Cranston Chatter

Park View Veterans Day 5K Run/Walk

The fourth annual Park View Veterans Day 5K Run/Walk to benefit Park View and Operation Stand Down RI will be held on Nov. 11 from 8:30 a.m. to noon in Roger Williams Park (starting at the entrance off Park Avenue). The opening ceremony will be held at 9 a.m. There will be a 1-Mile Kids Fun Run, which will begin at 8:30 a.m. The 5K begins at 9:30 a.m.

More than 800 runners are expected to participate. The event will start off with a short opening ceremony with speeches from local veterans. Additionally, a procession of veterans will kick off the race.

Headquartered in Johnston, OSDRI is an independent, non-profit organization and Rhode Island’s primary nonprofit resource for homeless and at-risk veterans.

Anyone interested in registering for the 5K can register at tinyurl.com/jrhouex.

Pedals & Pints Night

Join in to help stop diabetes during the Pedals & Pints event at the Thirsty Beaver, 288 Atwood Ave., Cranston. The event will be held Nov. 16 from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. The pint promotion is through Sam Adams. Learn more about or register for the upcoming 2017 Ocean State Tour de Cure to be held on June 4, 2017. There will be free appetizers and donations will be accepted that night.

For more information on Pedals and Pints or the Ocean State Tour de cure, contact Jennifer Kennedy, manager of development, Ocean State Tour de Cure, at 617-482-4580, ext. 3499 or at 401-714-3555.

CCAP kicks off holiday food drive

Each month, CCAP serves over 600 families in need at its food bank, and the organization is seeing more and more families having trouble making ends meet and unable to purchase needed food. The families CCAP serves have lost jobs, suffered an illness, or experienced a different type of crisis, usually through no fault of their own.

Extra food for the holidays is an even bigger burden for families that need help. CCAP is seeking assistance through food drives in churches, workplaces, service groups, schools, and elsewhere in the community. The goal is to provide 1,000 food baskets for those in need this holiday season.

Food needed are frozen turkeys, canned corn, canned green beans, canned yams, boxed mashed potatoes, boxed stuffing, canned turkey gravy, canned cranberry sauce, pie crust, canned pie filling, rolls, or $25 grocery gift cards.

For more information about CCAP and how to assist with the food drive, contact Joanne Gregory, vice president of social services, at 401-562-8333.

New Hope Art Gallery

On behalf of Mayor Allan Fung, Interim Executive Director of Senior Services David Quiroa, and Ricky Gagnon, director/curator of the New Hope Art Gallery, the public is invited to attend the Holiday/Winter Show Opening of New Hope Art Gallery on Nov. 15 from 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Cranston Senior Enhancement Center, located at 1070 Cranston St., Cranston.

The show will feature over 400 pieces of 2D and 3D art, including ceramic, digital, drawing, fabric, furniture, glass, mixed media, mosaic, painting, photography, and sculpture from 100 local, national, senior, special needs, and student artists. They will also feature music by Jim Chapin, Mark Greenwood, and Bob Ruzzo.

All art purchased is tax free. Please come enjoy a night of great art, wonderful music, good conversation, and tasty treats. There will be five newly designed New Hope Art Gallery buttons designed by Ted DiLucia for sale, with all proceeds going to help support our the non-profit gallery.

New Hope Art Gallery would not be the success it has become without its many talented artists, and its very dedicated volunteer staff. They are assistant curators Ted DiLucia, David Koukol, and Barbara Rosenbaum, and refreshment coordinators/greeters Lou and Zita Gagnon.

Holiday meal program

Are you a Cranston resident 60 years or older? Will you be alone or know someone who will be alone during Thanksgiving and/or Christmas? If so, you may qualify for a holiday meal program sponsored by Mayor Allan Fung and the Cranston Department of Senior Services.

Volunteers will prepare and deliver Thanksgiving and Christmas meals to any Cranston senior resident who is alone during the holidays. Call 401-780-6000 to register.

The Thanksgiving meal registration deadline is Thursday, Nov. 10, and the Christmas meal registration deadline is Dec. 9.

St. Paul Church program

St. Paul Church of Edgewood will hold a talk, titled “Death is a Part of Life,” on Nov. 12. Father Adam Young, St. Paul’s Pastor, will speak about the Roman Catholic understanding of death and funerals. The event is free and open to the public. Reservations are requested. Please call the Rectory at 401-461-5734 by Nov. 9. The event will be held in Msgr. Canning Hall, which is behind St. Paul’s School, 1789 Broad Street, Cranston. Doors open at 5:45 p.m., and supper is at 6 p.m.

Prior to the talk, which will include a question-and-answer period, a light supper of soup, salad, and bread will be served. Desserts will be sold by the St. Paul’s Youth Group to help raise funds for members to attend next summer’s Steubenville East Youth Conference, an annual spiritual gathering of thousands of Catholic teens and young adults.

Woodridge Winter Festival and Bazaar

On Nov. 12, Woodridge United Church of Christ, located at 546 Budlong Road, will host its annual Winter Festival and Bazaar. The event takes place from 9 a.m. through 3 p.m. and includes a wide variety of raffle items, homemade items, pastries, and bargains galore.

Friends of Woodridge and visitors will have the opportunity to win prizes like a one-year membership at Healthtrax Fitness Center, a Massage Envy facial massage and beauty basket, and a theatre package that includes two tickets to Trinity Rep with dinner and a wine basket for two. Tickets are available in advance or on arrival. Hourly raffles offer something for everyone.

Be sure to visit the Country Store and Pastry Shop featuring many one-of-a-kind, hand-made items, delicious seasonal pies such as apple and pumpkin, whole cakes such as carrot and German chocolate, and breads such as cranberry and blueberry made by Woodridge church volunteers. Visitors won’t want to miss the homemade cookies such as chocolate chip, Snickerdoodle, oatmeal and magic bars for sale by the pound. The selection also includes gluten-free options and toffee candy. Shopping will be a pleasure for the whole family when friends and visitors see the many bargains in Timeless Treasures.

Lunch will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The menu includes homemade soup, sandwiches, pizza, and beverages. Visitors are asked to bring canned goods and non-perishable items to support the Cranston Interfaith Food Pantry.

Basketball, tennis programs

The city of Cranston’s Parks and Recreation Department is now taking registration for Saturday Morning Basketball and Winter Indoor Tennis. Both programs begin on Saturday, Nov. 19 and run Saturday mornings through March 18, 2017.

Saturday Morning Basketball is an instructional program to teach the fundamentals for grades kindergarten through middle school. The program runs at Western Hills and Park View for grades three through eight and the Pastore Youth Center for grades K to two. The registration fee is $25 per child.

Winter Indoor Tennis is aimed at beginners, aged six to 12, looking to skill build. This is instructional program; there is no match play. The program runs at the Hugh B. Bain gymnasium. The fee is $85 per person.

Register at the Recreation Office, 1090 Cranston St., second floor. Registration is accepted Mondays thru Fridays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information or to print registration forms, visit cranstonri.com. Follow the department on Facebook for program updates.

Pet photos with Santa, Rudolph, or Frosty

On Nov. 13, there will be pet photos with Santa, Rudolph, or Frosty to benefit Animals Depend On People Too (ADOPT) at Pet Supplies Plus, Garden City Plaza, Cranston, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Photography services are being provided by Gene Hutnak Photography. Children and adults are welcome in the photo, too! The cost is $20 for two different photos, and all photos can be reproduced. For more information, please call 401-826-0320 or sage999cat@cox.net.

Holiday Craft Fair & Luncheon

The Oak Lawn Community Baptist Church, located at 229 Wilbur Ave., will hold its Holiday Craft Fair on Nov. 12 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be a Fireside Luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Also come for homemade baked goods for sale, the White Elephant Room with holiday treasures at great prices, and the Kids Holiday Design n Buy Studio where children can create holiday gift bags and then purchase gift items to fill them (all items $5 and under) with proceeds to benefit Children’s Mission/South Providence Neighborhood Ministries. For more information, or to reserve a table (space is limited), call Laura at 401-439-1776 or email scoops777@hotmail.com.

Ocean State Toastmasters

The Ocean State Toastmasters will hold their next meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 15 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Warwick City Hall, 3275 Post Road. Regular meetings are held on the first and third Tuesdays of each month. The club is one of some 13,500 in Toastmasters International, a non-profit, educational organization devoted to the development of public speaking and leadership skills. The organization has approximately 280,000 members in 116 countries. Founded in 1963, Ocean State Toastmasters is one of the oldest clubs in Rhode Island. Visit us and see what we’re about! For more information, contact Robert Rogers, vice president of membership, at 401-782-7637 or Robert_Rogers@acm.org.

Chamber of Commerce seminar

“Measuring Your Marketing, Analyze Your Results, Improve Your Success” is a seminar being held by the Cranston Chamber of Commerce on Nov. 21 from 10 a.m. to noon.

If you aren’t measuring, you aren’t marketing. Once the campaign is designed and sent off to the social media platforms and inboxes, the last step is to watch how people engage with your content, respond to your offers, and act. If you want to see more results from your email marketing, now is the time to learn what data matters and how to improve the results you are already getting.

The seminar will be presented by Bob Salvas, who is a business growth advisor and a certified SCORE counselor. He is a co-founder of The Momentum Club, an organization designed to support small businesses and startups during their growth. Also presenting will be Michelle Girasole, who is an authorized expert and solution provider with Constant Contact. She focuses on training and assisting small businesses and non-profits in business growth. She is a co-founder of the Momentum Club.

To register, visit tinyurl.com/measuremrktgcranston or contact Stephen C. Boyle, Greater Cranston Chamber of Commerce, at sboyle@cranstonchamber.com or 401-785-3780.

St. David’s on the Hill Bazaar

St. David’s on the Hill, located at 200 Meschanticut Valley Parkway, will hold its annual Bazaar on Nov. 12 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. It will feature Grannies Attic Indoor Yard Sale and the Holiday on the Hill Bazaar. There will also be jewelry, baked goods, Christmas items, and knitted items. There will be lunch and coffee, plus everything you expect in a yard sale in a warm room in November.

Autism and community safety

On Nov. 9, there will be a special event on autism and community safety at The Shriners Imperial Room, One Rhodes Place, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. This program will feature a presentation by ALEC (Autism & Law Enforcement Education Coalition), which helps foster a deeper understanding of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) among public safety and law enforcement personnel. Training is available for police officers, emergency room personnel, firefighters, educators and school administrators, therapists, parents, and other family members of individuals with autism using curriculum and videos specific to each group.

Presenters are first responders with direct knowledge of ASD through a family member. Because of this personal knowledge, in addition to their specific professional background, they can answer questions on a wide range of possible situations.

The goal of ALEC training is to complement but not replace your previous training and to provide additional tools for first responders to use in assessing the risk of a situation.

Did You Know?

Veterans Day originated as Armistice Day on Nov. 11, 1919, the first anniversary of the end of World War I. Congress passed a resolution in 1926 for an annual observance, and Nov. 11 became a national holiday beginning in 1938.

Veterans Day is not to be confused with Memorial Day, a common misunderstanding, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Memorial Day (the fourth Monday in May) honors American service members who died in service to their country or because of injuries incurred during battle, while Veterans Day pays tribute to all American veterans, living or dead, but especially gives thanks to living veterans who served their country honorably during war or peacetime. (Source: History.com)

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