Community news
Girl Scout meeting
The Girl Scouts will hold a public meeting on their state land lease on Lower Stillwater Lake at the Teakettle Community Room on Nucleus Avenue in Columbia Falls on Tuesday, May 1, at noon. Now celebrating their 100th year, the Girl Scouts have been leasing the Westana site since the 1950s, but the state is considering raising the lease from $5,000 a year to $25,000. For more information, visit online at http://savewestana.blogspot.com.
Ruder music
Ruder Elementary School students will present a musical compilation called “Glory of the West” in the school gym on Thursday, April 26, at 8:45 a.m. and 2 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. The students will also present a talent show with 25 acts at Columbia Falls High School’s Little Theater on Thursday, May 3, at 6:30 p.m. Tickets for the talent show are $5 adults and free for students.
School musical
The fourth-grade classes at Glacier Gateway Elementary School will perform “The Adventures of Lewis and Clark” in the Columbia Falls High School’s Little Theater on Friday, April 27, at 1:45 p.m. A reception for students, parents and guests will follow. The 35-minute musical will feature students in explorer, soldier and Native American costumes singing eight choreographed numbers. A morning matinee will be presented for Glacier Gateway students at 9:30 a.m. on April 27 in the Little Theater.
Free meals
The Columbia Falls Community Kitchen will serve free hot meals in the basement of St. Richard’s Catholic Church from April 27 through 30 beginning at 6 p.m.
Multi-faith concert
The Crown of the Continent Choir, a Kalispell-based community and congregational choir directed by Kevin Allen-Schmid, will present a free multi-faith concert at the O’Shaughnessy Center in Whitefish on Sunday, April 29. Doors will open at 6 p.m. for a silent auction and refreshments, and the program starts at 7 p.m. An offering will be taken. The 60-voice choir and their select group, The Headwaters Ensemble, will perform a variety of choral music from many faith traditions, including spirituals, dance numbers and anthems. Accompanist is Marlene Anderson. The opening chant sequence includes Buddhist, Hebrew, American Indian, Islamic and Gregorian chants.
Talk on fraud
Flathead County Sheriff’s Det. Lance Norman will present a talk about fraud at the North Valley Senior Center on Friday, May 4, from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. The center will hold its monthly potluck at noon. For more information, call 892-4087.
Chamber lunch
The Columbia Falls Area Chamber of Commerce will hold their general membership meeting in the North Valley Community Room, 235 Nucleus Avenue, on Tuesday, May 8, from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. As part of their tourism celebration, there will be a brochure exchange between members. State maps, visitor guides and the Chamber’s new brochure will be available. Lunch is $10. Reservations are not necessary.
Arbor Day
The Columbia Falls Arbor Day Celebration will take place at the corner of U.S. 2 and Veterans Drive on Friday, May 4, from noon to 2 p.m. with a commemorative tree planting and appearances by Woodsy Owl and Sprig Squirrel. Tree City USA information will be handed out along with free seedlings and a planting demonstration. Attendees can enter to win a gardening set and prizes from Western Building Center and Dollar Plus.
Barbershop concert
The Flathead Valleyaires will present their annual barbershop concert in the Glacier High School auditorium on Saturday, April 28, at 7:30 p.m. with music ranging from love ballads and patriotic numbers to classic hymns and Beatles tunes. Columbia Falls members include tenor Ed Folkwein and baritone Dan McMasters. Tickets are $12 at the door or $10 in advance, available by calling 755-1755 or at Glacier Wallflower Floral Shop, in Columbia Falls.
Superhost training
A Montana Superhost customer service training session, “Lost and Found in Montana,” will be held at Meadow Lake Resort on Tuesday, May 1, from 1 to 4 p.m. Trainer Lisa Jones, of Whitefish, will introduce useful resources, facilitate a map scavenger hunt, prompt discussions and share videos. To pre-register, call Karen Carter at 892-8720 or e-mail kcarter@meadowlake.com.
Fraud film
The Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance will sponsor a free dinner and movie, “Gold diggers: Investment fraud in the Treasure State,” at the Teakettle Community Hall, on Nucleus Avenue, on Tuesday, May 1, at 6 p.m. Dinner will be barbecue babyback ribs and chicken from The Back Room. RSVP by calling 1-800-332-6148.
Habitat fundraiser
Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, 401 Seventh Street West, in Columbia Falls, will sponsor its fifth annual pie and perennial plant sale and raffle to benefit Habitat for Humanity and Thrivent Builds from Saturday, May 12, from 8 a.m. to noon. Drop off times plants and pie donations are Friday from noon to 7 p.m. and Saturday starting at 6:30 a.m. For more information, call Elizabeth at 892-7789 or Our Savior’s Lutheran Church at 892-3784.
Fundraiser dinner
Human Therapy on Horseback will host their ninth annual dinner and auction, “Making Miracles Happen,” at the Hilton Garden Inn, in Kalispell, on Saturday, May 5, with the doors opening at 4:30 p.m. and dinner at 6:30 p.m. There will be live and silent auctions, a raffle, door prizes, a cash bar and music by Roy Wilhelm and the Sundowners. Tickets are $50 per person available by calling 406-881-4192 or online at www.fthflathead.org.
Family Forestry
The Family Forestry Expo will take place at Stoltze Land and Lumber Co.’s Trumbull Creek Educational Forest, north on Half Moon Road from U.S. 2 and Highway 40. On Saturday, May 12, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., there will be a free loggers lunch, a logging demonstrations, wildlife and forestry exhibits, a demonstration by the Flathead Valley Community College Logger Sports team and a forest walk with many different educational stops.
Summer music
The Columbia Falls Lions Club Summer Concert Series begins this year on June 21 Anyone or business interested in being a sponsor can call committee chairman Mark Johnson at 314-0200. The one-hour concerts will be held at the Don Lawrence Amphitheater in Marantette Park, in Columbia Falls, beginning at 7:30 p.m.