Community news
Grandparents Day
The North Valley Senior Center, 205 Nucleus Avenue in Columbia Falls, will hold an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast fundraiser on Grandparents Day, Sunday, Sept. 7, from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Earnings from the fundraiser will be used to seal coat the parking lot to preserve the pavement and make it a safe area for seniors. Pancakes, sausages, John’s special scrambled eggs, juice and coffee — all for $6. For more information, call the center at 406-892-4087.
Boys and Girls Club
The Columbia Falls Boys and Girls Club will be open for kids on Aug. 28, the first day of school, from the time of dismissal from school to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Membership forms can be picked up at both Ruder and Glacier Gateway elementary schools and at the Boys and Girls Club, 540 Fourth Avenue West, in Columbia Falls. Cost is $20 per child per month. An open house will be held at the club for parents to sign up and tour the facility on Aug. 25, 26 and 27. For more information, call 892-2697 or visit them on Facebook.
Farmers market
Neal Lewing will be the featured performer at the Columbia Falls Farmers Market, held at Pinewood Park next to the City Pool on Thursday, Aug. 21, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. The Thursday markets host local vendors offering fresh produce, baked items, crafts, arts and various eats and treats. Next week’s music will be provided by Tim Fast.
Vets Home
A volunteer field day for fertilizing lawns, planting and pruning trees and providing other landscape needs at the Montana Veterans Home in Columbia Falls will take place on Saturday, Aug. 23, starting at 9 a.m. This is the ninth annual service day for the Association of Montana Turf, Ornamental and Pest Professionals. All materials and labor is donated. Lunch will be provided. For more information or to RSVP, call Dudley’s Trees Inc. at 756-2565.
Africa talk
Marissa Getts, of Columbia Falls, recently returned from Africa and will give a talk on her adventures in Zambia and other countries at the Mormon Church in Columbia Falls on Sunday, Aug. 24, at 7 p.m.
Local author
The Montana Arts Council recently awarded Columbia Falls writer, blogger and educator Kathie Lapcevic a Strategic Investment Grant for the Arts. The grant will help Lapcevic attend the Food Blog Forum in Asheville, N.C. on Aug. 18-20. She is a nationally published freelance writer and recipe creator for Mother Earth News, The Costco Connection and other publications, creator of the http://homespunseasonalliving.com blog, and teaches classes on cooking, food preservation, gardening and more.
Celtic music
The Montana House in Apgar Village will host Willson & McKee, a nationally touring award-winning duo specializing in traditional Irish and Scottish and original acoustic music, on Thursday and Friday, Aug. 21-22, at 7 p.m. The concert will feature material from their nine recordings, including music from a recent tour to Scotland, with the sounds of dulcimers, guitars, Irish bouzouki, harp, accordion and bagpipes. Cost is $5 per person. Seating is limited so reservations are needed by calling 406-888-5393 or e-mailing 1960mthouse@qwestoffice.net.
Class of 1956
The Flathead County High School Class of 1956 will hold their annual dinner and get-together at the Elks Club in Kalispell on Thursday, Sept. 4, starting with an open bar at 5 p.m. and smorgasbord dinner at 6 p.m. Entree and cost are yet to be determined. The class has held the annual get-together for the past seven years, and last year’s event was attended by 160 class members and guests. RSVP at 752-2959 by Aug. 25. For more information, contact Patty Slack at 752-2959.
Gravestone preservation workshop
Nationally known gravestone conservator Jonathan Appell, of Hartford, Conn., will conduct a hands-on workshop at the Demersville Cemetery, in Kalispell, on Tuesday, Sept. 16, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The workshop is sponsored by the Montana Historical Society and the Museums Association of Montana. Appell will talk about monument types, gravestone repair, materials to use, how to reset and conserve monuments and maintaining historic cemeteries. Cost is $75 per person, which includes box lunch, handouts and supplies. Pre-registration is required online at http://tinyurl.com/ll3ll9a. For more information, e-mail Diana Carson at dcarson@flathead.mt.gov or Deb Mitchell at 406-444-4789 or e-mail dmitchell@mt.gov.For more information about Appell, visit online at www.gravestoneconservation.com.