Calendar of Events

Black Bear Outdoors has three separate classes coming up. All take place from 5 to 7 p.m. on Fridays. On Feb. 12 there is a free orienteering and map course that involves training in use of a compass and map, as well as basic GPS skills. On Feb. 19, learn about basic survival skills and how to assemble a small survival kit. There is a $10 materials kit, and reservations are due by Feb. 17. On Feb. 26, a class on cold-weather gear preparation will be held prior to a moonlight snowshoe hike to Foresthill the next day. The hike will cover about one-half mile and take about two hours, ending with a bonfire. The class and hike are free; snowshoe rentals are $6. Reservations for the snowshoes are required. Black Bear is located at 3587 Taylor Rd. Call 652-2327 for more information.MTC's Café Caberet musical review "Through the Decades" will be performed at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Feb. 12 and 13, at McLaughlin Studio Theatre 3415 Swetzer Road. Tickets are $25 each or $40 per couple, and includes show and dessert. For tickets, call 652-6377.Penryn Elementary School PTC will host a Sweetheart Dance and Dessert Saturday, Feb. 13. Tickets are $10 each for PTC members and $13 for non-members. Each ticket is good for one admission, one dessert, one drink and one raffle ticket. Desserts are also needed. Call the school at 663-3993 for more information.Local firefighters will hold a Fill The Boot drive Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 13 and 14, at the intersections of Horseshoe Bar and Taylor roads and Horseshoe Bar and Interstate 80. Donations will benefit the UC Davis Medical Center Burn Unit expansion construction project and the annual Children's Burn Survivor Camp, among other burn survivor programs.A Chance For Bliss, an animal sanctuary, will hold an open house from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13, at 1865 Willow Brook Lane in Penryn. Visitors will be able to interact with the more than 70 sanctuary animals. Donations of feed, supplies, money and talents are accepted.A Valentine's Sweets & Treats Placer Hills Wine Tour is set for noon to 5 p.m. on Presidents and Valentine's weekend, Saturday through Monday, Feb. 13 through 15. Participating wineries include Secret Ravine Winery, 4390 Gold Trail Way, in Loomis. Secret Ravine Vineyards will have a table of tasty sweet treats and barrel sampling. For more information, call 652-6015. Admission is free.Stories and poems from the heart will be presented by the Placer County Writers Group during "Letters of Love," at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 14, at the Flower Farm Coffee House. Reading their work will be Bob Golling, Kristen Thompson, Eva Andrews and Bruce Waymore. Call 652-5661 for more information.The play "Love Letters" by A.R. Gurney will be presented at 5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 14, in a fundraiser for Scott Owens for DA of Placer County. Doors open at 5 p.m. for a social hour with hors d'ouevres, beverages and dessert; the play is at 6 p.m. Tickets are $95 per couple. Call Laura at (530) 330-3071.The Huntington's Disease Society of America will host a crab feed, that will include live music, Sunday, March 7, at the Blue Goose Fruit Shed. Doors open at 3 p.m.; dinner will be served at 4 p.m. Tickets are $45 per person if purchased by Feb. 26 or $55 at the door. Proceeds benefit HDSA research. For more information, call Madalyn Kruger at 927-4400.Sign up now for the Loomis Lions Club Golf Tournament, to benefit Boy Scout Troop 12. Reservations made by March 1, of $90 per person or $500 for a sponsorship package, which includes four golfers and a sponsorship sign. After March 1, fees go up to $100 per person or $550 for the sponsorship package. All golfers get a barbecue dinner. Non-golfer barbecue tickets are $15 each. The tournament is Saturday, May 8, at the Lincoln Hills Orchard Course at the Lincoln Hills Golf Club. Call Tom Millward at 652-0273 or Russ Kelley 652-6836.The Five Cities Democratic Club will hold its monthly meeting from 11:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20, at Round Table Pizza in the Raley's Shopping Center in Loomis. Following the business portion of the meeting, Clint Curtis will speak to club members and guests regarding his run for 4th Congressional District seat now held by Senator Tom McClintock. For more information, call Noreen Aguilar at 663-3897.Kindergarten registration for the 2010-2011 term begins with orientation and general information meetings at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 25, at Loomis Union School District campuses. Attend the meetings to receive registration packets. Call the district office at 652-1800 for more information.A spaghetti feed to support brain cancer awareness is set for 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, in the Del Oro High School cafeteria. The dinner, the senior project of Del Oro student Kelsey Reynoso, will benefit the Bruce Kaye Brain Tumor foundation and Sutter Auburn Faith Hospice. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12. For tickets, call Kelsey at 847-4850 or 660-0997.The Loomis Lions Club will hold a crab feed at the Blue Goose Fruit Shed on Saturday, Feb. 27. Because the dinner usually sells out early, the club recommends that reservations be made as soon as possible. Call Jack Morris at 652-3225.Table sponsorships are being offered by the H. Clarke Powers Elementary School PTC at a Hawaiian Luau, its annual Kodiak feast and auction. The fundraiser takes place Friday, March 19, at the Blue Goose Fruit Shed. Donations are also accepted. Call Leisa Hood at 275-1977 by Feb. 26.The 56th Annual Oriental Food Bazaar will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. Saturday, March 6, in the Del Oro High School cafeteria. Guests can eat in or take out the kushiyaki, chow mein, chicken teriyaki, sushi and baked goods. Sumie Ward will perform a traditional Japanese tea ceremony at 1, 2 and 3 p.m.The Tax-Aide Program is offering free federal and state tax preparation by appointment only on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons at the Loomis Library. Appointments are by reservations only; call 652-5840. The service, sponsored by the IRS and AARP, is available to all taxpayers with no age or membership restrictions. All returns are filed electronically and fast refunds are available by direct deposit. Those who have farm or property income or home offices are not eligible for this service.The Friends of the Penryn Library have eco-friendly totes available. The book bags are available at the Penryn Library, located at 2215 Rippey in Penryn. For more information, call 663-3621.Youth basketball clinics are taking place at Loomis Grammar School, under the direction of Rick Bauer of Good Sport U and the girls basketball coach at the school. Instruction is held at 9 a.m. for athletes in grades K through 1, and at 10 a.m. for those in grades 2 through 4. The fee is $45. For more information, call 316-3084.The Placer County Writers Group meets at 9 a.m. every Wednesday and the third Saturday of the month at the Flower Farm Coffee Shop, at the corner of Horseshoe Bar and Auburn-Folsom Roads. "It is our express purpose to write and collect stories that bring our attention to the wonder of life," said coordinator Bob Golling. Call him at 652-4950 for more information.