Spokane calendar

Today

Spokane Youth Symphony – annual all orchestra concert “Blast Off to Music’s Energy,” 4 p.m. at Shadle Park High School, 4327 N. Ash. The concert includes the Spokane Strings, Intermediate String Orchestra, Junior Orchestra, Junior Symphonic Orchestra and the Spokane Youth Orchestra; $5; 328-5729.

Upcoming

Engineers Forum of Spokane – Slides presentaion of trekking hills in Nepal, noon Monday at the Holiday Inn Airport, 1616 Windsor Drive; lunch is $11; 244-3467.

Masquerade ball – Spokane Valley Senior Center hosts a Mardi Gras masquerade ball from 7:30-9:45 p.m. Tuesday at CenterPlace, 2426 N. Discovery Place. Wear purple, green and/or gold and wear a mask. Refreshments will be served. Music will be by Uncle Harold’s Dance Band, 18 and over only; $5; 926-1937.

Community Forum – The event sponsored by Spokane Public Schools, the Spokane Police Department and the Safe Schools, Healthy Students program will address traffic safety, pedestrian safety, Internet safety, preventing identity theft and gang identification, 7-8:30 p.m. Wednesday at Shadle Park High School, 4327 N. Ash; 354-7387.

Child safety – The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children host a Smart Parent and Safe Baby event, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday at local Wal-Mart stores; 1527 E. Broadway, 9212 N. Colton, 2301 W. Wellesley. Parents will be given information on child safety and free child identification kits; (800) THE-LOST.

World of Ice – Cheney Palouse Chapter of the Ice Age Floods Institute will host guest speaker Eugene Kiver, professor emeritus of geology at Eastern Washington University, with a presentation on “Glaciers 101: The World of Ice,” 6:30 p.m. Feb. 7 at the Science Building, EWU, Cheney; 559-5818.

Compass Club luncheon – The women’s club for welcoming newcomers to the area hosts guest speaker Julia McHugh of the Spokane Aquifer Board, 11 a.m. Feb. 7, Mirabeau Park Hotel, 1100 N. Sullivan Road; lunch is $19; reservations are required; 465-8163.

Black History Month – Spokane Community College presents Loretta Ross, founder of the SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective, who will speak on “Human Rights Violations in the United States,” 11:30 a.m. Feb. 8 at the SCC Lair Student Center, 1810 N. Greene; 533-8114.

Geology lecture – Katrin Iken, assistant professor at the School of Fisheries and Ocean Studies at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, will speak on “Arctic Ocean Exploration in Light of a Changing Environment,” 7 p.m. Feb. 8 at the Spokane Community College Lair Student Center, 1810 N. Greene; 533-8017.

Terrorism debate – Spokane Falls Community College faculty and students debate whether terrorism in response to terrorism is justified, 11:30 a.m. Feb. 8, SFCC SUB Lounges A and B, 3410 W. Fort George Wright Drive; 533-3698.

Great Decisions lecture series – Whitworth College hosts Vandana Asthana speaking on “China and India: Partners or Competitors?,” 7:30 p.m. Feb. 9 at Weyerhaeuser Hall, 300 W. Hawthorne Road. Asthana heads up the Christ Church College Political Science Department and Environmental Studies Unit in Kanpur, India; 777-3270.

Regional lakes conference – The fifth annual Eastern Washington/North Idaho Regional Lakes Conference for residents and lake associations to discuss local lakes and watersheds, 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Feb. 11 at the Spokane Community College Lair Student Center, 1810 N. Greene; free and open to the public; reservations must be made by Wednesday; 533-7266.

Songs for Peace – An evening of music in opposition to the war in Iraq and the erosion of civil liberties, 7-9 p.m. Feb. 11 at the Community Building, 35 W. Main. Performers include Laddie Ray Melvin, The Raging Grannies, Mark Stanton, Jenny Edgren and The Blue Ribbon Tea Company; 323-3816.

Spaghetti dinner – St. John Vianney Roman Catholic Church hosts its annual spaghetti dinner, 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Feb. 12 at the church, 503 N. Walnut. Tickets are $20 per family (6 people); $6 adults, $5 seniors and children 6-12, free for children under 6; 926-5428.

Poverty – The United Nations Association-Spokane hosts Bart Haggin of the Spokane County growth management steering committee speaking on the fundamentals of poverty, 7 p.m. Feb. 13 at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 4340 W. Fort George Wright Drive; 624-3608.

Valentine dance – The Spokane Valley Senior Center hosts a Valentine dance, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 14 at CenterPlace, 2426 N. Discovery Place. Uncle Harold’s Dance Band will provide the music. Refreshments will be served; 18 and over only. Tickets are $5; 926-1927.