Author Craig Johnson, a Hemingway Writer-In-Residence with The Community Library, joins us to discuss his popular Longmire book series, including his most recent book, Daughter of the Morning Star (September 2021) and his upcoming Hell and Back (September 2022).

A book signing with Iconoclast Books will follow.

Registration is required to join us in person, as space is limited. Craig’s talk will also be livestreamed on Vimeo. Watch here.

Craig Johnson is the New York Times bestselling author of the Longmire mysteries, the basis for the hit Netflix original series Longmire. He is the recipient of the Western Writers of America Spur Award for fiction, and his novella Spirit of Steamboat was the first One Book Wyoming selection. He lives in Ucross, Wyoming, population twenty-five.

Ketchum Housing Strategist Carissa Connelly, City Administrator Jade Riley and implementing partners will present the City of Ketchum’s Annual Housing Action Plan, with a holistic set of goals and priority year-one actions. The Plan is informed by (1) a housing needs assessment that analyzed over 1,100 survey responses, interviews of over 30 community members, and other related data analyses, and (2) a Housing Toolkit that incorporates ideas proposed during community outreach, a scan of comparable communities, and housing policy best practices. 

Other speakers will include: Susan Scoville, Ketchum Urban Renewal Agency Chair; Seana Doherty, Housing Manager for the Town of Truckee; Herbert Romero, community organizer; Brooke Pace McKenna, Co-Executive Director of the Hunger Coalition; Mary Fauth, Director/Co-Founder of the Blaine County Charitable Fund; Sally Gillespie, Executive Director of Spur Community Foundation; Carter Cox, Founder of Nested Strategies Inc.; Sarah Michael, Chair of the Blaine County Housing Authority; and Tim Carter, Ketchum Planning & Zoning Commissioner.

This presentation will be livestreamed and available to view live or later on Vimeo. Click here to watch. Seating is limited, and advance registration is recommended.

A New Pathway to Aaron Copland’s “Appalachian Spring” with J Dominic 

Between 1942-44, composer Aaron Copland and choreographer Martha Graham collaborated on creating a ballet. To this day, the ballet’s modified, award-winning score lives as vibrantly as when it premièred. Nevertheless, because Graham changed the ballet’s title from Copland’s Ballet for Martha to the geographic imagery partially titling it today: Appalachian Spring, a popular myth persists.

Essentially, Graham claimed that she found the words “Appalachian Spring,” while reading a poem after Copland completed his commissioned score. On the other hand, Copland, says the opposite. In his autobiography Aaron Copland states that Hart Crane’s American epic, The Bridge, was “the basis for the script” before the music was written.

Join us as J Dominic explores this widely known, but generally-ignored, aspect of the Copland–Graham collaboration, and suggests possible answers to the stimulating question posed by distinguished scholar and noted author Annegret Fauser: “… what are we talking about when we speak of Appalachian Spring?” As a culmination, Dominic will also merge for us Copland’s music with its inspirational source: a portion of the lyric poem, The Bridge, by Hart Crane, reuniting a most beloved piece of Americana and its originating source.

This program is in-person only. It will not be livestreamed or available to view later. Please REGISTER HERE to save your seat!

J Dominic moved from Rhode Island to Sun Valley in 1982, and he currently lives in Boise. He is the author of the 2016 novel, Reaching Montaup, and he taught English and drama for 25 years. His thesis, “Appalachian BRIDGE: A New Pathway to Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring,” delves into what Dominic claims is the “incomplete” origin story of Aaron Copland’s 1945 award-winning orchestral suite Appalachian Spring and demonstrates that classical music lends itself to new and varied interpretations.

The new Foyer exhibit explores the Idaho State Archives’ work in partnership with the Preservation Lab at the University of Utah’s J. Willard Marriott Library.

Discover the multi-year conservation effort and the history of Idaho’s Constitutional Convention during the summer of 1889. Learn about the delegates from Alturas County (which includes present day Blaine County) who contributed and debated ideas to be drafted into the constitution and discover how you can access this vital piece of Idaho history and many others in your own home. 

On display in the Library’s Foyer from until June 25, 2022.

Watch the replay of the Panel Discussion on Vimeo here. 

Appreciate our Past, Honor Our Present, Create Our Future

Wendolyn Holland, author of Sun Valley: An Extraordinary History, will share the history of what most remember as Warm Springs Ranch, with photos and stories that shed light on those who came before. The 65-acre parcel along the south side of Warm Springs Creek has a rich history from its earliest days of settlement, connecting the canyon from the Philadelphia Smelter out to Guyer Hot Springs to its more recent and more familiar incarnation as the much-beloved Warm Springs Ranch the Simpson Family hosted for decades.
 
Warm Springs Preserve committee member Ali Long will also join us to share the process and plans for the future of the 65-acre parcel, which has most recently, and ongoing through its purchase in 2020, been offered up as a public park and off-leash dog area. The City of Ketchum is currently working to preserve the area as an open space in perpetuity for the community.
 
Space is limited, so register in advance to save your seat. The program will also stream on the Library’s Vimeo and be available to watch live or later. Click here to watch on Vimeo.

…with Idaho’s Refugee Speakers Bureau 

The Refugee Speakers Bureau is bringing the flavors of our stories and our foods to the Wood River Valley for two special events! Read and register below for Friday’s event, or click here to learn about our cooking class on Saturday.

On Friday, April 29, join us for an afternoon of storytelling from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. to hear from Idahoans who arrived in the U.S. as refugees. Hosted by The Community Library in Ketchum  in partnership with The Advocates, this free event is open to everyone of all ages. 

The Refugee Speakers Bureau, a program of the Idaho Office for Refugees, was established in 2015 and connects participants with communities around Idaho to share their stories and foster public dialogue. The Idaho Office for Refugees is the state administrator of the refugee resettlement program. We connect new Americans and Idaho communities to enrich lives and create belonging.

This event will also be live streamed on the Library’s Vimeo and available to watch later. Click here to watch.