Around Town: String players enrolled

Open enrollment for beginning, intermediate and advanced string instrument classes at Merced College will be on Wednesday.

Beginning classes will meet at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesdays and intermediate and adavanced players will meet at 7 p.m.

The class will be held in the Merced College Music Building Room 2 and can be taken for credit or noncredit. For more information, call (559) 681-7112, (209) 384-6000 or go to mccd.edu.

Connie Hodges -

MERCED

Fish is frying

The Potter's Place will host a fried fish dinner from 2 to 6 p.m. on Friday at 1057 N St. Tickets are $12 and there is a choice of catfish or red snapper, potato salad, cole slaw, roll and cake. To place an order or for more information, call (209) 384-9547.

MERCED

Church plans festival

Sacred Heart Church will host its annual festival with music, food, games, raffle and drinks from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sept. 7 at the church, 519 W. 12th St. Tickets are $1. For more information, call (209) 383-6604.

ATWATER

Museum seeks vendors

Castle Air Museum is accepting applications for this year's Fall Open House. Vendors will open their booths at 9 a.m. and close at 5 p.m. on Sept. 20 at 5050 Santa Fe Drive. Spaces are filled on a first-come, first-serve basis. Each booth has electrical access and is $150 for a 10-by-10-foot space for a profit business or $75 for nonprofit groups. For more information, call (209) 723-2178.

MARIPOSA

Blazin' Hog BBQ

John C. Fremont Hospital Foundation in Mariposa will host its second annual Blazin' Hog BBQ Competition and Zydeco Music Festival on Sept. 20 at the Mariposa County Fairgrounds. Barbecue contestants will compete for $500 cash prizes, there will be arts and crafts vendors and children's activities planned. Cost is $10 for general admission, $7.50 for senior groups, $5 for students (12 to 17) and free for those under 12. For more information, go to blazinhog.com.

MERCED

Mike Torres Band plays

The Mike Torres Band will play for the Club Mercedes' dinner and dance Oct. 4 at Merced County Fairgrounds Pavilion, 900 Martin Luther King Jr. Way. Dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m. and dancing follows from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Cost is $30 and tickets are limited to those 21 and over. VIA bus rides home in the Merced area are free. Proceeds to benefit local youth activities.

For table and ticket reservations or for more information, call (209) 384-1574, (209) 658-5650 or (209) 205-0275.

MERCED

Academy applications due

The application deadline to apply for a nomination by Congressman Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, to any of the U.S. service academies is Nov. 7. Each member of Congress is allowed a total of five appointees to each service academy (U.S. Military Academy, West Point, Annapolis, Air Force Academy or Merchant Marines). For each vacancy Cardoza can nominate 10 individuals. These nominations would be for the 2013 graduating class. For more information, call (202) 225-6131.

If you would like to have your event announced in the Around Town Column, send your information to Connie Hodges at least one week prior to the event, at chodges@mercedsunstar.com. Items run according to space available.