Home Fronts

Home front - May 16

Cornerstone Youth Theatre’s production of Rudyard Kipling’s classic tale The Jungle Book lights up the stage in seven performances at the First Church of the Nazarene (2 McVicar Street). The show opens on May 25 and runs until June 3. Evening performances begin at 7 p.m. and Saturday matinees start at 3 p.m. The final performance on June 3 begins at 5 p.m. General admission is $12. Seniors pay $11. Children under 12 get in for $10. There is a discount matinee ($10) on May 26. For tickets, call 403-986-2981 or go to www.cytcentralalberta.org.

The Christian Science Society and Reading Room of Red Deer is hosting an open house on May 24 to show off its newly renovated reading room. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. at 4907 50th Ave. International speaker Rob Gilbert will make a one-hour presentation called Spiritual Self-Worth Heals and Transforms Human Character. Gilbert is a practitioner and teacher of Christian Science healing from California. He will speak at 12:05 p.m. and again at 7:30 p.m. The open house and lecture are free. Refreshments and homemade cookies will be provided. For more information, visit www.cssrd.com or call 403-346-0811. READ

Home front - May 15

Canadian fiddle champion Scott Woods and his band pay tribute to fiddle legends in a charity performance at Sunnybrook United Church on May 24. Fiddling legends Al Cherny, Don Messer, King Ganam and others will be honoured in the tribute. Proceeds will go to Camp Kasota Children’s Camp and Youth Ministry. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children 12 years old. There is no cost for children under five years of age. For tickets and information, call Linda at 403-347-6073 or office@sunnybrookunited.org READ

Home front - May 14

A guest speaker will be featured at the Red Deer and District Garden Club’s monthly meeting on Thursday. Linda Tomlinson will present Perennials: Gardening Made Easy at 7 p.m. at the Kerry Wood Nature Centre at 6300 45th Ave. Tomlinson is a graduate of the horticultural program at Olds College and regular gardening columnist with the Red Deer Advocate and Rocky Mountain House Mountaineer. For more information, contact Maureen at 403-343-0069 or Noreen at 403-346-7728. READ

Home front - May 12

The Lacombe and District Garden Club, in partnership with Olds College, is hosting a talk with Ken Fry, an entomology instructor at Olds College, on Tuesday. Fry, known as the Bug Guy, will be presenting Recruiting Beneficial Insects: Working with Nature in Your Yard at the Lacombe Memorial Centre at 5214 50th Ave. at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Pamela at 403-782-5061 or pamela.d.neumann@gmail.com. READ

Home front - May 11

The Red Deer Food Bank is gearing up for summer. Yellow food bags have been distributed over the past week to over 8,000 homes in Red Deer South as part of the annual Mormon Church Food Drive. Residents are being asked to fill the bags and hang them on their door knobs to be picked up Saturday morning by 10 a.m. All instructions are on the bags. Donations will go towards filling the shelves of the Red Deer Food Bank over the summer. “Our summer expenses would skyrocket without this drive,” said Fred Scaife, food bank executive director. For more information, contact the food bank at 403-342-5355 or by email at rdfoodbank@hotmail.com. READ

Home front - May 9

In celebration of the 125th anniversary of Gaetz Memorial United Church, there will be a High Tea and Art Display. The event will take place at the church from 1:30-3:30 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets are $8 per person and are available by contacting the church office at 403-347-2244 or Beryl at 403-346-3815. READ

Home front - May 8

It’s time to don those shades. Dr. Jason Holtom of The Eye Studio Optometry Clinic in Red Deer is encouraging everyone to be “sun-wise with your eyes” during Vision Health Month in May. READ

Home front - May 7

Book readers have the chance to get some real finds in Red Deer on Saturday, May 12. A used book sale runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at West Park Presbyterian Church at 3628 57th Ave. A large selection of books (paperback, hardcover and miscellaneous) will be on hand for great prices. READ

Home front - May 4

Red Deer residents are encouraged to get involved in Garage Sale for Shelter to be held on May 12 in support of Central Alberta Women’s Emergency Shelter. Participants can host their own garage sale with all or some of the proceeds going to CAWES. For a $25 registration fee, people will get a garage sale kit that includes signage, pricing stickers, tips for a successful garage sale, free barbecue at the end of the day, lots of advertising, and a map distributed community wide directing shoppers to the sales. Or for $25, people get both the garage sale kit and rent a space at the Garage Sale for Shelter in the parking lot of Royal LePage Network Realty, at 3608 Gaetz Ave. For more information, call Darlis Bachusky at Royal LePage at 403-358-4981. READ

Home front - May 3

The Red Deer Flying Club is inviting people to learn more about their club while enjoying breakfast. Their annual Fly-in/Drive-in Pancake Breakfast will take place on Sunday from 8 a.m. to noon at Sky Wings Aviation Hangar at the Red Deer Airport. Aviation enthusiasts and the general public are welcome. Sky Wings Aviation Academy will also provide airplane rides for $25 per person. The event costs $10 for adults, $5 for ages six to 15 and ages six and under are free. More information is available by calling Burt at 403-350-5511 or visiting the club’s website at www.reddeerflyingclub.org. READ

Home front - May 2

Red Deer woman Giselle Funk won $91,689.70 on Friday night at Jackpot Casino downtown. The won playing the Alberta Gold two-cent slot machine at 10 p.m. It was the first time Sean Wetterstrom, slot manager at Jackpot, had ever paid a big winner like that, he said. Funk did not mention what she would spend the money on, said Wetterstrom. READ

Home front - May 1

Central Alberta Optimists present their ninth-annual 24-Hour Radiothon Cures for Kids. The event takes place at Parkland Mall on May 3, beginning at 6 a.m. and running until 6 p.m. It goes again on May 4, at the same times. Donations will support Camp Quality, MS Teen Escape, Camp Alexo and Reading College. Mayor Morris Flewwelling will be in attendance, along with other local dignitaries. The Radiothon’s radio partners include Sunny 94, Kraze 101.3, Big 105.5 and 106.7 The Drive. For more information, contact Scott McMurtrie at the Waskasoo Optimist Club at 403-304-5307 or scottmcmurtrie@shaw.ca. READ

Home front - April 30

Red Deer will let the good times roll New Orleans’ style with Mardi Gras Madness on May 4. The event is to support of Red Deer Regional Health Foundation’s Hospital Lottery. Mardi Gras Madness will feature an authentic New Orleans menu with live music, street performers, fortune tellers, a mask shop that showcases Mardi Gras inspired masks, face painting, a bead contest and voodoo treasure chests.The event starts at 6 p.m. at Sheraton Red Deer Hotel in the exhibition hall. For more information contact Shannon Van Parys at 403-314-6949 or by email at shannon.vanparys@albertahealthservices.ca. READ

Home front - April 27

Red Deer Hospice is short on participants for its fifth annual Hike for Hospice on May 6. Only 25 hikers had signed up as of April 24 and the goal is to see 200 people on their feet. The three, six, or 9-km walk or run around Bower Ponds starts at 1 p.m. at the Kiwanis Picnic Shelter near Great Chief Park. With corporate sponsors, Red Deer Hospice hopes to raise $63,000 from the hike. Hike for Hospice is a national event that helps recognize the work done by hospice volunteers and staff. To support or participate contact Marian Cloutier at 403-309-4344 or visit www.reddeerhospice.com. READ

Home front - April 26

Human trafficking will be front and centre during Victims of Crime Awareness Week that runs until Saturday. The theme, “Moving Forward”, is this year’s national theme. “The theme is an accurate description of how we are working in the community to co-ordinate efforts that will support victims of human trafficking to move forward with their lives,” said Lianne Hazell, co-ordinator of ACT Alberta, Red Deer chapter. Over the past year, Action Coalition for Human Trafficking (ACT Alberta), Red Deer has been building a protocol for providing service to victims of human trafficking in Central Alberta. The protocol will be ready for release to the community by this summer. For more information about ACT Alberta, go online at www.actalberta.org and “like” on social media, Facebook. READ

Home front - April 25

The Red Deer Public Library is presenting First Thursdays in the Snell Auditorium on May 3 from 12:15 to 1 p.m. The free concert will feature The Kids from Strathearn Music Studios in Edmonton. READ

Home front - April 24

Cronquist House in Red Deer is gearing up for its first ever May Day Celebration to usher in the spring season. Sponsored by the Red Deer Cultural Heritage Society, the May Day festivities will run from 2 to 5 p.m. on May 1. The free event will feature outdoor activities — weather permitting — including the traditional maypole on the Cronquist House grounds, located at Great Chief Park in Bower Ponds. An optional International Tea will also take place as part of the celebrations inside the historic, Victorian-style brick farmhouse. The tea is $10, cash only and will feature a variety of ethnic finger foods, desserts and beverages. For more information, contact the Red Deer Cultural Heritage Society at 403-346-0055. READ

Home front - April 23

The community is invited to attend a presentation featuring Robert Rogers, the author of The Fungal Pharmacy, at the Kerry Wood Nature Centre on Friday. The event will provide information on medicinal mushrooms and goes from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tickets are $20. For more information contact, Abrah Arneson at 403-352-2820. READ

Home front - April 20

The Red Deer Royals Marching Show Band presents the 17th annual Festival of Champions at the Centrium on May 6. Each band presents a 10-minute choreographed field show in a display of music and motion. Admission is $5. Children six and under get in for free. Call 403-346-8112 for more information. READ

Home front - April 19

The Alberta Worm Invasion Project will feature a presentation from Erin Cameron at the Kerry Wood Nature Centre on April 26. Cameron has been conducting ecological research on earthworms, which are not native to Canada, and will tell how earthworm invasions are affecting the forest. The event will take place at the Kerry Wood Nature Centre, 6300 45th Ave. in Red Deer, at 7:30 p.m. For more information, contact the centre at 403-346-2010. READ