What's Happening
Best Bet
The Star Sensations dance team at Soldotna High School will present a "Livin' Luvin' Dancin'" show from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Soldotna High School auditorium. There will be guest performances by Vergine's Dance Studio, The Dance Emporium, North Star Dance Studio and the Kenai High School Dance Team. Admission is $5.
The Kenai Elks Lodge No. 2425 presents a benefit concert by Joey Fender and the 55s on Saturday at the Renee C. Henderson Auditorium at Kenai Central High School. Doors open at 5 p.m. and the show starts at 6. Tickets are $20 at the door or $15 for advance tickets, available at Zumwalt's Music on Kalifornsky Beach Road, 262-1622. There are only 200 advance tickets for sale. The first 100 seniors and veterans at the concert with identification will get in free. Proceeds will benefit Hospice of the Central Peninsula. For more information, call Crystal Shannon at 252-5140.
Events and Exhibits
The Kenai Peninsula United Way will hold its annual volunteer appreciation reception from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. today at Paradisos Restaurant in Kenai. For more information, call Evy Gebhardt at 283-9500.
River City Books will host a Creative Writer's Night at 7 p.m. Saturday. The public is invited to attend this evening of readings by local writers, free of charge. Any writers who have a piece they would like to read are invited to contact Vicki Steik at 262-0308 or by e-mail at invls@uaa.alaska.edu to sign up. Time allotments will be determined by the number of writers willing to read.
Christian country musician Dennis Agajanian will perform at 6 p.m. Sunday at Soldotna Church of God, on the corner of Redoubt and Binkley streets. Agajanian has been nominated for entertainer of the year and musician of the year by the Christian Country Music Association. He performs at all of the Billy and Franklin Graham Crusades and the Harvest Crusades. For more information, call 262-4729.
The Kenai Visitors and Cultural Center has Robert Glenn Ketchum's "Arctic" photography exhibition on display through Friday. The exhibit consists of 51 images of the Alaska and Canada arctic. A sneak preview of the Kenai Fine Arts Center's multi-media Wards Cove exhibit is on display until Jan. 30 in the center's conference room. The Kenai Quilt Exhibition will be on display from Feb. 1 to March 8 with a First Thursday opening reception Feb. 6. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays.
The Kenai Peninsula College Art Gallery has the statewide photography show "Rarefied Light" on display through Feb. 7. Gallery hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday.
Kaladi Brothers in Soldotna has Mary Lane and Joel Isaak as its artists of the month and hosts a chess club every Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
Artwork by Kenai Peninsula artists can be viewed and purchased at the following area businesses: Art Works, Birch Tree Gallery, Claudette's Folk Art and Collectables, Donna's Country and Victorian Gifts, Frames and Things, Malfunction Junction Gifts, Northcountry Fair and Tammy's Flowers and Gifts in Soldotna, Alaskan Gift and Gallery, Fireweed Herb Garden and Kenai Visitors and Cultural Center in Kenai and Peninsula Furs Inc. in Sterling.
The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Information Center is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and weekends from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. There are many scenic hiking trails, including the Kenai River trail, which begin near the center. The center is on Ski Hill Road near the intersection of the Sterling Highway and Funny River Road in Soldotna. For more information, call 262-7021.
Entertainment
Buster's Coffee House in Kenai presents music by Mike Morgan and Friends from 7 to 10 p.m. today and Midlife Crisis from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday.
Kaladi Brothers in Soldotna presents music by Joe Reinhardt from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Saturday.
The Vagabond inn on Kalifornsky Beach Road presents music by the Tone Bros. at 10 p.m. Saturday.
The Rainbow Bar in Kenai presents music by The Mabrey Brothers at 10:30 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
The Katmai in Kenai presents karaoke with Sherri at 9 p.m. Fridays and western dance lessons from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursdays and Saturdays.
The Riverside House in Soldotna presents "After 10," a dance party, Friday and Saturday nights. DJ Ian will play favorite Top 40 dance music until 5 a.m.
Upcoming Events
A Monopoly tournament will be held at 5 p.m. Jan. 31 at the Soldotna Sports Center in conjunction with the Peninsula Winter Games. The grand prize will be $500. Participants must be 21 or older, unless they are participating the kids' tournament, which will be held simultaneously. Admission for adults is a $20 donation and two canned food items. Participants must be at the sports center no later than 4:30 p.m. for registration. The Peninsula Winter Games will be held Feb. 1 and 2 and will include an ice sculpting competition, colored ice cube scavenger hunt, kids carnival, dog weight pull, figure skating demonstration, hockey tournament, bowling, table tennis tournament, community teen dance, free lunch for children, barbecue dinner and more. The games headquarters will be at the Soldotna Sports Center. For more information, call 260-1966.
The Kenai River Council on the Arts will display a multi-media Ward's Cove exhibit at the Kenai Fine Arts Center during the month of February. There will be an artist's reception at 7 p.m. Feb. 1. Artists include Celia Anderson, Mark Anderson, Jim Evenson, Thor Evenson, Sara Glaves, Marty Hapeman and Bill Heath. Gallery hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Andes Manta, a South American folk ensemble, will perform a concert of traditional Andean music at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 5 at the Susan B. English School commons. The group has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center, the Smithsonian Institution and other locations. The Ecuadorian musicians perform a variety of traditional rhythms, from the haunting melodies of the high Andes to the joyous dance rhythms of Indian village festivals, on more than 35 traditional instruments. Tickets are 415 at the door. For more information or to buy season tickets for the Seldovia Arts Council's winter season, call Susan Mumma at (907) 234-7614.
The Kenai Peninsula College Art Gallery will display "Dysfunctional Ware," a ceramics show by Libby Berezin from Feb. 10 through March 7. Gallery hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday.
The Performing Arts Society presents the Sitka Summer Music Festival musicians on their winter tour at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 11 at the Christ Lutheran Church in Soldotna. The concert features Peter Rejto, cello; Nicole Divall, viola; Doris Stevenson, piano; and Paul Rosenthal, violin. The festival was founded in 1972 by Rosenthal and has continued to present outstanding chamber music in Sitka, Anchorage and throughout the state. This year's selection includes a Bach suite for cello and piano, a piano trio by Shostakovich and a piano quartet by Faure. Tickets are $12 for youths and $15 general admission and are available at River City Books and Northcountry Fair in Soldotna and Alaska Gift and Gallery and Already Read Books in Kenai. There will be a reception following the concert.
Films
Call Orca at 262-7003 for weekly listings and show times.
Call Kambe Cinemas at 283-4554 for weekly listings and show times.
Down the Road
The Fireweed Art Gallery's exhibit area is open to artists who would like to show a few pieces of work through February. The deadline for display is ongoing.
The Pratt Museum will have its annual member meeting Feb. 4 at the museum. Museum members and interested community members are invited to attend. There will be a finger food potluck and opening reception for Robert Ketchum's photography exhibit, "Arctic," at 5 p.m. The business meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. At 7 p.m., a "Celebrating Wilderness and Wildlife" public show will begin with photographer Steve Kaufman presenting a wildlife slide show. Following that, students from Homer High School will give a presentation about their trip to the McNeil River Bear Sanctuary during the summer of 2002.
Anchorage Events
The Anchorage Concert Association presents the Joe Goode Performance Group on Friday and Saturday in the Discovery Theatre. The group will perform a dynamic combination of text, gestures, humor and dancing. On Feb. 1, Habib Koite and Bamade will perform African rhythm, Caribbean jazz, reggae and blues music in the Atwood Concert Hall.
Tickets for these events are available at all CarrsTix locations, the box office at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts, online at www.anchorageconcerts.org, or by calling 1-800-478-SEAT. Information on discounts for students and groups of 10 or more is available by calling (907) 272-1471.
The University of Alaska Anchorage's faculty music trio Alaska Pro Musica will perform an all-American concert at 4 p.m. Sunday in the UAA Arts Building, room 150. The program will consist of works by American Composers, including Leonard Bernstein, George Gershwin, Scott Joplin and William Bolcom. Tickets are $12 general admission and $10 for UAA students and staff and will be available at the door or by calling the box office at (907) 786-4849.
The Anchorage Symphony and Anchorage Opera present Puccini's opera "Turandot" at 8 p.m. Jan. 31, 4 p.m. Feb. 2 and 7 p.m. Feb. 5 at the Atwood Concert Hall in the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are $20 to $50 and are available at all CarrsTix locations, the box office at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts, online at www.anchorageconcerts.org, or by calling 1-800-478-SEAT. There will be a Lunch and Learn program at noon Jan. 31 in the Z.J. Loussac Library Public Conference Room with Maestro Fleischer and guests from the Anchorage Opera as they talk about their collaboration on "Turandot." There will be a Words on Music preconcert lecture with ASO Education Consultant Susan Wingrove and Anchorage Opera Artistic Director Peter Brown an hour prior to each performance in the Atwood Concert Hall.
Kim Acuna will have a "Shadows" CD release concert at 7 p.m. Feb. 1 at the Wilda Marston Theater. Admission is $12.
If you have an event to include in our Thursday InSide section, send the information, in writing, to "What's Happening," c/o the Peninsula Clarion, Box 3009, Kenai, AK 99611, fax the information to 283-3299 or send it via e-mail to clarion@alaska.net.
The deadline for information is Monday at 5 p.m. For more information, call 283-7551.