District 30 Democrats meet at 5:30 p.m. today at the Homer Real Estate office, 1529 Ocean Drive. Call Liz Diament at 914-588-0332 for more information.
The Sugar Plum Holiday Fair, a benefit for South Peninsula Special Olympics, is 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday at the Homer United Methodist Church. Vendors are wanted for this event, including home consultants, handmade vendors and others. Space is still available. For more information, call Joyce Shuler at 907-398-6712 or email joyce.shuler@yahoo.com. Also needed are kid vendors for face painting, balloon tying and a photographer for the families or children.
The Share the Spirit spaghetti feed fundraiser is 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday at the Homer Elks Lodge. A meal is $12 or 12 cans of food. The Homer High School Swing Choir performs at noon and 6 p.m. For take-out meals call 235-2127.
Public meetings on House Bill 77 will be held with Department of Natural Resources and Alaska Department of Fish and Game officials attending. Meetings are 4 p.m. Monday at the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly Chambers, Soldotna, with DNR Deputy Commissioner Ed Fogels and ADF&G Commissioner Cora Campbell, and at 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitors Center with Fogels and Randy Bates, ADF&G director of the Division of Habitat. A presentation is 4-5 p.m. each night by officials followed by a stakeholder panel discussion from 5 to 6 p.m. and public testimony from 6-7 p.m. Written testimony also is welcome. For more information, contact Sen. Micciche at 235-0690 or
800-964-5733. To read the bill in its entirety, visit: legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill_text.asp?hsid=HB0077C&session=28
As a memorial to the late Bob Moss Sr., the North Pacific Fisherman’s Association is encouraging fishermen and mariners to honor him by lighting a Christmas tree in their boats’ rigging, as Moss did for many years. The main viewing will be on Dec. 21, the winter solstice. Stores also are encouraged to top off their buildings with a tree. Trees also will be lit at the harbor and the Seafarers Memorial. For more information, call Pat McBride at 399-7111.
The Kenai Peninsula Fair holds a Christmas Bazaar from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Dec. 14, at the Ninilchik fair grounds. More than 40 vendors will be there to sell their wares and visit. Spaces are still available; bring your own table. For more information, contact Debra Henderson, event coordinator at 907-567-3670.
Friendship Center
Friendship Center Adult Day Services is open 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday with extended hours for special situations.
Homer Senior Citizens
Homer Senior Citizens lunch is open to seniors and their guests and is served 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday-Friday. The lunch menu for this week is: today, roast turkey; Friday, breaded cod; Monday, chicken cacciatore; Tuesday, pork marsala;Wednesday, beef tacos.
Strong Women classes are 2-3 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the Homer Senior Center. The cost is $3 for members and $6 for nonmembers per class.
Zumba Gold classes with Maria are 11 a.m.-noon Tuesdays and 1:30-2:30 p.m. Thursdays at the Homer Senior Center. The cost is $4 for members and $6 for nonmembers per class.
Tai Chi classes are Thursday at 3 p.m. The cost is $3 for members and $6 for nonmembers per class. For more information, call Daniel at 235-7655.
The Caregiver Support Group meets from 2-3:30 p.m. every other Thursday in the senior center dining room. For more information, call Pam Hooker at 299-7198 or Mary Jo Gates at 235-7655.
Kachemak Bay Campus
Registration for the winter/spring semester has started for all winter and spring recreation, job training, degree and personal enrichment classes. Winter/spring class listings are now posted online at kpc.alaska.edu/KBC/searchable_schedule. Stop by the campus to sign up; the payment deadline is in January. Many classes begin the week of Jan. 13. Classes include welding, nonfiction creative writing, painting, yoga, marine boating safety, medical assisting, ceramics, Suqpiaq-Alutiiq culture, bears of Alaska, history of Alaska, public speaking and biology of sharks. For more information, call 235-7743. The campus is closed for the holiday break from Dec. 21 to Jan. 2.
Pratt Museum
The museum is open noon-5 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday; closed Mondays.
“Inspired by Place,” selected art from the museum collection, is on exhibit downstairs in the Contemporary Art Gallery through December.
“When Crab was King” is on display in the Special Exhibits Gallery. The special exhibit combines the Kodiak Maritime Museum’s exhibit, “When Crab Was King: Faces of the Kodiak King Crab Fishery 1950-1982,” with stories of the commercial king crab fishery in Kachemak Bay. The Kodiak exhibit features portraits of 24 individuals who fished during the boom years of the Kodiak king crab fishery, with oral histories presenting each of their stories. In the Pratt Museum’s presentation, visitors also will view historic films, hear stories from local fishermen, and learn about the biology of the crab fishery and recent efforts to re-establish king crab in local waters.
In conjunction with the crab exhibit, there also will be two special events during December. A Community Conversation is 5-7 p.m. today. Bring stories and perspectives on crab fisheries of Kachemak Bay. “A Crabby Colloquium: Recent Research and Fishery Management Perspectives,” featuring Megan Murphy and representatives from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, is 5-7 p.m. Dec. 19.
A community holiday recital and the quilt raffle drawing is 1-3 p.m. Sunday.
Enjoy holiday music by the Seaside Singers, the Homer High School Swing Choir and other local musicians. The annual Patrons of the Pratt Society will be held to determine the winners of the quilts donated by the Kachemak Bay Quilters. Refreshments will be served at this free event.
“Things Of The Past, Treasures Of The Present” is 5-7 p.m. Dec. 11. What did Capt. Cook and Capt. Vancouver take on board their ships when visiting the area? Explore the role of museum collections in today’s heritage preservation work and learn about the history and significance of Sugpiaq pieces in the Pratt Museum and around the world.
R.E.C. Room
The REC Room (a Youth Resource and Enrichment Co-Op) offers new activities for the 2013-2014 School Year. Free programs include instruction on software installation and customization, digital music production, fresh and organic cooking, gardening and slam poetry. The REC Room provides teens ages 12-18 with a safe space to hang out after school and get connected with positive resources, activities and programs available for youth in our community. It offers computers and Wi-Fi for homework, guitars, XBox Kinect, games, darts, rave gloves, movies, art supplies and more.
Youth ages 12-18 are encouraged to join the FORK Club Cooking class at the R.E.C Room from 3:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Margarida Kondak teaches how to make homemade bagels and schmears. Bagels can be enjoyed in numerous healthy ways — as sandwiches, pizzas and with hummus or schmears and more. Participants will learn how to make several widely-loved and affordable meals in this free class. R.E.C. Room intern Amy Woorduff also teaches how to make truffles and festive chocolate-covered pretzels that make wonderful gifts. Pre-registration is required. To sign up, email recroom@kbfpc.org, call 235-6736 or stop in at the R.E.C. Room at 3957 Nielsen Circle Mon- Fri, 3-6 p.m.
A program of Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic, the REC Room is always staffed by a program manager. Homer Middle School students can now ride Bus 65 for drop off at the REC Room. Call for details. Hours are 3 p.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 3957 Nielsen Circle, off Ben Walters Lane. For more information, call 235-6736, e-mail recroom@kbfpc.org or visit facebook.com/rec.room7 or HomerRECroom.org.
Seldovia Village Tribe Health & Wellness Center
The SVT Health & Wellness Center offers a series of classes covering all aspects of wellness every Thursday at 6 p.m. Today’s program is “Healthy Tips for Blood Sugar Regulation During the Holidays” by Jenifer Dickson, certified nutritional therapist. For more information or to suggest topics for future classes, call Amy Rattenbury at
226-2228, ext. 660.
South Peninsula Hospital
The Hospital Auxiliary Gift Shop has relocated and expanded in the hospital’s main entrance outside of registration. The shop is open 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday and is staffed by volunteers from the SPH Auxiliary. All proceeds from the shop support the hospital.
SPH offers a Safe Sitter babysitting class 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. on Dec 30 and 31. The class is designed for 11-13 year olds and teaches basic child care, infant and child CPR, first aid, safety for the sitter, behavior management and business etiquette. Students should bring their own lunch. Registration is required. The cost is $70 per person. Please call the hospital’s education department at 235-0258 for more information and to register.
