Learn about the Salish Sea
The Methow Conservancy’s annual year-end community social will be on Tuesday (Dec. 1) at the Winthrop Barn and will feature a presentation by renowned marine scientists and writers Audrey DeLella Benedict and Joe Gaydos: “Salish Sea: Jewel of the Pacific Northwest.” The free event begins at 7 p.m.
The presentation is based on a book that Benedict and Gaydos recently co-authored.
The Salish Sea region straddles the western border between Canada and the United States, connected to the Pacific Ocean primarily through the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It is one of the world’s largest inland seas. It contains 6,535 square miles of sea surface area and 4,642 miles of coastline. For more information, call 996-2870.
Poetry Out Loud returns
The fourth annual Poetry Out Loud competition for Methow Valley students will be at 6 p.m. on Dec. 16 at The Merc Playhouse in Twisp. Admission is by donation.
Students who have advanced to the competition through earlier rounds at their schools will recite two poems each. The competition, presented in partnership with the Washington State Arts Commission, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Poetry Foundation, the Public School Funding Alliance, and Methow Arts, is part of a national program that encourages high school students to learn about poetry through memorization, performance and competition.
The winner of that competition will advance to the Eastern Washington Regional Poetry Out Loud contest in Spokane, and have a chance to make it to the state championship. The Washington state champion will advance to the Poetry Out Loud National Finals in Washington, D.C.
OVOC holiday concert on Dec. 13
The Okanogan Valley Orchestra & Chorus present their annual holiday concert on Dec. 13 at the Omak Performing Arts Center. The concert begins at 3 p.m.
Chorus selections will include “The Coventry Carol,” Mozart’s “Fa La La,” “Gloria” by Haydn, and “A Carol in Winter.”
Orchestra selections include “Christmas at the Movies,” Mozart’s “German Dances K.605/3,” “Scottish Fantasy,” “O Holy Night,” and a suite of Christmas carols.
The combined groups will perform “Little Drummer Boy” and a holiday season medley.
Jonathan McBride is the choral director and Don Pearce is the orchestra director.
Tickets are $8 for students, $12 for adults and $10 for senior citizens. Kids under 12 are admitted free.
For more information, visit www.ovocinfo.com.