Thursday

| March 11, 2010 11:00 PM

Whitefish Middle School drama students will perform “Jack and the Beanstalk” and “The Princess and the Pea,” two fairy tales for the price of one, in the Whitefish Middle School auditorium on Thursday and Friday, March 18 and 19, at 7:30 p.m. The plays are directed by teacher Glenda McGunagle and student Katie McGunagle. Tickets are $6 adults and $4 students and seniors, available in advance at Whitefish Middle School, Muldown Elementary School and Imagination Station in Whitefish and Kalispell. One dollar from every ticket will go to the auditorium remodeling project.

The Whitefish High School Music Department will present its second annual pops concert and swing dance, “An Evening in Paris,” at the O’Shaughnessy on Thursday, March 18, at 7 p.m. The first half will feature soloists and ensembles in instrumental jazz, voice, string and percussion, followed by a swing dance hosted by the Jazz Band. Tickets are $8 adult, $5 student or $20 family, which includes dessert and beverages, available at the door or from any high school music student.

The Crush Wine Bar will host the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce’s Gone Fishin’ social on Thursday, March 18, from 5-7 p.m. at their location above The Toggery on Central Avenue. There will be beer, wine and appetizers. For more information, e-mail crushwinebar@gmail.com.

The Flathead County Republican Women and the Glacier Pachyderm Club will sponsor a “meet and greet” opportunity for Republican candidates at the Hampton Inn, in Kalispell, on Thursday, March 18, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Montana State University’s extension program will present a horticulture seminar on “The buzz about beekeeping” by Whitefish Honey Bee Club president Scott Kelly in the Flathead High School lecture room on Thursday, March 18, from 6 to 8 p.m. Cost is $5, with proceeds going to the Flathead County Master Gardener Program.

A presentation on “Alternative Energy: Emerging New Technologies for the Flathead” will be presented in the Flathead Valley Community College’s Arts & Technology Building, Room 139, on Thursday, March 18, at 7 p.m. as part of the free Re-Powering The Flathead series. Mother’s Power, of Whitefish, will host the presentation. For more information, call Laura Damon at 7856-3967.

Friday

Whitefish School District 44 and Head Start will conduct free developmental screening of children in the Whitefish school district area from birth to five years at the school district office, in the basement of the Whitefish Middle School, on Friday, March 19, from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. and 1 to 3 p.m. This will include hearing and vision, speech and language, motor development and cognition, and other tests. For more information, call 862-8655.

Author and photographer Chris Peterson will present “100 Years, 100 Days in Glacier,” a photography exhibit, at Glacier Discovery Square, on Nucleus Avenue in Columbia Falls, on Friday, March 19, at 6 p.m. The exhibit reflects 100 straight days spent in Glacier Park. Photographs will be sold with proceeds benefiting the First Best Place organization and Discovery Square. Music will be provided by Nuevo Columbia. Food and drinks will also be provided, and a suggested donation will be taken at the door.

The Flathead Coalition will hold its 35th annual general meeting and potluck dinner at the Central School Museum, in Kalispell, on Friday, March 19, at 6 p.m. to celebrate the recent breakthrough in protecting the North Fork Flathead River and Flathead Lake from mining and energy development in British Columbia. Dave Hadden, the group’s president, will present the history of the Coalition since it formed in 1975 and explain the recent success. The event is free and open to the public. Each guest should bring either a main dish, salad or dessert, as well as plates and utensils. The museum will host a cash bar. For more information, call 837-0783 or 892-2446.

Habitat For Humanity of Flathead Valley will hold a benefit for Haiti at their ReStore, 215 West Idaho, in Kalispell, on Friday, March 19, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. All proceeds from sales at the store will go to the Haiti relief effort. For more information, call 752-2905.

The Whitefish High School Young Democrats will host a peace rally in protest of the War in Iraq on Friday, March 19, at 4 p.m. on the corner of Second Street and Spokane Avenue. A limited amount of materials to make signs will be available, but it is preferred that participants bring their own signs. For more information, contact Josh Schott at 250-9432.

The Flathead Valley Community Prom will take place at the Columbia Falls High School gym on Friday, March 19, at 8 p.m. with dancing to music by the Don Lawrence Orchestra and the Columbia Falls High School Columbians. Donations will be graciously accepted.

Saturday

The Whitefish Theatre Company will present The Klezmatics at the O’Shaughnessy on Saturday, March 20, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $30 and $27 available by calling 862-5371 or visiting online at www.whitefishtheatreco.org. Emerging out of the cultural scene of New York’s East Village in 1986, these Grammy winners are globally-renowned world music superstars who continue to explore new rhythms with the ever-vibrant Klezmatic spirit. The Klezmatics will also perform in a free concert for Flathead Valley senior residents and community members with disabilities at the O’Shaughnessy on Saturday, March 20, from 3-4 p.m. Free transportation will be provided, and reservations are not necessary, but people should notify Whitefish Theatre Company if they need special assistance by calling 862-5371 ext.222. For more information, call 862-5371 ext. 2 or e-mail carolyn@whitefishtheatreco.org.

Flathead Electric Cooperative will hold its 73rd annual membership meeting at the Christian Center, 255 Summit Ridge Drive, in Kalispell, on March 20 beginning at 10 a.m.

The March Madness 3-on-3 basketball tournament will take place at Whitefish High School on Saturday and Sunday, March 20-21with divisions for kids in grades 4-12. All teams are guaranteed six games. For registration and more information, visit school offices and the Universal Athletics store in Kalispell or call 862-0781.

Sen. Jon Tester will be the special guest speaker at the Flathead Democratic Party’s Spring Dinner at Kalispell’s Red Lion Inn on Saturday, March 20, with a candidate forum at 4 p.m. and a social hour at 6 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m. There will be a silent auction, and singer and songwriter Rob Quist will perform. Tickets are $50 per person available at Montana Coffee Traders in downtown Whitefish or by calling 752-0298 or 257-3753.

Sunday

The Whitefish Theatre Company’s final Black Curtain production will be the award-winning Canadian play “The Drawer Boy” on Sunday, March 21, and Monday, March 22, at 7:30 p.m. Playwright Michael Healey brings together a young actor and two middle-aged farmers in an amusing portrayal of rural-urban culture clash. Directed by Nancy Nei, the actors include Adam Pitman, Bruce Tannehill and Jim Mechem. Tickets are $8 available only at the door. For more information, call 862-5371 or visit online at www.whitefishtheatreco.org.

Monday

Marc Nevas, founder and director of Ananda Seva Montana, will talk on “Yogic Mysticism, Unlocking the Secrets of the Ancients Through Yogic Meditation,” at Rocks and Things in Whitefish on Monday, March 22, at 7 p.m. For more information, call 755-0138 or visit online at www.montanameditation.net.

Tuesday

The city will hold an informational meeting for businesses affected by the downtown infrastructure project on Central Avenue between 2nd and 3rd streets at the city council chambers in City Hall on Tuesday, March 23, beginning at 6 p.m. The construction work will take place this spring. Project engineers will be on hand to answer questions.

Wednesday

North Valley Toastmasters Club will meet in the Whitefish Community Center, 121 Second Street, on Wednesday, March 24, from 7-8 a.m. For more information, call 249-9937 or visit online at http://northvalley.freetoasthost.net.

The Flathead Valley Community College Reading Group will discuss “Someone Knows My Name: A Novel” by Lawrence Hill on Wednesday, March 24, at 6:30 p.m. Open to the public, the group meets monthly to discuss selected novels. The only cost involved is the purchase of the books. For more information or to sign up, call Sharon Randolph at 756-3981.