The Bright Lights Book Project mission is to put free books into the hands of appreciative readers. The BLBP’s vision statement reads: Envisioning the power of literacy to change lives.
In its three years as a nonprofit 501 (c) (3), the BLBP has, in distributing books locally and statewide, further defined a more indirect, and broadbased definition of literacy. Book-related conversations are now taking place daily at BLBP bookcases, repurposed newspaper boxes, and little libraries. In addition, these conversations are taking place at BLBP in-house and community events. Stories beget stories. It is then that connections with others are made. Connections then affirm the importance of reading, both to oneself and to others.
And children, when they take a book in hand, and later read it, are increasing the likelihood that they will end up with a larger world view than those who bypass this opportunity.
The BLBP has laid a strong foundation in honoring its mission statement. It’s now time in honoring its vision statement to build the house. And so it’s with this in mind that the BLBP will, on October 29, host an event that we are calling Leap into Literacy. This will take place at the Palmer Train Depot, starting at 12:30 p.m. Our primary purpose is to call attention to the fact that we’ll soon be offering community literacy classes and holding more literacy-related events.
It takes a village, and our village consists of partners who think as we do, which is in working together, we can make Alaska literate again.
Some of our partners, and their event contributions follow:
The Palmer Public Library will hold its weekly Baby Lap Sit (0-2) at 10 a.m. and its story time (2-5) at 11 a.m.
Lunch will be served at 12:30 a.m. Franz Bakery will be serving grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, Kid’s Kupboard will be serving healthy snacks, and Kaladi Brothers will be providing coffee.
On-site partners will include The Palmer Lion’s Club who will be providing free vision screening. Alaska Family Services and The Palmer United Way will be on site.
Children will have the opportunity to read to dogs, and at 2 p.m. Molly of Denali will join The Not ready for Storytime players to provide entertainment to a varied audience. We all hope to see you there!
Send in your coloring page and you can win a gift card to a local business!
OCTOBER
October 18 @ 12PM
Self-Care Day with Alaska Sleep Clinic and Global Credit Union
Global Credit Union 851 USA Circle (907) 357-6700 jhines@alaskasleep.com
October 19 @ 11:30AM
Talk by Stephen Haycox
Alaska Professional Communicators
Glacier Brewhouse 737 West 5th Avenue liz@frontierscientists.com (907) 240-1073
Cost: $28
October 19 @ 11AM
Vitamin D Class
All About Herbs
4621 East Palmer-Wasilla Highway, Suite #104 (907) 376-8327
October 19 @ 8PM
Penny’s Night Out
Spread Love Entertainment
Matanuska Brewing Company Midtown 2830 C Street
keith@spreadloveentertainment.com (907) 205-4592
Cost: $20
October 19 @ 4:30PM
WKHS Dessert Auction
Wasilla-Knik Historical Society
Palmer Train Depot 610 S Valley Way dancarney2002@gmail.com (907) 671-2200
Cost: $55
October 25 @ 1PM
Moby 2 Brings Vaccines to You Trapper Creek
Sunshine Community Health Center
Vitus - Trapper Creek Alaska, Mile 115.5, Parks Hwy, Trapper Creek, AK 99683, USA www.sunshineclinic.org (907) 376-2273
October 26 @ 10AM
WASI Hosts Autumn Harvest Brunch
Fundraiser & ‘Taste of the Valley’ Raffle
Wasilla Area Seniors, Inc.
1301 S Century Circle marlenem@alaskaseniors.com (907) 206-8800
October 26th & November 2nd @ 1PM
Decorate Sugar Skulls for Día de los Muertos
Wasilla Museum and Visitor Center
Wasilla Museum and Visitor Center 391 N Main St (907) 373-9071 museum@cityofwasilla.gov
October 31 @ 4PM
Youth 360 Wasilla 2nd Annual
Trunk or Treat
Youth 360
501 E Bogard Rd, Clubhouse at Good Shepard Parking Lot wasilla@youth-360.org (907) 376-0360
NOVEMBER
November 1 @ 9AM
Quit Smoking with Sunshine CHC
Sunshine Community Health Center
34300 South Talkeetna Spur Road HC 89 BOX 8190 (907) 376-2273
Billed to Insurance
November 2 @ 11AM
Sprouts 101: All About Herbs
All About Herbs 4621 East Palmer-Wasilla Highway, Suite # 104 (907) 376-8327
November 2 @ 10AM
1st Saturday Vendors Market
1st Saturday Vendor Market
Mat Su Borough Gym
350 E Dahlia Ave matanuskapens@gmail.com (907) 707-9948
November 2 10:30AM
Valley Garden Club Regular Meeting
Valley Garden Club
Grace Community Church 900 Leatherleaf golfdrum2@gmail.com (907) 982-7570
November 6 @ 5:30PM
Palmer Community Foundation
Palmer Senior Center 1132 S Chugach St palmer@alaskacf.org (360) 292-3891
November 9 @ 10AM
Girls on the Run Fall 5k Celebration
Girls on the Run Southcentral Alaska
Goose Lake 2811 UAA Drive director@gotrsouthcentralak.org (360) 771-8953
Cost: $10-$45
November 14th,15th,16, & 17th @ 9AM Consign49 Fall/Holiday Consignment Sale Consign49
Raven Hall - Alaska State Fairgrounds 2075 Glenn Highway info@consign49.com (907) 360-9571
November 16 @ 11AM
Herbs for Diabetes
All About Herbs
All About Herbs
4621 East Palmer-Wasilla Highway, Suite # 104 (907) 376-8327
SPIN INTO ALASKA JUNIOR THEATER’S NEW “BOLD, BRIGHT & BREATHTAKING” SEASON WITH THE RETURN OF 360 ALLSTARS!
Contributed by Rowan Holmes
Get ready for an unforgettable night of exhilarating entertainment as Alaska Junior Theater kicks off its highly anticipated “Bold, Bright & Breathtaking” Season with the return of the spectacular 360 ALLSTARS! After a sold-out show in 2016, this groundbreaking performance is back and better than ever to celebrate their 10th anniversary. Join us on Saturday, November 9, 2024, at 7:00 PM at the Atwood Concert Hall in the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts for a thrilling experience that promises to dazzle audiences of all ages.
This breathtaking theatrical performance explores all forms of rotation with a stellar cast of world-class break-dancers, basketball freestylers, BMX flatlanders and Roue Cyr artists to deliver a super-charged urban circus.
360 ALLSTARS showcases some of Australia’s best performers, alongside celebrated international artists from UK, Europe & USA connecting the street with the elite. Boasting a stellar international cast of World Champion and World Record-holding athletes and artists, 360 ALLSTARS is a spectacular fusion of the extraordinary artistry that emerges from street culture.
In addition to the public show, Alaska Junior Theater is thrilled to offer school performances from November 6 - 8, 2024, at 10:00 AM and 11:45 AM. These school shows provide an incredible opportunity for students across Alaska to witness the magic of live performance and be inspired by the artistry of 360 ALLSTARS.
Tickets for the public show are expected to go quickly, so be sure to secure yours soon. Whether you’re looking for a family outing or an adventure with friends, 360 ALLSTARS is a mustsee event that promises excitement and wonder from start to finish. This show will captivate audiences of all ages.
Public Show:
Date: Saturday, November 9, 2024
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Atwood Concert Hall, Alaska Center for the Performing Arts
Tickets range between $19 - $50.
School Shows:
Dates: November 6 - 8, 2024
Times: 10:30 AM & 12:15 PM
Tickets: $10
Location: Atwood Concert Hall, Alaska Center for the Performing Arts this event would be a great experience for homeschool families.
Location:
Atwood Concert Hall, Alaska Center for the Performing Arts
Don’t miss out on this extraordinary show. Grab your tickets today by calling 907-263-ARTS or online at CENTERTIX.
COM and get ready to embark on a “Bold, Bright & Breathtaking” adventure with Alaska Junior Theater!
Season Tickets: The Best Way to Experience It All
With a lineup this incredible, why settle for just one show? Season tickets are your golden ticket to experiencing the full magic of Alaska Junior Theater’s 2024-2025 Season. Not only will you guarantee your seats at all five unforgettable performances, but you’ll also save up to 20% off regular ticket prices. That’s a win-win! Plus, season ticket holders enjoy the best seats in the house and other exclusive benefits that make your theater experience even more special.
Get your Season Tickets today at 907263-ARTS or online at CENTERTIX.COM.
For more information about the
shows, to check out cool videos or to find out about FREE Community Events, visit our website at AKJT.ORG.
ALASKA JUNIOR THEATER
Founded in 1981, Alaska Junior Theater is a private, nonprofit organization that brings the best in professional theatre from around the world to Alaska’s young audiences. Each year, thousands of students attend a variety of live performances, which share the common educational goal of “bringing learning to life.” For many students, AJT’s schooltime presentations are their only exposure to professional performing arts. For our school shows, Alaska Junior Theater remains committed to providing subsidized tickets and finding direct ties to Alaska Content Standards, creating study guides and providing busing transportation in Anchorage to ensure all children receive the opportunity to experience the performing arts. It is a true symbol of our commitment to artistic quality, educational content and community outreach.
Brooke B. Indigo S.
Trip H Lilliah R.
SOMETHING ROTTEN! THE MUSICAL IS SOMETHING DELIGHTFUL!
Contributed by Janel Gagnon
Valley Performing Arts’s next show to hit the stage (in collaboration with the Glenn Massay Theater) is a farcical musical entitled Something Rotten! It is Something Delightful! How often does anyone get to use the word farcical? Never!
To be clear, that exclamation point and the one in the title are both Something Intentional! One of the show’s writers, John O’ Farrell wrote of the
show and the title, “We had called the show Something Rotten! We wanted to give the critics an easy first shot. Oh, and yes, exclamation marks are compulsory.” The ache in the face and stomach audience members will feel from laughing, however, is not compulsory. It is simply unavoidable. And, dear Make a Scene readers, therein lies the antidote to the show’s peculiar title: laughter - lots of it - and it comes packaged in the form of a musical-within-a-musical. Cue: metadrama
as a dramatic convention to advance the plot of the main piece used so often by Shakespeare and his contemporaries during the Renaissance. And, dear Make a Scene readers, therein lies the time period of Something Rotten! ... Welcome to the Renaissance, where everything is new, including the never before heard of musical. What, pray tell, is the title of the musical-within-a-musical then? It’s Omelette, the Musical, of course. What’s it about, you ask? Eggs! It’s also about Shakespeare’s (or was it Shakespeare’s?!) Hamlet, although the characters are not aware of it at the time.
Set in the 1590s, Something Rotten! Introduces us to brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom, played both valley thespians Jarett Hardy and Paul Lyremann, who wowed audiences’ months earlier in the Massay production of Into the Woods. The Bottom brothers are desperate to write a hit play but are stuck in the shadow of that Renaissance rock star known as “The Bard” (yes, Shakespeare) played by another valley favorite, Bronsen Stewart. When a local
soothsayer, Thomas Nostradamus (we promise) foretells that the future of theater involves singing, dancing and acting at the same time, Nick and Nigel set out to write the world’s very first musical. But amidst the scandalous excitement of opening night, the Bottom Brothers realize that reaching the top means being true to thine own self, and all that jazz.
Lovers of musicals will swoon at the numerous allusions to other hit musicals. Naysayers of musicals will come away from Something Rotten! Converted understanding that nothing’s as amazing as a musical, or confirmed as this raucous, uproariously funny show celebrates while simultaneously making fun of Shakespeare, theater, and especially musicals. So, leave your blues-sicals at home! Bright lights, stage fights and a dazzling chorus… Something Rotten! has it all!
Something Rotten! runs October 18 through November 3 at The Glenn Massay Theater on the Mat-Su College campus, 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday shows, 2 p.m. on Sundays. Adult $28; Military, Senior, Student, Child $25; Mat-Su College students inquire about free ticket pricing. ASL show is Saturday, October 26.
PAMYUA’S MUSIC HITS HOME IN ANCHORAGE
Contributed by Becky Kendall
Their upcoming performance is a celebration of Alaska Native culture
Anchorage Concert Association is pleased to present Pamyua at the Discovery theatre for a celebration of indigenous culture between the Elders & Youth Conference and Alaska Federation of Natives.
In addition to a full performance in the theatre, patrons can enjoy a pre-show celebration in the lobby, highlighting the richness of Indigenous culture and community. Visual art pieces will be on display, Yup’ik dance performances will be presented, and a special visit from Miss Earth Alaska, Yup’ik-born Larissa Schierholt will be there to welcome guests.
After sharing Alaska Native culture
on tours around the world for the last 29 years, Pamyua returns to Anchorage to celebrate their Indigenous traditions, history, and storytelling. Experience the joy and pride of welcoming Alaska’s very own internationally acclaimed band, right here at home.
ABOUT PAMYUA
Pamyua showcases Inuit culture though music and dance performance. The show is a platform to share indigenous knowledge and history. Their style derives from traditional melodies reinterpreted with contemporary vocalization and instrumentation. Often described as “Inuit Soul Music,” Pamyua has discovered their own genre. Band members, Phillip Blanchett, Qacung Blanchett, and Ossie Kairaiuak are proud to represent Indigenous culture. The group believes unity is possible
though music and dance. Together, each member works to interpret Inuit traditions masterfully with joy and sincerity. The response to this message is tremendous as the group is a symbol of pride for Alaska’s indigenous people and to all who see them perform.
Pamyua’s performances aim to honor and share indigenous traditions through ceremony, songs, and dance.
Anchorage Concert Association
Anchorage Concert Association is a nonprofit organization with the mission to inspire and enhance the community through the performing arts. Anchorage Concert Association connects people through performance and presents internationally acclaimed artists from the entire spectrum of the performing arts. Learn more at anchorageconcerts.org.
Anchorage Concert Association Upcoming Shows
Skerryvore, October 4, 2024, Atwood Concert Hall
Capitol Fools, October 5, 2024, Atwood Concert Hall
CHOIR! CHOIR! CHOIR!, October 11, 2024, Discovery Theatre
Pamyua, October 16, 2024, Discovery Theatre
Waipuna, November 1, 2024, Discovery Theatre
Potted Potter, November 7-10, 2024, Discovery Theatre
Sammy Miller and The Congregation, November 15, 2024, Discovery Theatre
The Nutcracker with Eugene Ballet, Nov. 29 – Dec. 1, 2024, Atwood Concert Hall
