Briefs 9-04-08

Arts on Grand will host an "open mic" event at 7 p.m. tonight. This is an excellent opportunity for local artists to share their talents in a casual, supportive environment. Interested musicians, poets, or anyone else who would like to take part may sign up in advance at Arts on Grand or just show up that evening.

ILCC Farm Field Day and Expo

The Iowa Lakes Community College Farm Field Day and Expo will be held from 4:30-6:30 p.m., tonight. Featured will be our agriculture programs and students, tours of crops and livestock, seed dealers, and the Palo Alto County Corn & Soybean test plot. Dinner will be served from 5-6 p.m. There is no charge. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Northwest Iowa Singles

Spencer Northwest Iowa Singles will meet at 7 p.m., tonight at Godfather's Pizza in Spencer. Join us for dining and/or a short meeting. This group is open to anyone 30 and above, who is single, widowed or divorced.

* For more information, call Tim, 260-0616 after 9 p.m.

Horizons plans fall barbecue

Horizons Unlimited will host its annual fund-raiser barbecue tonight at Soper Park in Emmetsburg. The barbecue will be held from 5 -- 6:30 p.m. and the menu will include pork patties or hot dogs, baked beans, pasta salad, chips, bars and soda, water or coffee. The meal is a free-will donation, with all donations earmarked for capital improvements at Horizons Unlimited's facilities. In addition to the meal, there will also be games, door prizes and the second annual silent auction.

Clay County Fair advance gate tickets

Fair booster tickets will be sold individually for $5 each, a savings of $2 from the regular daytime gate admission price for adults. Individuals and businesses may take advantage of the savings by purchasing tickets from a fair booster ticket location or a fair booster representative prior to 5 p.m. or earlier as a lot of the area locations will have the tickets picked up before 5 p.m. so they may be back to Spencer by then - Friday, Sept. 5. The Clay County Fair ticket office will sell booster tickers until 9 p.m. on Sept. 5.

Computer Genies of NW Iowa

"MHI Cemetery Tour & Tombstone Preservation" will be the focus of the program at the Saturday, Sept. 6 meeting of the Computer Genies of NW Iowa. Members and visitors are asked to meet at the water tower on the Mental Health Institute campus, 1200 Cedar W., Cherokee, Ia., at 1:30 p.m. After touring the MHI cemetery with host Denise Green, the group will continue their program at the Yacht Club, Spring Lake Park, on Hwy. 59 South, Cherokee, with architectural historian Sheriffa Jones on the preservation of cemeteries and gravestones. The public is invited.

* For more information phone 712 786-2594 or see the club's website at www.computergeniesofnwiowa.com. Also see http://iowagravestones.org/ for researching or submitting gravestone photos for Iowa's gravestone project.

The Starlings to play ShakyTree

The Starlings duo will be live on stage at Shaky Tree Coffee Sept. 20 at 8pm. It's rootsy music with a simple beauty. It's a Seattle band with a small-town aura...Mills' timeless, gorgeous voice is the driving force behind the Starlings' twangy serenity. Her husband is singer-guitarist Tom Parker. When the two harmonize as a banjo gets plucked in the background, it's a truly wonderful blend. They have been on the charts 17 weeks running.

* Call 580-3033 if you have any questions.