NORTH COAST, Calif. – Harmonicist/vocalist/songwriter/guitarist Charlie Musselwhite, touring in support of his Grammy-nominated Alligator Records CD, “The Well,” will perform live at the Raven Performing Arts Theater in Healdsburg on Thursday, Feb. 14.

Showtime is 8 p.m.

“The Well” is an authentic slice of Musselwhite’s deep blues roots with musical flavors from Mississippi to Chicago to California, including help on one song from legendary vocalist and friend Mavis Staples.

Tickets cost $50 per person.

The concert is presented by the Healdsburg Sunrise Rotary.

The Raven Performing Arts Theater is located at 115 North St., telephone 707-433-6335.

Visit the theater online at www.raventheater.org .

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Scottish singer Jim Malcolm returns to Lake County to perform a benefit concert for KPFZ 88.1 FM on Friday, Feb. 1.

The performance will take place at the historic Gunn House, located at 3780 Main St. in Kelseyville.  

The concert starts at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are $22 or $20 for KPFZ members.

Space is limited so call to reserve tickets; call 707-262-0525.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Art House Gallery will hold its Third Friday Gala art reception on Jan. 18.

The reception will take place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the gallery, located at 15210 Lakeshore Drive, Suite No. 1 in downtown Clearlake, next to the St. Helena Clinic/Foods Etc. shopping center.

This a great chance to meet and mingle with the artists who are currently exhibiting at our gallery and view their art.

This month the featured artist will be Theresa Holoway.

Her work is beautiful and filled with vibrant colors both in acrylic and oil paint.

Additionally there will be live music by local musicians and a wide range of refreshments.

One of the gallery’s artists, Alaina Bensley, will give away an original oil painting to the winner of a drawing held that evening.

The Art House Gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.

For more information call the gallery at 707-994-1716 or visit www.thearthousegallery.net .

LAKEPORT, Calif. – This week Watershed Books will host a reading by local author Joseph Herren.

The event will be held from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 18.

Herren is the author of “Growing Up in the Land of Tattooed Men … Another Vietnam War Story.”

This personal autobiography is a “coming of age” story during a time unique in our history.

Enjoy good conversation and refreshments.

Call 707-263-5787 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.

Watershed Books is located at 305 N. Main St., Lakeport.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Soper-Reese Community will celebrate 30 years of Bill Noteman and the Rockets on Friday, Jan. 18.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the music starts at 7 p.m.

Noteman came to Lake County more than 30 years ago with his high energy and passion for the blues.

He began his unique style of music performing around the Lake, and in doing so developed relationships with a group of local musicians who became “Bill Noteman and the Rockets.”

Join Noteman as he celebrates a 30-year journey entertaining the audiences of Lake County.

Tickets are $10 and available at The Travel Center in the Shoreline Shopping Center, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; at the theater box office, 275 S. Main St., on Fridays from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and two hours before show time on the day of all events.

Tickets also can be purchased online at www.soperreesetheatre.com .

Kansas is flat and we all know that. So, where does a boy go when he feels like sledding down a hill? Casey Pycior, raised in Kansas, tells us.

Sledding in Wichita

As cars pass, laboring through the slush,
a boy, bundled against the stiff wind
in his snow suit, gloves, and scarf,
leans on his upright toboggan,
waiting his turn atop
the snow-packed overpass—
the highest point in town.
First one car exits, and then another,
each creeping down the icy ramp.
The brown grass pokes through
the two grooves carved in the short hill.
As the second car fishtails to a stop at the bottom,
brake lights glowing on the dirty snow,
the boy’s turn comes.
His trip to the bottom is swift—
only a second or two—
and he bails out just before the curb.
It’s not much, but it’s sledding in Wichita.

American Life in Poetry 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 ©2011 by Casey Pycior and reprinted by permission of the poet. Introduction copyright © 2013 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. They do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.