Area briefs

CROSSLAKE - The Crosslake office of the Brainerd Lakes Chamber is kicking off its second year of Crosslake in Bloom that includes a garden contest for businesses and residents and seminars and a luncheon/garden tour.

The seminars will cover a wide variety of topics, including Starting Plants from Seeds on March 25; Plant Your Own Container Garden, April 22; Shoreland Restoration, May 27; Native Plants/Deer Resistant Plants, June 24; Rain Barrels and Rain Gardens, July 22; and Putting Your Garden to Bed, Aug. 26.

The cost is $10 per seminar. Seminars, with the exception of the April 22 seminar, will be at the Crosslake Community Center. A material and supply fee will be collected at the April seminar.

The garden contest is for residents and businesses of Crosslake. The purpose is to give recognition for making Crosslake a brighter and more beautiful place to live. There will be separate awards for residential and business gardens. The categories include floral garden, including annuals and perennials; container gardens; shade gardens; and water gardens.

The Crosslake in Bloom event will wrap up with a luncheon and garden tour. The luncheon will be Aug. 12 at the Crosslake Lutheran Church. The presenter will be Terry Engels, staff gardener at Munsinger and Clemens Gardens in St. Cloud. The presentation, entitled "Getting Personal: How to create a Garden that Satisfies your Soul," will provide information on how to create or transform your yard into a personal refuge. The garden tour will take place after the luncheon presentation with a self-guided tour of four gardens in the Crosslake area.

For more information and to register for any of these events, contact the Crosslake office of the Brainerd Chamber at (218) 692-4027 or www.crosslake.com.

Bowling for the Blind planned

CROSBY - The Cuyuna Range Lions annual Bowling for the Blind tournament is scheduled March 20 at the Cuyuna Lanes in Crosby.

Boys and girls ages 8-13 receive three free lanes of bowling and a T-shirt. To qualify participants must gather a minimum of five pledges. Trophies will be awarded for first-, second- and third-place scores in two age groups: 8-10 years old (10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.) and 11-13 years old (1:30-3:30 p.m.)

Visa gift cards valued at $100, $75 and $50 will be awarded to three age groups based on pledges collected. Pledges are to be turned in and trophies and prizes will be presented at a free swimming and pizza party at the Hallett Community Center from 1-4 p.m. March 27 for all participants.

Proceeds are used for Lions sight projects. For more information or questions, call (218) 534-3856.

New members welcome to join book club

STAPLES - The Book Club For Adults at the Staples Public Library is welcoming new members to join its group.

The book club meets from 6-7 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of each month for book club discussion. The next meeting will be March 25. A new member may pick up the book three weeks before the meeting date.

For more information, contact the Staples Public Library at (218) 894-1401.

Minnesota Zoomobile to visit Staples Public Library

STAPLES - The Minnesota Zoomobile will visit the Staples Public Library from 2:30-4 p.m. March 22.

Naturalists from the Minnesota Zoo will present animals and talk about their habits and their habitats. The program is a family show targeted for children ages 2-5 and is funded through the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment, which established dedicated funding, in part, to preserve Minnesota's arts and cultural heritage.

For more information, contact the Staples Public Library at (218) 894-1401.

iBedirod for Youth results

NISSWA - The first annual iBedirod for Youth was recently hosted at Ski Gull in Nisswa. Thirty teams participated in the mattress race fundraiser for Kinship Partners, United Way's Youth as Resources and Ski Gull. Awards were presented for the following:

Fastest teams: First place, Sparky's Last Adventure; second place, Death Star Wookie: Cabin Care; and third place, Greased Lightning: CTC and Kinship.

Best costumes: First place, Pillow Heads: Kohl's; second place, Team America: Bergmann Machine; and third place, Party Gorillas: Party World and Pine River-Backus Family Center.

Top pledge donations: First place, Life is Good; second place, Party Gorillas: Party World and Pine River-Backus Family Center; and third place, KEY Club: Brainerd High School.

Local sponsors included BL Broadcasting, Custom Upholstery & Awning, Insty Prints, Brainerd Jaycees, Kohl's, C&L Distributing, Dondelinger's Auto, CTC, Power Lodge, Brothers Motorsports, Lakes Media Collaborative and Mike's Tree Company.

Ski Gull, Kinship Partners and United Way's Youth as Resources are dedicated to helping youths in local communities succeed and develop healthy lifestyles. Net proceeds from the event will allow these organizations to enhance their programs.

Pine River Market Square in preparation for season

Pine River Market Square, a local growers' and crafters' market, is busy preparing for the 2010 season. An annual meeting of members conducted last fall resulted in some changes. The market will run Fridays May 28-Sept. 24 and potentially October Fridays, weather pending. The times have changed to 2:30-6:30 p.m. and will be on the same site downtown Pine River, Barclay Avenue and Third Street.

The Pine River Chamber of Commerce has changed the duck races to begin at 2 p.m. on Fridays starting mid-June and the free fishing seminars will be on Fridays at 3 p.m. This will create an opportunity for many activity choices on Fridays in town.

The kickoff on May 28 will feature the third annual plant sale hosted by the Pine River Garden Club and Community Education. Proceeds will go for a horticulture student scholarship and a portion to scholarships for Pine River-Backus Community Education summer youth programs.

Farmers and crafters who qualify and are within 50 miles of Pine River are welcome for the upcoming season. A market vendor information meeting is scheduled for April 20 at 6:30 p.m. at the Hunt Utilities Group campus located on Cass County Road 2 in Pine River off Highway 371.

Vendor application forms and guidelines are available online at www.prmarketsquare.wordpress.com. Members and sponsors for the 2010 market are being accepted and forms can be found on the Web site. Current sponsors include Hunt Utilities Group and Happy Dancing Turtle.

The market co-managers for the year are Dave Thomas and Barb Mann. Board members include Sandy Gilbertson, Barb Hines, Barbara Kaufman, Barb Mann, Sue Stroinski, Quinn Swanson and Dave Thomas. For further information call (218) 587-3199.