Around Town: Mix and mingle

Merced County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce invites the public to a Christmas mixer, Mix and Mingle, Dec. 10 between 5:30 and 7 p.m. at 1234 Auto Center Drive.

Hors d'oeuvres and refreshments will be served, according to chamber President Joe Ramirez, who may be contacted at (209) 761-7430 or the chamber office at (209) 384-9537.

MERCED

A visit from Santa

Santa will be visiting local children on Dec. 12 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Merced County Fire Station, on the corner of Highway 140 and Gurr Road.

All children are welcome to this free event.

MERCED

Take SPCA home tour

The Merced SPCA is hosting its 16th annual holiday home tour on Dec. 14 from noon to 4 p.m.

There will be a no-host holiday bar available at one of the homes on the tour.

Tickets are $15 each and can be purchased ahead of time at Pets Inc., 2830 G St.; A Blooming Affair Floral and Gifts, Main and Canal streets; Wash & Wag, 2521 N. Santa Fe Drive; County Bank, downtown branch at Main and M streets; Richwood Meats Co., 2571 N. Santa Fe Drive; Sir James, 1111 Motel Drive; and Tire World, Q and Main streets; or they can be bought the day of the event only at the home of Robyn and Vince Piro, 336 W. 21st St. in Merced.

For more information, call (209) 631-2557.

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Give gift of song

Harmony Valley Chorus will send Holiday Singing Greetings by phone or e-mail to family and friends on Dec. 21. The deadline to place orders is Dec. 16.

Patrons will be able to select two songs from a list of holiday favorites sung by the chorus. Cost is $5 for local calls and e-mails, and $7 for long distance.

The order form will allow patrons to select a time period for their calls to be made as well as a list of songs to choose from. A short message can accompany the songs.

To obtain an order form, call (209) 389-4595 or go to www.HarmonyValley Chorus.org.

MERCED

Juniors wanted

Merced County Fair is recruiting teens who want to serve one year on the 12-member Junior Fair Board. Application forms can be picked up at the Merced County Fairgrounds Office, 900 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Merced, and also can be downloaded from the fair's Web site, www.MercedCountyFair .com The forms must be returned by Dec. 19.

Candidates must live in Merced County and be 14 to 19 years of age as of Jan. 1. A GPA of 2.0 or above is required.

Around Town items must be delivered or mailed to the Merced Sun-Star, 3033 G St., or e-mailed to bhale@mercedsun-star.com at least one week in advance of the event.