Around Town (11/05/16)

Mini Maker Faire

Barnes & Noble will host its second annual Mini Maker Faire from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at 1720 W. Olive Ave. The Mini Maker Faire is a full day of science, technology, engineering and math. The event is considered Barnes & Noble’s largest STEM talent show and the store will be hosting Merced-area schools and organizations to demonstrate their STEM projects.

Sweet swap

Trick-or-treaters ages 17 and under can bring their unopened leftover candy to the dental office of Dr. Von Goodin, 830 W. Olive Ave., Sunday between 1 and 3 p.m. and swap for toys and prizes. The first 100 participants will also receive a gift bag with a few extra surprise items. Each pound of candy turned in earns an entry into the drawing and one prize (up to 3 prizes). An extra entry can be earned by bringing in or writing a thank you letter at the event to U.S. servicemen who are overseas. Dr. Goodin is partnering with Operation Gratitude to send care packages to our troops

Retired women

Merced College Retired Women will hold its monthly no-host luncheon at 11:30 a.m. Thursday at La Hacienda 2, 3355 G St.

‘Man Can Cook’

This Ain’t Your Mama’s Church is sponsoring “Man Can Cook” from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at the church, 1405 W. Main St., Merced. The community is invited to taste dishes entered in the competition. Donations will accepted at the door. The event includes a 50/50 raffle. All proceeds will be donated to “Treasure Our Troops” to help send care packages to deployed troops. Each contestant will bring a homemade dish to be evaluated by a three-judge panel. Contestants can enter the contest by signing up in the church’s lobby or by calling 209-726-6123.

World Community Day

Church Women United is hosting its World Community Day event from 3 to 5 p.m. Nov. 13 at Olive East Seventh-day Adventist Church, 2222 E. Olive Ave. The program features a speaker from the Sierra Saving Grace Homeless Project. For more information, call 209-769-1884.

Operation Christmas Child

The Operation Christmas Child campaign will collect shoe boxes with toys, school supplies and hygiene products from 1 to 4 p.m. Nov. 14-21. Drop-off locations will be at 353 E. Donna Drive, Merced; 101 I St., Los Banos; and 15917 El Capitan Way, Delhi. For more information, call 209-769-5047 or 209-631-9639.

AARP bus trip

The Merced AARP chapter invites all members to take a tour-bus trip to Monterey Bay Aquarium and 17-Mile Drive on Dec 6. The deadline to sign up is Nov. 16, at the next AARP meeting. The bus leaves at 7:15 a.m. from Merced and returns at 6 p.m. that day. For more information or to sign up for the trip, call Bob Langston at 209-357-8101, Jennifer Eberhard at 209-756-7864, Jean Stanley at 209-358-3429 or Dorothy Souza at 209-826-4149.

Mature driving

Merced College is offering a mature driving improvement class from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 17 at the Merced College Educational Center on the Merced College campus. The class also will be offered from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Dec. 1 at the Atwater Community Center, 760 Bellevue Road, Atwater. For more information or to register, call 209-381-6540.

Atwater parade

Atwater’s annual Christmas parade is set for 7 p.m. Dec. 2 beginning in downtown Atwater and concluding with a visit from Santa at the Bloss House, Broadway and First Street. Parade entries are $35 and applications are available online at www.atwaterchamberofcommerce.com or at BBVA Compass Bank, 1329 Broadway, Atwater. For more information, call the Atwater Chamber of Commerce at 209-358-4251 or email info@atwaterchamberofcommerce.com.

This story was originally published November 4, 2016 at 3:03 PM with the headline "Around Town (11/05/16)."