The 27th Annual Bay-Osos Kiwanis Club’s Easter Egg Hunt is set for 10 a.m. Saturday, March 26 at the South Bay Community Center lawn, Los Osos. The free event features two bounce houses, the Balloon Guy, a 4-H petting zoo, Boy Scout demos and more. At 10:30 is story time with the Friends of the Library and the best costume and best home-decorated egg contests awarded by age group. The egg hunt starts at 11 with a free barbecue hot dog lunch afterwards. The event is co-sponsored by the Kiwanis Club and SLO County Parks. Sponsors are Steve Auslender REeBroker Group, Michael Konjoyan’s State Farm Insurance Agency, Whiz Kids Toy Store, Rabobank, Pacific Capital Mortgage, Jimmy Bumps Pasta House and Celia’s Garden Café.
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Meet Marilyn Meredith at the March 26 meeting of Central Coast Sisters in Crime, in Nipomo Library Community Room, 918 West Teft Street, from 10 a.m. to noon. Meredith is the author of many published novels, including the award-winning Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series. She taught writing for Writers Digest School for 10 years and was an instructor at the prestigious Maui Writers Retreat. Meredith will inform both readers and writers of her work and the techniques of blogging and blog tours.
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The Hearing Loss Association of America – Local Chapter meets Sat., March 26, 10 a.m.-11a.m. at The Villages (The Palms), 55 Broad St., SLO. The event is free and open to the public. Speaker Jo Black, ADA Trainer & Advocate for people with disabilities will discusses advocacy/removing barriers. The meeting is captioned and looped. For more information, send and email to [email protected] or call (805) 543-6955.
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Mountainbrook Church, 1775 Calle Joaquin in SLO, will hold Good Friday Service on March 25 at 7 p.m. and a Sunday Sunrise Service March 27 at 6 a.m., and an Easter Service at 9 a.m.
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The Avila Beach Civic Association and the San Luis Yacht Club are holding their annual Easter Festival for all of the area children on Saturday, March 26, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Avila Beach Community Center, 191 San Miguel Street. This event is g sponsored by the Avila Beach Community Church. There will be snacks for all and the children will be able to color eggs, make an Easter bag at the craft table, and hunt for Easter eggs around the Community Center. There will also be a Bounce House sponsored by Joan Gellert-Sargen. Info: 805-627-1997 or [email protected]. Join the fun family-oriented free event.
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The Gallery at the Network, 837 Marsh St., SLO presents its third, “Fabulous Fiber!” exhibit, April 1-May 31. The show will feature works created from a variety of fiber materials — silk, hand-made paper, wool, linen and other natural fibers. Featured artists include Sandy Christey, April Daily, Beryl Reichenberg, Trish Riley, Karen Wilkinson and ColorVibe Designs. Reception set for 6-9 p.m. Friday, April 1. Music by Terry Sanville. Free.
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Pancake Breakfast Bonanza will be held April 2 from 8 a.m.-12 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 2201 Lawton Avenue, San Luis Obispo.  The event is sponsored by San Luis Obispo AAUW. Money raised will support AAUW funds that provide educational opportunities, research reports, legal support and leadership programs for women.  Pancakes, eggs, sausage, juice, and coffee will be served.  In addition there will be opportunity drawings and door prizes. Tickets are $7 per person and children under 6 are $3.  Tickets available at the door or from any AAUW member.
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The Central Coast Greenhouse Growers Association will hold its 15th Annual Open House scholarship fundraiser from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 16 at member nurseries throughout Nipomo and Arroyo Grande. Many growers will offer nursery tours, and local plant and flower sales. Sponsored by Rabobank, the Association’s Education Center at Nipomo High School will have a FFA plant sale, booths displays information, plants for sale, raffles and more. For more information about this event, call (800) 961-8901 or see: www.ccgga.com
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Tickets are on sale now for the First Annual Cider Festival set for 5 p.m. Saturday, May 7 at the Atascadero Lake Pavilion. Tickets are $50 until April 1 and $60 after that. Space is limited. See the website at: www.centralcoastciderfestival.com for ticket information. Local cider producers will celebrate the growing local industry in partnership with Visit Atascadero, the town’s tourism bureau. The brainchild of Neil Collins, co-owner of Bristols Cider, the Cider Festival is a culmination of this craft beverage giving attendees a chance to taste a variety of ciders, meet the makers, enjoy a traditional pig roast prepared by Chef Jeffrey Scott of Vineyard Events, listen to live music and enjoy the beautiful Atascadero Lake Park.
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Register now for the Third Annual SLO Gran Fondo cycling races set for Oct. 29-30 in Avila Beach. To register or for more event information, see: www.slogranfondo.com. There are several distance rides, 25, 61 and 100 miles and organizers, VisitAvilaBeach.com expect some 1,500 total riders to participate. There’s a post-event party, “Festivale Italiano, with food, wine, craft beers, music and more, benefiting the Hearst Cancer Resource Center and ALPHA Foundation.
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Visiting Cal Poly Professor, Gilda L. Ochoa, will give a free public presentation titled, “Unpacking Diversity and Excellence: Lessons for Institutions of Higher Education” at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 7, in the Performing Arts Center Pavilion on campus. Ochoa’s talk will pull from an extensive study of high school students and her experiences at Cal Poly to explore how seemingly well-intended movements for diversity and celebrations of academic excellence can maintain the status quo and reproduce inequality in institutions of higher education. Ochoa is the College of Liberal Arts’ Susan Currier Visiting Professorship for Teaching Excellence recipient for winter quarter 2016 and teaches courses in the ethnic studies department.
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Kelrik Productions’ presents Spring Break Theater Camps with fun, high quality interactive theatre classes March 28 through April 1st, Monday- Friday that enliven imaginations, get kids working together, and instill a lifelong love of theatre. Instructed by: Tabatha S. Skanes and Erik Austin this will be a week to remember. Acting ABCs (K – 2nd grade from 9 a.m. – 10 a.m.) Join the fun! Start at the very beginning and learn about the world of theater. Sing, create characters, act out stories, and much more Feel alive with the power and magic of the imagination.  Broadway Spring Break Camp (Grades 3 – 9 from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.) Something sweet is happening this spring break with KELRIK Productions!  So if you seek perfection where music meets action, there’s something new on the scene .All classes at take place at the Grange Hall, 2880 Broad St, San Luis Obispo. To register, visit www.kelrikproductions.org.
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The Earth Day Alliance will host the 25th Annual free, Earth Day Fair & Music Festival celebration from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 24 at El Chorro Regional Park on Hwy 1 across from Cuesta College. The Fair & Music Festival connects people, businesses, non-profit groups, schools, students and individuals and families sharing an environmental stewardship message, cause, or solution. This year the focus will be on reducing climate change. The Alliance is seeking volunteers to help organize and manage key areas of the Festival. Exhibitor space is limited and reserved on a first come first serve basis. Registration closes March 30. To become an exhibitor, or volunteer, sign up at the Earth Day Alliance website: www.earthdayslo.org, call (805) 544-8529 or via email at: [email protected].
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The Horse Emergency Evacuation Team or HEET, will hold its next members training at 9 a.m., Saturday, April 2 at Woods Humane Society, 875 Oklahoma Ave., San Luis Obispo. The session will provide Red Cross training in first aid and CPR. The training is limited to members of HEET and new members are welcome. HEET is a non-profit organization that helps police and fire departments with large animal rescues including horses, cattle, llamas and more. For more information about HEET, or to volunteer, see: sloheet.org or call (805) 466-7457.
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Wildlife rescue group, Pacific Wildlife Care, is holding its 8th Annual Windows Into Wildlife fundraiser from 1-4 p.m. Sunday, April 10 at the Park Ballroom in Paso Robles. Tickets are $90 a person and available online at: www.pacificwildlifecare.org or call (805) 543-9453. You’ll enjoy delicious appetizers, craft beers, and fine wines from Cass, Oso Libre, Soaring Hawk and Harmony Cellars; music by Encore Strings (chamber music and popular show tunes); PWC’s “wildlife ambassador” animals; and a silent auction with great prizes donated by local businesses. Space is limited. PWC is a volunteer-run, non-profit organization that relies on donations and fund-raising events like this to rescue and rehab thousands of sick, injured or orphaned animals every year, mostly birds. See the website at: www.pacificwildlifecare.org to learn more about the group.
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The Cal Poly MultiCultural Center celebrates Pride Month with, “Another Type of Groove: Spoken Word Poetry,” with Blake Williams at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 6, in Chumash Auditorium in the University Union. Free and open to the public. Williams has been singing and performing his whole life and is an accomplished spoken-word poet, with credits that include the Nuyorican in NYC. He has toured with five theater companies and is a model, actor and singer in Hollywood. “Another Type of Groove” is a spoken-word poetry event held the first Wednesday of the month during the school year. Each event includes a featured poet and an open mic for budding poets, students and non-students. For more information, email Que Dang at: [email protected].
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Congresswoman Lois Capps is again calling for entries for the Annual Congressional Art Competition and budding artists in the 24th District have until 5 p.m. Friday, April 25 to enter at one of Capps’ local Congressional offices. The competition offers all District high school students a chance to have their winning work of art hang in the U.S. Capitol for a year. “The Annual Congressional Art Competition is a wonderful opportunity to support young artists,” Capps said. “I am continually impressed by the quality of artistic talent showcased by Central Coast students. I strongly encourage Central Coast high school students to submit their art for a chance to have their work displayed in the U.S. Capitol.” The winner will get two, round-trip airline tickets to Washington D.C. for the opening of the exhibit in June. Congresswoman Capps’ website has the contest entry forms, rules and requirements, see: httpss://capps.house.gov/serving-you/art-competition.
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A Paso Robles wine tasting room will hold a special fundraiser to benefit the Central Coast Chapter of Honor Flights, helping war veterans visit the memorials to their service in Washington D.C. From 5-8 p.m. Friday, April 1 the Pianetta Winery Tasting Room, 829 13th St., Paso Robles will be selling Tribute bottles of its 2013 Red Blend (75% Cabernet Sauvigon-25% Petite Sirah) in tribute to those who have served and are currently serving in the military. With each bottle purchased a donation will be made to the Honor Flight Central Coast California. The bottles feature Harry Moyer, who flew a P-40 fighter bomber in World War II, with the special labels showing Moyer with the plane prior to flying a mission over China. Moyer participated in the invasions of Sicily and Italy, flying ground support as well as air-to-air combat. He shot down two German aircraft during those campaigns. When the invasion of Italy bogged down, Moyer’s unit was transferred to China where they joined the 23rd Fighter Group of the 14th Air Force, the successor to the “Flying Tigers.” Moyer, 95, owns and weekly flies a 1964 Mooney aircraft out of San Luis Obispo Airport.
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Retired teacher and author, Lynne Ludwick, will sign her book, “The Box,” from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, April 2 at Coalesce Bookstore, 845 Main St., Morro Bay. The book stems from Ludwick receiving a gift from a Viet Cong veteran who was in the battle that killed her uncle on March 4, 1968 in Hoc Mon, Vietnam. Her book weaves a tale of the two boys growing up during the 1950s, one from the innocent world of a rural California town and the other from a country rife with violence and poverty until the two come together in battle and one loses his life. Ludwick grew up with her uncle, just three years her senior, and, as she says, “It was my chance to bring him alive again within the pages of this book.” This is a story of remorse, forgiveness, and hope. A percentage of her book sales will be donated to a scholarship fund in her uncle’s name, Edward August Schultz.” A retired special education teacher, Ludwick finally has time to pursue her hobby, writing. This is her first book.
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The Morro Bay National Estuary Program’s 2016 Poetry Contest is set to take entries from April 1-29. Anyone 12-older can submit Haiku-style poems that “capture the spirit of the estuary, or poems in any form that focus on wildlife native to the estuary.” Limit is three poems and there are several categories. Entries accepted via email until April 29.
One adult (age 18-older) and one youth (12-17) winner will be chosen in each category and be announced May 13. A celebration and reading will be held at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 20 at Coalesce Bookstore Chapel in Morro Bay. Judges are poets Marguerite Costigan, Jerry Douglas Smith, Patti Sullivan, and Rachel Pass from the NEP staff. Read the complete guidelines at: www.mbnep.org/poetry2016.
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Literacy For LIFE has a need for tutors countywide, especially in North and South Counties. A 2-part, Tutor Training Workshop will take place from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturdays, April 23 and 30 at the Literacy Council’s Office, 995 Palm St., in the SLO City/County Library conference room on the third floor. A $25 enrollment fee is required at the time of your first session to cover materials. Call 541-4219 or see the website at: www.literacyforlifeslo.org for information and to sign up.
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The Rodeo Bar and Grill’s Second Annual Poker Run benefiting Wounded Warriors Project is set to rev up and take off from Paso Robles Saturday, March 26 through the scenic countryside of the Central Coast to Morro Bay and back again. Registration starts at 8 a.m. at the Rodeo Bar & Grill, 622 12th St., and stops at Atascadero’s VFW Hall and then at the Otter Rock Café on Morro Bay’s Embarcadero. The run goes up Hwy 1 to Hwy 46 and stops at Paso Robles’ Moosehead Lodge. Then back to the Rodeo B&G for a barbecue, live music and raffles. The grand prize is a custom, 1977 Harley-Davidson Shovelhead. Only 100 tickets will be sold and there are many more great prizes. Last year’s ride raised more than $7,000. Call (805) 591-8811 or call The Rodeo Bar and Grill directly at (805) 227-4463 for more information.
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Morro Bay Artist Association will feature award-winning, acrylic painter, Arthur Van Rhyn of Cambria’s “Retrospective Exhibition,” April 7-22 at the MBAA’s Art Center Gallery, 835 Main St. There’s a free public reception set for 2-4 p.m. Sunday, April 10. A cartoonist for The Cambrian for more than 25 years, Van Rhyn paints lovely land and seascapes in an impressionistic style. During a recent art demonstration at the Art Center, Van Rhyn explained, “When I’m painting, I am God. I can move trees; I can move mountains; I can move anything, anywhere I want!”
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Looking to revitalize youth football in San Luis Obispo, the SLO Youth Football League is holding its 2016 registration over the next several weeks. Interested kids can sign up from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, April 7 at the Downtown Farmer’s market; from 6-8 p.m. Monday, April 18 at the Elks Club Lodge on Elk’s Lane; and 6-8 p.m. May 16 back at the Elk’s Lodge. For more information, call Jules Rogoff at (805) 440-4040, Kurt Heinke at (805) 423-5882 or John Hughes (805) 801-0768, or see: www.sloyfl.com
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RSVP is looking for new Advisory Council Members to advise the RSVP Director on the operation of this program based on member’s judgment, expertise and familiarity with the local community. A 2- hour Council meeting is held at least twice a year. Children’s Resource Network is seeking volunteers to help wash/sort, transport donations & manage resources within several locations for local children in need. Need ongoing help in Pismo Beach and south county locations. The Exploration Station in Grover Beach is looking for volunteers to help them revive some of their past programs and introduce some new activities, work with elementary students on their field trips at the Exploration Center; to rebuild computers for the Computers for Youth Program and to help sort and load electronic waste in their Electronic Recycling Center. Call (805) 544-8740 for information on any of the following opportunities and more.