etc. April 15, 2010

Oakesdale students plan art festival at Empire

An art festival featuring the work of Oakesdale students will be at the Empire Theater in Tekoa April 22 beginning at 7 p.m.

Oakesdale art students, music students and English students will present their work throughout the night, both on and off the Empire’s stage.

Refreshments will be served at the intermission. The event is free, but donations are welcome, said Oakesdale Art Instructor Patty Mills. Proceeds go to the Oakesdale honors arts club, with an eye on one day attending an art field trip or another event to enrich club participants.

Students will present choreographed dance, short stories, hand-written guitar music and poetry readings.

A gallery of honors art students’ work and a presentation of art created by students in the seventh through 12th grade will be on display.

Nicole Tafflinger will sign book at Bank Left

Longtime Pullman artist, teacher, and now author, Nicole Tafflinger, former owner of the Nica Art Gallery in Pullman, will be signing her book, Season of Suffering - Coming of Age in Occupied France, at The Bank Left Bistro Friday, April 23, 2010. Nicole’s book, a memoir, describes her experiences as a young woman during the Nazi occupation of France during World War II. Nicole grew up in Nancy, France, where her parents operated a restaurant.

The signing will be between 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. The Bistro will also exhibit Nicole’s oil paintings and some of her recent work. Her paintings are in collections around the world. There will be live music during the signing, and the Bistro will feature a French dinner that evening.

Clubs & Youth Groups

Athenaeum

April 16 is the date for Athenaeum’s annual Guest Day. It will be at 1 p.m. at Peace Lutheran Church. Guest speaker will be Kristie Kirkpatrick, director of Whitman County Library.

The March 5 meeting of Athenaeum was at the home of Pauline Gebhardt. Members welcomed guests Dr. Shirley Richardson and Julie Womack. The program was given by Mary Ann Mitchell who reviewed the book “Seven Brave Women” which follows seven generations of women in one American family. Mary Ann said she enjoyed sharing this book and her own knowledge of genealogy research with the group.

The March 19 meeting was at the home of Dorla Dean Scholz. During this spring business meeting committees provided reports of their activities. Chris Kackman gave the program on the book “A Gathering of Lace.”

The April 2 meeting was at the First Baptist Church with Maxine Lange as hostess. The program was given by Marilyn Harder who reviewed the book “Twenty West–Great Road Across America”. Marilyn actually met the author, Matt Nelson, in Turkey in 2008. The book talks about people and places on Highway 20 from Boston, Mass., to Newport, Ore.

Vice President Sharon Helmick chaired the meeting and welcomed new members Kathy Davis and Julie Womack.

Garfield/Palouse FFA

FFA teams from Garfield-Palouse, Lind, Moses Lake, Rosalia, and Wilson Creek traveled to Moses Lake March 24 to participate in the State Agronomy Competition which consists of a series of tests such as grain grading, soils, plant, insect, and machinery identification, and general knowledge. The maximum score for each individual is 650 points. Each team consists of four people and together they perform a team activity worth 600 points.

Lind’s number-one team had the high score for the day with 2285, followed by Garfield-Palouse with 2088, and Lind’s second team with 2079. From Gar-Pal, JB Lange had 422 points to place fifth place. and Garret Pfaff 409 to place seventh. Blake Slocum scored 350 and Ben Weagraff 344.

Garfield-Palouse FFAers March 26 competed in sub-district events at Asotin. Competitors in the creed competition were Sarah Wilson, Holly Leendertsen, and Cassie Thompson/ who received 4th, 5th and 6th, respectively.

Rituals team included Cassie Thompson, president, Sarah Wilson, vice president; Courtney Rose, sentinel; Hannah Neibergs, reporter; Wyatt Mitchell, treasurer, and Holly Leendertsen, secretary. They placed second.

The two Gar-Pal contestants in prepared speaking were Katie Dill and Ethan Ashcraft. Katie placed third with a speech on the national animal identification program. Ethan’s speech was about alternative fuels.

Extemporaneous speaking entrants were Chad Redman, Missy Cochran, and Heidi Jamison. Chad placed fourth with a speech about educating urban lawmakers on the importance of agriculture. Missy earned 5th with her speech about genetically modified organisms, and Heidi placed seventh with a talk about the future of agriculture in Washington State.

The parliamentary procedure advanced team of Katie Dill, Garret Pfaff, JB Lange, Blake Slocum, Chad Redman, and Ben Weagraff. placed third. The beginning team of Heidi Jamison, Sarah Bofenkamp, Addy Hamilton, Emma Akin, Missy Johnson, and Jon Keuhner had the highest score of the day.

On campus

MUSIC

WSU pianist Jeff Savage and cellist Ruth Boden will perform music from Russian composers at 8 p.m. April 16 in Bryan Hall Theater during “An Evening of Russian Music.” The last of this season’s Faculty Artist Series, the program will include the Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich sonatas for cello and piano, as well as the Pezzo Capricioso by Tchaikovsky.

All proceeds will benefit the School of Music scholarship fund. General admission is $10, $5 for seniors and non-WSU students, and free for WSU students Tickets will be available in the lobby one hour before concert time.

WSU School of Music will present the final choral concert of the year at 8 p.m. April 22 in Bryan Hall Theatre. Included in this performance will be the Madrigal/Chamber Singers, University Singers and Concert Choir. The concert is free and open to the public.

The event will also serve as the home concert following a three-day recruitment and outreach performance tour to Spokane, Wenatchee, Tri-Cities and Walla Walla for Concert Choir and Madrigal/Chamber Singers.

BOOKMARK

Only a few days remain to donate to the Whitman County Library penny drive. Drop off coins to support valuable children’s programs countywide!

Celebrate Earth Day at this month’s 3rd Thursday Club at the Colfax Library. The program is after school for kids in grades 1-4 today, April 15 from 3:30-4:30. Children attending from Jennings Elementary can ride Bus #1 directly to the library provided they have a note from a parent or guardian.

A community blood drive is set for April 20 from 1-5 p.m. in the US Bank lobby. A mobile unit from Inland Northwest Blood Center will screen all donors in the bank lobby. Appointments can be scheduled by calling the library.

Friends of the Library will meet Tuesday, April 27 at Two Old Gals in Colfax. . Contact the library if interested in joining this important community group.