The U.S. Coast Guard holds Commercial Fishing Industry Day from 12:20-4 p.m. Friday at Pioneer Hall, Kachemak Bay Campus. Coast Guard examiners will be available to answer questions and concerns about mandatory commercial fishing requirements and also to make sure vessels meet new requirements. For more information, contact the USCG Marine Safety Detachment, Homer at 235-3291.

The Kachemak Bay Birders’ next trip is 2 p.m. Saturday for a trip to the end of the Homer Spit. Meet at 2 p.m. in the parking lot at the base of the Spit on Kachemak Drive to car pool. Bring binoculars, field guides and scope if you have them.  There will be an incoming, very high tide which should increase the opportunities for sighting far off-shore birds. Expectations also are high for finding the usual suspects on the Spit. There is no charge and everyone is welcome. All trips cosponsored by the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge.  Leader is Michael Craig (235-0631). 

Listen to a “Community Conversations About Cannabis,” from 4-6 p.m. Saturday at the Kachemak Community Center. The event is a moderated panel discussion about the legalization of cannabis or marijuana in Alaska with the idea of finding a common ground. For more information call Beth at 299-4929 or Shane at 399-3974.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Weather Service, the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and the Alaska Broadcasters Association plan a test of the tsunami warning communications system from 10:15-10:45 a.m. March 25. This is a test to make sure the warning system works from one end to the other. It is not a real emergency, so do not call 911 or evacuate homes and businesses.

The Kachemak Bay Running Club is hosting a 5K fun run beginning and ending at Alice’s Champagne Palace, starting at 5:30 p.m. March 26. Come run or walk with friends in this non-timed event, followed by the club’s membership meeting. It’s the perfect time to renew your membership, learn about upcoming club events, vote for new board members, win door prizes and enjoy some tasty Alice’s food. For more information, visit the Kachemak Bay Running Club on Facebook or the web.

The Alaska Bible Institute will hold their graduation ceremony at 7 p.m. March 27. Due to space constraints, guests are limited to high school age and above, with no child care available. This celebration will be held at ABI campus, 1295 Mission Rd in Homer. Contact 235-8648 for more information. 

The Kachemak Bay Equestrian Society holds its eighth annual Cowboy Cabaret at 5 p.m. April 4 at Alice’s Champagne Palace. Tickets are on sale at the Homer Bookstore, or you can pay at the door. The cost is $25 per family, and $10 per individual. To make a reservation call Jackie at 299-1851, or, for more information, questions or to preregister to entertain call Tim at 299-2780.

The Homer Farmers Market holds  a film night fundraiser of “Seeds of Time” at 7 p.m. April 9  at the Homer Theatre. There will be a door prize giveaway and theater concessions for purchase. Admission is by donation.

The Halibut Cove Lagoon Dock ramp and gangway are closed indefinitely to public use until repairs can be made to a rusted piling. The piling was discovered on a recent spring minus tide. If the piling should fail, it could collapse the entire gangway and ramp. Boaters may use the end of the dock at the top of the “T” portion. When dropping off or picking up people from the lagoon, use the beach to the east of the dock at the stairs. The Alaska Department of Parks and Recreation also asks the public to stay away from the pilings on the west side of the ramp and gangway.

Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover comes to Homer from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. April 18 at the Mariner Theatre. Sponsored by the Homer Ministerial Association, Ramsey personality Chris Hogan will host this one-day, live event. Tickets can be purchased by preferred method at cotrhomer.org/totalmoneymakover for $90 per couple, $50 per individual and $45 per student. Tickets can also be purchased at the door for $55 per person. For more information, email office@cotrhomer.org, visit cotrhomer.org/totalmoneymakeover, or call 235-2689.

Cooperative Extension

The University of Alaska Cooperative Extension Service has several publications on starting seeds as well as seed starting resources to help you grow your garden this year. Find “Starting Seeds and Transplants” and “Fluorescent Lights for Plant Growth”  www.uaf.edu/ces/districts/kenai/ or stop by the Cooperative Extension office at 43961 Kalifornsky Beach Road, Suite A, Soldotna. For more information, call 907-262-5824. 

Friendship Center

Friendship Center Adult Day Services is open between the hours of 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday with extended hours for special situations. Programs are offered daily, including story time, crafts and musical performances. Call 235-4556.

Homer Senior Citizens

Homer Senior Citizens lunch is open to seniors and guests and is served noon-1:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. The lunch menu for this week is: today, country style pork; Friday, cod Humboldt; Monday, meatloaf; Tuesday, chicken pot pie; Wednesday, baked pork chops; next Thursday, roast beef with mashed potatoes and gravy.

Strong Women classes are 1:30-2:30 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 per class is $4 members, $6 nonmembers.

Duplicate Bridge meets at 1 p.m. Thursdays. Tai Chi classes are Thursday at 3 p.m. The cost per class is $3 for members and $6 for nonmembers. Call Daniel Weisser at 235-4555.

Caregiver Support Group meets 2-3:30 p.m. the second and fourth Thursday in the senior center conference room. Call Jacquie Thaute at 299-2924 or Daniel Weisser at 235-4555.

Kachemak Bay Campus

A Marine Trades training workshop, Marine Mechanical Systems, is 6:30 p.m. March 25. The class is $25. 

Upcoming spring and summer classes include Aluminum Fabrication, held 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. March 21, 28 and April 4, with a $250 fee; Watercolor Painting I workshop March 26-28 with Jan Peyton and Watercolor Painting II workshop April 9-11; Seaweeds of Kachemak Bay workshop with Jane Middleton, March 30-April 20; Garden Design with Brenda Adams, April 18 and 25; Boating Safety/NASBLA with Capt. Chris Lopez, May 2-3; Culinary Art: Desserts with Kirsten Dixon, May 2; and Landscape Painting with Asia Freeman, May 18-19, June 8-9, July 3-14 and Aug. 3-4.

To earn your GED or improve basic reading, writing and math skills, call 235-1606.

The Kenai Peninsula College Council meets 6 p.m. today at Pioneer Hall.

Pratt Museum

Thanks to support from the Seldovia Village Tribe, admission to the museum is free on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in March. Gallery hours are noon-5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Business offices are open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. 

New works are in the Art Gallery through March 28. “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Brooks Fish: 30 Years of Counting Fish at Brooks Lake, Katmai National Park and Preserve” is now on exhibit. 

South Peninsula Hospital

South Peninsula Hospital will do an emergency disaster preparedness drill from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. today through Sunday in Homer. The scenario will be a weather disaster which causes increased patient surge and a damaged facility, including mud slides, flooding, impassable roads and mass casualties. The exercise will include partial evacuation and the creation of an alternate care site. 

Bartlett Street will be local traffic only north of Fairview Avenue. Residents might notice tents, trailers and drill participatns in the hospital parking lot; helicopter and emergency responder activity at the southwest end of airport; numerous emergency responder events throughout the local Homer area, and helicopter landings somewhere in the local Homer area. 

All hospital services and functions will still be business as usual, however patients and visitors can expect to hear overhead pages related to emergency response, mock patients being treated in hallways, signs and communication related to the event.

Watch for signs on and around hospital owned properties with instructions and updates.

SVT Health & Wellness

SVT Health & Wellness offers classes covering all aspects of wellness every Thursday at 6 p.m. Today’s class is “Healthy Eating and Cooking, Part 2” with Amy Rattenbury, licensed acupuncturist and Chinese herbalist. Learn about how to plan menus, shop for and cook healthy foods.