Local entertainment briefs

"Candy White," a Christian novel by Terry D. Modl of Aitkin, was recently released.

The book is an inspirational and heart-warming story of a 9-year-old girl named Candy White. The story begins in the Christmas season of 1969 in northern Iowa.

This is the first book in a three-part series.

The book is available at Bethany Christian Bookstore in Brainerd.

Author Kent Nerburn in Crosslake Thursday

CROSSLAKE - Bemidji author Kent Nerburn will make an appearance at 1 p.m. Thursday at the Crosslake Community Center.

Nerburn's latest book, "The Wolf at Twilight: An Indian Elder's Journey Through a Land of Ghosts and Shadows," continues the story that began in "Neither Wolf Nor Dog."

In the new title, Nerburn finds himself back on the Lakota reservation where he traveled more than a decade before with tribal elder, Dan. "Neither Wolf Nor Dog" was based on that original trip and won a Minnesota Book of the Year Award in 1995. "The Wolf at Twilight" is a fictionalized account of an actual subsequent journey and reveals more of Dan's life.

Nerburn is the author of 12 books on spirituality and Native themes. Nerburn's author visits are part of the Kitchigami Reads/Kitchigami Writes project, made possible with funding from the State of Minnesota Legacy Fund to preserve arts and cultural heritage.

BHS junior Yeh to perform with Duluth Superior Symphony

DULUTH - Brainerd High School junior Rebecca Yeh won the 2010 Duluth Superior Symphony Young Artist Competition on Jan. 29 and will perform the Third Movement of Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto on Thursday with the Duluth Superior Symphony in the Young People's Concert.

Yeh, Nisswa, a violinist, received $500 from the competition that required applicants to perform one movement of a concerto or the equivalent. The piece had to be memorized and performed with accompaniment.

Each season the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra performs a Young People's Concert at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center auditorium. The concert is an educational opportunity open to all students. The concert experience is presented to more than 3,000 students and teachers during two morning performances.

This year's concert, "The Fantastic Four," educates students on the four families of instruments: Strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion. Participants will learn about bowing, blowing, buzzing and banging and how they combine to make great orchestral music.

Yeh has won violin honors from the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota String and Orchestra Teacher's Association, Minnesota Sinfonia, Thursday Musicale, Schubert Club and Minnesota Orchestra's Young People's Symphony Concert Association competitions. She was a Music Teachers National Association and National Junior Strings Finalist in 2008. She was selected concertmaster of both the Minnesota Mid-levels Honors Orchestra, as an eighth-grader, and the Minnesota All-State High School Orchestra, as a sophomore. Yeh is a concerto winner of the Central Minnesota Heartland Symphony and runner-up concerto winner of the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony. She volunteers her musical talents in nursing homes and her church's worship team.

Five Wings to donate to Crossing Arts Alliance

The Five Wings Arts Council will donate $17,308 Saturday to the Crossing Arts Alliance during the Picturing 2010 artists reception at the Q Gallery, No. 222, located in the Franklin Arts Center on Kingwood Street in Brainerd.

Also at the reception, the Picturing Committee will honor exhibiting photographers and photographer of the year Dave Boran, an accomplished photographer and longtime supporter of the photographic community in the lakes area.

Picturing is celebrating its 10th year of photography exhibitions and workshops. At the onset, it was funded in part by a grant from Five Wings Arts Council.

Country music to benefit Faith in Action

WALKER - An Evening of Country Music event is scheduled from 7-10 p.m. April 8 at the Northern Lights Convention Center in Walker.

The Evening of Country Music is a fundraiser for Faith in Action for Cass County. The concert is free and open to the public, but freewill donations may be made at the door. Faith in Action is a nonprofit volunteer organization that provides transportation, home and chore services, visitation, respite and ramp building to people in need in Cass County.

The concert will feature country music entertainers Country Jim Allen, Lois Holleman and the Red Cedar Lake Band. New this year will magician Jordan Robinson.

Allen, of the Leech Lake Reservation, has provided entertainment the last 30 years in Minnesota and around the country. Holleman, of the Bemidji area, has been singing with country music bands in northern Minnesota for many years. Robinson, of the Cass Lake area, will perform up close with the audience.

The Red Cedar Lake Band plays country, rock 'n' roll and blues. Members of the band include Don Headbird, Ron Winters, Kenny Conger, Doug Cloud and Chris Bedeau of Cass Lake. The band has been together for about two years and has played throughout northern Minnesota, including the Mille Lacs, Palace and Northern Lights casinos.

The event is sponsored by the Leech Lake Reservation Tribal Council, the Northern Lights Hotel and Convention Center, the Bug O Nay Ge Shig School and Pepsi Nye Bottling of Bemidji. For more information on Faith in Action or the Evening of Country Music, contact the Faith in Action office at (218) 675-5435 or (866) 675-5435 or Eli Hunt at (866) 223-2233 or visit the Web site at www.faithinactioncass.com.

Movie night planned at First Congregational

A movie night featuring "The Princess Bride" is scheduled at 7:30 p.m. April 15 at First Congregational Church on Fifth Street and Juniper in Brainerd.

Everyone is invited to the free event. Participants are encouraged to bring snacks to share and may come dressed as their favorite character.

C-I choir students to compete at state

CROSBY - The Crosby-Ironton High School A Cappella Choir, Chamber Singers, Girls' Triple Trio, select ensembles and solos, under the direction of Wayne Ellingsen, recently participated in the Sub-Section 25 Vocal Music Contest at Crosby-Ironton High School.

Seven schools participated in the daylong event. C-I entered 15 events; three received excellent ratings and 12 received superior ratings, the highest possible. Those who earned excellent ratings received a certificate while those with superior ratings received a medal and a certificate and advanced to the Section/State Music Contest to be held April 30 at Mesabi Community College.

The A Cappella Choir received three superior ratings and the highest score of the choirs from the three judges for their performance of "Earth Song" by Ticheli, "Nothin' Gonna Stumble My Feet" by Gilpin and "The Seal Lullaby" by Whitacre.

Earning excellent ratings for their vocal solos were Allison Gregg, Jonah Jaskowiak and The Girls' Chorale.

Receiving superior ratings and medals were Cole Kennaly and Ben Drake, bass solos; Jacob Goodwin, tenor solo/sophomore ensemble/Chamber Singers; Ashley Perzel, soprano solo/sophomore ensemble; Cody Thompson, tenor solo/Chamber Singers; Corey Barutt, bass solo/Chamber Singers; Aaron Bostrom, tenor solo/sophomore ensemble; Ashley Barutt, soprano solo/Triple Trio/Chamber Singers; Alexis Meyer, Sienna Miller, Missy Foote, Samantha Mitchell, Jonah Jaskowiak, Joe Herda, Phil Stokman and Amy Biever, sophomore ensembles; September Prushek, sophomore ensemble/Triple Trio; Mike Hoge, sophomore ensemble/Chamber Singers; Whitney Cragun, April Donovan and Jamie Welle, Triple Trio/Chamber Singers; Sharissa Mickelson, Kaitlyn Sanvig, Jessica Lundstrom and Emma Perzel, Triple Trio; Tracy Roth, Emily Anderson, Kirsten Midthun, Cari Skeim, Kale Siebert, Brock Tesdahl, Mitch Gutzman and Mark Hoge, Chamber Singers

Bostrom, Barutt and Drake also earned "Outstanding Site Performances." Drake earned a perfect 40 score. The Chamber Singers and A Cappella Choir also received sub-section trophies for their performances. Bryan Johnson provided piano accompaniments for the soloists and groups.

The sub-section and section certificates and medals, letters and letter bars and other special awards will be presented at the annual music banquet later this spring.