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PORTABLE BREATHALYZER You won’t flush your money away at this casino-themed fundraiser.
FRIDAY OCT. 21
Catch Central City Music Company at A Queer Notion.
ante up BET ON LITERACY Las Vegas—been there done that. Jackpot—close but no cigar. For one night, Boise will be a gambling town, where selfless acts meet selfish pursuits at the Knitting Factory with the Bet on Literacy fundraiser. All your favorite bank-draining pastimes will be in attendance at the Bet On Literacy event, including blackjack, poker and craps. If you’re a self-described card shark or have a hot hand with the dice, test your luck for a good cause at this casino-themed fundraiser for the Learning Lab. At the end of the night, your wallets might be empty, but instead of lining the pockets of casino owners, you’ll be contributing to a good cause. The Learning Lab is an all-ages educational nonprofit, whose aim is to improve literacy and learning skills at its computer-assisted learning center. With an annual enrollment of more than 300 students, the Learning Lab’s goal is to improve the community and the lives of its citizens. So put on that knockout dress or James Bond-style tuxedo and enjoy cocktails, dancing and the pursuit of Lady Luck, all while helping an outstanding organization. 7-11:45 p.m., $25 general, $40 VIP, 21 and older. The Knitting Factory, 416 S. Ninth St., 208-367-1212, learninglabinc.org.
a star ving ar tist in rural Zimbabwe, tr ying to suppor t yourself and your family with subsistence farming while you focus on ar twork. This is the situation that many women in Weya, Zimbabwe, face and the same situation that the Zimbabwe Ar tists Project is tr ying to improve. Zimbabwe Ar tists Project, founded in 1999, is a nonprofit organization that works in par tnership with women ar tists and some men in Weya, finding buyers for their ar t. Because there’s a small market for ar t in Zimbabwe, ZAP brings ar twork to the United States to sell and re-
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turns the money earned to the ar tists. In turn, the ar tists can buy food, clothes, schooling, seeds and fer tilizer. ZAP also funds workshops so ar tists can build their ar tistic skills, as well as learn life skills like how to manage finances and bookkeeping. To help these Zimbabweans improve their lives, folks in the Treasure Valley are invited to check out their work on Saturday, Oct. 22, at the Boise Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. In addition to showcasing unique pieces of ar t, the event will also be a fascinating lesson in different cultures. Par t of ZAP’s mis-
SATURDAY OCT. 22 pride and joy A QUEER NOTION Members of the LGBT community still face prejudice and hate, even in our so-called enlightened world. That’s where groups like Pride Foundation come in, which was founded in Seattle in 1985 by four individuals who devoted the agency to “raising and managing substantial funds to address the growing challenges facing the [LGBT] community.” In 1987, the foundation awarded $7,654 in grants to LGBT groups, but today, that number has increased significantly. It now awards hundreds of thousands of dollars each year and distributes one of the nation’s largest LGBT scholarship funds. Last year, the Pride Foundation set up shop in Boise to do some good. At Boise Pride in June, Steve Martin, Pride Foundation’s Idaho regional development organizer, was approached by local musician Stephanie Bell of the band Hot Dog Sandwich. The two started talking and the Queer Notion benefit concert was born. On Saturday, Oct. 22, live bands, local poets and artwork by BW contributor Mika Belle will fill Visual Arts Collective, all to raise awareness and support for the LGBT community. The bands have donated their time, and the VAC has donated the venue so that all the proceeds can benefit the Pride Foundation. “I want people to know that we’re tr ying to do something to support the grass-roots work of organizations that are tr ying to promote and create LGBTQ equality in Idaho,” said Martin. Bands performing include Hot Dog Sandwich, Central City Music Company, a.k.a Belle and The Retrobates. Poets include Brandon Follet and Ben the Drunken Poet. 6 p.m., $5. The Visual Arts Collective, 3638 Osage St., 208-424-8297, visualartscollective.com.
sion is to teach Americans about Zimbabwean culture and histor y, and ever y piece of ar t for sale is accompanied by the ar tist’s photo and stor y.
Remember the Ludachristmas episode of 30 Rock, where Tracy Jordan couldn’t party because of the alcohol monitoring device chained to his ankle? This holiday season, take a lesson from Tracy, and everyone’s favorite firecrotch shitshow LiLo, and don’t let this happen to you. Before you wobble over to your ride, smash the keys into the door and rev the engine, let the Portable Breathalyzer help you make portablebreathalyzer.co.za sure you haven’t had one ’nog too many. The Portable Breathalyzer is a keychain-sized device that measures your blood alcohol content in a breezy 20 seconds. Just exhale into the device’s vent and one of three LEDs will light up: green for “safe,” or below .02 percent; yellow for “warning,” or between .02 and .05 percent; and red for “danger,” or above .05 percent. And as if that weren’t awesome enough, the device also comes with a countdown and count-up timer so you can keep track of your parking meter and an LED flashlight torch so you can find your drink in a dark bar—or the number for a cab in a phonebook. Though the Portable Breathalyzer, billed as “a cool gadget for Friday night outs,” comes with a hefty $125 price tag, it’s much cheaper than getting pulled over for drunk driving. Remember kids, DUIs blow. —Tara Morgan
7 p.m. FREE. Boise Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 6200 N. Garrett St., Garden City, zimbabweartistsproject.org.
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