By Sally Gracie
Once again, I’d like to hear from you about your picks for best books of the year. Fiction or nonfiction, these should be books actually published in 2014. Additionally, I’d like to hear from book clubs about their best reads of the year.
Your description should include title and author, setting, a sentence or two about the plot, and, most important, your critical recommendation. Keep it short: 75 – 100 words, but feel free to recommend more than one title. Email me at sgracie@centurytel.net.
I expect a program at The Merc Playhouse this weekend will be cathartic for performers and audience alike, as we recall the summer of fire and look forward to the new year. On Saturday evening (Sept. 22), “Burn: Stories of the Fire” begins at 7 p.m. Rose Weagant directs the program. Admission is by donation.
It’s that time of year. Our calendars are filling up. The first of the 32nd Annual Christmas Bazaars opens with 68 vendors in the Methow Valley Community Center gym in Twisp at 9 a.m. on Saturday (Nov. 22). Luncheon and sweets prepared by the center’s board and staff include quinoa chile, chicken soup, wraps and cheesecake. Kirsten Ostlie says there will be tables in the upstairs hall for shoppers to rest awhile and enjoy their food.
Thanksgiving dinner will be served at the Methow Valley Senior Center on Monday (Nov. 24) at noon. On Thursday (Nov. 27), the Methow Valley United Methodist church will serve Thanksgiving dinner beginning at noon. All are welcome for dinner and to attend the worship service at 11:45 a.m.
Donations are being collected for Manger Mall until Dec. 5. Co-chair Wendy Braden suggests gifts for boys and girls, 7-12 years old: dolls, stuffed animals, Legos, and remote control toys. Gifts for teens are also needed. Donation sites are North Cascades Bank, Mick & Miki’s, Ulrich’s, Winthrop Fitness and Carlton General Store.
Santa is coming to Twisp from 8:30-10:30 a.m. on Dec. 6. Twisp Valley Grange will host the jolly old elf and serve breakfast: pancakes, bacon, sausages and the grange’s famous pear sauce. Admission is $3 for kids 4 – 11 years old and $7.50 for 12 and over. Contact Wendy Braden at 997-9357 if you have questions about Manger Mall or the breakfast.
“Handmade for the Holidays,” a local artisans gift show, opens at Local 98856 on Dec. 6. Hours are 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., daily, through Christmas Eve. Tess Hoke says she has doubled the number of vendors this year. Once again, Local will offer blooming plants, including amaryllis, hellebores, paperwhites, and lemon cypress.
