Around Town (04/20/16)
Marijuana talks
A Merced City Council medical marijuana special meeting is set for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall, 678 W. 18th St. Council meetings are streamed live on the Internet; a link to the meeting and past videos is at www.cityofmerced.org. The meeting is also shown live on Comcast’s Government Channel 96. For more information, call 209-385-6232.
Parkinson meeting
The 11th annual Parkinson’s Symposium, with honored guest Dr. Rita Gandhy, who has more than 10 years of experience partnering with and caring for people living with Parkinson’s disease and related disorders, will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at Mission Gardens, 1450 E. 27th St. in Merced. Please RSVP, as seating is limited, at 209-384-3300.
OpenGov class
The Merced demonstration of OpenGov, an online budget tool paid for by the city, is scheduled for 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the Sam Pipes room of City Hall, 678 W. 18th St. For more information, contact Mike Conway at 209-385-6232 or conwaym@cityofmerced.org.
Chess tourney
The UC Merced Chess Club plans its annual chess championship for faculty, staff, students and alumni called the 2016 UC Chess Championship from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Joseph Edward Gallo Recreation Center, center of the 5200 N. Lake Road campus. Entry is free. Participants can register online, or email chessclub@ucmerced.edu for more information. Community members are invited to attend.
Relay for Life
Merced Relay for Life will begin its 24-hour event at 9 a.m. Saturday on the Merced College track, 3600 M St. Cancer survivors are asked to report to the survivors tent on the 50-yard line of the football field and receive a free T-shirt and enter a raffle. Activities and booths for all ages are planned. The walk around the candle-lit track to honor and support those affected by cancer is set for 7:30 p.m. For more information, email Michael Riddle at michael.riddle@cancer.org or call 209-914-6020.
Senior event
Pacifica Senior Living Merced presents “Stress Management & Better Breathing” with Claire Osborne from noon to 1 p.m. April 27 at Pacifica Senior Living, 3420 R St. Lunch will be free. To RSVP to get a secure seat and lunch, call 209-384-9700 or email SLemke@NorthStarSL.com.
Community yard sale
Gospel Defenders Christian Academy is hosting a large yard sale from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. May 6 and 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 7 at Gospel Defenders Church, 2909 N. Beachwood Drive in the Beachwood-Franklin neighborhood. For more information, call Mary Dingler at 209-676-1077.
Sober grad
The Sober Grad Night board is searching for volunteers age 21 or older for two-hour shifts between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. June 2-3 at El Capitan High School, 100 Farmland Ave. Volunteers help give out food, take tickets, and run games and entertainment. Merced and Atwater high schools are all part of the event. For more information, call Jeremy Jenkins at 209-752-2498 or email sobergradpres209@gmail.com.
Young Writers Academy
The Bobcat Young Writers Academy, offering children an opportunity to visit UC Merced and grow as writers, will be from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Mondays through Thursdays from June 20-30 at the campus, 5200 N. Lake Road. Cost is $215. For more information, go to writingproject.ucmerced.edu, call 209-381-6559 or email psahakian@ucmerced.edu.
If you would like to have an event announced in Around Town, send information to aroundtown@mercedsunstar.com at least 10 days before the event. Items will run according to space available.
This story was originally published April 19, 2016 at 5:52 PM with the headline "Around Town (04/20/16)."