El Dorado Hills blood drive, plus American Legion BBQ and Boots, spring tea celebration

Vitalant will host a blood drive from noon to 4:30 p.m. Monday, March 27, at the El Dorado Hills Community Services District, 1021 Harvard Way. The Bloodmobile will be located in the parking lot near the baseball fields. Whole blood donors must be at least 16 years old, weigh a minimum of 110 pounds, be in general good health and bring a photo IT. 16-year-olds must have a signed parental consent form, available at www.vitalant.org. Donors are encouraged to make an appointment at donors.vitalant.org and use blood drive code SMFM019 or call Vitalant at 877-258-4825 and mention blood drive code SMFM019. Walk-ins will be accommodated if space allows. Donors will be entered into a drawing to win one of two $10,000 pre-paid gift cards from Vitalant, which can be redeemed by email. American Legion BBQ n Boots dinner and dance American Legion Post 383 is hosting a dinner and dance featuring country western music by the band Brisco County and Texas Roadhouse sirloin steak or chicken with all the fixins on Saturday, April 15, at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Hall, 8990 Kruitof Way (off Hazel Ave.) in Fair Oaks. Doors open at 4:30 p.m., followed by a no-host saloon at 5, dinner at 6 and music at 7. There will be drawings for prizes throughout the evening. Donations are $40 per person and $25 for children under 12. Donations are to support local veterans, active-duty military and their families in need, as well as the Junior ROTC, California Boys & Girls State, Scouts BSA program and other veteran-sponsored events supporting Americanism. For ticket info, contact Deputy Mark at 916-204-8151. Spring Tea Celebration at Wakamatsu Farm The second Spring Tea Celebration will be held Saturday, April 29, from 12:30-3 p.m. at Wakamatsu Farm, 941 Cold Springs Road in Placerville. Enjoy tea and lunch, stroll the beautiful grounds, visit the historic 1850s Graner Farmhouse & Museum, and hear the history. Enjoy local historian Mary Cory, administrator of the El Dorado County Museum, who will speak on "Women Making History." The cost is $30 person, and the reservation deadline is April 20. Seating is limited. The tea is a fundraiser for Wakamatsu Farm and the American River Conservancy Education Center at Wakamatsu. For information, contact Barbara at 916-849-9618, NDGWSutter336@gmail.com, or send payment to Beckie Galloway, 3511 Eskaton Dr., Placerville, Calif. 95667 (make checks payable to: NDGW Sutter's Mill Parlor No. 336). The Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Farm Colony was the site of the first permanent Japanese settlement in the United States, the only settlement of Samurai outside of Japan, the birthplace of the first Japanese American and contains the 1871 gravesite of the first Japanese immigrant and women buried in the United States.