Library’s ‘Hard Times’ exhibit features Egan talk

There’s no doubt that during the annual Get Lit festival, venues around downtown are hopping with writers and fans.

This year there’s some fun for literary and history types on the North Side when “Hope in Hard Times: Washington During the Great Depression” opens at the North Spokane Library on Hawthorne Road.

The exhibit, from Humanities Washington, opens April 12 and will run through June. And would an event centered on the Dust Bowl not include an appearance by Spokane’s own Timothy Egan, whose book on the subject won the National Book Award?

Of course not.

Egan (“The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl”) will be in town on at 2 p.m. April 13 – the concluding day of Get Lit, by the way – to give a talk on the subject at Whitworth University (Weyerhaeuser Hall room 111). His talk is free and is sponsored by Whitworth, the Spokane County Library District and Humanities Washington.

Dancing again in North Idaho

The Koresh Dance Company will return to North Idaho in April.

The Philadelphia-based troupe was last here a year ago, sponsored by the Jacklin Arts and Cultural Center in Post Falls. This year, they will again perform at the Coeur d’Alene Kroc Center at 7 p.m. April 12. According to a news release from the JACC, the 10-member Koresh troupe will perform a show called “Come Together,” described as a musical journey featuring music by Israeli and Turkish composers, as well as Frederic Chopin, Ludwig van Beethoven, Maurice Ravel and others.

Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students, military and seniors. To purchase, call the JACC at (208) 457-8950 or visit www.thejacklincenter.org.

Music most sacred

The Northwest Sacred Music Chorale will hold three concerts this spring titled “Bach, Beethoven and Broadway.”

The concerts – April 26 and 27 at the Kroc Center in Coeur d’Alene and April 29 at St. John’s Cathedral – will feature soloists Lynette Ryan, Debbie Raby, Cody Bray and Bob Brannan. The chorale, a nonprofit organization of more than 60 singers, will be conducted by Kent Kimball.

The program will include Beethoven’s Mass in C Major and songs from “Titanic,” “Les Misérables” and “South Pacific.”

Verne Windham of Spokane Public Radio will give a talk 45 minutes before each concert. The Spokane performance will begin at 7 p.m. The Coeur d’Alene shows will be at 7 p.m. April 26 and 3 p.m. April 27. Admission is $15 for adults and $12 for seniors, students and children. For tickets and more information, call (208) 762-9956 or visit www.nwsmc.org.

Cello recital set

Kevin Hekmatpanah, Gonzaga University music professor and cellist with the Spokane Symphony, will perform a recital at 4 p.m. Saturday in the University Chapel (College Hall, third floor) on campus. He will be joined by pianist Sheila Zilar-Gephart for “A Tribute to Gregor Piatigorsky,” which will include works by Josef Haydn, Igor Stravinsky, Franz Schubert, Chopin and Piatigorsky.

The event is free. For more information, call (509) 313-6733, or visit www.gonzaga.edu/musicý.

Shelton on deck

We’ve been hearing rumors of a Blake Shelton concert this fall. Looks like details are firming up. The Spokane Arena has Shelton on its calendar for a show on Sept. 18, along with The Band Perry, Neal McCoy and Dan + Shay. No word yet when tickets go on sale. We’ll keep you posted.

Chamber choir to perform

Choreteur, an adult chamber choir, will perform a free concert at 4 p.m. today at the Holy Names Music Center Recital Hall, 3910 W. Custer Drive. The concert is titled “A Parade of American Composers.”

For more information, call (509) 276-2605.