In brief

Music man auditions
GILROY – South Valley Civic Theatre is holding auditions for
their family musical,
”
The Music Man.
”
Characters range from age eight to adult. All roles open.
Babershop quartets and pit musicians are also welcome to
audition.
Auditions will be at the SVCT warehouse, behind Kelly-Moore
Paint, 8565 Monterey Road, in Gilroy. Auditions are Friday, March
30 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, March 31 at 10 a.m. or 2 p.m. Please
check in a half hour before auditions start. Come prepared with a
song and to do a cold reading from the script as well as learn a
small dance routine.
Performance dates will be June 29, 30, July 6, 7, 13, 14, 20 and
21.
For more information, contact James Chipman at 427-5362.
Music man auditions

GILROY – South Valley Civic Theatre is holding auditions for their family musical, “The Music Man.” Characters range from age eight to adult. All roles open. Babershop quartets and pit musicians are also welcome to audition.

Auditions will be at the SVCT warehouse, behind Kelly-Moore Paint, 8565 Monterey Road, in Gilroy. Auditions are Friday, March 30 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, March 31 at 10 a.m. or 2 p.m. Please check in a half hour before auditions start. Come prepared with a song and to do a cold reading from the script as well as learn a small dance routine.

Performance dates will be June 29, 30, July 6, 7, 13, 14, 20 and 21.

For more information, contact James Chipman at 427-5362.

Hook a hottie fund-raiser

HOLLISTER – Looking for a little romance or a way to help a national charity? Get a little of both at an upcoming bachelor and bachelorette auction that will raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society at the Vault Restaurant, Saturday, March 31st. The event is $10 and all proceeds will go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The event is upstairs in the Vault. Doors open at 6 p.m., with the auction starting at 7:30 p.m., followed by music and dancing.

For more information, call 636-5216.

Local gallery links to exhibit

SAN JUAN BAUTISTA – Galeria Tonantzin in San Juan Bautista, joins with the Maritime Museum of Monterey in presenting the exhibit Master Boat Builders of Italy “The Siino Family: A Tribute to the Monterey Boat Works.” The public is invited to attend a reception today, March 23, at 5 p.m.  The museum will be hosting a juried exhibit containing 30 paintings of modern-day “Plein Aire Painters of Monterey Peninsula Art Colony, 2006.”

Janet Magno Martinez, granddaughter of Master Boat Builder Angelo Siino, collaborated with uncle and Master Boat Builder Raymond Siino in the telling of their story for this exhibit.  

The museum is open daily except Wednesdays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and is located at 5 Custom House Plaza in Monterey.

For information visit http://www.galeriatonantzin.com or contact [email protected].

Preschool and kindergarten registration

HOLLISTER – Registration for 2007-2008 classes at the Presbyterian Co-operative Preschool and Kindergarten starts Monday, April 2.

The preschool co-op program is available for children 3, 4 and 5 years old. The kindergarten program is a non co-op program available full day, half day or transitionally.

Registration times are 9:30-10:30 a.m. for alumni and church families and 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. for open registration.

All applicants are required to bring the child’s birth certificate, immunization reports and a non-refundable registration fee. Detailed brochures are available for both programs.

Presbyterian Church is located at 2066 San Benito St. For more information contact Trish Brem, director, 630-1234, ext. 201.

Exchange students available

HOLLISTER – Experience the international excitement of sharing your home and your family with a foreign exchange student for a high school semester or a school year.

Choose a language or a part of the world, an interest you have in common or a sport you can play together. Share your customs and family life while learning about your student’s country and culture. Choose a student who will fit in with your family.

The students come with their own spending money and are medically insured. You share your home, give the student their meals and their own bed and they become a part of your family, sharing holidays and family experiences.

AYUSA Global Youth Exchange is a premium non-profit organization that has worked with international students since 1980, and with American students studying abroad. Contact AYUSA’s Hollister Community Representative, Ruth Erickson for further details at 637-0987.

Get rid of fugitive dust

HOLLISTER – The Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District staff are sponsoring several workshops on reducing fugitive air. The workshops will talk about best management practices to reduce PM10 emissions that are often a part of agricultural operations.

Timber, apples and berries, Friday, March 23, 1432 Freedom Blvd., Watsonville, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Ranching and vinters, Friday, March 30, 625 Division St., King City, 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Row crops and ranching, Friday, April 13, 530 San Benito St., Ste. 201, Hollister, 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Row crops and greenhouses, Friday, April 20, 1428 Abbott St., Salinas, 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

For more information call the Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District at 647-9411.

Tax check-off

WATSONVILLE – As you complete your state income tax form this year, you can contribute to the Emergency Food Assistance Program Voluntary Contribution Fund (Line 57 of State 540, 540A, 540 EZ Tax Forms) and help feed hungry people in California through more than 40 local food banks. Originally developed by the California Association of Food Banks, this tax check-off generates hundreds of thousands of dollars annually which helps local food banks feed hungry Californians.

  In Santa Cruz and San Benito County, Second Harvest Food Bank, which distributes food funded through this voluntary tax form check-off program, feeds over 43,000 people a month, almost half of them children, through 160 agencies and programs. To learn more about Second Harvest’s work feeding the hungry, visit their website at www.thefoodbank.org.           

Democrats to meet

The April meeting of the Democratic Party Central Committee will be held on Thursday, April 12, at 4:45 p.m., at the Public Library in Hollister, 470 Fifth St.  The public is invited.  The meetings are held the second Thursday of each month.

Hunger fighters to be honored

HOLLISTER – Many San Benito County organizations and individuals who helped collect over 80,300 pounds of food and cash equivalent during the 2006 Second Holiday Food Drives were honored at the Annual Awards and Hunger Fighter of the Year Reception on Thursday, March 29, from 5:30 to 7:30pm at Jardines de San Juan in San Juan Bautista.  Hosted by the 2006 Holiday Food Drive Co-chairs Tracie Cone, former publisher of The Pinnacle, and Michele Stephenson, board secretary of Community Pantry, and DMB El Rancho San Benito, the ceremony included awards to groups and individuals whose generous donations feed the hungry in Santa Benito County.  City, state and federal officials will also be recognizing the Hunger Fighter of the year with government proclamations.

  The San Benito Hunger Fighter of the Year Award was presented to Paul Armbruster who has been fighting hunger in San Benito County for eight years as the manager of Fishes and Loaves.  Last year alone, Loaves and Fishes fed 915 families (3,350 individuals).  Armbruster takes pride in purchasing most of the 22 food items available at the pantry including quality brand name chicken, soup, flour, orange juice, peanut butter and fresh eggs.  His passion for helping the poor and disadvantaged has brought many people together to help feed the hungry.  His efforts reflect the mission of Second Harvest Food Bank- “to educate and involve individuals to end hunger and alleviate malnutrition in our communities.”

Some of the winners in the annual competition to collect food for Second Harvest Food Bank in the 2006 San Benito Holiday Food Drive are DMB: El Rancho San Benito, Main Street Media, County of San Benito, San Benito High School and the Hollister Exchange Club.

  For more information on how to help out in the fight against hunger in our communities by donating, volunteering or advocating, call the Second Harvest Food Bank at 722-7110, or send donations to P.O. Box 990, Watsonville, 95077.  You may also visit their website at www.thefoodbank.org.

Independent study open

HOLLISTER – San Benito High School’s independent study program is accepting applications for the fall semester. The program offers individualized educational programs for students interested in studying outside of a traditional classroom.

Students in the program meet weekly for a one-on-one session with a teacher and may participate in small group tutorials.

Families interested in applying can pick up applications at the independent study office in the high school’s new administration building off Nash Road at Powell Street.

Further information is available from Linda Yetter at 637-5831, ext. 467 or Melissa Casas at ext. 464.