New music for new year with NEXT Ensemble
OGDEN — Weber County’s NEXT Ensemble will present a concert of new works by four Utah composers here this weekend.
The concert, “New Year New Music: 20/20 Ways of Seeing,” will be performed at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 11, on the lower level of Union Grill, 315 24th St.
The program will feature new works for piano quartet by composers Igor Iachimciuc, Aaron J. Kirschner, Esther Megargel and Alfonso E. Tenreiro. The event partners with the Salt Lake City-based Salty Cricket Composer’s Collective for an evening that, according to a news release, explores “ways of seeing” in 2020.
Musicians will include Gabriel Gordon on violin, Sunny Johnson on viola, Julie Bevan on cello and Nicholas Maughan on piano.
Admission to the concert is $10; children under age 18 are admitted free. For tickets, visit nextensemble.org.
Ice Castles returns to Midway
MIDWAY — A popular winter attraction returns this weekend with Ice Castles opening in this Wasatch County town.
The 10th annual interactive frozen display opens at 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 10, at The Homestead, 700 Homestead Drive. Dates and hours are weather dependent, but in general the attraction is scheduled to be open Mondays through Saturdays until Feb. 8.
This year’s ice artisans have battled unseasonably warm temperatures. The experience is built using hundreds of thousands of icicles — as much as 25 million pounds of ice covering an acre of land — that are hand-placed by professional ice artists. The attraction includes sculptures, thrones, tunnels, slides, fountains, and towers of ice embedded with color-changing LED lights.
Ice Castles was founded by Brent Christensen, a Utah father of six who was in search of ways for his family to enjoy the outdoors during the winter. He created an ice cave in his front yard, and today Ice Castles has grown to include locations in Colorado, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, and Alberta, Canada.
Ticket prices range from $9.99 to $22, available through icecastles.com/utah.
Birdhouse competition set to take flight
OGDEN — Time to get cracking on your award-winning birdhouse designs.
The Ogden Nature Center’s annual Birdhouse Competition and Exhibit returns this spring, offering the creative and not-so-creative an opportunity to craft a birdhouse that offers both form and function.
According to the center’s website, the competition “encourages creative, functional, environmentally friendly and durable backyard habitats for birds.”
Entries will be accepted March 16-21, during regular hours at the Ogden Nature Center, 966 W. 12th St. Bird lovers of all ages may enter up to two birdhouses each. There is no entry fee.
Cash prizes will be awarded, and a few of the creations will be chosen to be displayed along the center’s Birdhouse Trail during the summer months.
The competition includes categories for birdhouses created by adults, unassisted children, and teams or families.
The birdhouse exhibit will be on display April 8-June 27.
For more information, visit ogdennaturecenter.org or call 801-621-7595.
Bread tribute band comes to Egyptian Theater
OGDEN — A tribute to one of the greatest soft-rock acts of the 1970s comes to town this weekend.
The tribute band Toast, which faithfully recreates the music of David Gates and the band Bread, will perform at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 11, in Peery’s Egyptian Theater, 2415 Washington Blvd.
Based in Utah, Toast consists of Jeff Clark on lead vocals, acoustic guitar and keyboard; John Uibel on vocals, bass and keyboard; Brett Hart on vocals, drums and percussion; Sam Cottrell on vocals, lead guitar and mandolin; Troy Jolley on vocals, keyboard and percussion; and John Hanson on rhythm guitar and sound engineering.
The concert is open to ages 12 and older. Tickets are $28-$35, available through smithstix.com, 801-689-8700 or at the theater box office.
— Standard-Examiner staff
