UPCOMING EVENTS: April 22-30, 2023

The National Cutting Horse Association’s Big Sky Circuit cutting finals begin at 9 a.m. at Straight Rail Ranch, 20178 County 13 in Nevis. Admission is free. See mncuttinghorse.com for the event schedule.

Enjoy a Mississippi Headwaters spring hike from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., guided by a park naturalist. Meet under the porch at the Mary Gibbs Mississippi Headwaters Center and see what signs of spring are popping up throughout Itasca.

The Hubbard County DFL celebrates Earth Day from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. outside the Music Shop in Park Rapids. Small-bed pollinator garden seed packages will be given to the first 200 people who show up. Volunteers will provide information about pollinators, their importance to our ecosystem and how you can protect them. The event will be canceled if it rains.

The Deep Portage Learning Center celebrates its 50th anniversary with outdoor activities for all ages, food, raffle prizes and live music. Activity stations are open from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., followed by a program celebrating Deep Portage’s history and rock and funk music by the Soul Shack until about 6 p.m. Admission is free and open to all ages. RSVP at www.deep-portage.org/public-programs.

The National Cutting Horse Association’s Big Sky Circuit cutting finals continue at 9 a.m. at Straight Rail Ranch, 20178 County 13 in Nevis. Admission is free. See mncuttinghorse.com for the event schedule.

Get started in family history research at 6 p.m. at the Park Rapids Area Library. Topics include ancestry.com’s free Ancestry Library service, the Family Search website and wiki, and tips for finding hard-to-find ancestors. Call 218-732-4966 or visit the library to register. No reservation is required.

Ruby’s Pantry-Laporte has a pop-up pantry from 4:30 to 6 p.m. or until bundles run out at the Laporte School bus garage, across from 315 Main St. W. Requested donation is $25 and only exact change is accepted. There is no restriction on how many bundles you can pick up. To pre-register and donate for your bundle(s), or to volunteer, visit www.RubysPantry.org. If you can bring boxes to swap out, it will be appreciated. Sponsor is Trinity Lutheran Church.

The Park Rapids Area High School band concert begins at 7 p.m. in the auditorium.

The Park Rapids Classic Chorale presents “Life,” a concert of life-themed music, at 7:30 p.m. at Riverside United Methodist Church. The 30-voice chorale, directed by Dr. Melanie Hanson, will lead listeners on a journey centered to our daily beat. Selections will include music by Shawn Kirchner, Minnesota composer Renee Clausen and Crookston native Dr. Eric William Barnum, grandson of one of the members of the chorale. Refreshments will follow the concert.

Enjoy a spring migration birding walk from 9:30 to 11 a.m. at Itasca State Park, guided by a park naturalist. Listen and look for returning birds, and learn how Itasca’s forests provide the perfect habitat for many kinds of birds. Bring binoculars and a field guide, if you have them, and meet under the porch at the Mary Gibbs Mississippi Headwaters Center.

The Park Rapids Area Community Band has its spring concert at 3 p.m. at Park Rapids Area High School auditorium. The concert will feature music by Julie Giroux, Jan Van der Roost, Claude T. Smith, Leroy Anderson, a piece by Edwin Franko Goldman enlisting the audience’s singing and whistling skills, and the national march of the U.S., Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever.”

The Park Rapids Classic Chorale presents “Life,” an encore of their life-themed concert, at 1 p.m. at Riverside United Methodist Church. The concert is open to the public, with refreshments to follow.