Party and auction launch Out North's season
Out North's annual Season Launch Party and Silent Auction sets the stage for the year with previews and performances starting at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Out North (3800 DeBarr Road).
Tickets are $30 and include dinner, entertainment, music by Winterland, a no-host bar and bidding rights for auction items such as wine, art, restaurant gift certificates and membership to other art venues like the Anchorage Museum.
The 2008-09 season will include annual favorites featuring local performers, such as "Under 30," as well as national acts including Bill Bowers' "It Goes Without Saying" and Jose Torres Tama's "A Cone of Uncertainty."
Season subscriptions will be sold at reduced rates at the launch party. Buy tickets and find out more at www.outnorth.org or just show up that night.
-- Dawnell Smith
VISUAL ART
Get creative outdoors with parks adventure
Artistry and adventure are a match made in heaven during the city's Pioneers' Perspective lecture and field trip this weekend. The program put on by the Anchorage Museum and Parks and Recreation Department includes an overview of the lives and art of Mount McKinley explorers Bradford Washburn and George Browne and an art-making field trip into Chugach State Park.
Participants will choose their medium -- photography, watercolors, pens, colored pencils or other portable supplies -- and learn to pack and use their equipment while on the move during a lecture and demonstration from 6 to 8 p.m. today at the museum (121 W. Seventh Ave., www.anchoragemuseum.org).
Then on Sunday, field trip participants can choose to meet at the Hilltop Ski Area chalet at 11:30 a.m. for a shuttle to Prospect Heights trail head or head straight to the Prospect parking lot at noon.
The idea is to keep this "a low-stress, enjoyable and inspirational encounter with nature, not a hill-country car rally," said Ronn Randall, the outdoor, adventure and fitness programmer for Parks and Recreation.
At the trail head, Randall will choose a route based on weather, visibility and the physical abilities of those who join the group, he said. Artist Jody Jenkins will accompany the group and guide its art-making activities. The event will finish at 7 p.m.
Anyone interested in the hike should go the lecture and demonstration tonight, though it's not required. Pioneers' Perspective costs $22 per person and is open to adults and children 16 or older.
Participants provide their own transportation, equipment and supplies, and class size is limited. Register by calling 343-4260 or e-mailing Randall at randallr@muni.org.
-- Dawnell Smith
MUSIC
Michael Davis shows how hip the 'bone can be
Trombonist Michael Davis has played for the Rolling Stones, but he also composes jazz music of his own, incorporating classical and pop/rock overtones.
As guest artist with the Alaska Jazz Workshop, Davis will perform music from his four CDs at a concert at 7:30 tonight at the UAA Arts Building Recital Hall. The show will include local musicians in ensemble pieces for two to four trombones, often with a rhythm section.
During his previous trip to Alaska in 2004, Davis found the level of musicianship in Alaska high and looked forward to working with students and professionals again. His musical influences include jazz greats as well as Steely Dan, Aaron Copland and, yes, the Stones.
Find out more about the jazz educator and musician at www.hip-bone music.com.
Tickets for Davis and the Alaska Jazz Workshop Instructors Jazz Quintet are $12 for adults and $8 for students in advance or $15 and $10 at the door. Children under 12 get in free. Reserve advance tickets by calling 332-3234 by 5 p.m. today.
The Alaska Jazz Workshop Student Jazz Ensemble will also perform. Find out more about the workshop or concert series at www.akjazz workshop.org.
-- Dawnell Smith
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