Get Legs Working, Heart Pumping On Mt. Spokane Climb

Fitness fanatics and families alike can “Get an Altitude” with The Heart Institute’s “Climb Mount Spokane for Your Heart” on Saturday. While walking, participants can raise their metabolism - and money for heart research. This year’s proceeds will benefit institute’s heart-kidney research.

Climbers raise pledges for each foot in elevation they climb. Prizes, for those who turn in pledges, range from T-shirts for $25 in pledge money, to mountain bikes for $2,500 in pledges.

The second annual “Walk-A-Thon With an Altitude” starts between 8 and 9 a.m., Saturday, in the parking lot of Selkirk Lodge (cross-country ski area) and winds 4.1 miles up a paved road to the summit.

For the $6 registration fee, climbers receive an official water bottle, rest stop support, entertainment and a catered lunch at the summit.

The heart-healthy lunch, provided by Tidyman’s, includes a sandwich, salad, baked beans and (not-so-heart-healthy) dessert. The brownie dessert, offset by lighter menu items, keeps the overall meal within hearthealthy guidelines of 30 percent or less calories from fat. Total calories for the meal are 610.

Patty Seebeck, dietician for The Heart Institute, estimated walkers could burn 1,000 calories during the climb.

“You’ll burn at least twice the number of calories walking uphill as you would on a flat surface,” Seebeck said. And, if you have the energy, she estimates you can burn another 50 or so calories dancing to Moko Jumbie, a marimba band, before catching the bus back to the start area.

Call 625-3000 for more information or a registration form.

More fund-raisers

Miryam’s Auxiliary will sponsor “An Evening in Provence,” at 6 p.m., Sept. 8, at Angelica’s Mansion, 1321 W. Ninth. Dinner, music and a silent auction is included in the fund-raising series, “Pleasures for the Palate.”

The five-course dinner, catered by Luna, will transport diners to the French countryside, said Melissa Alstead, program chairwoman. “Each course will feature a different French wine chosen by William Bond, owner of Luna. The menu was created by chef Regina Sampieri and sous-chef Kyle Nelson.

Music during hors d’oeuvres will be by Serenade, followed by the Royale String Quartet during dinner.

Silent auction items include a garden fountain designed by Marian Flavin, a whimsically painted piece of furniture by Nancy Eubanks, and a framed print donated by City Framers. A quilt, hand-made by women residing at Miryam’s House, will be raffled.

Limited-edition prints of a watercolor-and-ink painting by Shannon Noel, depicting a Provence scene, will be available for purchase.

Proceeds benefit Miryam’s House of Transition which provides residential services for low-income women in crisis. The nonprofit program, formed in 1986 by representatives of five congregations of religious women, helps women break cycles of abuse, addiction and poverty, and helps them develop life skills to support a permanent change for themselves and their families.

Event tickets are $85 each. For reservations, call Mardi, 624-6823; or Joan, 448-8361.

Cheney Cowles Museum’s third annual “Wall to Wall Recycled Art Sale” will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday and Saturday, and from 1 to 4 p.m. next Sunday in the museum’s Carriage House.

Items for sale include prints, original paintings, ceramics, art books, frames, art supplies and museum memorabilia. Proceeds benefit the museum art acquisition fund.

Sale donations will be accepted at the museum until Friday.

Events

KPBX-FM, Spokane’s public radio, invites the public to bring comments, questions and concerns to its staff and board of directors during its Community Advisory Meeting, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Sept. 10, at the Institute of Extended Learning Adult Education Center, 2310 N. Monroe, across the street from the radio station.

An open house at the radio station, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., precedes the meeting.

Listeners can also voice their comments during a call-in show hosted by Doug Nadvornick, KPBX news and public affairs director. The program will air at noon, Sept. 16.

For more information, call 328-5729 or (800) 328-5729.

Kids of all ages are invited to meet Ms. Frizzle and climb aboard the Magic School Bus for a wild ride of hands-on science discovery, fun and adventure.

Ms. Frizzle and the Magic School Bus will pull in and park from 3 to 5 p.m., Wednesday, at the South Hill Branch Library, 3324 S. Perry; and at those hours on Thursday at the Shadle Branch Library. The visits are part of a special nationwide tour sponsored by Scholastic, Inc.

Kids can learn about the human body, the ocean, weather and space. The bus features the entire series of award-winning books and a reading area, a Microsoft CD-ROM play station, SEGA PICO and Genesis play stations, WarnerVision home videos, and a Hasbro toy play area.

Disabled access is available for this free event. For more information, call 626-5331.

Health Notes

Kootenai Medical Center hosts a Diabetes Management Clinic every other month to help people understand diabetes and its complications.

Taught by Carla Gentry, RN, CDE, and Cathy Bumgarner, RD, CDE, the course covers adjusting to diabetes, exercise, testing blood sugar, nutrition, medications and other topics to help the diabetic and their family learn to cope with the disease.

A new class begins Friday and continues for the next three weeks.

For more information, call (208) 666-2936.