tour

Final viewing

The Oscar Anderson House Museum, Anchorage's only house museum, is preparing to button up for the season. The final guided tours of the summer will take place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Sunday. See how Alaskans lived when the town was brand new -- then go home and thank your lucky stars as you adjust the thermostat and toss a ready-made dinner into the microwave before throwing a load of laundry into your automatic washing machine and pushing the button. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for children age 5-12. The fees go toward preserving the 1915 house, located at 420 M St., near Elderberry Park. Expect it to open for holiday tours closer to Christmas.

show

Expansive artist

Fairbanks artist Da-ka-xeen Mehner will deliver a talk in advance of the opening of his new solo show, "Finding My Song," at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Anchorage Museum 625 C St. Always intriguing and pushing the boundaries of art forms and ideas, Mehner includes rawhide and film in the new multimedia installations. The show will open Friday with the artist acting as tour guide to answer questions between 7 and 9 p.m.

music

Jazz tour

Fresh from his stint as the orchestra in sold-out performances of "Gold Rush Girls," Anchorage pianist and composer Dan McElrath will kick off his "907 Central Jazz Tour" at 8 p.m. Thursday at SubZero Microlounge, 612 F St. McElrath is joined by Homer bass player Milo Matthews and Portland, Ore., guitarist Mike Doolin. All three have recently released albums and expect to hit the studio after the tour, which heads to the Sunrise Lodge on Kenai Lake the next day, followed by Homer (Bunnell St. Gallery), Seward (High School Auditorium), Girdwood (Silvertip Grill) and Kodiak (High School Auditorium) before returning to Anchorage for several more gigs. Doolin doesn't just strum, he also makes his own instruments, like the elegant -- and bizarrely complicated -- harp guitar. You may not hear anything like this for a while.

Final viewing