes, including “Dr. Seuss’ Sneetches,” “Beginning Tennis,” “Japanese Language and Culture” and more.

This year’s Kid’s College schedule also includes an expanded lineup of Black Rocket digital arts camps for children who will be entering grades 3 to 9 this fall. Black Rocket camps such as “Make Your First Video Game,” “Minecraft Designers,” “ROBLOX Makers” and others are designed to bring students’ ideas to life in a fun, hands-on learning environment.

For additional youth camp information, including dates, times, cost and registration forms, visit www.fvcc.edu/kids-college.