Local costumed actors and live animals unfold the reenactment of the events surrounding Jesus’ birth while vocalists set the scene musically and a Narrator tells the story. Featured again this year will be three live camels and a donkey from Camels R Fun in Idaho Falls. The production starts at 5:00 PM and will be finished by 6:15pm. Come early to get parking, seats, hot cocoa and cookies. Hay bale seating will be available, but please remember your blankets and hand warmers. DRESS WARMLY, it is an outdoor event
Mind Over Mountains
Sharing stigma about mental health in ski town with conversation and community. Join Sun Valley Resort for a FREE screening of UPS & DOWNS, a ski film focused on mental health in the mountains. Meet filmmaker and skier Drew Peterson, who will sit down with ski journalist Paddy O’Connell. Behind closed doors, professional skier Drew Petersen has been living a much different reality than ski films, magazine covers, and Instagram likes have shown. Following a near-death accident in the mountains, Petersen went into a dark tailspin of mental health struggles. In the following years, he has privately navigated an arduous journey of PTSD, bipolar disorder, brain injury rehabilitation, and suicidal thoughts. Told through the lens of ski touring, “Ups and Downs” is an introspective look at the mountains and valleys along his path, and how his mental health journey is ultimately lifelong—both from well before Petersen’s accident and for the rest of his life moving forward. His story is truly one of finding the light, healing both in the mountains and in therapy, and how giving voice to his struggles ultimately saved him. Please contact us at the Sun Valley Recreation Center 208.622.2135 with any questions you may have about …
Sun Valley Tree Lighting Ceremony
Celebrate the start of the Holiday season with the annual Tree Lighting Celebration in the Sun Valley Village. Festivites include an appearance by Santa, live holiday music by Faculty Lounge, free cookies and cocoa, and an outdoor bar. Festivities kick off at 5:30pm with the tree lighting at 6:00pm sharp! A live ice carving demo will take place near Village Station starting at 4pm.
Darn it! At The Community Library
Bring your holey sweaters, socks, beanies or other knits and learn to mend them yourself in a supportive and cozy environment. All ages welcome. Drop in between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. by the fireplace. Supplies provided.
A Song Film by Kishi Bashi: “Omoiyari”
Acclaimed Japanese American musician Kishi Bashi visits The Community Library as part of a multi-event trip to Idaho organized by Friends of Minidoka and the Minidoka National Historic Site. The event is in honor of the annual Day of Remembrance, which commemorates the signing of Executive Order 9066 that led to the exclusion, forced removal, and unjust incarceration of over 125,000 Japanese Americans during WWII, including at Minidoka. Kishi Bashi will present his award winning A Song Film by Kishi Bashi: “Omoiyari” followed by a discussion and live musical performance. “Omoiyari” is a Japanese word that means to have sympathy and compassion towards another person. Reserve your seat at www.comlib.org. In A Song Film by Kishi Bashi: “Omoiyari”, Kishi Bashi embarks on a transformative journey to confront his heritage and reconcile the painful history of Japanese American incarceration during World War II. Inspired by the rising tide of discrimination against marginalized communities, Kishi Bashi delved into the untold stories of incarceration survivors and composed an album titled Omoiyari that captures their experiences. Kishi Bashi is the pseudonym of singer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter Kaoru Ishibashi. Born in Seattle, Washington, Ishibashi grew up in Norfolk, Virginia where both of his parents were …
Creating Housing Opportunities for All: Market Failures, Impacts, and Effective Responses
Everyone needs housing, yet not everyone living and working in the Wood River Valley has access to a safe, decent and affordable place to call home. Meanwhile, housing impacts many dimensions of our individual lives – our safety, sense of community, identity, and access to opportunities like schools and jobs. It is also connected to broader social and economic progress. Finally, secure and safe housing improves both short-term and long-term physical and mental health outcomes of individuals and families. In her talk, Dr. Vanessa Fry of Boise State University’s Idaho Policy Institute, will discuss partnership and policies that can support housing opportunities for all. She will describe market failures and employee generation, impacts of housing crises on communities, households, and individuals, and the geographic scope and scale of an effective housing response. A former resident of the Wood River Valley, she worked directly on local housing and transportation issues in the region while with Citizens for Smart Growth and Community Transportation Association of Idaho. Vanessa will be joined by City of Ketchum’s Housing Director, Carissa Connelly, who will provide context on efforts underway. This program will be livestreamed and available to watch later. In partnership with the City of Ketchum.
Sun Valley Early Literacy Learning Summit
June 12-14, 2024, The Community Library invites Kindergarten through Grade 3 educators – who open the world of words to children – from around southern Idaho to come to Ketchum/Sun Valley for three days of lively conversation and learning with preeminent literacy scholars and colleagues. We’ll dig into reading research and discuss: how reading happens in the brain, the components of structured literacy, the impact of phonemic awareness on literacy, the principles of spelling, informed teaching strategies for multilingual language learners, informed teaching strategies for students with dyslexia, social-emotional learning, and more. There is no cost for the Early Literacy Summit. An honorarium of $200 will be provided to teachers based in Blaine County, and $500 will be provided to instructors traveling from outside of Blaine County, to help cover travel and associated expenses. Breakfast, lunch, and snacks will be provided each day. Continuing education credit will be provided through Northwest Nazarene University. Registration is limited to approximately 36 instructors. The application period opens on February 1 and closes on March 1, 2024. For more information, contact Jenny Emery Davidson, executive director at The Community Library: [email protected].
To Taste Life Twice Seminar
Join The Community Library and Story Forward for three days of writing, reading, and connecting over words. This annual three-day event is free and open to all and offers writing workshops, panel discussions, keynote lecture, a public storytelling event, and opportunities to meet and connect with other local writers. More details and workshop registrations forthcoming.
Introduction to Avalanches
Join the Friends of the Sawtooth Avalanche Center for a 2-hour presentation based on the Know Before You Go platform, introducing basic concepts about snow, avalanches, and traveling safely in and near avalanche terrain. Learn from the Friends of SAC instructor team of snow experts, mountain guides, and experienced avalanche educators. We invite everyone to join if you’re learning about avalanches for the first time or are a seasoned backcountry user ready for a yearly refresher. Save your seat at www.comlib.org.
Disinformation, Discord, and Story: A Conversation
Join us for an evening of conversation with authors David Quammen and Betsy Gaines Quammen. A book signing will follow. David Quammen is an author and journalist whose books include “The Heartbeat of the Wild,” “Breathless,” “The Tangled Tree,” “Spillover,” and “The Song of the Dodo.” His writing focuses on science, history of science, and the relationships of humans to landscape and biological diversity. He has also published short nonfiction in magazines such as The New Yorker, National Geographic, Harper’s, Outside, Esquire, The Atlantic, Powder, and Rolling Stone. Quammen has been honored with an Academy Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and is a three-time recipient of the National Magazine Award. His books have received various awards, and Breathless in 2022 was a finalist for the National Book Award. Betsy Gaines Quammen is a historian and writer. She received a PhD from Montana State University where she studied religion, history and the philosophy of science. Her dissertation focused on Mormon history and the roots of armed public land conflicts occurring in the United States. She is fascinated at how religious views shape relationships to landscape. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, New York Daily …