Take a front row seat for 'The Audition'
The Sun Valley Opera and Community Library will host the documentary "The Audition: Opera Idol" on Thursday, Jan. 26, at 6 p.m. The event is free.
"The Audition" is an award-winning feature length documentary that takes the viewer behind the scenes at the famous Metropolitan Opera's National Council Auditions. Each year, thousands of hopefuls face their fears and compete for a chance of a lifetime to sing at the MET and win cash prizes.
"You take the suspense of the reality television show, American Idol, and translate that to classical voices, and you have an entertaining high-caliber vocal competition movie from 2008," said Sun Valley Opera President Frank Meyer.
Last year's winner, Michelle Johnson, will perform live at a winter concert of show tunes and romantic ballads with her fiancé, Brian Major, at the Sun Valley Opera House on Friday, Feb. 10.
Seating for the movie is limited. Call 726-0991 for information.
Piano classics take the stage
The Sun Valley Artist Series continues with "An Evening of Piano Classics" with St. Louis Symphony Orchestra pianist Peter Henderson joined by SVAS Artistic Director Susan Spelius Dunning.
The concert will be held Saturday, Feb. 4, at 7 p.m. at the Presbyterian Church of the Big Wood.
Selections will include works by Beethoven.
Tickets can be purchased for $35 for adults and $10 for students from Chapter One Bookstore and Iconoclast Books, both in Ketchum, or by visiting www.svartistseries.org.
Tread safely on 'Thin Ice' at The Center
Enjoy a beverage and guided tour of "Thin Ice: Journeys in Polar Regions" on Thursday, Jan. 26, at 5:30 p.m.
The exhibition at Sun Valley Center for the Arts in Ketchum includes artwork by six contemporary artists as well as historic photographs from early 20th-century expeditions. The multidisciplinary show has featured speakers James Balog, a National Geographic photographer, and author Greta Ehrlich. The Center in Hailey has exhibited a companion show of photos of the Arctic by Bellevue resident Ann Puchner along with artifacts from the Inuit culture collection of Sun Valley resident Page Klune.
Gallery hours Mondays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free and tours in Spanish are available. The exhibit closes Saturday, Feb. 11. For more information, call 726-9491, ext. 10.
Season of free snowshoe tours
Join rangers from the Sawtooth National Recreation Area for guided snowshoe tours through March starting this week.
Thursdays, starting Jan. 26 through March 29, meet at the Galena Lodge porch at 11 a.m. Participants will need snowshoes of their own or they can rent them on site. For details, call 727-5000 or 726-4010.
Family snowshoe tours of the North Fork of the Big Wood River will start at the SNRA headquarters north of Ketchum on Saturday, Jan. 28. Free for kids, adults might have to pay a $5 trail pass dependent on the day's route. Some free snowshoes are available, but registration is needed as there is limited space. These will be held Feb. 11, Feb. 25 and March 10 as well. For details call 727-5018 or 727-5013.
Two new additions to the tours this year will be held Saturday, Feb. 4, at 11 a.m. at the Galena Lodge porch and be led by environmental scientist Ann Christensen. Staff from the Environmental Resource Center will lead a tour March 18 at 11 a.m. Tours are free, but snowshoes are required. For details, call 727-5000.
Attend Ski Hall of Fame ceremony
The Sun Valley Ski and Heritage Museums will celebrate this year's honorees with live music, speeches and presentations Wednesday, Feb. 1, at Forest Service Park in Ketchum.
The public is invited to join in the party for inductees Dick Durrance, Warren Miller, Janette Burr Johnson, Pete Patterson and Michel Rudigoz, who were selected by the alpine committee and Nordic nominees Bill and Annie Vanderbilt, N'tala Skinner, Charley French, Hans Muehlegger and Jenny Busdon.
According to a press release from the museum, those chosen for the hall of fame are those who have excelled in their sport and given back to the greater Sun Valley community. The museum has dedicated an exhibition area to house plaques of the latest members.
For details, contact Megan Murphy Lengyel at 726-8118.
Feed winter's birds
With a season as confusing as this one has been, there are birds in need of a little extra support.
To help, the Sawtooth Botanical Garden is offering two classes designed to attract and feed the birds. Local birder Poo Wright Pulliam will teach about winter birds in the Wood River
Valley and what to plant to attract these birds to your garden on Thursday, Jan. 26, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. This class is $15 for members and $25 for nonmembers.
On Saturday, Jan. 28, from 2-3 p.m., a winter bird workshop will be held for children ages 4-10 with stations for children and parents to create birdhouses and feeders for our feathered friends. Materials are included. This class is $10 for members and $15 for nonmembers.
For more information or to register for the classes, call the garden at 726-9358. The garden is located at state Highway 75 and Gimlet Road south of Ketchum.
Grab a girlfriend and get spoiled for theatre
Ladies are invited to the Girlfriend's Cabaret Luncheon on Wednesday, Feb. 8, at the Elkhorn Springs Restaurant from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The fete is a fundraiser for St. Thomas Playhouse, a community arts organization that provides camps, programs and performing arts education.
Actors will provide entertainment through songs from 2011 productions like "Music Man" and a preview of this year's fall musical, "The King and I."
"Hot waiters" will be at the beck and call of all attendees, serving champagne and appetizers and a three-course Thai luncheon. Tickets are $125 ($95 is tax deductible.) For reservations, call Cherie at 726-5349.
Courtesy photo
