Arts & Culture

The StoryCorps Mobile Recording Booth Is Coming To Boise

BSPR — Mon, 20 May 2013 03:42:38 +0000

StoryCorps has recorded and archived more than 45,000 personal stories since the oral history project launched in 2003. Now, you'll have an opportunity to add your voice.

StoryCorps has partnered with Boise State Public Radio to bring the mobile recording studio to Boise from June 10 through July 7.

Why Boise's On Its Way To Being A Bike-Friendly City

Frankie Barnhill — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:12:39 +0000

You may see more people riding their bikes to work today. It’s Bike to Work Day, and here in the Boise area, it caps off a week of festivities all focused on cycling.

Boise Joins International Effort To Spotlight LGBT Struggles

Frankie Barnhill — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:18:45 +0000

Today, groups around the world are celebrating the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (I.D.A.H.O). Started in 2005 in Paris, the annual May 17 celebration has the acronym “IDAHO”. But this is the first year that the day is being celebrated in Idaho.

Boise Wants Your Opinion On New Public Art Proposals

Frankie Barnhill — Mon, 13 May 2013 15:52:46 +0000

Boise is preparing to get some new art at City Hall. A panel of city officials has selected three sculpture projects, and now it’s the public’s turn to comment. Boise residents have until May 28 to make their opinion known about the $200,000 project.

Karen Bubb is the public arts manager at the Department of Arts and History. She says one of the three sculptures will replace the fountain and flag poles in front of city hall next year.

Moms Around The U.S. Share "Momisms" In Idaho Author's New Book

Sadie Babits — Fri, 10 May 2013 15:21:06 +0000

This Sunday we celebrate our mothers - the ones who raised us, guided us and imparted words of wisdom. Boise author Patti Murphy knows quite a bit about those words of wisdom. Her new book Mother Knows Better – Sense and Nonsense from American Moms is a collection of what she calls “momisms.”

Alive After Five Lineup Includes Boise And Regional Musicians

Frankie Barnhill — Wed, 08 May 2013 18:30:34 +0000

Summer is right around the corner, now that Boise's Alive After Five Concert Series has been announced.

The concerts are in their 27th year, and will once again be held every Wednesday at the downtown's Grove Center beginning June 5.

Boise's Arts And History Department In Running For $100,000 Harvard Grant

Frankie Barnhill — Wed, 08 May 2013 13:05:13 +0000

The Boise Department of Arts and History recently received some good news. Harvard University’s Ash Center has selected the department as one of the most innovative government entities in the country.

Three Idaho Artists Are Finalists For Boise's Airport Mural Project

Sadie Babits — Tue, 07 May 2013 19:44:10 +0000

Idaho’s capital city turns 150 this year and to mark the occasion the ticketing lobby at the Boise Airport will be home to a commissioned mural. The city of Boise will commission the work. A national panel has narrowed the field to proposals from three Idaho artists.

Ketchum Makes List For Best Small Towns For Arts

Frankie Barnhill — Tue, 07 May 2013 13:16:31 +0000

Ketchum is known for its recreational opportunities. Hiking, camping and river sports have long been touted as reasons for people to visit the Wood River Valley. But a distinction from a national arts organization could give the small community another claim to fame.

Boise Hotel Transforms Into An Art Haven For One Night

Sadie Babits — Thu, 02 May 2013 19:46:12 +0000

More than 60 artists will take part in Modern Art tonight in downtown Boise. This year artists, who do everything from fine art to performance, will take over more than 30 rooms at the Modern Hotel.

Amy O’Brien is one of the curators for this event. She has some advice for people who’ve never been to Modern Art before. “I would say be prepared to be completely entertained and expect the unexpected.”

NPR's Peter Sagal Brings Popular News Quiz To Theaters, Including In Idaho

Sadie Babits — Wed, 01 May 2013 11:30:00 +0000

You hear NPR’s popular quiz show Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! every Saturday morning on KBSX. Thursday night the radio show will be beamed into select cinemas across the U.S. including in Boise for the first time. You’ll see host Peter Sagal along with Carl Kasell and the whole cast of characters live on the big screen.

Idaho Artist Bill Carman's Paintings Create Flights Of Fancy

Sadie Babits — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Idaho artist Bill Carman is never at a loss for ideas. They come to him at all hours. So he keeps a sketch book with him during the day and a pad of paper on his night stand. “Ideas come to me right before I fall asleep so I have to write them down,” he says. “And hopefully I can read them in the morning. More often than not I can’t.”

Once A Coffee Desert, Idaho Coffee Scene Has Come A Long Way

Scott Graf — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 13:54:25 +0000

NPR has been bringing you stories about coffee this week.

We’ve learned about coffee habits in Scandinavia, how growers in Central America are going green, and how coffee consumption has changed world history. Now, we learn a little bit about coffee here in Idaho.

How Will Treefort Music Fest Manage Growth?

Frankie Barnhill — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:25:00 +0000

Boise’s Treefort Music Fest made some big strides in its second year. A month after the festival wrapped up, organizers say the festival grew more than was previously thought.

New Play Brings Voices From Boise's Iconic Downtown Hole To The Stage

Adam Cotterell — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 13:22:47 +0000

Boise residents speculated for a long time about a curse on the corner of 8^th and Main in downtown. This valuable piece of real estate saw a building burn down. It spent years as a vacant lot then after a failed project, the downtown corner spent years as a hole in the ground. That hole had become a city landmark bordering on icon status by 2011.

Good Vs. Evil Plays Out In Ballet Idaho's Premiere Of Swan Lake

Sadie Babits — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 19:32:16 +0000

Ballet Idaho premieres Swan Lake tonight. Here’s what you need to know about this classic ballet. There’s Prince Siegfried. He falls in love with a beautiful woman named Odette, who’s actually trapped in the body of a swan.

Phyllis Rothwell Affrunti dances the part of Odette. The lead dancer calls her character “fragile,” a beautiful creature that has been imprisoned as a swan by the evil wizard Von Rothbart. “She’s waiting for true love to come to save her,” explains Affrunti. “It’s the only thing that can.”

Football Partnership Continues To Blossom For Boise State, Japanese School

Scott Graf — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 10:40:00 +0000

Boise State’s football team will hold its annual spring scrimmage on its famous blue turf Saturday. Nearly 7,000 miles away in Japan, the Hosei University football team will also play a spring game. But the schools have more in common than just that. The Broncos and the Tomahawks have an unusual football relationship that’s rooted in the two schools’ academic partnership.

New Book Highlights History Of Treasure Valley Trolley

Samantha Wright — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 12:00:00 +0000

Five years ago Boise Mayor David Bieter proposed a $60 million trolley for downtown Boise. When federal funds for the project didn't come through, the project was put on indefinite hold.

The Treasure Valley actually had an electric railway that linked Boise, Meridian, Eagle, Nampa, Caldwell, and Middleton many years ago. That story unfolds in a new pictorial history book called the “Treasure Valley’s Electric Railway.” Barbara Perry Bauer is one of the authors and she says the trolley started more than 100 years ago.

New Farmers Market Opens Saturday In Boise

Frankie Barnhill — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 18:03:16 +0000

A new farmers market opens Saturday in Idaho’s capitol city. The Boise Farmers Market comes on the heels of a big dust-up with the city’s long-standing market. Now, each side says Boise can support both markets.

Meet The Man Who Brought Davis Cup Tennis To Idaho

Scott Graf — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 14:12:28 +0000

In tennis, the Davis Cup is the world's largest annual international team competition. It involves 130 nations including, the U.S. this year.

What began in 1900 as a competition between the U.S. and Great Britain is now in Boise. Greg Patton is the man who's pushed to have the contest hosted in Idaho's capital city.