City Hall Christmas Tree Lighting

Cranston Mayor Allan Fung invites members of the community to attend City Hall’s Annual Christmas Tree Lighting on Dec. 2 at 6 p.m.

The BASICS Glee Club and Cranston middle and high school ensembles will provide musical entertainment, and the tree will be lit at 6:45 p.m. followed by Santa’s arrival at 6:50 p.m. There is free parking behind City Hall.

Santa arrives in Garden City

Join Mr. and Mrs. Claus for their annual arrival in Garden City Center at the Gazebo on Nov. 29 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

There will be hayrides, face painting, trolley rides and crafts. Pictures with Santa will also be available on that day, with special packages starting at $9.99 for a 5-by-7-inch photo.

5th annual Ron Gill Jr. Macaroni & Meatball Dinner

On Dec. 7, the fifth annual Ron Gill Jr. Macaroni & Meatball Dinner will be held at the Cranston Country Club from noon to 4 p.m.

There will be raffles and a visit from Santa, as well as an auction. Adult tickets are $20, tickets for children under 10 are $10 and children two years of age and under are admitted free of charge. All proceeds will benefit the Ron Gill Jr. Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Woodridge Church helps with diaper collections

Woodridge United Church of Christ traditionally asks its community members to participate in an Advent mission project. The Rev. Scott Spencer has announced that this year, the church will be collecting diapers for foster care children.

The Advent mission will kick off Nov. 30 and run through Jan. 6. One of the sites they will use to collect diapers will be in the crèche on the front lawn outside of their sanctuary. Diapers can be dropped off from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays through Fridays at the church office, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday and from 10 a.m. to noon on Sundays. Woodridge Church is located at 546 Budlong Road, and may be reached at 942-0662 or www.woodridgechurchri.org.

Holiday Extravaganza Craft Fair

Hosted by Cherish the Moments LLC, the third-annual Holiday Extravaganza Craft Fair, featuring crafters and vendors, will be held at the Kelley Gazzero VFW Post on Nov. 22 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. The VFW is located at 1418 Plainfield Pike in Cranston.

Congressional intern program

U.S. Jim Langevin (D-RI) is accepting applications for interns in his Rhode Island and Washington, D.C., offices for the spring semester of 2015. This unpaid program is open to civic-minded college students who are available for at least 10 hours per week. A qualified candidate will be well organized, responsible and dependable, and have strong oral and written communication skills. Responsibilities include answering phone calls, drafting constituent correspondence and supporting staff members on various projects. College credit is available, if approved by the institution. For more information, visit Langevin.House.Gov and click on the Internships prompt under “Serving You” on the homepage.

Victoria Court to hold Holiday Bazaar

Victoria Court Senior Living in Cranston, located at 55 Oaklawn Ave., will hold a Holiday Bazaar from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Dec. 6. The gathering will feature a wide variety of vendors selling jewelry, handbags, scarves and skin care products, as well as baked goods and a White Elephant Table. All proceeds will benefit Victoria Court’s resident activity fund.

Country Curtains and Project Linus

A Merry & Bright Holiday Decorating Event, hosted by Country Curtains at 170 Hillside Road in Cranston, will be held Dec. 4 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. This event is open to all ages, and visitors are encouraged to bring a new homemade blanket and a friend to earn extra chances on giveaways and prizes. All blankets will be donated to the Rhode Island chapter of Project Linus. This is a one-night event that features 20 percent off all Hostess gift items, food, drinks, gift bags, door prizes, a $500 grand prize drawing, store coupons and free gift-wrapping provided by the Cranston Girl Scouts. The local Project Linus chapter coordinator will be on hand to provide information about the organization and accept all blankets.

Project Linus is a national non-profit organization that operates thanks to the kindness of people in local communities who donate new, homemade blankets. Blankets are collected and distributed to children from newborns to 18 years of age who are in hospitals, shelters, social service agencies, or anywhere there is a need for the security a warm blanket provides.

For more information about this event, please contact Country Curtains at 942-9966. To learn more about Project Linus, visit www.projectlinus.org.

Celebrate Christmas in Pawtuxet Village

Pawtuxet Village is a wonderful destination to enjoy the holidays. Visit the stores and sign up for door prizes, enjoy refreshments, music, holiday cookies and more.

On Dec. 6, celebrate Christmas in Pawtuxet. There will be horse-drawn carriage rides through the Village leaving every half hour between noon and 3 p.m. from the parking lot behind the Cork & Brew at 2200 Broad St. Ride with Santa on the first three and last three carriage rides. Santa will take a break at 1:30 p.m.

From 1:30 to 2 p.m., enjoy the carriage rides and enjoy caroling by the Pilgrim High School Alumni Students Chorale, and at 4:30 p.m. (dusk), sponsor a luminaire (lantern) that will be displayed on the bridge in Historic Pawtuxet Village. Following at 5:30 p.m. will be the lighting of the children’s Christmas Tree in Pawtuxet Park, with Christmas carols by the Olde English Carolers. (Note: This is the lighting of the small tree close to the parkway, and not the large tree next to the gazebo.)

Did You Know?

TV dinners have Thanksgiving to thank. In 1953, someone at Swanson misjudged the number of frozen turkeys the company would sell that Thanksgiving – by 26 tons! Some industrious soul came up with a brilliant plan: Why not slice up the meat and repackage with some trimmings on the side? Thus, the first TV dinner was born. (Source: Thanksgiving Fun Facts)

To submit your news from the community, e-mail Meri R. Kennedy at CranstonChatter@aol.com. Photos in jpg format are accepted and news can range from community events, promotions, academic news and non-profit events. E-mail today and see your news in our column in the Cranston Herald. Please include a daytime telephone number in case we require any further information. Be sure to check out our website at www.cranstononline.com.