EVENTS ROUNDUP: All about community

There’s plenty of new in this week’s roundup, including an arts center in Kamiah and community theater directors in Lewiston. Find more arts and entertainment options in the calendar.

A free concert from 6-8 p.m. Thursday at Kamiah’s Riverfront Park, along U.S. Highway 12, launches the new River Arts community arts center.

Coeur d’Alene-based dance/party band JamShack plays the event celebrating the center, which is set to offer programs for both children and adults, such as nature journaling, a writing group, a tie-dye class and Native American beading.

River Arts co-founders Theresa Henson, Stephanie Newkirk and Cynthia Valle recently secured a space for the venture, at 411 Main St., Suite E. An events schedule  is set to drop on the center’s website, riverartskamiah.org, by Thursday.

The concert at the park includes art activities for all ages and sno-cones by Sassy Squatch Ice Cream and Deli. The park, Henson said, has been underused, and the group hopes to encourage more concerts there.

“A priority of ours is to have fun and nurture joy,” she said, noting events will be alcohol-free to keep them kid-friendly.

Henson, who worked as communications manager for the Monastery of St. Gertrude in Cottonwood from 2010-21, said she was inspired to return to Idaho from the Bay Area, where she grew up.

“I noticed over the years there were a lot of creative people in the Clearwater Valley area,” she said. “I really got the sense there’s a lot of creativity in the area and there’s a lot of creative hunger to connect.”

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An evening of music and Mexican food supports children with disabilities Saturday in Moscow.

Patty’s Mexican Kitchen, 405. W. Sixth St., will donate food and drink profits from 5-8 p.m. to Enabling Explorers With disABILITY, a program organized by Gritman Medical Center Therapy Solutions.

The Eclectrix, composed of local musicians Jessica Amy Cowitz and Fiddlin’ Big Al Chidester, will play an eclectic mix of old-time and folk music.

Enabling Explorers with disABILITY “provides children with disabilities the opportunity to participate in healthy lifestyle recreational activities,” according to Gritman’s website.

Those interested in more information about Enabling Explorers can email pediatric physical therapist Lori Mages at magesl@Gritman.org, and Mages will be at the event to share information about the program and answer questions.

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Six directors make their debuts next week with the Lewiston Civic Theatre.
Performances of “For Shorts and Giggles,” an evening of 10-minute plays, are at 7 p.m. Wednesday through Aug. 17 and at 2 p.m. Aug. 18 in the old Lewiston High School auditorium, 1114 Ninth Ave.

Cody Stauffer, Lance Gau, Micheal Keene, Grant Benjamin, Anna Hochhalter and Paul Segren bring “funny, wild and heartfelt scenes” to the stage, according to a civic theater news release.

Terry Lewis, who directed the Civic’s productions of “Almost, Maine” and “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change,” will present a one-act scene as well.

The program includes adult content, including smoking, and may not be appropriate for younger viewers, according to the news release.

Tickets, by donation, are available at lctheatre.org or by calling the box office at (208) 746-3401.