Datebook lists upcoming events and items of interest for residents of Escalon, Farmington, Collegeville and the surrounding area.
The first through third Saturdays and Sundays of the month, the popular Sandhill Crane Wetland Tours are staged at Woodbridge Ecological Reserve, 7730 W. Woodbridge Road, Lodi. Online registration is available for those wishing to participate in guided tours, which run through February. A one-day Lands Pass must be purchased to attend and instructions are available on the same website. Tours fill fast and registration may be done as much as six weeks in advance. To register or for more information, visit www.wildlife.ca.gov/regions/3/crane-tour.
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Oakdale High School, 739 W. G St., Oakdale will again be the host site for the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life in 2019 and teams from Oakdale, Riverbank, Escalon, Waterford and beyond are encouraged to get involved. As an incentive, a ‘Dash for the Stash’ Challenge is underway, running now through Dec. 31. Anyone who registers online and raises $25 is automatically entered into a drawing for a vintage American Cancer Society ‘swag bag’ full of Relay For Life-themed items. Hours for the combined Oakdale-Riverbank-Escalon-Waterford Relay For Life scheduled in 2019 have changed. Always slated over a 24-hour period for past Relay events, the 2019 edition is scheduled for 9 a.m. to midnight on Saturday, April 27. Team captain meetings will resume in January.
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Golden Agers weekly dances are open to those 50 and older from throughout the Central Valley and are now hosted at St. Frances of Rome church, 2827 Topeka St., Riverbank. First time guests are admitted free. The annual membership fee is $12 and each Wednesday members pay $5 and non-members can enjoy a few hours of music and dancing for $6. The Golden Agers meet from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
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All are invited to the weekly meetings of TOPS, Take Off Pounds Sensibly, 1034 that gathers each Monday from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the United Methodist Church, 1480 Poplar Ave., Oakdale. The group features help with weight loss in a supportive setting. Residents of Oakdale, Riverbank, Escalon and beyond are welcome to attend. Call Audrey Oliver at 209-765-7838 for information. You can also visit www.tops.org.
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The local REO Speechtrain Toastmasters Club gathers for regular meetings every Wednesday morning, 6:30 a.m. to 7:45 a.m., at Perko’s Cafe, Patterson and Oakdale roads, Riverbank. This is a fun way to learn the self-confidence and skills needed for public speaking. All are invited to come and check out the group. The next meeting will be Wednesday, Dec. 26. For more information, call (209) 869-8200.
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The Grand Foundation is now accepting short film submissions for its 2019 Student Film Festival to be held March 16, 2019, at the Grand Theatre Center for the Arts in Tracy. The final deadline for film submissions is Jan. 1, 2019. Submission forms, deadline information, submission rules and guidelines, and legal releases are available on the Grand Foundation website at grandfoundation.org/events/film. All film entries can be submitted through FilmFreeway at https://filmfreeway.com/festival/GrandFoundationStudentFilmFestival.
