Lake City Community Planner for Oct. 21

Pre-diabetes class

The McLeod Diabetes Center will offer a pre-diabetes and diabetes prevention class from 4 to 6:15 p.m. Wednesday at the McLeod Diabetes Center, located in McLeod Medical Park East, Suite 250. McLeod Medical Park East, adjacent to the McLeod Pavilion, is at 901 E. Cheves St. in Florence.
For more information, call (843) 777-6000 or visit http://www.mcleoddiabetes.org.

Volunteer training

The Pee Dee Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Assault will sponsor volunteer training from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Saturday, Monday and Tuesday at the Lake City Fire Department, on North Acline Street.

This training will give anyone who wishes to volunteer the tools and resources to assist women, children and men who are victims of domestic and sexual assault and child abuse.

If you have any questions or wish to register for the training, please call either LaBonie Guerra, Rural Florence County victims advocate, at (843) 394-8566 or Freda Cox, Williamsburg County coordinator, at (843) 354-6481.

Fall Festival

J.C. Lynch Elementary School will hold a Fall Festival from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday at the school, at 124 Hicks Road in Coward.

The event will feature games, prizes, balloons, face painting, a photo room, a cakewalk and a fire truck. Food will include baked goods, hot dogs, chips, popcorn and drinks.

A raffle for a $250 gasoline card will be held at 8 p.m.

Wristbands for the event will be on sale for $2 at the door.

Breast cancer awareness

A Breast Cancer Awareness Luncheon will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Lake City Senior Center, at 198 N. Acline St.  Honorees are breast cancer survivors. The event will include food, door prizes, entertainment, speakers and education. The public is invited to attend.

Fall Frenzy

Fall Frenzy will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Lynches River County Park, at 1110 Ben Gause Rd, Coward.

Patrick McMillan, host and co-creator of the S.C. ETV series Expeditions with Patrick McMillan, will serve as the naturalist guide for nature walks during the festival. Walks are scheduled for 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

Other activities include hayrides, a petting zoo, canoe rides, basket-weaving demonstrations and more.

For information, call the Environmental Discovery Center at (843) 389-0550 or visit http://www.lynchesriverpark.com.

Track-or-Treat

Lake City Elementary School will sponsor its annual Track-or-Treat event from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Oct. 30 at the track between Lake City Elementary and Lake City High schools.

Track-or-Treat is an event where parents can bring their children to trick-or-treat instead of going door to door through neighborhoods.

Children from all over Florence School District 3 are invited to this event.

The school is asking for donations of candy and other items to be given to the children as they circle the track. Anyone interested in setting up a station should call Patrick Pinckney at Lake City Elementary at (843) 374-2353.

‘South Pacific’ auditions

Lake City Community Theatre will hold auditions for South Pacific at 7 p.m. Nov. 1 and 2 at the Blanding Street Auditorium in Lake City. There is a part for a boy from 6 to 8 years old and a girl from 9 to 11 years old as well a parts for teenagers and adults.

South Pacific is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “Tales of the South Pacific,” by James A. Michener. The music is by Richard Rodgers, lyrics are by Oscar Hammerstein II, and book is by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan.

Cades-Hebron event

The faculty, staff and students of Cades-Hebron Elementary School will celebrate the Second Annual Oratorical Contest and Poetry Tea With School at 9 a.m. Nov. 6.  The public is invited to attend.

Miss and Master Merry Christmas Pageant

The Miss and Master Merry Christmas Pageant, sponsored by The Johnsonville Christmas Parade Committee, will be held Nov. 7 at Johnsonville Middle School.

Categories are Beauty, Christmas Wear, Photogenic and Portfolio. The contest is for girls from birth to 24 years old and boys from birth to 6 years old.

All Beauty Winners will be asked to ride on a float in the Johnsonville Christmas Parade on Dec. 13. For an application, call Camelia Stevens or Abby Graham at (843) 386-2611 or e-mail .

Community Breakfast

The Care and Concern Organization Soup Kitchen will hold its annual Community Breakfast at 9 a.m. Nov. 7.

Lake City Mayor Lovith Anderson Jr. and other city officials will assist in preparing and serving food during the event, at 800 E. Main St. in Lake City.

The soup kitchen is asking for monetary donations; checks should be maybe payable to Care and Concern Organization Soup Kitchen.

The breakfast has been held for five years, and the kitchen prepares 900 to 1,100 meals a month, Pastor Samuel Burgess said.

For more information, call (843) 558-3267 or e-mail .

Coker College at Night

Coker College at Night in Lake City will hold an informational session for prospective students at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 27 at Lake City High School.
Questions about the admissions process, transfer credits, and financial aid will be answered.

Coker College’s evening program is designed for adults who wish to earn a bachelor’s. Classes are offered two nights a week at Lake City High School.
To enroll, you must be a high school graduate age 23 or older and out of high school for at least five years.

For information, call Elayne Mahn or April Leeth at (800) 950-1908 or e-mail .

Fiction, poetry festival

Four nationally known and bestselling authors and poets will visit Francis Marion University for the Pee Dee Fiction and Poetry Festival from Nov. 5 to 7. The three-day event is free and open to the public. The event will celebrate and promote literature and reading with renowned authors Dorothy Allison, Joseph Millar, Jayne Anne Phillips and Natasha Trethewey. There will be readings, lectures and panel discussions with programs for mature audiences as well as opportunities for book signings. In addition, attendees can see screenings of films “Bastard out of Carolina” and “Cavedweller,” based on novels by Allison.

Doll EXPO

The Southeastern Doll EXPO 2009 will take place Oct. 30 through Nov. 1, 2009 at the Embassy Suites, 200 Stoneridge Drive at Greystone Boulevard and Interstate 126 in Columbia. Exhibitors and collectors from all across the country are expected to attend. All events require registration in advance. You may pay at the door on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 for the Sales Room. More details can be found on the Web by visiting http://www.knightshows.com and clicking on the “Doll EXPO” navigation bar at the top of the page. You may also call Howard Knight at (803) 783-8049. 

Miniature art competition

The Florence Museum of Art, Science and History invites artists to submit work for the 21st Annual Miniature Art Competition presented by The Friends of the Florence Museum.

Each work cannot exceed four inches by five inches, and artists are allowed to submit two works for a single $15 registration fee. First place award will be $300, with the other awards given on a descending scale to four honorable mentions at $65 each. One artist will receive the Ann Finch Award, given specifically to a work done in watercolor.

Also this year, concurrent with the exhibit, the Friends will be hosting the second annual Holiday Art House. This event will be a temporary retail space in the museum where regional artists and authors will have items for sale for Christmas. All items will be priced at $50 and under. A prospectus for interested artists is available for download at http://www.florencemusuem.org.

For information, call (843) 662-3351.

The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each Tuesday through Saturday and 2 to 5 p.m. Sundays.

Basketball coaching clinic

The Francis Marion University women’s basketball program will offer a basketball coaching clinic from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday in FMU’s Smith University Center.

The clinic will feature FMU Patriots head coach Heather Macy, Clemson University head coach Cristy McKinney, Elon University head coach Karen Barefoot and VMI men’s head coach Duggar Baucom.

Registration on the day of the clinic will be $25 for individuals.

Prior to the clinic, coaches are invited to attend an open practice by the Francis Marion 2009-10 women’s squad from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Both Macy’s and Baucom’s squads won national scoring titles last season.

For details or to get a registration form, contact the FMU women’s basketball office at (843) 661-1249 or .

FMU college fair

Francis Marion University will hold a free college fair from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 27 in the university’s Smith University Center. For information, call (843) 661-1231.

Compassionate Friends

The Compassionate Friends of the Pee Dee Area will host Alan Pedersen, a bereaved dad and singer-songwriter, for the “Celebrate the Children” concert at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 27 in the the Sullivan Family Center of St. Anthony Catholic Church, at 2536 Hoffmeyer Road in Florence.

Pedersen writes songs relevant to the challenges that family and friends encounter after suffering the death of a child. Alan is the father of two teenage boys. In August 2001 Alan’s 18-year-old and only daughter, Ashley, was killed in an automobile accident.

Alan will sing and tell his story and would like to hear others’ “stories” as well.

Pedersen is performing at no charge to The Compassionate Friends of the Pee Dee Area. On the evening of the event, the group will able to donate toward his travel expenses. Pedersen’s three CDs will be available for purchase that evening.

Narconon

No matter where you are or what day it is, if your loved one is addicted to drugs or alcohol, get them into an effective substance abuse treatment program as soon as possible. For information on the drug and alcohol rehabilitation program at Narconon Arrowhead, call (800) 468-6933 or visit http://www.stopaddiction.com. Narconon offers free counseling, assessments and referrals to more than 11,000 centers nationwide.

Farmers market

The Lake City Farmers Market will hold the following scheduled activities:

• First Saturday of every month — yard sales
• Second and fourth Saturdays of every month — bake sales
• Third Saturday of every month — barter days

If you are a nonprofit organization or group and need to do a fundraiser, please contact the National Bean Market Museum office to participate in any of the above activities. If you participate in the yard sales for profit, a $5 fee is required for joining the yard sale group.

On barter days, there is no charge for the public to bring items to the market to trade with others who participate (the farmers market is not included in barter days).

For more information, call Sherri Moore at (843) 374-1500.