MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Celebrate Valentine’s Day at the Middletown Art Center and enjoy Cali-Country inspired dance music with Juke Box Money on Saturday, Feb. 17.

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MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Middletown Art Center will host “Painting Resilience – Obsession” on Saturday, Feb. 17.

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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The search continues for Lake County’s next poet laureate.

The term of office for the poet laureate will be from 2018 to 2020.

Any Lake County resident can apply, or nominate someone for the position.

For information and application guidelines visit the Middletown Arts Center Website at http://middletownartcenter.org/lake-county-poets.html.

Applications are due by March 4 at 5 p.m.

MENDOCINO, Calif. – The Fort Bragg Center for the Arts presents the Villa Sinfonia Horn Trio on Sunday, Feb. 25, at 3 p.m. in Preston Hall, Mendocino.

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LAKEPORT, Calif. – A diverse range of musical styles on the keyboard will be presented at the Soper Reese Theatre on Sunday, March 4, by seven well-known professional pianists from the region.

Musicians will combine their talent and years of experience to benefit fundraising efforts for the arts and education in Lake County.

The Lake County Friends of Mendocino College is partnering with the Soper Reese Theatre to sponsor the seventh annual Pianists Benefit Concert.

The afternoon begins at 2 p.m. with a no-host reception featuring fine regional wines from Lake and Mendocino counties, followed by the concert at 3 p.m.

A silent auction of items donated by businesses and individuals will be held during the reception and intermission. All proceeds benefit the two sponsoring organizations.

Lake County artists Tom Aiken, Tom Ganoung, and David Neft will be joined by Mendocino County performers Spencer Brewer, Elena Casanova, Elizabeth MacDougall and Ed Reinhart.

The concert will feature all the pianists on stage throughout the performance as they converse about their life experiences and play a variety of musical selections.

Persons or businesses interested in supporting this fundraising effort are welcome to become sponsors. Please contact the Soper Reese Theatre at 707-263-0577.

Sponsors to date include Peggy Campbell, CPA; Susie LaPointe; The Tallman Hotel and Blue Wing Saloon; Jim and Wilda Shock; Pat and Lori McGuire; Jennifer Strong, Strong Financial Network; Law Office of Judy Conard; and Tomkins Tax Consultants.

Tickets are $25 for regular reserved seats and $30 for premium reserved, and may be purchased online at www.soperreesetheatre.com or from the Travel Center, 1265 S. Main St. in Lakeport, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The theatre is located at 275 So. Main St., Lakeport. For more information call 707-263-0577.

“The Lake County Friends, an affiliate of the Mendocino College Foundation, was created to benefit students and programs at the Lake Center. We are delighted that proceeds from this benefit concert will enable us to continue support for the Lake Center campus in Lakeport,” said Wilda Shock, chairperson of Friends.

Proceeds from past concerts have funded scholarships for Lake County students at Mendocino College, a Chemistry laboratory and tutors at the Lake Center, and other programs benefiting local students.

The Soper Reese Theatre is a restored performing arts venue operated by an all-volunteer management team under the auspices of the Lake County Arts Council.

“Concert proceeds will be dedicated to the theatre’s Restroom Re-do renovation project which will modernize and expand facilities, and meet ADA standards,” according to Mike Adams, executive director.

So many contemporary poems fail for the lack of strong endings, but here's one with a masterful latch that snaps closed at the end.

Tami Haaland served as Montana's fifth poet laureate and she teaches at Montana State at Billings. The following poem is from South Dakota Review.

Returning

When I open the door
and reach to the light switch
the world opens as it did each time.

The garlic jar on the ledge,
the ceramic cup holding
cheese cutters and paring knives.

Outside a branch
from the ash tree
worries the window.

It was a place where I knew
the drawer pulls, the feel of steps
to the basement, the smell of cool cement.

If I open the middle cabinet,
the linen is there as you left it,
well-ordered, none of it fine.

American Life in Poetry does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. It is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2016 by Tami Haaland from South Dakota Review, (Vol. 52, nos. 3 & 4, 2016). Poem reprinted by permission of Tami Haaland and the publisher. Introduction copyright ©2018 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction’s author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006.