A Writing Workshop with Cynthia Nims 

Preserving cherished recipes from family and friends is a meaningful way to keep traditions alive and to ensure associated memories remain vibrant.

Join Cynthia Nims for a workshop focused on the value of these most beloved recipes. Cynthia has been writing recipes for cookbooks and magazines for many years. Inspiration for those recipes comes from countless sources, among them are recipes that had a beginning in her mom’s kitchen. She’ll talk about the treasure that she considers her mother’s falling-apart recipe folder to be. And she’ll share examples of how recipes that may seem a bit dated can find a place in your kitchen today. Bring along a cherished family recipe or two, if you like. There will be time for an informal exercise to help capture the stories of these recipes. 

Cynthia Nims is a Seattle-based author and consultant. Her most recent cookbook, Shellfish, was released in early 2022. Previous books include Oysters and Salty Snacks. Cynthia has served as the food editor of Seattle magazine, editor of Simply Seafood magazine and has contributed to Alaska Airlines Beyond, Cooking Light, and Coastal Living, among others. She publishes a bi-weekly newsletter Seafood Savvy available on Substack.

In addition and in partnership with the Sun Valley Culinary Institute. On Friday, January 27 and Sunday, January 29, Cynthia will also lead classes at the SVCI on “Gourmet Game Night” and “Homemade Salty Snacks.” Learn more here.

The Global Rhetorical Presidency and the Cold War” with Dr. Allison Prasch

Crowds swarm when U.S. presidents travel abroad, though many never hear their voices. The presidential body, moving from one secured location to another, communicates as much or more to these audiences than the texts of their speeches.

In The World is Our Stage, Allison M. Prasch considers how presidential appearances overseas broadcast American superiority during the Cold War. Drawing on extensive archival research, Prasch examines five foundational moments in the development of what she calls the “global rhetorical presidency:” Truman at Potsdam, Eisenhower’s “Goodwill Tours,” Kennedy in West Berlin, Nixon in the People’s Republic of China, and Reagan in Normandy. In each case, Prasch reveals how the president’s physical presence defined the boundaries of the “Free World” and elevated the United States as the central actor in Cold War geopolitics.

This program is presented in partnership with the Frank Church Institute at Boise State University. The event will be livestreamed and available to view later. Link forthcoming. A book signing will follow.

Allison M. Prasch is assistant professor of rhetoric, politics, and culture at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She will be joined by Sam Martin, scholar of public address and political communication with the Frank Church Institute.

Thursday, January 26 at 5:30 p.m. in the Lecture Hall.

More/Register here.

Housing Lessons and Opportunities with Jackson, Wyoming’s Housing Director 

In 2016, April Norton joined the Jackson/Teton County Housing Department as its first director, focusing on partnerships to create affordable housing in the Jackson Hole area. She spent the past decade developing programs and projects that help communities thrive. Through her work at the LOR Foundation, she engaged with rural landscapes and people throughout the Intermountain West, working on projects that included land and water conservation and affordable housing.

In many respects, the Jackson Hole area is a peer community and as such has similar struggles. April will describe these struggles and successes, what makes resort communities’ housing challenges unique, and what solutions and tools work well there. One such solution is deed-restricting housing units to people who live and/or work in the area and by income – which can be accomplished with a range of tools. Her county-wide efforts and diverse work experience also contributes to her understanding of the different roles that non-profits, governments, and for-profits play in the housing sphere and how best to allocate funds.

April Norton will be joined by Mary Wilson, Co-Founder and Director of the Wood River Community Housing Trust (WRCHT). WRCHT is a non-profit corporation formed to resolve the lack of housing in the Wood River Valley. Its mission is to acquire or develop affordable rental housing for the middle-income workforce.

This program will be livestreamed and available to watch later. Click here to watch online.

In collaboration with the City of Ketchum and the Wood River Community Housing Trust.

On display in the Community Library Foyer though January 21, 2023.

To develop his Blanket Cylinders, Chihuly researched blankets made by members of the Diné (Navajo) tribe after being exposed to rugs and blankets handloomed by Diné artists, which he saw while spending time in New Mexico in 1974.

In this Cylinder series, Chihuly initially experimented with drawings on glass vessels, using what is known as a “pick-up” technique.  Colorful glass threads were laid out in intricate designs inspired by the Navajo textiles, before being fused to the vessel in its molten state in a process informed by the artist’s background in weaving.

With this work, Dale Chihuly aims to convey his appreciation and respect for the histories, cultures, and arts of the Indigenous tribes of North America, and to recognize the influence of Native cultures on contemporary arts.

with Pat Edwards

Is the Big Wood River healthy? As with any ecological system, that is a complicated question that will take a lot of science, data, and study to determine. Anecdotally, community members of the Wood River Valley have very different answers. Some people look at the stunning beauty of the river on a fall day and can’t imagine a better picture of the word “vibrant,” while others may notice that they’re catching less fish than they used to and therefore think of the river as somehow less healthy than it once was, or could be. 

One way to determine the health of an ecosystem is to look at the living creatures that live within it!   

Aquatic macroinvertebrates are small animals that live in water, are big enough to see with the naked eye, and have no backbone. These animals include many types of insects as well as other animals such as worms, mollusks, and crustaceans. Most aquatic macroinvertebrates make their homes in rocks, leaves, and the sediment of streambeds. These aquatic creatures are excellent for studying when trying to find out how healthy an ecosystem is.   

Macroinvertebrate sampling is a critical tool in the arsenal of river evaluation techniques, and the Wood River Land Trust and Community Library are excited to host Patrick Edwards, who will talk about how macroinvertebrates can be studied as indicators of ecosystem health. 

Patrick Edwards is a senior instructor in the Environmental Science and Management Department at Portland State University and Director of the Environmental Professional Program. Patrick’s current research is focused on macroinvertebrate indicators of stream sediment and the effect of ecological restoration on aquatic communities. Patrick is very active in K-12 science education and environmental citizen science, and is used to making complicated programs (like macroinvertebrate sampling) seem easy to grasp for the public. 

This 1-hour talk will feature a presentation by Patrick, followed by a short presentation on the Wood River Land Trust’s brand new macroinvertebrate sampling program, before we’ll open up to questions from the audience. This will be the perfect opportunity for science loving kids and adults to dive into some of discipline behind better understanding our home river.   

The program will be livestreamed and available to view later. Click here to watch online.

This event is part of the Thinking Globally, Acting Locally speaker series – a partnership between the Wood River Land Trust and The Community Library. In this series we discuss how we can take local action in the face of global and regional challenges.

with the Sawtooth Avalanche Center 

Join us for a 2-hour presentation based on the Know Before You Go platform, introducing basic concepts about snow, avalanches, and traveling safely in and near avalanche terrain. Learn from the Friends of SAC instructor team of snow experts, mountain guides, and experienced avalanche educators. We invite everyone to join if you’re learning about avalanches for the first time or are a seasoned backcountry user ready for a yearly refresher.

No registration is needed to attend in person. This event will be livestreamed and recorded for later viewing. Click here to watch online.

The SAC will also be hosting field days the following weekend. Learn more here.