Thursday

Flathead Valley Community College Theatre will present the popular Broadway musical "Cabaret" at the collegeís Black Box Theatre on Dec. 10-19. Shows will take place at 7 p.m. on Thursdays through Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 12. The musical is set in early 1930s Berlin, just before the rise of the Hitler regime. The show is recommended for mature audiences. Tickets are $20 general admission and $10 students and seniors available online at www.fvcc.edu/student-life/theatre, at the FVCC book store or by calling 756-3814.

The committee formed to find a way to bring back taxi service to Whitefish will meet on Thursday, Dec. 10, at 3 p.m. at the Whitefish Community Center, 121 Second Street, home of the Golden Agers. The public is welcome to attend. For more information, contact Jan Metzmaker at the Whitefish Convention and Visitor Bureau at 862-3390.

The Institute of Noetic Sciences local community group will meet at the Bohemian Grange, behind Montana Coffee Traders on U.S. 93, on Thursday, Dec. 10, at 7 p.m. for a Christmas celebration and a thought-provoking film. "Power of Forviemenss," winner of the Sun Valley Spiritual Film Festival in 2007, features Thich Nhat Hanh, Thomas Moore, Marianne Williamson, Elie Wiesel and others. Members and visitors can mingle over tea, coffee and treats. For more information, call Alice Hutchison at 862-9591.

Friday

The Downtown Christmas Stroll will take place on Friday, Dec. 11, from 6-8 p.m. with street-corner caroling competition and a new type of parade. The top-three caroling teams in the "Whitefish Fruitcakes & Nuts Street Corner Christmas Caroling Competition" will perform at Central Avenue and First Street at 8:35 p.m. to determine the winner. The "Merry-go-Round" parade will take place from 5:45 to 6:45 p.m. Photos with Santa will take place at McGough & Co. or with pets at Tailwaggers starting at 6:15 p.m. The Alpine Ringers Bell Choir and North Valley Music School will perform at the First Presbyterian Church at 5 and 6 p.m. Horse-drawn wagon rides down Central Avenue will also be available.

The Christian Center in Kalispell will present "Scrooge" on Dec. 11-13 and 18-20 at 7 p.m. and on Dec. 12 and 19 at 2 p.m. The play is based on the Charles Dicken's book "A Christmas Carol." Free tickets are available at all Montana Coffee Traders. For more information, call 752-6426 or visit online at www.kalispellchristiancenter.org.

A softball skills clinic will be held in the Whitefish High School gym on Friday through Sunday, Dec. 11-13, for parents, coaches and players with various skill levels in grades 3-12. The clinic is sponsored by the Whitefish Softball Association and will be led by the head softball coach at Whitworth University in Spokane and the hitting and recruiting instructor at Spokane Falls Community College. Cost is $40 and $10 per additional session. For more information, call Jamie Compton at 212-7993 or e-mail jamiecompton2000@yahoo.com.

Saturday

The Izaak Walton Inn in Essex, on U.S. Highway 2 halfway to East Glacier, will hold a ski clinic on Dec. 12-13 that is designed for women to learn and develop specific skills for Nordic skiing. To learn more about the program, visit online at www.izaakwaltoninn.com or call 406-888-5700.

Contra dancing will take place at the Northridge Lutheran Church gym, 323 Northridge Drive, in Kalispell, on Saturday, Dec. 12, from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. The family-friendly event will feature the Celtic jigs and reels of Skippin' a Groove. Caller Morna Leonard will teach all dance calls before each dance. Costs are $7 teens and adults and $15 families. Non-dancers may enjoy the music for free. For more information, contact Joe at 752-7469 or Sherry at 752-8226.

The Montana Army National Guard will host its 20th annual free Christmas at Our House Dinner on Saturday, Dec. 12, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Kalispell Armed Forces Reserve Center, 2989 U.S. 93, north of Kalispell. This year’s traditional holiday meal will consist of turkey and ham with all the trimmings. Santa Claus will appear from 1 to 4 p.m. with small gifts for all the children. Free transportation will be provided through a donation by the Special Friends Advocacy Program and Eagle Transit. Call 758-2428 for pickup times and locations in the Whitefish area. For more information, contact Lt. Col. Mark Boettcher at 758-3101 or 465-2216.

The Glacier Association will host an open house and reception to showcase the latest Glacier Centennial book, "A View Inside Glacier National Park: 100 Years, 100 Stories," on Saturday, Dec. 12, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at their store on U.S. Highway 2 in Columbia Falls. Less than a year ago, the Glacier Centennial Program made a call for stories to help commemorate Glacierís 100th anniversary. The new book is a collection of 100 short stories and poems written by those who wanted to share their park experiences. For more information on the Centennial, visit online at www.glaciercentennial.org.

Sunday

Monday

Flathead Audubon will present Dan Caseyís annual pep talk about the coming Christmas Bird Count on Monday, Dec. 14, at 7 p.m. in The Summit, in Kalispell. Casey, the Northern Rockies bird conservation region coordinator for the American Bird Conservancy, will describe what more than three decades of Christmas bird counts in Bigfork have revealed about local bird populations and the power of citizen science. Bird counts take place in Bigfork on Saturday, Dec. 19, Kalispell on Jan. 3, as well as Ninepipe, Upper Swan, Glacier National Park, Eureka and Libby.

The Traumatic Brain Injury Support Group will hold a Christmas Fiesta at The Summit’s conference room in Kalispell on Monday, Dec. 14, from 6 to 8 p.m. for survivors, friends, family and caregivers. The potluck dinner will have a Mexican theme. There will entertainment with a pinata.

Tuesday

Rev. Canon Bradley Wirth will present a reading of "A Christmas Offertory" at All Saints Episcopal Church, 2048 Conn Road, on Tuesday, Dec. 15, at 7 p.m. as a benefit for The Rolling Dog Ranch Animal Sanctuary, in Ovando. Refreshments will follow in Memorial Hall. For more information, call 862-2863.

The Flathead Valley Community College Art Department will host a free special closing reception for its Student Art Show in the Student Art Gallery inside the Arts and Technology Building on Tuesday, Dec. 15, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. The event will feature hundreds of student works, including photography, paintings, ceramics, graphic arts, drawings, jewelry and printmaking. Holiday refreshments will be provided, along with a special guest appearance by Saint Nick. The Student Art Show is currently available for public view at no charge Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. For more information, call 756-3896 or visit online at www.fvcc.edu.

Wednesday

Flathead BodyTalk Practitioners will sponsor a free public viewing of "The Living Matrix" at the Whitefish Public Library on Wednesday, Dec. 16, at 6 p.m. For more information, call 730-2425.