Hometown Calendar

This weekend–long Christmas celebration illuminates Ripon in its finest. Ripon’s downtown is dense with twinkling lights and living windows, carriage rides, live music and holiday cheer. During the weekend, an Enchanted Forest and Living Nativity delight visitors, the Tour of Homes showcases the area’s most historic, modern and beautiful houses, and children relish Breakfast with Santa. Living Windows on Saturday, Fezziwig’s Festival on Friday , enjoy carriage rides, live reindeer display, and more!

The Grace Lutheran Church Adult Choir, under the direction of Mr. Jeremy Fritz, is pleased to present their annual Christmas Cantata entitled “The Thrill of Hope” by Joseph Martin and Heather Sorenson at four different times throughout the Holiday season this year.  These opportunities to hear the Cantata will begin on December 8th at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Saxeville at 9 am, and continue on December 15th at Grace Lutheran Church in Berlin at 8:30 am and at First Lutheran Church in Poy Sippi at 10:30 am. The final opportunity will be on December 18th again at Grace Lutheran Church in Berlin at 7 pm.  The choir will be accompanied by Jess Fritz, and there are numerous soloists throughout the Cantata. Please join us for a telling of the Christmas story through worshipful song. We look forward to seeing you there!

The Berlin Lions Annual Cheese & Sausage Sale is underway. Available to order are $20 4 lb. Cheese Boxes, featuring Wisconsin Made Alto Cheese, as well as $20 2 lb. Cheese & (2) 12 oz. Sausage Boxes, featuring Wisconsin Made Alto Cheese & Cher-Make Sausage.

There are a variety of ways to order!

• Visit www.berlinlionsclub.com
• Send an email to berlinwilionsclub@gmail.com
• Call Sue at (920) 229-4139
• Ordering also available at Farmers & Merchants Bank

Mark your calendars for these fun events coming up at the Wautoma Public Library.

Stop in at the library’s Holiday Open House to warm up with a mug of crockpot hot chocolate, warm cider, or a cup of jo on Saturday, December 21st from 11am-1pm. Enjoy tasty treats and put your name in for one of their door prizes!

Grab a group of friends and head on down to the Wautoma Library on the 3rd Thursday of every month for BINGO at 4pm.

Plan on signing up for their hands-on Bath Fizzies and Bubble Bath Balls class. This will be free to all ages on Tuesday, December 10th at 5:00pm.

Last but not least, mark your calendars for their Once Upon a Time Gala on Saturday, February 22nd at 4:30pm. The event will feature a cash bar, dinner catered by Moose Inn, door prizes, raffles, games, and live music. More details to come!

(Waushara Area Chamber of Commerce)

The Berlin Lions Annual Cheese & Sausage Sale is underway. Available to order are $20 4 lb. Cheese Boxes, featuring Wisconsin Made Alto Cheese, as well as $20 2 lb. Cheese & (2) 12 oz. Sausage Boxes, featuring Wisconsin Made Alto Cheese & Cher-Make Sausage.

There are a variety of ways to order!

• Visit www.berlinlionsclub.com
• Send an email to berlinwilionsclub@gmail.com
• Call Sue at (920) 229-4139
• Ordering also available at Farmers & Merchants Bank

Omro’s Annual Holiday Party will be held on Wednesday, December 11th at 5:00 pm. There will be a buffet dinner as well as a gift basket raffle following dinner.

For more information, you can visit FutureOmro.org.

The Berlin Lions Annual Cheese & Sausage Sale is underway. Available to order are $20 4 lb. Cheese Boxes, featuring Wisconsin Made Alto Cheese, as well as $20 2 lb. Cheese & (2) 12 oz. Sausage Boxes, featuring Wisconsin Made Alto Cheese & Cher-Make Sausage.

There are a variety of ways to order!

• Visit www.berlinlionsclub.com
• Send an email to berlinwilionsclub@gmail.com
• Call Sue at (920) 229-4139
• Ordering also available at Farmers & Merchants Bank

Green Lake’s Indoor Farm Market will be held on Saturday, December 14th at the Town Square Community Center, located at 492 Hill Street in Green Lake. The hours for the Market are 9:00 am – 12:00 pm. For more information about the Indoor Farm Market and what to expect, you can visit the event’s Facebook page.

Redgranite’s “Lights for Snipe” Hometowne Holiday & Tree Lighting event will be held on Saturday, December 14th. This event is organized by the Redgranite Advancement Association.

The schedule of events for the day is as follows:

10:00 am – 3:00 pm Vendor Arts & Crafts Fair at Redgranite Lions Hall

10:00 am – 1:30 pm Coloring Contest, Letters to Santa at Redgranite Lions Hall

10:00 am – 3:00 pm Cookie Walk, $5 per tin, with tins and information available at Redgranite Lions Hall

9:00 am – 3:00 pm Bake Sale at Redgranite Library

Noon – 2:00 pm Santa at Redgranite Lions Hall

2:00 pm – 4:00 pm Sleigh Rides Along the Quarry, with pick up & drop off at Rock Coffee House

3:00 pm – 4:30 pm S’mores Pit, enjoy some S’mores while you wait for the Tree Lighting to begin

4:30 pm Tree Lighting at Veterans Memorial Park

For more information about the “Lights for Snipe” Hometowne Holiday & Tree Lighting event, you can visit www.redgranitewisconsin.com.

The Christmas Cookie Walk, sponsored by the Immanuel United Methodist Women, will be held on Saturday, December 14th from 9:00 am until 11:00 am at Immanuel United Methodist Church in the entry lounge (handicap accessible).

There will be a variety of homemade cookies and candies for sale, as well as kitchen sundries and greeting/cheer cards.

Proceeds from the event will be divided between Youth Mission Trips and UMW.

Immanuel United Methodist Church is located as 401 W. Fond du Lac Street in Ripon.

CJ’s at the Wayside will be offering a series of Holiday Cooking Classes. Starting off on Saturday, November 30, CJ will be teaching how to make Cream Cheese Sugar Cutouts, Marzipan Bars, Filled Butter Sweets and 2 different kinds of Candy. In addition, CJ asks for you to bring your favorite recipe and you’ll leave with over 100 cookies/candies & all the recipes for what is made. Let the mess to CJ and her staff all while you enjoy some good holiday cheer and delicious cookies. Preregistration is required by calling 920-858-0003. The cost is $40 per person per class. Class size is limited to 25 people. Call to reserve soon. On Sat., Dec. 7, the theme will be Yeast Breads and Sat., Dec. 14, Holiday Desserts. Book all three classes and save $10 off all three. For more information, contact CJ’s at 920-858-0003. Follow on Facebook @CJatthewayside. The classes will be held from 9:00 am to noon.

Black Hawk Folk Society proudly announces its fall-into-winter Second Saturday concert series.

The line-up kicks off with Michigan-based Mustard’s Retreat on Saturday, September 14. This trio has been making music magic for forty plus years (either as the current trio or as a duo). Their songs, stories, and stage presence resonate with audiences everywhere.

October 12 brings The Society of Broken Souls to the Mountain View Community Center’s stage. This singer-songwriter duo—Dennis James and Lauryn Shapter—are known for consistent performances the critics have labeled “relaxed and deft, restrained and modest, but in the end always quietly epic.”

Small Potatoes, a Black Hawk favorite, will be back on Saturday, November 9. This Chicagobased duo will have you tapping your toes, nodding with the tunes, and heading home with a smile on your face, all thanks to superb musicianship and award-winning songwriting, paired always to their commitment to the folk heritage.

December 14 brings Bob Bovee (another Black Hawk favorite) and Pop Wagner. Both have loyal followings whether they perform solo or together. Original and traditional country western blues are their forte. They are one part cowboys and one part musicians. Don’t be surprised if they lasso your hearts and steal them for the night.

Pop Wagner has quite the reputation as a singer, picker, fiddler, lasso twirler, poet and downright funny guy. He appeared frequently on Public Radio’s A Prairie Home Companion during the show’s formative years and for the last four decades he has worked his cowboy magic throughout 44 states and ten countries. Bob Bovee first heard cowboy songs and other old time music sung by his grandmother and uncle, such gems as “Little Joe the Wrangler” and “The Zebra Dun.” He has spent his life seeking out the songs of the West and making the public aware of our great musical heritage. Singing and yodeling his way through a huge repertoire accompanied by guitar, harmonica, banjo and autoharp. Bob and Pop shows are filled with history, folklore, stories and humor that will entertain any crowd. There will be a potluck before the concert at 6:00 PM.

These four Second Saturday concerts will be held at Mountain View Community Center, at N3137 21st Lane, near the intersection of 21st Lane and Highway 152, near Mt. Morris and Wautoma. General admission tickets will be sold at the door from 6:30 on, with the concert beginning at 7:00. (Adults: $10; 12 and under: free). Concert goers are invited to begin the evening by joining the performer and other music lovers with a potluck supper at 6. Mountain View is handicap friendly and offers plenty of free, on-site parking.

Black Hawk Folk Society is a 501(c)3 non-profit and is completely volunteer-driven. The organization’s mission is to bring quality live music to central Wisconsin. Black Hawk thanks all donors and especially the following sponsors whose support makes this Second Saturday concert series, and other events, including educational outreach programs, possible: Louise Coumbe, Patricia Grant, Janet Scalpone, the Dick Hansen Family, Paul & Betty Hagan, Conners/Barrett & Company LLC, Mt. Morris Mill Coffee Shop, and The Frey Family Foundation. For more information about this concert, to learn how to become a sponsor or how you can support Black Hawk in other ways, please visit blackhawkfolk.org or check out Black Hawk’s Facebook page. For more information about the performers, please visit their websites.

(Waushara Area Chamber of Commerce)