Spotlight : Dinosaur expert set to lecture at the MAC
Jack Horner, a celebrity in the world of large, extinct reptiles, is coming to the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture.
Horner will deliver a public lecture on May 16 at 6 p.m. in the museum’s Eric A. Johnston Memorial Auditorium.
Even if you don’t know Horner by his real name, you may know him as Dr. Alan Grant, the lead character of “Jurassic Park.” That character, played by Sam Neill, was based largely on Horner.
Horner is the curator of paleontology at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman. He’s also the author of “Dinosaurs Under the Big Sky,” which will be on sale at the event.
Horner’s lecture, titled “The Tyrant Lizard King,” is tied to the MAC’s “A T. rex Named Sue” exhibit. Tickets to the lecture are $15, through TicketsWest outlets (509-325-SEAT, 800-325-SEAT, www.ticketswest.com).
The hall seats only about 150 people, so don’t dawdle. Never underestimate the zeal of the dinosaur crowd.
Some MAC firsts
By the way, all of that dinosaur zeal translates into two firsts for the MAC, according to the museum’s Jill Strom:
“This is the first time that the museum is offering “timed” tickets. In other words, if you buy a ticket for the exhibit through TicketsWest, you’ll get a ticket specifying both a date and an hour. (This is common practice at big museum exhibits.)
“This is the first time that the museum has had to give serious thought to how to handle lines. We’re not saying that the MAC hasn’t had some popular exhibits. It’s just that, up until now, crowd control has rarely been a serious issue.
Liverpool Five follow-up
We wrote on April 15 about the strange saga of the Liverpool Five, a ‘60s rock band that (despite being British) operated out of Spokane at the height of its career.
Now we want to give due credit to Freddy Dennis, a young Spokane musician who joined the band in 1967 after the departure of original British bass player Dave Burgess. For the next few years, the band developed close ties to the entire Dennis family.
“That wonderful family (the Dennis family) only strengthened our connections to the city,” wrote the Liverpool Five’s leader, Steve Laine, in an e-mail.
After the demise of the group around 1970, Dennis later went on to be part of a legendary Northwest band, The Kingsmen, of “Louie Louie” fame.
Happy birthday to KSPS-7
KSPS-7, Spokane’s PBS affiliate, is celebrating its 40th anniversary today.
The station will be broadcasting special pledge programming today, including “Winged Migration” at noon; “Rick Steves: Italy’s Dolce Vita” at 2 p.m.; and “Andre Rieu: New York Memories” at 4 p.m.
Then the celebration gets serious at 6 p.m. with “The Best of KSPS – 40 Years of Public Television.”
The disappearing Fox tower
You know that Fox tower/beacon atop the Fox Theater?
Well, don’t panic if you don’t see it there today. Restoration plans called for the tower to be removed on Saturday morning.
However, it won’t be gone forever. The tower will be renovated, polished up and replaced by the time the theater opens later this year.
In fact, the newly refurbished tower will light up and rotate, the way it did back in 1931, when the theater opened.
Hearing-impaired comic
Kathy Buckley, who is billed as America’s first hearing-impaired comedienne, will appear at Eastern Washington University’s Celebration of Ability, Thursday at 6 p.m.
Buckley is also an actress who has appeared on “Touched With an Angel” and a motivational speaker.
The presentation, at EWU’s Showalter Auditorium, is free and open to the public. Those with special needs should call (509) 359-6301.
A Keberle CD
Ryan Keberle’s first CD, “The Ryan Keberle Double Quartet,” has been released on Alternate Side Records. It features New York jazz trombonist Keberle and his band, playing many of his own compositions.
Why is this significant to us?
Keberle is a 1998 Mead High School graduate who went on to the Manhattan School of Music and Juilliard. His dad is Dan Keberle, the director of jazz studies at Whitworth College and music director of the Spokane Jazz Orchestra.
The album is available for purchase on the iTunes music store, or by going to www.ryankeberle.com.