Daybook
Wednesday, Jan. 1
• First Day Hike, 11 a.m., Lone Pine State Park, Kalispell. Meet at warming fire at picnic shelter for a free, one-hour, 1-2-mile guided hike. Some uphill. Kids and leashed dogs welcome. Bring water, snowshoes or ice cleats if you have them. Call Amy Grout, 755-2706, ext. 3.
• Annual Polar Bear Plunge, 2 p.m., The Raven, Woods Bay.
• Evergreen Disposal will not be running its regular route today. All customers will be served a day later.
• City of Kalispell Solid Waste Division will be picking up roll-out containers today. There will be no disruption of service. Have containers out by 7 a.m.
Thursday
• Red Cross blood drives: 1-5 p.m. Teakettle Room, Columbia Falls; 1-5 p.m. at the center, 126 N. Meridian Road, Kalispell.
Friday
• Red Cross blood drives: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the center, 126 N. Meridian Road, Kalispell; 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Red Lion Hotel and Kalispell Center Mall.
Saturday
• Columbia Falls Relay for Life Winter kick-off event, noon to 3 p.m., Marantette Park, Columbia Falls. Family fun. Hot chocolate, coffee, cookies.
Monday
• AARP Driver Safety class, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., The Summit, Kalispell. $14 fee ($12 for AARP card-holding members.) Call 751-4500.
• Red Cross blood drive, 1:30-5:30 p.m. at the center, 126 N. Meridian Road, Kalispell.
• Kila School board Negotiation Committee meets at 3:30 p.m.
• Free introductory talk for upcoming Mindfulnness-based Stress Reduction Course, 5:30-7:30 p.m., The Summit, Kalispell. All welcome. No registration required. Call Michelle Richards, 261-4112.
• Gateway to Glacier Trail organizational meeting, 6 p.m., Teakettle Room, 235 Nucleus Ave., Columbia Falls.
• Columbia Falls School board meets at 7 p.m., administration offices boardroom, 501 Sixth Ave. W.
Tuesday
• Creston School board meets at 7:30 a.m. Public welcome.
• Savvy Social Security Seminars: 9 a.m. to noon, Whitefish Chamber of Commerce, 307 Spokane Ave. Ste. 103; 6 p.m., Investment Centers of America Inc., 6410 U.S. 93 S., Whitefish. What baby boomers need to know to maximize retirement income. Free. Call Kim Taylor, 752-7232.
• Red Cross blood drive, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Evergreen Fire and Rescue.
• Swan River School board meets at 2 p.m., school library.
A look ahead
• Red Cross blood drive, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Jan. 8, Plum Creek Corporate Office.
• Parkinson’s disease support group meets 3-4:30 p.m., Jan. 8, The Summit, Kalispell. Matt Wenzel from Montana Vocational Rehabilitation will present. All welcome. Call Lois, 871-3767.
• Flathead Beekeepers meet 6:30 p.m. Jan. 8, Teakettle Community Center, 235 Nucleus Ave., Columbia Falls. All welcome. Call Kathy Britton, 752-9642.
• Flathead Outdoor Club meets 7 p.m., Jan. 8, The Summit, Kalispell. Leah Levitt will talk about some of her Montana hikes last summer. Coffee and tea served. Everyone welcome. Call Levitt, 892-6105 or 261-6874.
• Senior Tour and Tea, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Jan. 9, Hockaday Museum of Art, 302 Second Ave. E., Kalispell. Free admission for senior citizens. Coffee, tea and cookies served 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Docent-guided gallery tour at 10:30 a.m. Call 755-5268.
• Red Cross blood drive, 12:30-4:30 p.m. Jan. 9, Gateway Community Center and United Way.
• Opening reception for new exhibit, “The Japanese Woodblock: An Extension of the Impermanent,” 5-7 p.m. Jan. 9, 302 Second Ave. E., Kalispell. Free. Public invited.
• West Valley Naturalists meet 7 p.m., Jan. 9, West Valley School library, Kalispell. Independent logger Ken Swanstrom will talk about forestry in West Valley. Free. Everyone welcome. Call Scott Wheeler, 755-0003.
• Red Cross blood drive, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jan. 10, at the center, 126 N. Meridian Road, Kalispell.
• Glacier Pachyderm Club meets noon to 1 p.m., Jan. 10, Red Lion Inn, Kalispell. Frank Garner will talk about his experience in Afghanistan. Lunch available. Public invited. Call Mark Johnson, 253-7467.
• Flathead Audubon birding field trip along Flathead Lake through Polson and Mission Valley, Jan. 12. Meet to carpool at 8 a.m. at Somers Park ‘n’ Ride, intersection of U.S. 93 and Montana 83. Bring lunch, binoculars or scope and appropriate clothes. Free. All welcome. Call Leslie Kehoe or Bob Lee, 837-4467 after 5 p.m.
• John White Lecture Series presents a panel of longtime local residents on “Memories of Flathead Valley History,” 2:30 p.m., Jan. 12, Museum at Central School, 124 Second Ave. E., Kalispell. Tickets $6 for museum members; $9 for nonmembers. Limited tickets at door. Call 756-8381.
• Red Cross blood drive, 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Jan. 13, at the center, 126 N. Meridian Road, Kalispell.
• Flathead Conservation District meets 7 p.m. Jan. 13, USDA building, 133 Interstate Lane, Kalispell. Call 752-4220.
• Flathead Audubon meets at 7 p.m., Jan. 13, in the United Way conference room, Gateway Community Center, U.S. 2 West, Kalispell. Chris Peterson will show photographs commemorating 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act. Enter from west side of building. Free. All welcome.
• Kalispell Little Explorers program tours The Aquarium Shop, Kalispell, 11 a.m. to noon, Jan. 14. For ages 2-6; must be accompanied by adults. $7 for nonresidents, $5 for city residents. Call 758-7975.
• Red Cross blood drive, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Jan. 14, Kalispell Elks Lodge.
• Kila School board Latch-Key Committee meets at 4:20 p.m. Jan. 14, followed by a regular board meeting at 5:30 p.m.
• Kalispell Toastmasters Club 50th anniversary celebration, noon to 1 p.m. Jan. 15, downstairs conference room, First Interstate Bank, Kalispell. Mayor Mark Johnson will attend. Refreshments. Free. Public invited. Call Catherine Webber, 755-6781.
• Red Cross blood drive, noon to 5 p.m. Jan. 15, Applied Materials.
• Red Cross blood drive, noon to 5 p.m. Jan. 16, Whitefish Church of the Nazarene.
• Stand Up America’s Glacial Forum presents Debra Lann on “Common Core Education: The Rest of the Story,” 6:30 p.m. Jan. 16, Sykes’ Diner, 202 Second Ave. W., Kalispell. Donations accepted.
• Camp To Remember benefit dinner and canoe paddle auction for Tamarack Grief Resource Center, 6 p.m. Jan. 16, The Lodge at Whitefish Lake. No-host bar and live music, followed by dinner at 7 p.m. and live art paddle auction at 7:45 p.m. Tickets $75 each. Call Kris Carlson, 261-3160.
• 14th annual Black Tie dinner fundraiser for Ninepipes Museum, Jan. 16, Allentown Restaurant, Ninepipes Lodge. Museum tour 6 p.m., dinner 7 p.m. Live music, silent auction Guest speaker is Western American historian Richard Ellis. Tickets $45. Call 406-644-3435.
• Red Cross blood drive, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jan. 17, at the center, 126 N. Meridian Road, Kalispell.
• AARP Driver Safety class, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jan. 18, The Summit, Kalispell. $14 fee ($12 for AARP card-holding members.) Call 751-4500.
• AARP Driver Safety classes Jan. 20: 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Libby Christian Church. Call 406-283-7000; 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Troy United Methodist Church. $14 fee ($12 for AARP card-holding members.) Call 406-751-4500.
• Red Cross blood drive, 1-5:30 p.m. Jan. 20, at the center, 126 N. Meridian Road, Kalispell.
• Red Cross blood drive, 2-5:30 p.m. Jan. 21, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Kalispell.
• Flathead Municipal Airport Authority meets at 4 p.m., Jan. 21, Glacier Park International Airport board room.
• Love Lives Here presents a Martin Luther King Jr. Day program, “Let Freedom Sing: Songs That Changed America,” 7:30 p.m. Jan. 21, Flathead High School. Performances by members of Alpine Theatre Project, Crown of the Continent Choir, Glacier and Flathead High School choirs. Free; donations accepted. Public welcome. Call 863-2333.
• Red Cross blood drive, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Jan. 22, Qdoba Mexican Grill, Kalispell.
• Red Cross blood drives Jan. 23: 1-6:15 p.m. Marion Volunteer Fire Department; 1-4:30 p.m. Smith’s grocery, blood mobile.
• Red Cross blood drives Jan. 24: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the center, 126 N. Meridian Road, Kalispell; 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Walmart, blood mobile.
• Red Cross blood drive, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Jan. 25, Best Buy, blood mobile.
• Whitefish Winter Carnival world ski joring championships, Jan. 25-26, Whitefish Municipal Airport grounds. Opening ceremonies, 11:30 a.m. Jan. 25. Events start at noon daily. $5 parking fee benefits Human Therapy on Horseback.
• John White Lecture Series presents local author and climber Blake Passmore on “Climbing in Glacier Park,” 2:30 p.m., Jan. 26 Museum at Central School, 124 Second Ave. E., Kalispell. Tickets $6 for museum members; $9 for nonmembers. Limited tickets at door. Call 756-8381.
• Red Cross blood drives Jan. 27: 12:30-5:30 p.m., at the center, 126 N. Meridian Road, Kalispell; 2-6 p.m. Trinity Lutheran Church, Kalispell.
• AARP Driver Safety class, noon to 4 p.m. Jan. 27, North Valley Senior Center, Columbia Falls. $14 fee ($12 for AARP card-holding members.) Call 892-4087.
• Red Cross blood drive, noon to 5 p.m. Jan. 28, Polson Methodist Church.
• Red Cross blood drive, 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Jan. 29, Glacier High School.
• Flathead County Planning and Zoning office hosts a discussion on “Flathead County Lake and Lakeshore Protection Regulations, 9-11 am. Jan. 30, Earl Bennett Building, 1035 First Ave. W., Kalispell.
• Red Cross blood drive, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jan. 30, Whitefish High School.
• Red Cross employee blood drive, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Jan. 31, National Flood.
• Ribbon cutting ceremony for Cabinet Peaks Medical Center in Libby, noon Jan. 31, 209 Health Park Dr. RSVP to Kate Stephens, 406-283-7140 by Jan. 17.
• John White Lecture Series presents poet and storyteller Philip Burgess on “A Black Homesteader’s Struggle,” 2:30 p.m., Feb. 9, Museum at Central School, 124 Second Ave. E., Kalispell. Tickets $6 for museum members; $9 for nonmembers. Limited tickets at door. Call 756-8381.
• Flathead Outdoor Club meets, 7 p.m. Feb. 12, The Summit, Kalispell. Mitchell Leus will talk about his Missouri River float trip. Coffee and tea served. Everyone welcome. Call Leah Levitt, 892-6105 or 261-6874.
• Kalispell Little Explorers program tours Sweet Peaks, Kalispell, 10-11 a.m. Feb. 20. For ages 2-6; must be accompanied by adults. $7 for nonresidents, $5 for city residents. Call 758-7975.
• John White Lecture Series presents three sons of former Flathead County sheriffs on “Sons of Sheriffs,” 2:30 p.m., Feb. 23, Museum at Central School, 124 Second Ave. E., Kalispell. Tickets $6 for museum members; $9 for nonmembers. Limited tickets at door. Call 756-8381.
• Kalispell Little Explorers program tours Humane Society of Northwest Montana, Kalispell, 11 a.m. to noon March 20. For ages 2-6; must be accompanied by adults. $7 for nonresidents, $5 for city residents. Call 758-7975.
• Kalispell Little Explorers program tours Sweet No Wheat Bakery, Kalispell, 10-11 a.m. April 17. For ages 2-6; must be accompanied by adults. $7 for nonresidents, $5 for city residents. Call 758-7975.