Comedy with Ralph Harris to benefit the Y
Ralph Harris, host of the new culinary competition “My Momma Throws Down,” on the TVOne network, is billed as one of today’s hottest comedic talents.
Harris has been featured on “The Tonight Show” starring Jay Leno and “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.” He is probably best known for his starring role in the ABC-TV sitcom “On Our Own,” which aired during the popular TGIF block on Friday nights.
He will be performing at the Wood River Community YMCA 2013 Annual Classic on Sunday, Aug. 18, as part of a fundraising event that includes a golf tournament at Sun Valley Golf Course, and dinner provided by chef Cristina Cook at a private home in Greenhorn, north of Hailey. Tickets are $300 per guest.
The golf begins at 8 a.m. with lunch and awards and prizes. The cost is $500 per player or $2,000 for a team of four and a miracle putt for $25 per player.
Advanced reservations are required: Call 727-9622.
Free film screening tonight
“Wolf: Return of a Legend,” will be screened at the Light on the Mountains Spiritual Center south of Ketchum tonight, Aug. 14, at 7 p.m.
The free film will be introduced by an associate producer, Karen McCall. The 47-minute film includes intimate footage of wolves interacting with their families and other fascinating behavior.
The center is at 12446 Highway 75, south of St. Luke’s Wood River.
Meet the ‘Reptile Guy’ at library
The Hailey Public Library’s summer reading season will culminate in a live animal show featuring Corbin Maxey, also known as “the Reptile Guy,” at the Community Campus in Hailey on Thursday, Aug. 15, at 3 p.m. The event is free.
Maxey is a 23-year-old animal expert specializing in reptiles.
Youth Services Librarian Jeanie Johnston said “Corbin is a perfect pick for this year’s finale because his show matches our Summer Reading themes: Dig into Reading and Beneath the Surface. He’s also ambitious about making learning fun.”
Hailey library offered three “read for fun” Summer Reading programs. The first-through-third-grades and fourth-through-eighth-grades groups received weekly rewards when they read for two or three hours, respectively.
An additional 29 parents registered to participate in a pilot program called the Kindergarten Reading Initiative. Representatives of the Lee Pesky Learning Center shared early-literacy skills with parents while children enjoyed a lively story hour with Young Children’s Librarian Lindsay Kavanagh.
Author Dennis Higman presents new novel
Local author and feature writer Dennis Higman will give a free presentation at The Community Library in Ketchum on Thursday, Aug. 15, at 6 p.m. on his most recent published novel, “Dreams of Appaloosas: A Love Story.”
Higman said the book was inspired by the experience of living in the remote high-mountain desert near Sun Valley with only his wife, Lee, an artist, their dogs, horses, wildlife and wandering spirits of the Shoshone Indians who hunted there thousands of years ago.
“It’s the kind of place where imagination thrives and spirits ride the wind,” he said. “We were surrounded by wild animals and birds with a relentless will to survive, and every once in a while we came across pottery shards and magnificent arrowheads, all of which got me to thinking about what we call reality.”
“Dreams of Appaloosas” tells the story of Allison, 37, a successful California painter and avid horsewoman who is refusing to accept her husband’s death or give up their dream of an Appaloosa sanctuary to honor Nez Perce Indians murdered on their ranch at the famous Battle of Big Hole. Instead, she creates an alternate world through paintings, letters and dreams so she can carry on their love affair for eternity.
Higman is the author of two previous novels, “Pranks” and “Laura Jordon,” and, with his wife Lee, wrote, “Dot’s Story,” a children’s book about their shelter dog.
For details and more information, email dennis.higman@gmail.com.
Join ‘Standing with Bowe’ Prayer Run
Preparations are under way for a symbolic group motorcycle run Saturday, Aug. 24, in support of captive Hailey soldier Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.
Bikers are being summoned from points as far as Pocatello and near as Twin Falls.
There are several staging areas along the way, with the end meeting spot being Hop Porter Park in Hailey by about 1 p.m.
For details, call X-Ray at (208) 709-2317.
Bergdahl, who was raised in the Hailey area, was captured in the Paktika province of Afghanistan on June 30, 2009. The circumstances surrounding his capture remain unclear.
Big Lake Paddle Quest to benefit charities
Mountain Niceness Production’s Danny Walton will attempt a trio of accomplishments on a paddleboard this month.
“It’s a series of three stand-up paddle board events that will take place to raise funds and awareness,” Walton said, “Crossing Lake Erie from Canada to Cleveland, 30-miles, has never been done on a paddleboard.”
For more information on the beneficiaries, visit Wood River MS Walk at www.nationalmssociety.org, St. Baldrick’s Foundation www.stbaldricks.org and Camp Rainbow Gold www.camprainbowgold.org.
In addition, the professional skier and now avid paddleboarder will circumnavigate the Sawtooth Lakes—Alturas, Pettit, Redfish and Stanley lakes—at a total of 22-miles, as well as 77 miles around Lake Tahoe.
“I wanted an opportunity to give back to great organizations and help to raise funds for them,” he said. “I love the challenge of these adventures because it’s a new sport. This is my good will. I have been lucky to do all the things I love to do, which includes skiing and mountain climbing, and I want to give back.”
For more details on the event and to donate, visit www.mountainniceness.com.
