• To get ready for the Feast of Lanterns in Spades Park, Friends of Brookside & Spades Park are asking for volunteers to help pull weeds and mulch at Spades Park on Saturday, Aug. 10 from 9-noon. Cleaning supplies will be provided. Meet at the swings.
• Bill Price with Mina Keohane will be performing on Wednesday, Aug. 14 at 7 p.m. at Downey Ave. Christian Church, 111 S. Downey. This is the kickoff for a new music series called Concerts in the Courtyard, and is a free event. Bill is a gifted songwriter and performer, plus a resident of Irvington.
• This Sunday, Aug. 11, the Irvington Farmers Market will be open in Ellenberger Park, 5301 E. St. Clair, from noon-3 p.m. There will be lots of produce, food, and artisan vendors.
• SausageFest will be celebrating its 20th Anniversary on Friday, Aug. 16 from 5:30-11:45 p.m. at St. Thomas Church, 4600 N. Kenwood in the Butler-Tarkington neighborhood. The event features Sun King beer, sausages from LE Kincaid & Sons meat market, and foods from other local businesses. There is a separate beer and wine garden for the 21+ crowd, and lots of other activities for kids and the entire family.
• Harmony Collected invites anyone who can carry a tune to join them before their first rehearsal of the season on Sept. 9. No audition is required. Rehearsals are held at Irvington Presbyterian Church. To sign up or get more information, visit www.irvarts.org
• Franciscan Senior Health & Wellness Center will have an open house at their new location in Greenwood, 1040 Sierra Dr. Ste. 600, on Thursday, Aug. 15, with tours running from 2-3:30 p.m. The center is part of their Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE).
• Garfield Park will hold a Critter Chat on Saturday, Aug. 17 at 11 a.m. in Blake’s Garden. This free event is for kids, and no registration is necessary. The park is located 2505 Conservatory Dr. on the southeast side, and Blake’s Garden is right next to the Conservatory.
• Beginning or reluctant readers ages 6-11 are invited to read to a registered therapy dog on Tuesday, Aug. 13 from 6-7 p.m. at the Glendale Branch library. This is a great method for encouraging reading skills to youngsters. Register by calling 317-275-4410, ext. 4. The Glendale Library is located at 3660 E. 62nd St.
• As school opens and the kids are back to school, local food pantries around the area are heavily used by families. Please consider donating to one of the Big Red Box Project’s open food pantries, located at 30 N. Audubon, in front of the church at 2015 S. Arlington, and in front of Coal Yard Coffee, 400 S. Ritter Ave. There are also food boxes at Community Hospital, 16th and Ritter, Downey St. Christian Church, 111 S. Downey, and Emerson Ave. Baptist Church, 308 N. Emerson. If you can, please also drop off bottled water during these hot and humid days!