ZOOM — Mission Mountain Zen is offering free online meditation classes. Please join the Mission Mountain Zen Center on Wednesdays for an online meditation class led by Zen Teacher, Zenku. Classes include meditation instruction, practice and discussion via Zoom. The classes will be each Wednesday from 6-7:30 p.m. We will cultivate and deepen our centering skills and meditation practice during the class. Please join us and take advantage of this opportunity. For more information and a Zoom link to the class call Zenku at 847-721-0665 or email at: Jerry.Smyers@gmail.com.

KALISPELL — Come enjoy a pleasant, non-strenuous walk around Lone Pine State Park from at 3-4 p.m.

Meet at the Lone Pine State Park Visitor Center. This program is meant to offer a chance to enjoy the fall foliage in the park with guided information about local flora and fauna. Whether you are new to the area or have lived here your whole life, come learn about the local ecosystem of the Flathead Valley. Please call 406-755-2706, ext. 0, to register, as space is limited. Cost is free ($8 park entry fee still applies to out-of-state vehicles).

POLSON — Join hosts Jane and Mike Mitchell and Shannon and Mark Nunlist at the October meeting Thursday, Oct. 12, at 5:45 p.m. at the Masumola Clubhouse. Hosts are providing chicken pot pie. Please consider the following as you plan your additions to the meal plan: A – H salad or veggie; I – O hot dish; P - Z dessert. Remember your plates, silverware, beverage of choice and your dues check if you forgot it last month.  Dues are $20/individual or $40/family for the year.

POLSON — The North Lake County Public Library will present on Thursday, Oct. 12, from 6:30-8 p.m., “Hauntings of Montana” with Ellen Baumler. This is another in the Montana Library Network Virtual Program Series. This program is free and open to all. You must register to receive the link. Register at: https://tinyurl.com/hauntingsMT.  History and the supernatural are the canvas for this program that intertwines the past with the present. Historian, storyteller and award-winning author Ellen Baumler weaves a ghostly web in a thought-provoking journey to Montana’s most spirited places. Basing her true stories on firsthand accounts, personal interviews and historical records, her well-researched tales have scared and delighted audiences of all ages.

POLSON — A German dinner of schnitzel, spaetzle, red cabbage, salad and dessert will be served for $15 a plate at the Mission Valley Elks Lodge – 1695 on Oct. 13 at 6 p.m. Buy tickets in advance – ask bartender.

POLSON — The North Lake County Public Library’s Friends of the Library group has generously offered to take on our book and movie donation program. Starting now, we will accept encyclopedias that are 40 years old or older and textbooks. Condition rules still apply. There is no longer a limit to how many donations the library can take. However, if you are planning to bring more than three boxes of materials for donation, please contact us ahead of time so we can make arrangements. 

We still do not have the space to house donations, so the Friends will come to the library every other Friday to sort and haul them away to their storage facility for future book sales. 

If you have a large donation, we would appreciate it if you would drop off during the afternoon on either Oct. 13 or Oct. 27.

RONAN — Volunteers are needed for Coaches Day of Volunteers Unified Partners and Referees for Special Olympics Alex Braun Basketball Tournament on Oct. 13 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Call Lindsey Campbell at 406-304-4034 or email: LCampbell@somt.org for more information. 

BIGFORK — Flathead Lake State Park – Wayfarers Unit in Bigfork is holding its annual Fall Fest on Saturday, Oct. 14, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The event celebrates the arrival of fall with all the changes it brings to the park. The event will include food, warm beverages, games, crafts, prizes and fun for the whole family. 

There is no cost to attend the event and no reservation required.

POLSON — The Flathead Reservation Human Rights Coalition will sponsor a free film in their 7th Indigenous Film Series at the Showboat Stadium 6 in Polson at 1 p.m. on Oct. 14. 

“Daughter of a Lost Bird” is about Kendra, an adult Native adoptee, who reconnects with her birth family, discovers her Lummi heritage, and confronts issues of her own identity.

POLSON — Feeling lost in your faith? Free guidance every Sunday. Come join us on the hill at Polson Community Church at 10:30 a.m., 1814 First St. E. 

We also have “Seekers,” an adult Sunday School class, at 9:15 a.m.

 POLSON — The Good Shepherd Lutheran Church will hold its 53rd Annual Harvest Dinner on Tuesday, Oct. 17, for takeout only. Meal consists of Swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes/gravy, green beans, coleslaw, a roll and pumpkin pie. Please call ahead at 406-883-5864 to place orders. Dinners may be picked up between 4-6 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 17. Dinner is $15 each. Homemade Lefse will be available for sale as well. It is the desire of Good Shepherd to continue keeping prices reasonable because this dinner is a mission/outreach of our community. Donations are always welcome. Dinner proceeds will benefit Lake County Search and Rescue and Polson’s Senior Center. 

POLSON — Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 409 Fourth Ave. E, will hold their 53rd annual Harvest Dinner on Tuesday, Oct. 17, from 4-6 p.m. Take-out orders only for $15 per dinner. 

Dinners will include Swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes/gravy, coleslaw, green beans, rolls, and pumpkin pie. Homemade Lefse may be purchased at $5 for a package of four. 

Order ahead of time by calling or will be available for purchase at the door. Call 406-883-5864 to place your take-out order and or Lefse order. 

Everyone is welcome.

POLSON — On Wednesday, Oct. 18, from 12:30-1:30 p.m. the North Lake County Public Library’s TAG (Teen Advisory Group) will hold an event: Glow Crazy Paint by Number. Come paint with us. This event is for anyone interested in joining the library’s Teen Advisory Group. We will have some paint-by-number and some blank canvases - and we even have a bit of glow in the dark paint. If you have any questions, please call Felicia at: 406-883-8225 This program will be held at the library’s temporary location: 301 16th Ave. E (First United Methodist Church Building).

ZOOM — Mission Mountain Zen is offering free online meditation classes. Please join the Mission Mountain Zen Center on Wednesdays for an online meditation class led by Zen Teacher, Zenku. Classes include meditation instruction, practice and discussion via Zoom. The classes will be each Wednesday from 6-7:30 p.m. We will cultivate and deepen our centering skills and meditation practice during the class. Please join us and take advantage of this opportunity. For more information and a Zoom link to the class call Zenku at 847-721-0665 or email at: Jerry.Smyers@gmail.com.

KALISPELL — Flathead Valley Community College’s Continuing Education Center is hosting free community lectures, and no registration is necessary. Lectures are held in the Arts & Technology building, room 139. A lecture on “The Rise of China: Unrestricted Warfare and Cyber Aggression” will be held on Thursday, Oct. 19, from 6:30-8 p.m. China’s rise was built substantially on economic empowerment through engagement with the United States. This process has also included aggressive cyber operations against the U.S. homeland. Discuss China’s rise through the lens of China’s “three strategies” (Belt & Road Initiative, Military Modernization, and “Made in China 2025”) and the counterstrategies employed by the U.S. and its allies to deter this threat of a revised world order with Chinese economic and military power at its center. For more information about FVCC’s Continuing Education fall class offerings, visit: fvcc.edu/ContinuingEducation.

POLSON — A Polson Climate Cafe get together will take place on Friday, Oct. 20, from 9-11 a.m. Polson Climate Cafe is an open, accepting space for people concerned about the climate crisis to discuss what they are experiencing, witnessing, and what they want to create. It is sponsored by the Flathead Lakers and 350 Montana. We will gather around coffee and snacks at the Good Coffee Roasting Company on 214 Main St. in Polson.

POLSON — The Flathead Reservation Human Rights Coalition will sponsor a free film in their 7th

Indigenous Film Series at the Showboat Stadium 6 in Polson at 1 p.m. on Oct. 21. “Bring Her Home” is about 

three Indigenous women who fight to vindicate and honor their missing and murdered relatives.

KALISPELL — From 7:30-8:30 p.m. at Lone Pine State Park Visitor Center listen to talks about decomposers and bats. Without decomposers like carrion birds, insects, and fungi, the world as we know it would look very different. There’s a lot to discover about these organisms that help us out, often without us even knowing it. Learn more about how decomposers do their jobs at this ranger talk.

With over 1,400 species of bats in the world, these critters have come up with some creative ways to thrive. Find out more about the one true flying mammal in this ranger talk. Please call 406-755-2706 ext. 0 to register, as space is limited. Cost is free ($8 park entry fee still applies to out-of-state vehicles).

RONAN — On Saturday, Oct. 21, from 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Mission Valley United Methodist Church on Post Creek Hill will hold a pre-holiday bazaar and craft fair. There will be baked goods, gift items, and crafts. Get your Christmas shopping done early. Call for a table today 406-745-4327.

ARLEE — A free Developmental and Preschool Screening Clinic for children ages 0 to 5 in the Arlee School District will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 24, in the Arlee Elementary K-2 Building (406-726-3216) from 12:30-2:30 p.m. Please call to schedule an appointment for your child’s screening or to receive more information. This free screening will include gross motor, fine motor, language concepts, communication skills, communication concepts, hearing and vision screening. 

ST. IGNATIUS — News from Missoula Area Ed. Cooperative: A free Developmental and Preschool Screening Clinic for children ages 0 to 5 in the St. Ignatius School District will be held at the St. Ignatius Elementary School on Tuesday, Oct. 24, from 9-11:30 a.m. Please call 406-745-3811 to schedule an appointment for your child’s screening or to receive more information. This free screening will include gross motor, fine motor, language concepts, communication concepts, communication skills, hearing and vision screening.