International bestselling author of suspense Anne Perry and author/playwright, Victoria Zackheim will present “Writing: Works & Process & Performance” Thursday, July 23 from 6-8 p.m. at Cuesta College Student Union. The public is invited to this free presentation, including free parking in Lot 2.  Perry promised to make an appearance at Cuesta College once she returned to the United States after a snafu with her passport kept her in Scotland until May of this year. She was scheduled to present with Zackheim at the 30th Anniversary Central Coast Writers Conference last September. Fortunately, technology allowed her to present her keynote and workshop to registrants and supporters of the San Luis Obispo Public Library Foundation, but she wanted to return for a live performance when schedules allowed. Perry is the author of more than 80 novels with more than 26 million copies sold, most of them her award winning Pitt or Monk mystery/suspense series. Victoria Zackheim is the author of five anthologies, two stage plays, one optioned feature film, numerous documentaries. Both are in-demand speakers at writers’ conferences. The audience will learn about the authors’ writing processes, their collaborative projects, anecdotes from their books and tours, and encouragement for beginning to prolific writers as well as readers. The authors will be available for book signing after their presentation. Volumes of Pleasure Bookshoppe of Los Osos is selling a variety of titles by Perry and Zackheim.
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Cambria Best Selling Author, Catherine Ryan Hyde, will be at the Cayucos Library for a book signing and talk at 2 p.m. Friday, July 24. A prolific author with some 30 books published, Hyde’s latest novel is, “Worthy,” a story of lost love, enlightenment and redemption. Hyde is most famous for her best-selling novel, Pay it Forward, set in Atascadero, which was made into a major motion picture in 2000, starring Haley Joel Osment, Helen Hunt and Kevin Spacey. Pay it Forward started a movement and continues today with an Internet charity site, see: www.payitforwardfoundation.org. The Cayucos Library is at 310 B St., behind the Cayucos Elementary School.
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People interested in the subject of water can dive right in at an all-day seminar in San Luis Obispo set for 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, July 25 at the SLO Grange Hall, 2880 Broad St. Cost is $10 a person for presentations and films, $20 for a half a day and $35 for all day. Learn about compost toilets, machines to clean water, gray water systems, what memories contain in water and more of the incredible uses and mysteries of H2O. Vendors will have displays and conduct workshops, demo their systems and products and answer questions. A flyer, map, store, list of speakers, films and vendors is available online at: www.hopedance.org/events/eventdetail/981. There will also be a dance from 8-10 p.m. with a live band.
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Pewter Plough Playhouse is holding auditions for singers of all ages and vocal ranges for the show, “Have A Hart,” featuring songs by Lorenz Hart and Richard Rogers from The Great American Songbook. The show will play weekends from Nov. 27 to Dec. 27. Auditions will be held at the playhouse, 824 Main St., Cambria, at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 23 and 11 a.m. Saturday, July 25. Bring sheet music for your songs. No CDs. For more information or to schedule an appointment (if unable to make auditions), call director Viv Goff at 927-0443.
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The City of Pismo Beach is soliciting applications to fill a vacancy on the Conference & Visitor’s Bureau Board (CVBB).  Detailed duties of each Advisory Board and an application form can be found at https://ca-pismobeach2.civicplus.com/767/Advisory-Body-Applications-Vacancies. Individuals qualified for this seat will be residents of Pismo Beach, or owners or agents of commercial property or interests within Pismo Beach, who have experience with and interest in promotion of Pismo Beach as a tourist destination.
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The Matthew Lynn Schrader Memorial Scholarship Softball Game will take place July 25 at the Janssen Field at Cal Poly from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. A silent auction will be held until 1:30 p.m. There will also be a raffle, a barbecue from 11-1, face painting and Nick the Balloon a Tic. General admission is $10, kids 4-12 are $5 and kids 3 and under are free. Teams are filled, but come out and enjoy watching them play round robin and enjoy the other activities for a good cause. Matthew Schrader, a son, husband and father, was killed in a tragic motorcycle accident while on his way to a patient’s home on Jan. 21, 2014. The family has started the “Matthew Lynn Schrader Memorial Fund” for Physical Therapy Assistant students at Loma Linda University where he graduated. For more information or to make a donation, call Mike and Jeanne Schrader at 909-754-6209 or 909-499-2259.
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The Morro Bay Merchant’s Association is having its 41st Annual Summer Street Fair, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 2 in Downtown Morro Bay. Vendor applications are available on the Association’s website, at Morro-bay.net. There will be lots of arts & crafts vendors, a variety of merchandise, food, live music, kid’s games, educational booths with local non-profit groups, and more. Admission is free. The Summer Street Fair is a fundraiser for the non-profit, Merchant’s Association and a summertime tradition for more than 40 years. Go to the website at morro-bay.net for more information.
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The Gallery at the Network is featuring stunning glassworks of art by San Luis Obispo County artists Aug.1 through Sept. 30. There’s an artists’ reception during Art After Dark, from 6-9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7.

Refreshments will be served. Music by Terry Sanville. Artists are Bryn Bridenthal, Melissa Campbell, Larry Le Brane, Diane Miller, Richard Mortensen, Sher Roberts and Janine Stillman. These seven artists work in different styles and methods of working glass with styles ranging from modern and traditional to whimsical, and include jewelry, dishware, wine glasses, paper weights, wind chimes, clocks, salt and pepper shakers and more. Gallery at the Network is at 778 Higuera St., Ste B in San Luis Obispo. Open daily 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays 11-5. See: www.thegalleryatthenetwork.com for more on the gallery.
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Morro Bay Lights of Hope, in conjunction with the American Cancer Society is holding a Luminaria Party, from noon-6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 1 at Grandma’s Frozen Yogurt & Waffle Shop at the corner of Main Street and Morro Bay Boulevard (307 MBB). The event is to honor a loved one who has been touched by cancer and to decorate “luminaries,” bags that will be used in the Saturday, Aug. 15 “Lights of Hope Luminaria Ceremony,” on Morro Strand Beach. The luminaria bags will be decorated to honor a cancer survivor or to remember a loved one who has died of cancer. Also, for the month of August, $1 for every waffle sold at Grandma’s will be donated to the ACS. For more information and to make a donation, call Natalie Riloquio at (805) 473-1748, or email to: . Also, see: www.relayforlife.org/barkmorrobayca for more information
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The 31st Annual Central Coast Writer’s Conference is bringing back its Book and Author Fair at this year’s conference, set for Sept. 18-20. The Book and Author Fair is Sunday, Sept. 20 at the SeaCrest Ocean Front Resort in Pismo Beach. Applications are now available for tables at the event; space is limited, so sign up soon. Applications are available on the Cuesta College Community Programs website at https://cuesta.edu/communityprograms/writers-conference, or email Deborah Love at: . The Writers’ Conference is presented by Cuesta College Community Programs, and presents affordable and intimate interactive workshops teaching skill development in numerous writing genres and providing state-of-the-industry publishing updates to aspiring writers and previously published authors.
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United Way of SLO County is seeking donations for the Annual KidSpree Program, which takes local school children shopping for new school clothes at Kohl’s, set for Sunday, Aug. 2.
Having new clothes for the school year helps children with confidence and self esteem. The event will be held in the Paso Robles and SLO Kohl’s stores.
“Caring KidSpree volunteers are helping youth achieve their potential through increased self-confidence,” United Way of SLO County CEO, Rick London said. “Showing each child that a positive adult wants to spend time with them and help them succeed is vital in their success. The positive impact on each child is evident through their smiles. It’s a very rewarding morning, whether you are receiving new school clothes or volunteering your time.”
Donations of any amount are accepted in order to provide incoming K-12 students with a $100 gift card to Kohl’s. Last year, 250 children were sponsored to shop. The goal this year is to surpass that number, and help even more local children.
United Way is partnering with local, non-profit agencies that nominate the children for participation and the SLO County YMCA is screening volunteers. Children chosen to participate in KidSpree are paired with an adult volunteer, who assists them in shopping for the items they most want and need. Volunteer screening ended July 17 but the organization needs help with set-up and check-in.
Sign up to volunteer online at: www.volunteerslo.org or donate online at: www.unitedwayslo.org. Checks earmarked for “KidSpree” can be mailed to: United Way at P.O. Box 14309, San Luis Obispo, CA 93406. For more information, call coordinator, Rachel Cementina at (805) 541-1234. In the photo, a 2014 KidSpree participant is shown with his volunteer shopping buddy, Jarod Frietas. Submitted photo
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Honor Flight Central Coast California has some upcoming special events for July-August. The organization will have an informational booth at the Mid-State Fair, July 28 for Senior Citizen’s Day and Armed Services Day Saturday, Aug. 1.
Sunday, Aug. 2 will be the premier showing of the Kyle and Carlos Plummer documentary recording the organization’s October 2014 Honor Flight with WWII vets touring Washington D.C. Two screenings are planned at noon and 1:30 p.m. at the Galaxy Theater in Atascadero, 6917 El Camino Real. Tickets are $10 a person.
The Plumbers are home schooled high school brothers who have made several documentaries that have won national awards. They went on the October 2014 Honor Flight to D.C. to make a documentary. They interviewed and videoed the veterans and guardians at various times during the trip and over the ensuing months produced the film.
On Saturday, Aug. 8 from 5-9 p.m. Honor Flight will be supporting the Paso Robles Republican Women’s Federation’s annual fund raising event at the Estrella War Birds Museum in Paso Robles.
On tap will be “Betsy the Biscuit Bomber,” a fully functional, restored, 1944 C-47 cargo plane that participated in the D-Day invasion, as well as the Berlin Airlift. Tickets are $35 for active-duty military and veterans, others are $45.
On Aug. 28 starting at 6 p.m. and Aug. 29 starting at noon, Honor Flight CCC volunteers will pitch in at the, “Crush and Roll,” at the Mid State Fairgrounds in Paso Robles. See the Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/crushandrollwest.
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Port San Luis and the San Luis Yacht Club will host the 2015 Hobie North American Championships sailboat races for Hobie Cats set for 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday, Aug. 3-7. Boats will launch from Port San Luis Beach and the racecourse set up about 7 miles offshore. This is a great spectator activity and the best viewing location is in Avila Beach. More than 35 boats will be racing from six Western States, three East Coast States, Australia, the Philippines and Canada.
Sponsors include: See Canyon Cider, Fat Cat’s, Custom House, Murray’s Marine, Tee Vax, Wind Toys, Avila Barn, BSI Adhesives, Tap It Brewery, Avila Hot Springs, Studio101West Photography & Design, Surf City Catamaran, Foreward Sportswear, Zhik, and Hobie. See: www.facebook.com/2015HobieNorthAmericans or Fleet 259 at: www.facebook.com/HobieFleet259 for more information.
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The Central Coast Women for Fisheries and The Rotary Club at Morro Bay are gearing up for their Annual Fish Fry Fundraiser, set for Saturday, Aug. 29 at St. Timothy’s Church, 962 Piney Way in Morro Bay. Proceeds will be used for high school student scholarships and community projects done by the Rotary Club. On the menu is local rock cod that is caught by Rotarians, who went fishing aboard Virg’s Landing’s Black Pearl sport fishing boat to catch the fish. Also, rice pilaf and coleslaw, for dine-in or takeout. Tickets are $10 a meal and are available from any Morro Bay Rotarian, Coast Electronics, and Edward Jones at 501 Harbor St., Morro Bay. Tickets at the door will be limited, so get them in advance. Call Rotary Club president, Carol Furtado at (805) 319-3108 for more information.
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Cal Poly Arts is again sponsoring the “La Guitarra California Festival” for classical guitar music set for Friday-Sunday, Sept. 25-27 at the Performing Arts Center at Cal Poly. As part of the festival Cal Poly Arts is putting out a call for artists for a juried, fine art exhibit and sale for 2-D and 3-D artworks that will hang in the PAC lobby through the festival with selected pieces being sold at the end. The call is open to artists of all experience levels and there is no fee to enter. Artists have until Saturday, Aug. 15 to submit photos of their proposed artwork to Exhibition Coordinator, Denise Leader Stoeber, at: (digital entries only). See the Festival website at: laguitarracalifornia.com for details.