Pull on those country and western dancing shoes. You can dance all night Nov. 19 to benefit Carroll Hospice at A Grand Affair in Hampstead.
Organizer Ellen Stickles hopes to raise about $5,000 for hospice programs. Almost half of available tickets have already sold.
"I've been a hospice volunteer for about eight years," Mrs. Stickles said. "I haven't had a patient since last summer, so I decided to do a benefit.
"We've never done [fund raising] on this side of the county, although we have a lot of patients in this area."
Finding a "really good dance band" was easy. Mrs. Stickles had enjoyed the "southern country rock" of Rough Country, a band led by her nephew, Michael Stickles.
Mr. Stickles is lead singer who plays rhythm guitar. Rough Country includes the talents of Chuck Hefflin on lead guitar, Darren Hayden on bass guitar and Galen Blubaugh on drums.
The benefit dance will include demonstrations of the locally popular western line dancing, plenty of country-western dance styles and a cake walk.
Many area businesses have donated door prizes.
A Grand Affair is upstairs at the Old Mill, 4041 Gill Ave. in Hampstead. The ballroom was donated by Cindy Treadway for the evening.
Tickets are $15 per person or $25 per couple, and include beer and setups. A cash bar will be available. Information: Carroll Hospice, 876-8044, or Ellen Stickles, 374-4649.
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Autumn is fabulous, think the folks at St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hampstead. When maples flame into color outside the church windows, the congregation prepares for its annual Fabulous Fall Bazaar.
The bazaar takes place at the church, 1373 N. Main St.
On Nov. 11, attend a supper served from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
On Nov. 12, a luncheon will be served from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and the bazaar will run from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Fabulous Fall means homemade soups, the perfect fare to toast the autumn chill, and homemade baked goods.
Visit the bazaar and you'll find handmade crafts, Christmas crafts and white elephant items.
The event is being held in St. Mark's social hall, accessible to the handicapped. Plenty of parking is available at the rear.
Information: 374-2819.
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For at least a decade, the Christmas Craft Show by Pleasant Grove United Methodist Church has been a big event.
This year the show takes place from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
"At this point, we have 19 vendors, some of them with more
than one space," said organizer Vola Osborn. "One [vendor] has a whole room of collectibles and antiques."
"Last year was probably the best attended" in recent memory, Mrs. Osborn said. When asked to estimate the crowd, she could only say, "Oh, gosh, they were coming and going."
"We'll also serve a delicious lunch," said Shirley Koehne. She said it would be soup-and-sandwich style during the craft show.
Homemade baked goods made by church members will fill a cake and dessert table. Funnel cakes will be made and sold piping hot.
"We did a cookbook this year" that includes favorite recipes from members of the church and the community, Mrs. Koehne said. "It's really going over good. People like our cookbook."
It costs $6 and will be sold at the craft show.
Church members also have a craft table.
Several women from the church stitched a quilt, nine-patch style in all colors, and it will be raffled during the show. Raffle tickets are already on sale and will be sold that day until the drawing.
Pleasant Grove United Methodist Church is at Dover and Pleasant Grove roads in Boring, on the east side of Route 30, about six miles from Hampstead. A rule of thumb is to turn at either St. Paul's Lutheran Church at Dover Road or Mount Gilead Church at Woodensburg.
Information: Vola Osborn, 429-3922; or Shirley Koehne, 429-1981.