The days are getting longer. Actually, they’re still just 24 hours, but sunrises are earlier and sunsets are later. That’s good news, because there’s a lot to do. Check these events out.
Feb. 1PULLMAN — Kaveh Akbar, the founding editor of Divedapper, will give a poetry reading and participate in a discussion beginning at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 1 at the Elson Floyd Cultural Center on the campus of Washington State University here.
Akbar’s first book, “Calling a Wolf a Wolf,” was printed by Alice James Publishers. Divedapper features interviews by Akbar of major voices in contemporary poetry. His poems have appeared recently in the New Yorker, Poetry, the New York Times, the Nation and other publications. Akbar also is the author of the chapbook “Portrait of the Alcoholic,” published by Sibling Rivalry Press, January 2017.
He was born in Tehran, Iran, and teaches in the master of fine arts program at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., and in the MFA program at Randolph College in Lynchburg, Va. He is the recipient of a Pushcart Prize, a Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Fellowship from the Poetry Foundation, and the Lucille Medwick Memorial Award from the Poetry Society of America, according to a news release.
The cultural center is at 405 S.E. Spokane St.
Feb. 2
CLARKSTON — The annual February “Heart for Art” fundraiser at the Valley Art Center here opens Feb. 2 with a reception from 4 to 7 p.m.
This Seattle skyline painting by Judy Fairley is among pieces that will be available for purchase at a fundraiser Friday in Clarkston.
More than 300 original pieces of unframed art, all 5-by-7-inches, will be exhibited by 33 artists from around the region. All works will be for sale, and framing will be available for purchase on site.
The free reception will feature refreshments and light appetizers, and the show will continue through Feb. 28.
Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
Feb. 3
LEWISTON — The 11th annual American Legion Baseball Steak Out is Feb. 3 at the Nez Perce County fair pavilion here.
This year’s fundraiser to benefit the Twins and Cubs teams, with a theme of “Dirt and Diamonds,” will begin with a social hour at 5 p.m. Dinner will be served from 6 to 8 p.m., followed by a live auction and then DJ-provided music and dancing.
Cost is $25 for singles and $40 a couple, and tickets may be purchased from any team member or board member and at all Potlatch No. 1 Federal Credit Union and Les Schwab Tire Center locations.
The fair building is at 1229 Burrell Ave.
Feb. 6
PULLMAN — A woodwind duo will perform a program titled “Portraits of Langston” at 8 p.m. Feb. 6 in the Bryan Hall Theatre on the campus of Washington State University here.
The Faculty Artist Series performance will feature Shannon Scott on clarinet and Leonard Garrison on flute, accompanied by Rajung Yang.
The duo will perform two works based on the life and poems of Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes, and a narrator will read the poetry of Hughes.
Composed by Valerie Coleman, the “Le Grand Duc Mambo” illustrates a jazz cabaret club in the red-light district of Montmartre, Paris, while “Danse Africaine” pictures a Harlem jazz club, according to a news release. Music by American composers Eric Mandat, Alec Wilder, Roger Nixon and Robert Brownlow completes the concert program.
Admission cost is $10 regular price; $5 for ages 55 and older and non-WSU students; and free for WSU students.
Feb. 6
LEWISTON — Open auditions for the play “The Secret of Wings” will be held at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 6 in the Silverthorne Theater on the campus of Lewis-Clark State College here.
The play, produced by LCSC, is based on the 2014 book by Mary Zimmerman.
At the audition, a prepared monologue is preferred, but not required. Callbacks will be at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Rehearsals will begin March 5, and performances will be April 18-21.
The theater is in LCSC’s Administration Building.
