In Brief

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The Argyros To Present its Inaugural Season Of Music, Theater And Dance

Following successful donor events and a grand opening community celebration, the Argyros Performing Arts Center announced its inaugural season beginning January 2019 and running through August 2019.

The Argyros’s mission is to bring nationally and internationally recognized artists to the Wood River Valley as well as provide a home for the region’s nonprofit organizations.

Tickets for the first in the series of The Argyros Presents events are open to the general public with tickets available online at argyros.org.

The Argyros will present a range of top-quality performances and genres in its inaugural season. On Jan. 11, world-renowned jazz guitarist Martin Taylor and two-time Grammy-winner Laurence Juber, who first gained recognition as lead guitarist in Beatles Paul McCartney’s band “Wings,” artfully fuse folk, jazz and pop styles.

On Jan. 19, The Jerry Herman Legacy Concert stars a cast of New York’s top Broadway and concert stars celebrating the songs and stories of one of American theater’s true giants.

Hailed as one of the best classical pianists in the world, Jean-Yves Thibaudet performs on Jan. 22.

On Jan. 26, Emmy- and Tony Award-winning actress and singer Kristin Chenoweth will perform in a concert to support the Performance Fund.

Other season highlights include “Isabella and Friends,” a night of ballet from Sun Valley native Isabella Boylston, now one of the world’s foremost ballerinas as principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre, in February.

Acclaimed actress, singer and songwriter Rita Wilson brings her soulful and eloquent singer-songwriter pop music on Feb. 16.

In March, performances from actor-writer Dan Hoyle, called “riveting, funny and poignant” by The New York Times, the groundbreaking, category-shattering classical trio Time for Three (Tf3), and pianist Jon Kimura Parker will grace the The Argyros’s Tierney Theater.

In April, SOUNDspace by Dorrance Dance will smash perceptions of tap in a performance that explores the unique setting and acoustics of The Argyros.

For information and tickets, check theargyros.org, which is continuously updated with new information and events. Or call (208) 726-7872. Artists and dates are subject to change.

Wood River Land Trust To Hold Talk At Community Library

Hannah Sanger, Science and Environment Division administrator for the City of Pocatello, will present a free talk as a guest of the Wood River Land Trust, titled “What We Can Learn From Pocatello’s Portneuf River: Lessons For The Big Wood,” at The Community Library in Ketchum on Wednesday, Jan. 16, from 6-7:30 p.m.

Sanger will share Pocatello’s history of flood control efforts on the Portneuf River and how their community is now working to undo some of those past actions. She will give examples of past “best” management practices for flood mitigation that have had unintended consequences for the river and the community.

After her presentation, Hannah and Scott Boettger, executive director of the Land Trust, will field questions from the audience and discuss what we can learn from Pocatello and how these lessons can be applied to river management here in the Wood River Valley.

The Portneuf River originates in the northern portion of the Portneuf Range, and the 111-mile-long corridor drains around 1,300 square miles of land in southeastern Idaho. Over the past century, heavy alterations to the river corridor have compromised the health of the ecosystem and have greatly reduced the benefits it provides to wildlife, fish, and the community.

ERC To Host Winter Session Of Science After School 

The Environmental Resource Center (ERC) announced in a recent press release that it is offering its “Science After School” program at Alturas Elementary School this January and February. The ERC will conduct one six-week session to take place on Tuesdays from 2:15-4 p.m. starting Jan. 15 and ending on Feb. 19.

The program involves students with the natural environment through outdoor adventures and explorations.

This free, six-week program, open to fourth- and fifth-grade students at Alturas Elementary, encourages participants to explore their local environment and engage in hands-on projects relating to natural science and sustainability. ERC staff and volunteers guide students in discovering environmental science through exploration, collaboration, research, games, journaling, and service learning. All materials and snacks are provided.

Preregistration is required and space is limited. Attendance for all six sessions is preferred.

For more information on this program or to register your student, please contact Alisa McGowan, ERC program director, at alisa@ercsv.org or call (208) 726-4333.

Big Wood River And South Valley Irrigators Get Christmas Gift

A press release from Trout Unlimited announced that their organization and the local flood control district have begun instream work on the Big Wood River just south of Bellevue to improve habitat and repair irrigation problems created in the 2017 flood.

Just before Christmas, the Glendale Restoration and Flood Mitigation Project began on the southern reaches of the Big Wood River. Trout Unlimited and Flood Control District No. 9 have received over $150,000 in grant monies and private donations to work in collaboration with agricultural irrigators to restore 1,250 feet of the Big Wood River.

The Baseline Bypass Canal, the Glendale Diversion and the Bannon Ditch were constructed in the 1920s to deliver water to approximately 6,300 acres of irrigated agricultural land south of Bellevue. Extreme high water in the spring of 2017 severely eroded portions of the Bannon Ditch and required emergency instream work to protect the Bypass Canal. Following that flood, the altered river channel did not adequately deliver water to the three headgate structures, thus threatening the agricultural water supply. As a temporary fix, a 200-foot stretch of the Bannon Ditch that was obliterated was piped last summer.

Together, Trout Unlimited, Flood Control District No. 9 and the Upper Wood River Water Users Association are implementing instream treatments to mitigate the effects of flooding, ensure irrigation water delivery, stabilize streambanks, enhance riparian habitat, reduce the need for ongoing channel manipulations, and improve water quality.

Footlight Dance Company To Present ‘HOPE – Family & Community’

Footlight Dance Centre, under the artistic direction of Hilarie Neely, announced in a press release its annual school tour performances entitled “HOPE – Family & Community” Jan. 23-Feb. 11, and invites the public to attend any of eight free shows touring Blaine County schools.

This show uses the concert dance forms of ballet, modern, jazz, hip-hop and tap for a discussion of hope and its importance within our families and community.

Footlight Dance has collaborated with professional batik artist Lisa Kattenbraker from Olympia, Wash. Her images bring vibrant colors from the earth to her images that invoke family, the cycle of life and sharing together, past and present, to ensure our future remains together as one human family.

This show will be presented to all schools in the Valley, including Sun Valley Community School, Hemingway School, Carey School, Alturas Elementary, Hailey Elementary, Bellevue Elementary and Wood River High School. The Sage School, Silver Creek High School and Syringa Mountain School students will also attend performances at the WRHS Performing Arts Theater. A narration that accompanies the performances will discuss how the arts bring emotional response and a forum to discuss issues with a creative voice.