Around Town (01-13-15)
Merced town hall meetings set
The Merced City Council will hold two town hall meetings to give residents a chance to air their views in a more informal and relaxed setting than at City Hall. The meetings will be at 7 p.m. Jan. 29 at Tenaya Middle School, 760 W. 8th St. and Feb. 3 at Rivera Middle School, 945 Buena Vista Drive. Community members are encouraged to attend and let the council know what is on their minds.
Mental illness awareness class
NAMI Merced County is offering “Family-to-Family,” a 12-week class for people who care for or about someone with a serious mental illness. Family members and friends learn about the brain, what happens when mental illness strikes, and about getting care and support for those affected. One class is offered in English and the other is in Spanish. Class begins 5:30 p.m. Thursday. For more information, call (209) 381-6844 and a volunteer will call back within 24 hours, or email namimerced@aol.com.
January social dance
The band Just Friends will play waltz, swing, foxtrot, Latin and polka tunes for a dance from 2 to 5 p.m. Jan. 25 at the Merced Senior Community Center, 755 W. 15th St. Doors open at 1 p.m. for a rumba lesson at 1:15 p.m. Cost is $8. For more information, call (209) 723-0839.
Symphony concert
The Merced Symphony’s annual Pops Concert is 7:30 p.m. Jan. 30 at the Merced Theatre, 301 W. Main St. The music of composer John Williams will be featured, and conductor Ming Luke will lead the orchestra in themes from “Jurassic Park,” “Star Wars,” “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Star Trek,” “The Godfather,” “Harry Potter” and other films.
Photography classes
Professional photographer Jay Sousa is offering three new photography classes. The first is “Digital Camera Basics” at Merced College starting Jan 24 and running three consecutive Saturdays from 9 a.m. until noon. Call the college’s Community Services at (209) 384-6224 for more information or to register. The second class is a three-day intensive wedding photography workshop that will run Feb 20-22. The third class will combine beginning backpacking and a night full moon photography workshop in the 20 Lakes Basin, Aug. 28-30. For information on classes two and three, call Sousa at (209) 617-1384.
Dance and song event
STEP! student youth club will meet 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jan. 24 at Weaver Middle School. Doors open at 10:30 a.m. The event includes talented students expressing faith-based songs, dance and skits. Youth pastor C-FLO from Christian Life Center will be featured. The event is free. All ages are invited. Free nachos and water, and a raffle for students ages 4 to 17. For more information, contact Alexandria Marquez at amarquez@weaverusd.k12.ca.us.
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 run according to space available.
This story was originally published January 12, 2015 at 5:35 PM with the headline "Around Town (01-13-15)."