Upcoming Featured Events

A Diverse Perspective

Thursday, July 13, 2023
6:00pm – 7:30pm
John A. and Carole O. Moran Lecture Hall

The Idaho Centennial Trail is a nearly 1,000-mile-long trail spanning the length of Idaho, extending from the Idaho-Nevada border to the Canadian border, encompassing all the variety that the state has to offer. It was recognized as the state trail in 1990, when Idaho was celebrating its 100-year benchmark after becoming a state. The ICT travels through some of the most rugged and remote country in the Lower 48, including three designated wilderness areas, one proposed wilderness area, and several roadless areas. As long trails go, it’s regarded as one of the most difficult in the nation.

Come hear from four Idahoans—John Lloyd, Lisa and Jeremy Johnson, and Dan Noakes—who have hiked the trail in its entirety! This panel, facilitated by the Selway Bitterroot Frank Church Foundation, will give attendees an inside perspective on hiking the trail from both thru-hikers and a section-hiker. You’re sure to leave inspired for your next adventure!

In partnership with the Selway Bitterroot Frank Church Foundation. This program will be livestreamed and recorded for later viewing. 

Lisa and Jeremy Johnson’s new book, The Hiker’s Guide: Idaho Centennial Trail, will be available for sale from Chapter One at the event.

More/register here.

with Dr. Lindsay DeMarchi

It was true when Carl Sagan said, “we are made of star-stuff,” but we contain far more—a universe, in fact!

Come spend the evening with visiting Astronomer-in-Residence Dr. Lindsay DeMarchi. Relax as we unwind into dazzling mixtures of nebulae and galaxies, with commentary from history’s great poets and writers alike. We will reminisce with stars about the end of their lives, and how their cosmic legacy has been handed down to us on our humble Earth.

Presented in partnership with the Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve Astronomer-in-Residence Program.

Registration is recommended to save a seat. This program will also be livestreamed and available to watch later.

More/register here.

The Wood River Museum of History and Culture Opens July 6, 2023

Grand Opening Celebration: July 26, 2023

Exhibits and Spaces

All the exhibits at the Wood River Museum include interactive elements, where visitors are encouraged to write, type, talk, and remember – because we all are part of history! For example, in the Hemingway exhibit, individuals can sit at a typewriter like the one that Hemingway used and try typing their own true sentences. The Museum also includes a small gift shop with unique gifts that relate to the exhibits and regional history.

Shoshone-Bannock Homelands

The Tribal Room honors the history and present-day of the Shoshone and Bannock Tribes, which have inhabited the lands of Central Idaho since time immemorial.

How in the World Did You Get to Sun Valley?

This exhibit explores the many reasons and ways that people have come to this hard-to-reach area over time. It is not easy to find Sun Valley and Central Idaho in general, here in the high desert mountains of the American West, but a wide range of people have done so…

Portrait of a Mountain

A Writer in New Country: Hemingway in 1939

This exhibit examines who Hemingway was when he arrived in 1939: a writer at his peak, a globetrotter drawn to remote places, a rugged outdoor enthusiast, and a man with complicated personal relationships.

Cabinet of Wonders

The Cabinet of Wonders invites visitors to discover history by opening the doors and drawers of a fanciful cabinet that holds a great variety of regional history artifacts – from a telegraph key to vintage skis and sheep shears.

More about the Museum here.

More about the Exhibits here.

See past exhibits from the Regional History Museum here.

About the Making of the Museum here.

The 2023 Sun Valley Jewish Film Festival is presented by the Wood River Jewish Community. See three movies at The Community Library, free. No registration required.

The mission of the Wood River Jewish Film Festival is to offer outstanding world cinema that aims to educate, entertain and showcase films that portray the Jewish experience. 

June 22: Farewell Mr. Haffman

Winner of 18 Audience Favorite Awards
Paris 1942. During Nazi occupation. A jeweler, Joseph Haffman, arranges for his family to flee the city from Nazis. He offers his employee Francois Mercier and his wife the chance to take over his store until the conflict subsides. The two men agree but with dire consequences that will change the fate of all three characters. A gripping story. 
1hr. 55min. Language: French (English subtitles)

June 27: Greener Pastures

Nominated for 12 Israeli Academy Awards 
A newly widowed Israeli, low on money and friends hatches an unexpected plan to change things. Filled with endearing performances, this is a surefire crowd pleaser. Don’t miss. Nominated for Best Israeli Film.
1hr 30min. Language: Hebrew (English subtitles)

June 29: Tiger Within

Emmy Award-winning actor, Ed Asner, in his final role gives a remarkable performance in this very special film. 
Tiger Within is a tender hearted story about the growing friendship between a lonely and homeless teenage girl and a holocaust survivor. This wonderful film is filled with universal messages of forgiveness, fortitude, and healing. A must see.
1 hr. 38 min. Language: English

by Helen Hoang 

The Community Library’s Together We Read book club is hosted the third Tuesday of every other month and led by a diverse range of library staff. Books cover all genres from new fiction to classics to nonfiction, young adult, graphic novels, and everything in between. Join us for one discussion or many!

June’s pick is The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang. The discussion will be led by operations director Nicole Lichtenberg. Registration is recommended to join us.

Beginning in April, the Library will have multiple copies of The Kiss Quotient circulating in our collection. Please come in or talk to our librarians about reserving a copy. 

More/register here.

About The Kiss Quotient:

Stella Lane thinks math is the only thing that unites the universe. She comes up with algorithms to predict customer purchases–a job that has given her more money than she knows what to do with, and way less experience in the dating department than the average thirty-year-old.

It doesn’t help that Stella has Asperger’s and French kissing reminds her of a shark getting its teeth cleaned by pilot fish. Her conclusion: she needs lots of practice–with a professional. Which is why she hires escort Michael Phan. The Vietnamese and Swedish stunner can’t afford to turn down Stella’s offer, and agrees to help her check off all the boxes on her lesson plan–from foreplay to more-than-missionary position…

As Michael and Stella’s no-nonsense partnership takes them out of the bedroom and into a fulltime practice relationship, being together starts making a strange kind of sense. And the pattern that emerges will convince Stella that love is the best kind of logic…

with Susan Bauer-Wu 

When the Dalai Lama and Greta Thunberg spoke for the first time in January 2021, millions of people around the world took notice. “It is encouraging to see how you have opened the eyes of the world to the urgency to protect our planet, our only home,” the Dalai Lama wrote to Greta before their meeting.

In her new book, A Future We Can Love: How We Can Reverse the Climate Crisis with the Power of Our Hearts and Minds, Susan Bauer-Wu shares the words of these two great figures, generations apart, bringing them into dialogue with cutting-edge climate scientists, activists, and spiritual leaders to start a world-changing conversation. Readers embark on a four-part journey toward active hope in the face of the climate crisis: from knowledge of climate science through the capacity for change, to the will that is needed and the actions we can take.

In partnership with the Flourish Foundation. Registration is recommended to save your seat. Book signing to follow. This event will be livestreamed and available to view later. Link forthcoming.

Susan Bauer-Wu, PhD, RN, FAAN, is the president of the Mind & Life Institute, which serves as the primary convener, catalyst and community builder for the contemplative sciences. She began her career as a registered nurse caring for individuals with cancer and mental illness and those facing the end of life, followed by doctoral and post-doctoral training in psychoneuroimmunology and psycho-oncology. She has taught and researched mindfulness and compassion practices in health care and higher education at the University of Virginia, Emory University, Harvard Medical School and the University of Massachusetts. Susan has been teaching Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and leading retreats and workshops for over 20 years, and is also the author of the book, Leaves Falling Gently: Living Fully with Serious & Life-Limiting Illness through Mindfulness, Compassion & Connectedness.

More/register here.