Community events you may have missed

Senior help

The North Valley Senior Center could use more kitchen volunteers. Volunteers typically work three hours and get a free lunch. Contact the center at (406) 892-4087.

Women meet

Columbia Falls Women’s Connection will host a luncheon on Wednesday, July 16 at 11:30 a.m. at the First Baptist Church located at 827 9th St West in Columbia Falls. Guest speakers will be Michelle Reimer from Hope Pregnancy and Jan Mathers award-winning toast mistress from Oregon. 

Donations of disposable diapers and baby items will be collected for Hope Pregnancy. Cost is $10  and all women are welcome to attend. For reservations call Janet at 892-3621 or email [email protected] by 5 p.m. Sunday, July 13.  Please honor or cancel reservations.  Affiliated with Stonecroft Ministries. 

Art camps

Land to Hand Montana is offering free kids’ art classes at the Wildcat Garden in Columbia Falls. The classes take place on six Fridays throughout the summer from 10-11 a.m. and are led by local artists. This project is funded in part by the Montana Arts Council, an agency of the State Government, and by the National Endowment for the Arts. Upcoming classes are on July 18, July 25, Aug. 1, Aug. 15, Aug. 22, and Aug. 29.

Land to Hand is partnering with several local artists to host these free, educational kids’ workshops. Amy Korytko of Resilient Roots will be doing a Land Art Workshop on July 18, in addition to several workshops with Land to Hand’s summer camp program, including clay guardians of the orchard and pounded plant art.  

Land to Hand is a local nonprofit organization focusing on food access and education. In 2024, Land to Hand was voted Hungry Horse News’s best nonprofit in Columbia Falls. In the summer, Land to Hand operates multiple programs at the Wildcat Garden, including Hands in the Dirt Summer Camp, volunteer opportunities at the Wildcat Garden, and free summer meals. Land to Hand also operates multiple food access programs, including the Summer Feeding Program, the Double SNAP Dollars program, the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program, School Coins, and a produce prescription program.

More information, including the schedule, topics of each class, and a link to register, can all be found at www.landtohandmt.org/events

Speaker series

The annual Two Medicine Voices Speaker Series hosted by Glacier-Two Medicine Alliance continues on Wednesday, July 23 with a special talk in East Glacier Park by Christopher Preston, author of the book “Tenacious Beasts: Wildlife Recoveries That Change How We Think About Animals.” The event is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at the East Glacier Community Hall at 416 US 2, East Glacier Park. Like all talks in this series, it is free and open to the public. 

Wildlife recoveries are not as rare as you’d think. Investigating a few of the best reveals interesting lessons for the future of conservation. This talk will explore how changing attitudes towards wildlife can combine with smart work on the ground to create good outcomes for both animals and people. As political currents ebb and flow, the needs of wild animals often remain reassuringly constant.  

Christopher J. Preston is an English-born writer and philosophy professor based in Missoula. He has written on topics related to wildlife, environment, climate, and technology for venues that include The Atlantic, Orion, Smithsonian, Discover, the BBC, and the Wall Street Journal. His latest book, Tenacious Beasts: Wildlife Recoveries That Change How We Think About Animals investigates a number of species back from the brink of extinction. He meets the scientists, indigenous leaders, and activists responsible for their return and uncovers what these tenacious wild animals have to teach. In early 2023, he won an annual award from the International Society for Environmental Ethics for his work as a public philosopher.

The Two Medicine Voices Speaker Series will continue until August with storytellers and authors, centering around the theme “Stories of the Wild.” The other talks in this series will take place in East Glacier Park, Montana.

More information about Preston’s presentation or to view past or future installments of the speaker series, visit the Glacier-Two Medicine Alliance website at www.glaciertwomedicine.org/events-calendar/category/speaker-series/