Cranston Western celebration

Mayor Allan Fung is hosting a recognition celebration at 6 p.m. on Sept. 21 at the Garden City Gazebo in honor of the 2015 New England Champion Cranston Western Little League Team that competed at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa. 

This ceremony will include local and state officials from Cranston who will join the mayor in honoring players and coaches.

“As mayor, I am proud of the accomplishments and more importantly the sportsmanship displayed by our athletes who played their hearts out in Williamsport. They represented our state and our region with aplomb. I invite the community to join us as we honor the boys as well as their dedicated coaches and families,” Fung said in a statement.

There will be a brief speaking program where state and municipal dignitaries will honor the team with citations.

CCAP Family Health Fair

Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the Comprehensive Community Action Program (CCAP) will hold a Patient Appreciation/Health Fair on Sept. 26 at its location at 1090 Cranston St. There will be music, refreshments, face painting, free health screenings, fun games and giveaways. The event will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sponsored by Neighborhood Health Plan, the event is open to the public.

CCAP is the largest community action program in Rhode Island, and provides family medicine, dental care, behavioral health care and substance abuse counseling as well as social services, WIC Nutrition Program, food bank, home heating and energy assistance. It employs more than 300 people. Last year, CCAP touched the lives of more than 21,500 Rhode Islanders.

Bingo at Randall Manor

Randall Manor, located at 75 Mathewson St., will be hosting weekly Thursday night bingo in the community room starting Sept. 24 at 6 p.m. For more information, call Angela Caracciolo at 401-946-7380.

Blessing of the Animals

On Oct 4, Edgewood Congregational Church, located at 1788 Broad St. in Cranston, will hold a Blessing of the Animals. There will be an outdoor worship service at 10 a.m. followed by the blessing at 11 a.m. Defenders of Animals will be available to take pictures of pets being blessed. Photos will be made available to participants for a $10 donation.

Tanzi to speak at Cranston East

Dr. Rudolph E. Tanzi, a Cranston native and one of the world’s foremost Alzheimer’s disease researchers, is coming back to his hometown on Oct. 28 to benefit the Cranston Senior Enrichment Center with his presentation, “Ending Alzheimer’s Disease by 2025.” Tickets are $25 for general admission, and $125 tickets include a VIP reception and book signing. The event will be held at Cranston High School East, Tanzi’s alma mater. Call 401-780-6000 for more information.

No Kid Hungry at T’s

All T’s locations are participating in the “No Kid Hungry Campaign” during the month of September. They will be donating 20 percent of all purchases of a kid’s meals to the worthy cause. For guests who do not have children, T’s will accept donations during this month. For more information, contact your local T’s restaurant.

Bulky waste pickup

During the month of September, Cranston residents will be able to dispose of up to three large bulky items for free by calling Waste Management at 1-800-972-4545 and scheduling an appointment for curbside pickup. No items will be picked up if an appointment has not been scheduled. Bulk items that are not included in this program are mattresses, construction debris, TVs, electronic goods, white goods (major appliances) or any household trash/garbage that would fit into the city-provided 65-gallon trash bin.

Walk to Remember Alexis

Now in its fifth year, A Walk to Remember Alexis will be held on Sept. 26 beginning at 10:30 a.m. at the Park View Middle School field. There will be a bounce house, face painting, food, drinks and T-shirts at the walk.

Also on Oct. 2, there will be a Memorial Dinner at the Kelley-Gazzerro VFW Post featuring music, additional entertainment, and a Floating Lantern ceremony. Tickets are $15 per person.

For more information on either of these events, please call Stephanie at 401-248-8637, Jessica at 401-433-0276 or Theresa at 401-243-4202.

Busidex seminar

Have you even been to a networking event? Met a few key contacts you’d like to connect with at a later date, put their card in a pile with others, and then forgotten to follow up?

Come to the Cranston Chamber of Commerce’s one-hour presentation on a powerful “must have” networking tool to not only keep you organized, but when used properly will help you to create a flow of on-going leads and referrals for your business. The event will be held on Sept. 21 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Garden City Shopping Center, 100 Midway Road, Suite 14.

Set yourself apart from the crowd and come find out how this super networking tool called “Busidex” can truly organize and edify your business networking.

Busidex is for anyone that networks and desires to continue to foster relationships with those individuals with whom they have met and have exchanged business cards. With Busidex you put your business card on their phone. They may lose your business card but they will not lose their phone. Busidex is a networking tool that lets you update your contact information on everyone’s device without you having to request that they update your information.

Please make sure to bring at least one business card and your smartphone. Don’t have a smartphone? No worries, bring your laptop. Seating is limited to the first 25 people. Register now by contacting Stephen C. Boyle at the Chamber at sboyle@cranstonchamber.com or 401-785-3780. Attend this seminar and you will be given an appointment for a professional head shot photo for your business.

Free Child Outreach screenings

Cranston Public Schools is offering free Child Outreach screenings to Cranston children ages three to five. The free screening covers vision, hearing, speech and developmental motor skills. For more information or to book an appointment, contact Gail Falso, Child Outreach head screener, at 401-270-8337.

Explore the fashions of ‘Downton Abbey’

On Wednesday, Sept. 23, local instructor and storeowner Karen Antonowicz will bring the fashions of “Downton Abbey” to the Cranston Public Library. A presentation of historical, era-based fashion will begin at 6 p.m. Following a lecture, the floor will be opened to discussion. Samples of vintage and vintage-inspired clothing will be on display at the event.

“Downton Abbey,” an award-winning television series, will air its sixth and final season on PBS’ “Masterpiece” in January 2016. The series focuses on the lives of an aristocratic family and its servants during the early 1900s. The post-Edwardian fashion featured on the show has become recognizable to fans, and is nearly as beloved as the show’s characters.

Antonowicz holds a master’s degree in historic costume and textiles from the University of Rhode Island. She has 13 years of experience instructing at the college level, including her current employment as an instructor at the Rhode Island School of Design’s Continuing Education Program. She presents fashion era lectures and workshops around the region as well as in her store, Nostalgia, which is located at 236 Wickenden St. in Providence.

The Central Library is located at 140 Sockanosset Cross Road in Cranston. 

Mark Marella Memorial Scholarship Fund Golf Tournament

The second annual golf tournament fundraiser to benefit the Mark Marella Memorial Scholarship Fund for Cranston High School West will be on Oct. 19 at the Cranston Country Club.

It’s that time of year when we remember the passing of our family member, friend and fellow fallen Falcon, Mark Marella. The tournament will benefit the scholarship fund for a deserving senior at Cranston West.

The shotgun start is at 11 a.m. The cost per person is $80 for golf with a cart and includes a light dinner afterwards. Dinner will be a cocktail type menu with appetizers and pasta stations. The format for the outing is a Texas Scramble (best drive, then each player plays their own ball in), and there will be prizes for the winners.

Last year was a great way to get the scholarship fund in Mark’s honor up and running and was a great time to see many friends. They were able to give out a $2,500 scholarship in Mark’s memory this past May to West graduating senior James Vartanian, who was also honorably named the 2015 Ideal Cranstonian for the school.

Please feel free to join solely for dinner and drinks if you do not want to golf. The cost for a dinner ticket only is $25. Dinner will start at 6 p.m. It is a social cocktail dinner so you can show up anytime.

Please contact Tom Shor via email tshort76@gmail.com or by calling 401-824-6555 for more information or to book a group. They are also looking for any prize donations for the raffle! Gift cards, gift certificates are welcome. Anyone wishing to give solely monetary donations toward the scholarship fund can kindly make checks out to either Cranston High School West or the Mark Marella Memorial Scholarship Fund. Donations can be given/dropped off at the tournament dinner or mailed to: The Mark Marella Memorial Scholarship Fund, c/o Deana Golini, Cranston High School West, 80 Metropolitan Ave. Cranston, RI 02920.

Senior Guild meeting

Cranston Senior Guild will meet Wednesday, Oct. 7, at 1 p.m. at Tamarisk Assisted Living, 3 Shalom Drive, Warwick. The versatile Vini Ames will entertain us with songs and music. Following the entertainment there will be a meeting, raffle, and refreshments. All men and women age 55 years plus are welcome to join our group. Cranston residency is not required. Come meet other seniors and enjoy this organization, which was founded in the 1970s.

New Family Performance Series

Let us entertain you! Families are invited to join us for the new Family Performance Series, perfect for all ages, from the young to the young at heart. Hosted Saturdays from 11 a.m. to noon from September to May at Theatre 82 & Café, located at 82 Rolfe Square in Cranston, the entertainment will include puppetry, magic, storytelling, improv, music and more! There is something new each Saturday, with performers and acts changing each week. Some upcoming performers include Jason Andrews Magic, Big Nazo and Sparky’s Puppets.

Pay what you can for admission, with a suggested donation of $5 for most performances. Check the website for ticketed events. Please visit www.artists-exchange.org for performance dates and the complete list of upcoming performers. For more information, contact 401-480-9477.

Library to participate in National Voter Registration Day

On Sept. 22, Americans will celebrate National Voter Registration Day (NVRD) with a massive 50-state effort to register voters. Cranston Public Library is proud to be a partner. The Central Library will host a voter registration drive from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Registrants are invited to drop in to celebrate democracy and their right to vote. Library newcomers will also be invited to sign up for library cards. The theme for this year’s National Voter Registration Day is “Celebrating Democracy in America.” Thousands of national, state and local organizations and volunteers will be the driving force behind National Voter Registration Day 2015. Partner organizations will coordinate hundreds of NVRD events nationwide and leverage #CelebrateNVRD in all social media platforms to drive attention to voter registration and the midterm elections.

The effort’s website, www.NationalVoterRegistrationDay.org, provides a listing of National Voter Registration Day events across the country.

Started in 2012 for the presidential election, National Voter Registration Day is designed to create an annual moment when the entire nation focuses on registering Americans to exercise their most basic right – the right to vote. More than 356,000 Americans have been registered to vote since the inaugural National Voter Registration Day.

The Central Library is located at 140 Sockanosset Cross Road.

Did You Know?

In 1938, a piano tuner by the name of Wilhelm Gruber, who had an interest in stereo photography, invented the View-Master. The concept of a stereograph viewer had been around for decades, but it didn’t hit the mass-consumer market until Gruber invented his user-friendly version. It then became the “must-have” toy for kids after View-Master got the rights for Disney characters. It’s a gadget that’s still around today, though sold mostly as a “retro” toy. (Source: Fun Facts)

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