Bloglander

Any week that includes St. Patrick's Day AND the start of March Madness has ample opportunities for throwing down. Get warmed up for those festivities later in the week with some fun every day, as found in our event listings and Staff Picks. 

Here are some highlights of the week ahead: 

Monday, March 14

SPORTS & OUTDOORS | Spring is clearly afoot, so experienced green thumbs and wannabes are starting to mull options for their gardens. The Backyard Conservation Stewardship Program is hosting a series of talks and classes on Monday nights that will help you figure out what to do, and when, and gives you access to gardening experts of all stripes. 

Tuesday, March 15

FOOD & DRINK | San Diego's Ballast Point brewery makes some insanely flavorful beers, making it an ideal partner for Clover's Ballast Point Beer Dinner, a six-course experience for $69 a person. Reservations required, so make the call to taste Chef Travis Dickenson's creative wares. 

WORDS | Seattle author Randy Henderson intertwines love and fantasy in his newest novel Bigfootloose and Finn Fancy Free, an eccentric fantasy novel that delights the imaginative senses and fires up the love bugs. Henderson is reading from it at Auntie's Tuesday, and will be joined by Spokane author Sharma Shields, reading from The Sasquatch Hunter’s Almanac. 

Wednesday, March 16

LIVE MUSIC | Check out one of downtown's new tasting rooms, and add a little live jazz to boot. Harry Fix, a Boston musician educated at the Berklee School of Music, plays jazz piano in the new downtown tasting room for Nodland Cellars Wednesday at 5 pm. 

COMMUNITY | Humanities Washington hosts another intriguing Think & Drink discussion at Lindamen's, this one titled "Losing the West," and focused on the myriad issues facing the western U.S. from water rights to militias. Photographer and author Dave Showalter and Paul Lindholdt, professor at Eastern Washington University, will be on hand. 

Thursday, March 17

THEATER | Locally produced Maybe, Baby continues its run at the Modern in Coeur d'Alene. Read our story about the production here. 

WORDS | And now for something completely different, the Spokane Silent Reading Party at Spark. The public is invited to gather together in one space and read silently, as the name suggests. Some live music from local classical guitarist and teacher John Paul Shields is included. People of all ages and reading levels are free to come and go over the course of the two-hour event, as long as they follow the rules of reading in silence. 

LIVE MUSIC | It what seems like an ideal way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, without actually having anything to do with green beer or kissing the Blarney Stone, Jonathan Richman comes to town for a show of his killer quirky tunes at The Bartlett. Older readers might remember him from his years leading the Modern Lovers, and younger folks might know him as the troubadour in There's Something About Mary. His live shows are legendary, so consider this a must-see. Here's a taste of what to expect from Richman: 

Friday, March 18

COMEDY | Blue Door Theatre has a crime show-themed night of improv planned with the appropriately titled Crime Show. 

COMEDY | Microbiography III blends standup comedy, spoken word story-telling and sketch comedy for a night sure to evoke some hilarious memories of Spokane's weirder nights, thanks to the folks involved. Read our story about the show here before hitting up The Bartlett. 

Saturday, March 19

COMEDY | Rachel Feinstein, best known for appearing on myriad Comedy Central shows like Inside Amy Schumer and a finalist on Last Comic Standing, headlines an evening of female comics at The Bing. Here's a bit her standup: