This week it feels like spring in the Wood River Valley, and the living is easy. Among the week’s highlights are the always-present lounge music performances at various venues including the Duchin Room at Sun Valley Lodge and The Lobby Lounge at Sun Valley Inn. Snow events continue this week with lots of fun on the mountain and area Nordic trails. St. Patrick’s Day has always been a lively bit o’ fun hereabouts, so don the green and get out.
- The Wood River Valley YMCA will broadcast “Live from the 92nd Street Y” in New York City with special guest cultural icon Matisyahu. The live broadcast will be held at 6 p.m., Tuesday, at the Y at the intersection of Saddle and Warm Springs roads. Matisyahu’s blend of Hasidic, reggae and hip-hop music has sold millions of records and garnered fans around the world.
Matisyahu will discuss his development as an artist and the fusion of his various musical styles, as well as development of his latest record, “Light.” He will perform several songs. For more information, visit www.woodriverymca.org or call 727-9622. Admission is $5 for Y members, $8 non-members.
- The Sun Valley Brewery in Hailey will host a St. Paddy’s Day Party on Wednesday, with the Forty-Fours direct from Los Angeles.
- The 13th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Party will be at The Roosevelt Grille on Wednesday. Dine on a corned beef and cabbage dinner special, with Guinness Stout and Smithwick’s Irish Ale on Draft. Enjoy traditional Irish music all night. For dinner reservations call 726-0051. Roosevelt is located at 280 N. Main St., Ketchum.
- The free Cox Communications Winter Concert Series in Ketchum’s town plaza will feature Voice of Reason from 3 to 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 18. LeRoy’s will be open to serve hot chocolate, adult beverages and crepes. The town plaza is at the intersection of Fourth Street and East Avenue.
- Get behind the Prayer Wheel at the Sawtooth Botanical Garden with Mary Ann Chubb at 5 p.m. on Thursday, March 18. Chubb will explain the significance and history behind prayer wheels, particularly the one at the Sawtooth Botanical Garden. It was consecrated and blessed during a private ceremony in 2005 by the Dalai Lama. One of only two prayer wheels in North America blessed by His Holiness, the 400-pound, hand carved Prayer Wheel was crafted by Buddhist monks in Dharamsala, India. To register, call 726-9358.
- Late Live Music After Comedy Hour at the Boiler Room in Sun Valley will feature the Matt Lewis Band at 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, March 19 and 20. For more information www.sunvalley.com, or call 622-2148.
- The Great Ketchum Tag Sale (an indoor community garage sale) at the nexStage Theatre in Ketchum will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 19 and from Saturday, March 20 and 10 a.m to 2 p.m. on Sunday. The theatre is located at 120 S Main St. For more information call 26-4857.
- Finally, at Whiskey Jacques, in Ketchum, Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band, a six-piece band from Asheville, North Carolina, will play at 10 p.m. on Saturday, March 20. Formed in 2002, the band is known for a funk-centric mix of triumphant horns, laid-back grooves and heavy backbeats. Cover charge is $8.
