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IONE — The Pend Oreille County Weed Board is hosting a hands-on educational program for children at 11a.m. Friday, Oct. 16 at the Ione Library. Families are invited for an interactive look at invasive plants and the tiny insects that help keep them under control.
Children will learn the difference between native, introduced and invasive plants, with a special focus on knapweed — one of the region’s most challenging invaders. Participants will have the unique opportunity to open real knapweed seed heads and search for Larinus obtusus, a beneficial biocontrol beetle raised specifically to help reduce knapweed populations. Kids will also enjoy coloring their own “invasive bug intruder” masks to take home.
This program is designed to spark curiosity, build awareness of local ecology and show how even the smallest creatures can make a big difference in protecting natural spaces.
For questions or more information, call or email the Pend Oreille County Weed Board at 509-447-2402 or [email protected].
Celtic concert at Create
NEWPORT — Create Arts Center is on a musical journey. Saturday, Oct. 24, a matinee at 2–4 p.m., will bring Bridges Home multi-instrumentalists Tami and Dave Gunter to the stage with the debut of “A Celtic Journey” concert.
Music with a Celtic harp, fiddle, mandolin, accordion, banjo, guitar, Irish whistle, bodhran and more will bring songs from Ireland, Scotland and Wales to the stage. Guest musician Joanne Heinz will participate on mountain dulcimer.
Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door and online at createarts.org. Create Arts Center is at 900 W. Fourth St., Newport. For more information, call 509447-9277.
Local non-profits receive grants
USK — Two organizations in Pend Oreille County are among 67 to receive funding through ArtsFund’s newly expanded Youth Arts Opportunity Fund this month.
Pend Oreille County received $14,500 to support the following organizations: * Camas Foundation, Usk, $8,000: Supports Native youth through language, culture, early learning, wellness and community education initiatives.
* Pend Oreille Players Association, Newport, $6,500: Engages local youth in community theatre through classes, camps, productions and backstage experience.
A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1969, ArtsFund has doubled its investment in the program this year, awarding $442,000 in unrestricted grants across 16 Washington counties. Until this year, YAOF focused on organizations in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties.
YAOF awards are unrestricted general operating support and can be used for an organization’s most pressing needs, from teaching artists and programming to staffing and operating expenses.
The program is designed to increase access to and participation in meaningful, robust, sustained arts experiences for historically underserved youth across Washington State. As access to arts education varies significantly by school district, community-based arts and cultural organizations are important in bridging that gap.
For more information about ArtsFund, go to artsfund. org.
