LOCAL ROUNDUP: Bibler tours offered next month

Tickets are now on sale for the Bibler Home and Gardens Spring Weekends and Mother’s Day Brunch.

Hosted by the Flathead Valley Community College Foundation in partnership with the Bibler Foundation, these events support student scholarships at FVCC.

The Bibler Home is known for its exquisite collection of antiques, sculptures and Persian tapestries and its vibrant gardens that have tens of thousands of tulips and daffodils accented with ponds, waterfalls, fountains, wooden foot bridges and other calming touches.

With the exception of privately arranged tours, the home and gardens are accessible only through the FVCC Foundation tours on select weekends in May and during July when summer flowers are in full bloom.

The Spring Weekends, featuring guided two-hour tours of the Bibler Home and Gardens, are May 7, 14 and 15 at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

Tours will include opportunities to address questions to the Bibler’s head gardener. Tickets are $15 per adult and $5 per child.

A special viewing of the Bibler collection of Persian tapestries and weavings, presented by Carol Bibler, is May 14 at 1:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 per person. This tour is not recommended for children.

In addition to the tours, the Culinary Institute of Montana at FVCC will present a gourmet Mother’s Day brunch in the Bibler Home May 8 from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Patrons will enjoy champagne mimosas made with freshly squeezed orange juice, apple-smoked Atlantic salmon, toasted bagels with cream cheese, capers and sliced local tomatoes, grilled Blue Point oysters, day boat scallops thermidor, pancakes Oscar, roasted Colorado loin of lamb with tabbouleh and minted aioli, quiche Lorraine, grilled fresh spring asparagus with prosciutto, FVCC Farm spring salad with Sicilian lemon white balsamic dressing, chocolate mousse cake with crème fraiche ice cream and ice tea and coffee service.

Guests will have the opportunity to explore the gardens on their own. Tickets to the brunch are $60 per person or $110 per couple.

Tickets for all events are limited and must be purchased in advance through the FVCC Foundation Office by calling 756-3632 or by visiting www.biblergardens.org.

The West Shore Community Library at 100 Bierney Creek Road in Lakeside is celebrating a donation of children’s books during a special event today from 4 to 5 p.m. at the library.

The donation of 145 new children’s books was made by Louise Redfield and a grant from the Libri Foundation.

Humanist group sponsors film showing today

The Flathead Area Secular Humanist Association will present the Richard Dawkins documentary, “The Enemies of Reason,” a skeptical look at psychics, alternative medicine and water witching, at 6 p.m. today at the ImagineIF Library, 247 First Ave. E. in Kalispell.

The event is free and open to the public, and will be repeated at the library at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 23.

For more information, visit the association’s website at www.flatheadsecular.com or find the association on Facebook.

Join Commuter Challenge in the Flathead Valley

Throughout May, ImagineIF Libraries is challenging workers across the Flathead to get to work by foot, bike or bus.

The Montana Commuter Challenge will be happening around the state, with local challenges hosted in several cities and communities. There is no cost to participate. At the end of May, every participant’s trips will be tallied and workplaces ranked. Winners get prizes.

Prizes and promotions in the Flathead include an individual grand prize of a bicycle donated by MAS Bikes in Kalispell.

The team prize will be a sailing trip on Flathead Lake, courtesy of Vento Racing, with beer from Kalispell Brewing Co. and wine from Brix Bottle Shop. Additional prizes and promotions will be added to the ImagineIF Libraries website as the challenge progresses.

In 2015, 28 teams took on the Montana Commuter Challenge with 125 overall participants. A total of 6,000 miles were commuted in the Flathead, saving just under 6,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from the air and burning about 295,000 combined calories.

ImagineIF Libraries completed 864 miles with 18 active riders and 224 total trips. ImagineIF Libraries will share Commuter Challenge experiences on Instagram and Facebook. Share your own with the tags #flatheadcommuterchallenge and #mtcommuterchallenge to join the daily hashtag challenge.

Registration and tracking will take place at www.mtcommuterchallenge.org. Contact Tony Edmundson at 406-758-5823 or tedmundson@imagineiflibraries.org.

The Montana Commuter Challenge is organized by Bike Walk Montana, The Department of Public Health and Human Services and PacificSource Health Plans.