If you’ve ever wondered if the saying is true, and there really is no place like home, ask Mike Murray. He’s been pretty much everywhere else.

Murray, a 26-year-old singer and songwriter, grew up in Kalispell, then, after graduating from high school in 2003, spent the next seven years traveling the world while working with international aid organizations.

 

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First Best Place and the Columbia Fall High School class of 2013 are in high gear this week preparing for “an evening of epic proportions.” On Friday, March 23, Columbia Falls will host the Showcase and Endowment Ball as a fundraiser for the two groups.

The evening kicks off at 5:30 p.m. with a dinner and live auction at Glacier Discovery Square before moving down the road to Columbia Falls High School for a ball that will feature food, games and live music by the Copper Mountain Band. Tickets for both events are $50 or $12 for just the ball.

First Best Place is a community action group and its primary goal is to help build stronger communities in the Flathead Valley and specifically Columbia Falls. One of its most notable projects is the Glacier Discovery Square, a community center on Nucleus Avenue.

For more information about the showcase and endowment ball on Friday, March 23, visit www.firstbestplace.org or call (406) 892-1363. All proceeds from the casual and semi-formal event go toward the First Best Place project and the Columbia Falls High School Academic and Alumni Fund.

 

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Throwing a party at the library is normally an unthinkable act, but you won’t get “shushed” on Thursday, March 22 when the Flathead County Library Foundation hosts the annual “Loud at the Library” fundraiser.

The event takes place on the second floor of the Main Library in Kalispell and raises money to support county library programs.

 

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The Sandpiper Art Gallery and Gift Shop is a nonprofit art museum owned and operated by volunteers in and around the Polson area. The gallery features the work of local artists and often rotates. The work includes everything from photography to paintings, sculpture and multimedia.

The gallery also has a gift shop and sells the work of local artists.

 

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Cajun-Creole cuisine is one of the most popular and widely recognized of the many unique regional cuisines here in the United States. With roots in the deep south of Louisiana and made famous in recent years by celebrity chefs like Emeril Lagasse and Paul Prudhomme, dishes like gumbo and jambalaya draw influences from all over the world and combine local ingredients to create the bold flavors that make them some of my all-time favorites. In this recipe we will make another one of these amazing southern classics … shrimp etouffee!

 

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Stepping into Robert M. Seymour’s garage means more than just stepping over and around what he calls his “organized chaos.” It means stepping into the artist’s mind.

Seymour has always been an artist, having studied it in college, but recently he’s embraced a new medium, creating something he calls “pipescapes.” The durable pieces are stitched together with scrap metal, copper pipe and solder to create something that makes a statement to him, but also lets the viewer come up with their own interpretations.

 

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Great Northern Brewing Company in Whitefish and Glacier Distilling Company in Coram teamed up for a one-of-a-kind local Wheatfish Whiskey. The Wheatfish is a custom mash of wheat and barley fermented by the brewery for the distillery, which distilled the mash into a whiskey and aged it in oak.

Click here to read the whole story "Coram Distillery Unveils New Wheatfish Whiskey" by Dillon Tabish.

Click the image or use the arrows to see more photographs.

 

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If you enjoy spicy peanut sauce, you’ll love this dish. It’s very tasty and simple to create, and the noodles can be prepared ahead of time since they are served at room temperature. The noodles, combined with warm sliced chicken, make this a terrific dish to serve at a party.

Serves four people

 

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