The Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies offers Ocean Connection from 1-5 p.m. every Thursday starting July 7. Reach beneath Kachemak Bay without getting wet. Small groups tour the bay on the Torega with Capt. Karl Stoltzfus and visit the highlights of the bay that day. See Gull Island, look for wildlife and learn from the top down and bottom up what, why and who lives in the bay. Visitors stop at an oyster farm and taste and learn to shuck oysters. Activities include driving an underwater remote operating vehicle, doing a plankton tow, looking at plankton in a microscope, taking scientific measurements and learning from an onboard CACS naturalist. The tour is $99 for adults and $50 for children under 12. To make reservations or more information, call 235-6667 or visit https://akcoastalstudies.rezdy.com/20713/make-an-ocean-connection-reach-beneath-the-bay-and-you-don-t-even-have-to-get-wet.
The Alaska Marine Safety Education Association (AMSEA) will offer a 12-hour Fishing Vessel Drill Conductor workshop in Homer 8 a.m.-8 p.m. July 11 at the Best Western Bidarka Inn, 575 Sterling Highway. This workshop is an excellent opportunity for commercial fishermen and other mariners to gain hands-on training with marine safety equipment and learn best practices for surviving emergencies at sea. The workshop meets U.S. Coast Guard requirements for fishing vessels and is free for commercial fishermen thanks to grants. The fee is $175 for others. All mariners welcome. To register, visit www.amsea.org or call 907-747-3287.
Sandhill crane colts should soon be appearing. If you spot crane chicks, please report the sighting to Kachemak Crane Watch at 235-6262 or reports@cranewatch.org. Include the number of colts, date and location of your sighting, as well as your name and number if more information is needed.
Friendship Center
Friendship Center Adult Day Services is open 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday with extended hours for special situations. Programs are offered daily, including story time, crafts and musical performances. Call 235-4556.
Homer Senior Citizens
Homer Senior Citizens lunch is open to seniors and guests and is served noon-1:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. The lunch menu for this week is: today, roast pork loin; Friday, closed for Independence Day; Monday, beef stroganoff; Tuesday, chicken piccatta; Wednesday, seafood enchiladas; next Thursday, roast beef.
Strong Women classes are 1:30-2:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the Homer Senior Center. The cost is $3 for members and $6 for nonmembers per class.
Zumba Gold classes with Maria are 11 a.m.-noon Tuesdays and 1:30-2:30 p.m. Thursdays at the Homer Senior Center. The cost per class is $4 members, $6 nonmembers.
Duplicate Bridge meets at 1 p.m. Thursdays. Tai Chi classes are Thursday at 3 p.m. The cost per class is $3 for members and $6 for nonmembers. Call Daniel Weisser at 235-4555.
Caregiver Support Group meets 2-3:30 p.m. the second and fourth Thursday in the senior center conference room. Call Jacquie Thaute at 299-2924 or Daniel Weisser at 235-4555.
Kachemak Bay Campus
To earn a GED or improve basic reading, writing and math skills, call 235-1606.
Registration for all fall classes and workshops for general public and degree-seeking students is now open online at www.kpc.alaska.edu. Degree-seeking students can call for advising appointments at 235-7743. Register now and pay later.
Pratt Museum
Summer gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week. Business offices are open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday.
“Watermark,” a duo exhibit by Asia Freeman and Michael Walsh, is on exhibit through Aug. 2. Freeman, who works in oil paints, and Walsh, who works in digital video, have shared a studio for several years and also share a sensual language of mark making with a focus on water as media and muse.
The Pratt is showing a series of prototype exhibits in the lower galleries. These are works in progress and opportunities to collect feedback on text, design and interactive components. There are questionnaires available to provide direct input. Currently, visitors can see a small prototype, “Community Connectors – Radios, Telephones and Pathways.”
Road Construction
Expect delays on these lower Kenai Peninsula road projects:
• Sterling Highway Mile 135 to 137 improvements: Road construction continues through mid-September. Expect single-lane traffic, 20-minute delays, flagging and pilot car operations on the Sterling Highway 24 hours a day, Monday through Saturday through September. Be alert to heavy equipment and construction workers on the shoulder of the Sterling Highway from Mile 135 to 157, 24 hours a day.
• Homer rehabilitation, East End Road from Kachemak Drive to Waterman Road: Road construction continues through July. Expect single-lane traffic, flagging and pilot car operations until July 17 due to paving. Expect heavy equipment and construction workers on the shoulder from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
For more information, visit AlaskaNavigator.org.
SVT Health & Wellness
SVT Health & Wellness offers classes covering all aspects of wellness every Thursday at 6 p.m. Today’s class is “Herbal Remedies from Alaskan Plants”
with Alix Chartier, Seldovia Village Tribe ethnobotanist.
Learn to make basic herbal teas, tinctures and herb infused oils from wild medicinal plants. Please bring three small to medium sized wide-mouthed jars with lids, olive oil, and an alcohol solvent of choice (brandy, whiskey or vodka) or a $5 donation for supplies. Please RSVP with Amy at 435-3280. The class is limited to the first 15 participants. It will be repeated on July 9 for those that can’t make it on July 2.
