MCC – Some news and upcoming events for the week of October 10, 2005

In Missoula…

The University of Montana Department of Music presents Verdehr Clarinet Quartet on October 10; Roger McDonald, faculty, oboe & saxophone, on October 11; Angie Biehl, percussion, on October 13; and Faculty Chamber Recital on October 14. On Monday, October 17 the Chinook Winds, members of the Great Falls Symphony Orchestra, will perform an evening of trios and quartets with UM faculty pianist Steven Hesla. All events begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Music Recital Hall. For more information call 243-6880.

Ed Lahey, featured in Sunday’s Missoulian, reads from Birds of a Feather: the Complete Poems of Ed Lahey on October 11 at 7:00 pm. at Shakespeare & Co. For more information call 549-9010.

Fact and Fiction presents Karen Fisher on October 11, with an author dinner and reading of A Sudden Country, at 6:30 p.m. at the Parkside at The Wilma. The cost is $25, and reservations are required. Also at Fact and Fiction this week are Clemens Work, reading and signing Darkest Before Dawn, on October 14 at 7:00 p.m. and Dan Price with a discussion and signing of Rascal Simplicity at 1:30 p.m. Call 721-2881 for information.

The University of Montana Department of Drama/Dance presents the modern musical comedy/horror show Bat Boy: The Musical as the first show of its 2005-2006 season, in the Montana Theatre of the Performing Arts/Radio Television Center on campus October 11-15 at 7:30 p.m. For more information call 243-4581. Audience Discretion Advised: Adult Content.

The Institute of Medicine and Humanities presents A Look in the Mirror: Body Image in the Contemporary Society, four Wednesday evenings in October, at St. Patrick Hospital, from 7:00 – 8:30 each evening. On October 12 the program is Who Defines the Body? The Influence of the Media and Popular Culture, with speakers Jerry Brown, PhD and Kimber McKay, PhD. For more information call 329-5662.

The Muses, a duo with a special blend of voice and instrument, are performing at Missoula Public Library on Wednesday, October 12 at 7:00 p.m. in the large meeting room. The duo specializes in Irish and Scottish music and they bring a sense of fun to the stage by seeking audience volunteers for some of their acts. They play a total of ten instruments. Their instrumentation includes: harp, guitar, dulcimer, mandolin, bells, penny whistle, concertina, and bones. The Muses add new life to old songs and include many original materials in their Celtic repertoire. For more information call 721-2665.

The International Wildlife Media Center introduces Cinema Classics every Thursday night at 7:30 for some of the greatest films ever made. The film on October 13 and again on October 20 is North by Northwest (1959), the classic Alfred Hitchcock thriller, starring Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint. For more information please call 728-9380 or visit http://www.wildlifefilms.org.

UM Productions presents Built to Spill on Friday, October 14, at the University Center Ballroom at 8:00 p.m. Tickets available at http://www.inticketing.com , Rockin Rudy’s, Ear Candy, and The Source at the UC. On October 19 Second City performs a the University Theater at 7:30 p.m. Tickets available at all Griztix outlets and http://www.griztix.com

The Missoula Public Library presents a screening of Roads to Koktebel, a Russian film with English subtitles, in the Library’s large meeting room on October 14 at 7:00 p.m. This film is for mature audiences only. For more information call 721-2665.

Missoula resident Dana Eisenberg spent 6 weeks in Sri Lanka doing tsunami relief work in a remote Tamil village. She’ll describe her experience at the Rankin Peace Center’s monthly potluck on Sunday, October 16, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Bring a dish to share, or $5 contribution.

The Missoula Folklore Society presents Mardi Milligan, with a CD Release Party, on Saturday October 15 8:00 p.m. at the Crystal Theater. Tickets are available at Rockin’ Rudy’s, $8 in advance, $10 at the door- $2 off for MFS members and Western Montana Songwriters. For more information visit http://www.mardimilligan.com or http://www.montanafolk.org.

City Club Missoula presents a Missoula Mayoral Candidates Forum on Friday, October 21, at 11:30 a.m. in the Governor’s Room of the Florence Building. Candidates Lou Ann Crowley and John Engen will answer questions about infill and growth, transportation, the budget and other issues. Courtney Lowery, managing editor of New West online magazine, will direct the discussion. City Club Missoula Forums are open to everyone in the greater Missoula area. City Club Missoula, a nonprofit organization, brings people together to inform and inspire them on vital issues. Please make reservations by Monday, October 17, to [email protected] or call 721-9620. Please indicate if you would like lunch ($13) or dessert and coffee or tea ($5).

Headwaters Dance Company (formerly Montana Transport Dance Co. or Mo-Trans) presents the Harvest Moon Ball on Friday, October 28, with music by Full Grown Men and sample delectable hors d’oeuvres and fine wines at the Rosbach residence in the Rattlesnake. Tickets for this fund raiser are $35 in advance or $40 at the door. Raffle tickets for a Russell Chatham print will also be available at the Ball and at the company’s February concerts at the Missoula Children’s Theatre. Please call 728-1131 for tickets and information.

Elsewhere in Montana and the Region…

The Economic Development Administration announced Friday that it has awarded $78,000 to the Montana World Trade Center, a department of the University of Montana, for the development of a comprehensive regional marketing strategy for Montana Creative Enterprises under their Planning Assistance Program. The focus of the project will be the development of a regional identity for Montana artists and artisans and as well as exploring ways to create a stable year-round marketplace. According to Geoff Sutton, Project Manager for the Montana World Trade Center, “Creative Enterprise elements can be found in all of Montana’s 56 counties. We will be focusing on rural economic development with this program. Montana’s artists and artisans are a great source of wealth and talent which can be used to create jobs and provide supplemental income for rural Montanans.”

The Nature Based Tourism Workshop takes place in Fairmont Hot Springs on October 13. For more information, contact 782-7333.

Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera Pirates of Penzance will be presented by the Intermountain Opera Association of Bozeman on Friday, October 14 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, October 16 at 3:00 p.m. at the Willson Auditorium. The opera features a swaggering pirate band, a boy mistakenly sent for “pirate” training instead of “pilot” training, and a bevy of beautiful maidens. The famous Gilbert and Sullivan tongue-twisting lyrics and rousing melodies will delight audiences of all ages. For more information, visit http://www.operabozeman.org/

Alpine Artisans’ will be having its annual Tour of the Arts in the Seeley-Swan Valley on Sunday, October 16, from noon to 6:00 p.m. The public has an opportunity to enjoy the gorgeous golden Tamarack trees throughout the Seeley-Swan Valley while driving to artists’ studios or host homes where the public can meet the artist personally and view their work. The cost is $10 for adults and $3 for those 12-18 and kids are free. Tickets are available for purchase at the Historic Barn just south of Seeley Lake on Highway 83 and also at the Community Hall up in Condon. Maps will be provided when the tickets are purchased. For more information, contact Chris Jewett at 677-7001.

The Hockaday Museum of Art in Kalispell presents Two Generations: Merle Olson and Darlene Olson Morgan, through October 15. Call 755 5268 or visit http://www.hockadaymuseum.org

From the Montana Associated Technology Roundtable…

Clusters and Competitive Advantage
Promoting cluster formation, especially those based upon technological innovation, is increasingly viewed as the new basis for competitive advantage and economic development in a global economy.

Walking the dinosaur just part of the job
"The (German magazine) Stern article is expected out towards the end of the year. It is a full-length feature," Nate Murphy, curator at the Judith River Dinosaur Institute in Malta, said. "Basically they came because the dinosaurs we are collecting here are so well known, that they felt a lot of their German readers would enjoy learning more about our dinosaurs."

For more about the Montana Associated Technology Roundtable, visit http://www.matr.net

Nationally…

Americans for the Arts and the U.S. Conference of Mayors are seeking nominations for the 2006 Public Leadership in the Arts Awards. The categories for this year’s awards are Congressional (U.S. Senator or Representative), State (Governor), County (Governing Bodies), and Local (Mayor). These awards are given in recognition of an elected official whose role in advancing the arts and arts education within his or her community has provided heightened visibility to the value of the arts. The application is available online at: http://ww3.artsusa.org/services/annual_awards/public_leadership/

From the Center for Arts and Culture….

More U.S. homes get high-speed Internet
Rocky Mountain News, 9/30/2005
"More Americans than ever have broadband Internet access – 42 percent – with a dramatic increase just since January. But a consumer activist says the prices still are too high, and the speeds still too slow, and the U.S. has plenty of work to do to catch up to the rest of the world." http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/business/article/0,1299,DRMN_4_4120845,00.html

Creative economy
Foster’s Online, 10/2/2005
Five years ago the business-led New England Council presented a report that "celebrated the region’s growing ‘creative economy,’" which said that the 245,000-job sector "was growing twice as fast as New England’s overall economy. . . . If there were skeptics back then, there are many fewer today. In our interviews from Providence to North Adams, the Berkshires to the Maine Coast, no one claimed a creative economy solves all problems. But we found growing numbers focusing on the arts as key to their lives and livelihoods in what’s become a bleak season for traditional manufacturing, lumbering and fishing." http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051002/NEWS0202/110020055

Is Culture Gone at Ground Zero?
New York Times, 9/30/2005
"Since four cultural organizations were selected for the site a year ago, the notion of giving the arts an integral role has been gradually – and more lately precipitously – slipping away. Daniel Libeskind’s master plan for the former World Trade Center site called for life-affirming, forward-looking cultural activities that would coexist with a memorial’s somber acknowledgment of lives lost. Culture was supposed to make the site a hub of round-the-clock activity for tourists and to provide a vibrant gathering place for people who live downtown. But at this point, culture is being cast as a suspicious interloper. On Wednesday, Gov. George E. Pataki kicked the International Freedom Center off the site, saying that its goal of exploring the realm of human rights had attracted ‘too much controversy.’ Relatives of 9/11 victims had argued that such a theme did not belong at ground zero." http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/30/arts/design/30zero.html

Cultural Diplomacy: The Linchpin of Public Diplomacy
U.S. Department of State, 2005
The September 2005 Report of the Advisory Committee on Cultural Diplomacy articulates the justifications for cultural diplomacy. It specifically recommends "to implement the recommendations issued by the Center for Arts & Culture in Cultural Diplomacy: Recommendations and Research." Other recommendations include: increased funding and staff for cultural diplomacy; additional and specific public diplomacy training for foreign service officers; an independent clearinghouse, in the manner of the British Council, to promote the national interest; and expansion of international exchange programs, including Sister City programs. http://www.uiowa.edu/~ournews/2005/september/091505Cultural-Diplomacy-Report.pdf

Charitable Giving Legislation Reintroduced in Congress
"The Charity, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Act of 2005 has been reintroduced in both houses of Congress, Tax Analysts reports. The legislation, which contains tax incentives to encourage more charitable giving, was passed by both houses in 2003 but never made it to conference. CARE would allow those who do not itemize their charitable gifts to deduct a portion of their charitable contributions, permit tax-free contributions to charity from IRAs, raise the cap on corporate contributions to 20 percent from 10 percent, and allow low-income workers to build assets through matched savings accounts."http://www.fdncenter.org/pnd/news/story.jhtml?id=117700025

From extreme crisis comes clarity
A Chicago Tribune editorial says, "There is no better way to find common ground with other nations than through cultural diplomacy. The Advisory Committee on Cultural Diplomacy to the State Department has just issued a report on the government’s efforts to engage the world. And we hope that the new undersecretary for public diplomacy, Karen Hughes, a confidant of the president’s, will heed our call to make cultural diplomacy the linchpin of her strategy for beginning to heal the breach with the international community. It is in the sphere of cultural activities that we discover our commonality of interests and values that can mitigate some of the self-inflicted damage to our international standing."http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-0510020298oct02,0,4597641.story

Growth in Funding for Arts Education Surpasses Arts Giving Overall, Report Finds
Philanthropy News Digest, 10/3/2005
"Charitable giving for arts education grew faster than arts giving overall between 1999 and 2003, a report released jointly by the Foundation Center and Grantmakers in the Arts, finds. Funded by the New York City-based Wallace Foundation, Foundation Funding for Arts Education: An Overview of Recent Trends found that programs serving children and youth received more than 40 percent of the $208.8 million given in 2003 for arts education by the largest U.S. foundations." http://www.fdncenter.org/pnd/news/story.jhtml?id=117700023

To learn more about the Center of Arts and Culture, visit http://www.culturalpolicy.org

From Wolf, Keens and Co…

The Art of Clowning and Its Impact on Healing
Reuters.com
New research in an Italian hospital suggests that clowns entertaining children before surgery eases the kids’ anxiety levels more effectively than their parents. Unless, of course, your parents are clowns? And, not to worry – hospital staff has discontinued the program: it "interfered" with "procedures."

Red Cross Katrina Goal Sets Record
Chronicle of Philanthropy

The Red Cross says the need is in the neighborhood of $2 billion, based on the vast devastation. What does that mean for charities addressing other areas of need? And what does that say about a single organization managing such a staggering array of programs? Read this fascinating article that goes beyond the numbers.

14,000 People Sued for Downloading Music
Wired.com

Is this a "privacy" story or an "arts" story or a "social action" story? Perhaps all of the above. The recording industry association RIAA has brought suit against a range of folks, including grandmothers who don’t know a download from a down comforter. This article explores the situation and some of the issues.

To learn more about Wolf, Keens and Co. visit http://www.wolfkeens.com.

Internationally…

From Sister Cities International…

Moroccan Society of Houston Raises Funds to Aid Katrina Victims
The Moroccan Society of Houston and sister city friends in other communities are raising money to assist evacuee Moroccan families who lost their homes and livelihoods in the Hurricane Katrina disaster. They are working collaboratively with the Moroccan Consulate Services and the American Red Cross to aid families directly affected. If you would like to contribute, write a check to the Moroccan Society of Houston with Katrina Relief Fund noted on the memo, and send it to the following address: Moroccan Society of Houston, PO Box 37412, Houston, TX 77237. Thanks to Sister Cities International board member Saida Moussadaq for letting us know about this project. For more information visit http://www.moroccansinhouston.org and click on announcements.

To learn more about Sister Cities International, visit http://www.sister-cities.org.

On world stage, France’s role is audience favorite
France’s image in the world is much more positive than that of the United States, according to a recent study by the Project on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA). "In the survey of people in 23 countries across the globe, a majority or plurality in 20 described France as exerting a positive influence on world affairs. The US, by comparison, is seen as having a negative impact by majorities in 15 countries." Interviews by the Christian Science Monitor showed that positive opinions of French culture contribute significantly to the country’s appeal.http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0930/p01s04-woeu.html

Canada Reviewing Starbucks Music Plan
Washington Post – AP, 10/2/2005
"The federal government is reviewing Starbucks Corp.’s proposal to establish a retail music business in Toronto and wants to see if it will offer adequate Canadian content and hire plenty of Canadian workers. Starbucks is proposing an investment under its Hear Music brand, which it acquired in 1999 as two existing music stores in California. . . . Canadian Heritage’s review of the Starbucks proposal will include assessing whether it will nurture new Canadian talent, and whether there will be a commitment to ‘the creation, production, distribution, marketing and preservation of Canadian cultural products in Canada, through traditional and new media,’ according to a departmental policy document." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp

dyn/content/article/2005/10/02/AR2005100200782.html

Finally…

Today is Columbus Day, commemorating the “discovery” of the American continent in 1492. There is plenty of web-based information regarding this holiday, including Columbus Navigation Home Page , Library of Congress Today in History , History of Columbus Day . For an alternative view of the commemoration, visit Transform Columbus Day, and for an alternative view of the discovery itself, visit 1421.

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Thanks for your comments & corrections

Tom at MCC