There's no shortage of diversion over the next few days, but there are a few things off the beaten path worth checking out.
Those strolling the streets of Ketchum who have their interest piqued about how this captivating village got its start, should consider a visit to the Ski & Heritage Museum in Forest Service Park.
In the heart of Ketchum is a gem of a collection, with exhibits tracing the valley's evolution from pioneer mining village to ski town mecca. Current special presentations include "Sun Valley Serenade: Figure Skating in Sun Valley" at the Ski Museum and "Hemingway in Idaho: Mining in the Wood River Valley" and "Silver Creek: Past, Present and Future" at the Heritage Museum. The museum is maintained by the Ketchum-Sun Valley Historical Society and is open Monday through Friday from noon to 4 p.m. and on Saturdays from 1-4 p.m.
This is the last weekend of the season to drop by Bellevue's Historical Museum on Main Street, which is filled with artifacts on the history of Idaho's only charter city. If the lawbooks were abided by, a horse thief could still be hanged for that crime in Bellevue. For a little intellectual candy, drop by The Community Library in Ketchum on Thursday, Aug. 25, at 6 p.m. to hear Aaron Betsky's lecture tracing the emergence of space in modernism and showing how it continues to be one of humanity's highest and most elusive ideals. This program. "The Importance of Nothing, Space and Minimalism in Modernism" is a part of "How Much Less Is More" project on Minimalism in collaboration with the Sun Valley Summer Symphony and the Sun Valley Center for the Arts.
Stop by the Center for the Arts in Ketchum to explore the hub of the exhibition, "The Literal Line: Minimalism Then and Now."
Olympian skater Sasha Cohen will skate beneath the stars at the Sun Valley Lodge on Saturday, Sept. 3. Cohen won a silver medal for the United States in 2006, is a two time world silver medalist and a two-time U.S. medalist.
The California native and competitive skater brings the star-studded Sun Valley Ice Show season to a close with her performance. Tickets for the show are available at www.seats.sunvalley.com
Make time for fitness in the fun without giving up the fun. Try Zumba. It's a fitness craze that's doable by all ages and fitness levels. Instructor Lory Rainey invites newbies and diehards to meet at the Ketchum Town Square on Friday, Sept. 2, at 8:30 a.m. to join the crowd and try it out. Just show up in tennis shoes. A $5 donation is requested to help defer the cost of renting the space and to support the other instructors.
For the soundtrack for the weekend, take your pick of genre and just head toward the music in either end of the valley.
The city of Ketchum will host two free concerts at the Ketchum Town Square during the Wagon Days celebration.
Salt Lake City-based band Swagger will bring Irish rock on Friday, Sept. 2 at 7:30 p.m. This promises to be "great dancing and listening music by this high-energy, kilt-clad Irish group playing 'pub songs' with an American rock beat and a vocal accent from old Ireland," promised organizer Will Caldwell.
On Saturday, Sept. 3, Oka a traveling band from Australia will bring the "down under" roots-sound mix of the outback with didgeridoo and flute over universal drum rhythms. Oka arrived only recently in America and band members are anxious to share their kind of music, he said.
George King will play acoustics at Lefty's Deck in Ketchum on Sunday, Sept. 4, at 6 p.m.
Moving down the valley, the Hailey Farmers Market will be lively with the folksy local band No Cheap Horses. Enjoy the music while loading up on fresh, organic meat, produce and maybe an art or craft or two on Thursday, Sept. 1, from 2:30-6:30 p.m. next to Bank of America on Main Street.
Later Thursday, Dallas Alice brings its rootsy rock 'n' roll from Louisville, Ky., back to Mahoney's Bar and Grill in Bellevue. According to a press release from the band, it is "one of the loudest, drunkest, [most] foul-mouthed, and downright fun bands you are ever going to see."
Silver Dollar Saloon will get funky with real Chicago blues with the Swamp Cats, a ZZ Top-style blues band, Friday, Sept. 2., at 9 p.m. Up a Creek, celebrating its just released CD "Sifting Through the Pines," will perform for street dancing at the corner of Oak and Main streets in Bellevue on Saturday, Sept. 3. Kole Moulton and Lonely Road from Victor, Idaho, will play some good-old country music starting at 9 p.m.
Those who plan a visit to Redfish Lake this weekend can include a stop by the gathering of Plein-Air Painters of Idaho. More than 20 artists will have been painting the landscape for this eighth annual Redfish Lake Paint-Out, and those art works will be for sale on Thursday, Sept. 1, with a reception featuring music by Cole Wells at 5 p.m.
Stay the weekend or plan to head back up for local favorite the Kim Stocking Band, which will be playing Friday, Sept. 2, and Saturday, Sept. 3, at the Stanley Kasino Club from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.
New Transit will be playing back at Redfish Lake Lodge on Sunday, Sept. 4, from 4-7p.m. wrapping up the free summer series of concerts, Music from Stanley.
Jennifer Liebrum jliebrum@mtexpress.com
Family-friendly usuals and some not so
Children's Carnival and Wagons ho! Visit Giacobbi Square at Fourth Street and Washington Avenue in Ketchum between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. for mini-train rides, an astro-jump, a climbing wall, a bungee run and more. Ten dollars gets an all-day ride pass. And in the living history category, kids can get a feel for what life was like in the 1880s. Led by historians in period garb, children will be led through a re-created camp and watch demonstrations of the crafts and trades of pioneer trappers and miners. Local legend Ivan Swaner will lead tours of the ore wagons from the Big Hitch at the Ore Wagon Museum at 4 p.m.
Race a duck, raise a buck, and maybe win some great prizes. A bounce house and other kid fun, food, music and the dumping of thousands of yellow rubber ducks into the Big Wood River. The even is sponsored by the Ketchum Rotary and held in Ketchum's Rotary Park across from the Wood River Y on Warm Springs Road. Ducks can be purchased right up to race time. Cost is $5 per duck, six for $25 or 13 for $50. Proceeds benefit Blaine County Search and Rescue and go toward scholarships for local high schoolers. The fun starts at 1 p.m.
Consider a side trip to the Sawtooth Botanical Garden south of Ketchum where the raspberries are ripe and ready for the picking. Five dollars gets a pint of the to-go fruit. The garden is located off state Highway 75 at 11 Gimlet Rd. and is open from dawn to dusk. Don't rush off—grab a bench near the Garden of Infinite Compassion with the prayer wheel created after the Dalai Lama's visit in 2005 and enjoy the beautiful displays before the season changes.
In addition to two days of great music, and the parade at 1 p.m. Sunday, there's fun for the kids at Bellevue's Labor Day Celebration. Among the 30 antique and art vendors from all over the state, is great food and beverage vendors and children's activities including an obstacle course, bungee run, fun slide, train ride and jumpy castle at Bellevue Memorial Park all day Sunday and Monday.
There's also the 2nd Annual Fun Run/Walk that starts at 9 a.m. Monday. It's an easy course that any fitness level can do and you can sign up before the race start. The money goes to the Bellevue Fire Department.
Olympic silver medalist Sasha Cohen will perform at the Sun Valley Ice Show on Saturday, Sept. 3. Photo by Mountain Express
