The unseasonably warm weather of recent days – with more said to be on the way – leads one to wonder if we need to add another season to our system for reckoning the passage of time and another word to our vocabulary.  With an extended run of weather more typical of May than March [...]

The first of six performances of ‘Grease’ is set to open at 7 p.m. Friday (March 16th) in the Performing Arts Center at Three Rivers High School. The popular musical will be presented by the high school’s Fine and Performing Arts Department. The director is Marcy Bennett, Joel Moore is the vocal music director, and [...]

Laura King’s 1st grade students at Eastside Elementary School in Constantine made “leprechaun traps” Thursday (March 15th). After reading books on St. Patrick’s Day the children got intrigued with leprechauns.  King wished to foster creativity.  “We talked about Irish folks tales, and focused on fantasy in fiction,” King said. “I had students list descriptive adjectives for [...]

Are you looking to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with Irish jigs, reels and Irish songs of all kinds?  Then look no further than a performance in downtown Three Rivers – at the Riviera Theatre – by ‘Whiskey Before Breakfast.’ The show is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. Saturday (March 17th). Irish desserts catered by [...]

We are now observing Daylight Saving Time. This means that everyone should have set their clocks and watches ahead by one hour effective this past Sunday morning at 2 A.M. We all lost an hour of sleep Saturday night, but that’s what naps are for. The Three Rivers Fire Department wishes to remind everyone that [...]

The Village of Vandalia, MI will hold its 3rd annual “Underground Railroad Days” on Saturday, June 23 (10 a.m.-7 p.m.) and Sunday, June 24 (11 a.m. to 5 p.m.) in Vandalia to celebrate the history of the area and its role as an important stop on the Underground Railroad. A classic car show, arts and [...]

The month of March will bring a “gala evening of fun, food and entertainment” as the Three Rivers Woman’s Club hosts ‘Dollars for Scholars,’ a silent auction to benefit the organization’s Scholarship Fund. The event is slated for Saturday, March 24th, from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Carnegie Center for the Arts in downtown [...]

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., — Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park’s annual “Butterflies Are Blooming” exhibition is underway.  More than 6,000 tropical butterflies from Africa, Asia, South and Central America will fly freely in the Lena Meijer Tropical Conservatory throughout the exhibition. The popular exhibition is open to the public through April 30. The exhibition features [...]

Walking into the Colon Elementary Gymnasium was like walking into an enchanted Fairy Castle at the Daddy-Daughter Dance. Sparkly dresses, glittery lovely gowns, tiaras, and patent leather shoes turned Colon’s  little lady students into Fairy Princesses for one evening.  Dads, grandpas, uncles escorted their daughters (to the ball) in their Sunday Best. Fathers in the military wore [...]

Tom Lowry, Sr., former executive director of the Carnegie Center for the Arts, died Thursday (March 8th) at the age of 85. During his tenure at the Carnegie Center, he successfully led the $750,000 capital campaign that resulted in creation of the Monroe Gallery and renovation of the facility. Lowry was honored by the Three [...]

The Carnegie Center for the Arts will host an opening reception for three shows on Sunday (March 11th) from 2 to 4 p.m. Opening are the St. Joseph County High School and Fiber Art Mixed Media – Putting It Together, showcasing the work of high school students throughout St. Joseph County, and a show of [...]

KALAMAZOO – The Maple Sugar Festival is sweet beyond the taste of maple syrup; to many, it signifies the first taste of spring! The 47th Annual Maple Sugar Festival will be held at the Kalamazoo Nature Center Saturday, March 17 and Sunday, March 18. Start the day with delicious pancakes smothered in real Michigan maple [...]

I’m a big fan of comfort food. There’s nothing quite like a plate of macaroni and cheese to make one feel quite comfortable. My mom used to make fantastic macaroni and cheese, and it didn’t come out of a box. I don’t know if lasagna is considered comfort food, but I do know that it [...]

“Bedside Manor,” a comedy play, was enjoyed in the annual Dinner Theatre at the St. John’s Lutheran Auditorium in Burr Oak February 24th and 25th.  Tickets were sold out both nights to see the Ninth Dinner Theatre. Locations have varied through the years: Burr Oak Grange Hall, Burr Oak High School Gymnasium and now the [...]

Over the past century, women in the United States have made great strides toward equality with men.  So why is there still so much disparity in terms of wealth and representation in positions of influence and power?  And why are there so many destructive images of women in the media?  Alongside these developments, the world [...]

Birds in the trees in our Three Rivers backyard seemed to be exceptionally active with songs as I headed to the garage around 8 o’clock Friday morning (March 2nd). To hear a bit of their activity, click on the following link:  Backyard birds – March 2, 2012 (:58) Bruce Snook River Country Journal

Caring for Historic Objects Made From Wood – part of the 2012 History Skills Workshop Series – will take place Friday, March 9 at the Historical Society of Michigan (HSM) Ann Arbor office. This workshop is designed for small museums and other historical organizations that struggle with how to properly care for artifacts made of [...]

Here’s some late-breaking entertainment news from the Riviera Theatre in downtown Three Rivers:  

Things were “hopping” on “Leap Day” – Wednesday (February 29th) – at the St. Joseph County Grange Fair office in Centreville as tickets for the September 22nd concert by Alan Jackson went on sale. Here’s the “concert update” Fair Manager Bill Johnson provided through a late afternoon news release:

The 56th annual Three Rivers Water Festival fundraiser concert, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 10th at the Riviera Theatre, is pleased to add the Mall City Harmonizers to the show line-up.  The group will be performing a 30-minute show prior to the a cappella headliner THUMMp. Last year the group celebrated their 70th year [...]