– Fall sports practice gets underway this week in the Annandale School District. – Certified massage therapist Toni Thorson of Wellspring Massage Therapy in Cokato will be the guest speaker at the Diabetes Support Group Cokato meeting this month. It will be held at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 19, in the Market Cafe at the Cokato Marketplace. The Buffalo group will look at "Nutrition IQ." That group meets at 6:30 p.m. in the deli eatery of Cub Foods in Buffalo. For more information, call Julie Starke, 612-508-3396. – Laurie Bartlett, RN, from Home Care Services at St. Benedict’s Senior Community- Monticello will present "Diabetes Management" from 2 to 3 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 20, at The Village, 1305 East Seventh St., on the campus of St. Benedict’s Senior Community-Monticello. This is part of a series of health care presentations for seniors at 2 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month. The presentations are free, but space is limited so call 763-295-4051 for reservations. – The Stearns History Museum will host its Historic Pub Crawl from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21. The crawl will make four stops and include tours of DB Searle’s, MC’s Dugout, the Press and the Red Carpet Night Club. There is a fee. Call Sarah, 320-253-8424, to RSVP. – The Annandale Farmers Market will be open at 8 a.m. and close at noon Saturday, Aug. 22 and 29. The market runs each Saturday until Oct. 10. It’s located near the Annandale City Hall on Cedar Street. – Tony Olivia will be one of the featured speakers at the seventh annual Expo for Seniors from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 22, at Whitney Senior Center, St. Cloud. The expo features information on health care, housing, finances, fitness and more. There is a free ball park lunch, health screenings, door prizes and music. Oliva will speak at 10 a.m. This is a free event. For more information call the Senior Linkage Line, 1-800-333-2433 or go to www.expoforseniors.com. – A Fare For All food distribution will be from 10:30 a.m. until noon on Saturday, Aug 22, at Annandale City Hall. Volunteers may help from 9 a.m. to noon. Fare For All is a monthly program that provides groceries to anyone for a reduced price. For more information contact Sandy Holthaus at 236-5604. – A benefit motorcycle ride for Shawn Roberts will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 22, leaving from Rich’s at Russell’s Bar. Roberts, Annandale, suffers from a kidney disorder. Money raised will help defray medical expenses. For more information or to donate to the silent auction call Lynda, 320-493-0560, or Jennifer, 320-249-7965, or drop off items at Howard’s Plumbing and Heating. Cash donations can be made payable to the Shawn Roberts Benefit Fund, %Star Bank, 460 Elm Street, Annandale, MN 55302. – Minnesota Pioneer Park’s 32nd annual Fiddlers Festival will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 23, at the historical park on the east side of Annandale. See the ad and the release in this Advocate for more information. – Summer story time is held at the Annandale Area Public Library on the second and fourth Tuesdays at 10 a.m. during the summer months. Story times are free and fun for all, but geared for children preschool through early elementary grades. The next story time is Tuesday, Aug. 25. – St. John’s Lutheran Church, Annandale, will host a salad luncheon from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 26, at the church on Harrison Street. The community is invited. See the ad in this Advocate. – The Wright County Area Bowling Association will hold its annual meeting and elections at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 26, at Huikko’s Bowling and Entertainment Center, Buffalo. All interested bowlers are invited. Call Jeff, 320-764-9175, for more information. – Stiftungfest will be held in Norwood Young America Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 28, 29 and 30. This is the oldest celebration in Minnesota. Many activities are planned. Watch for the ad in next week’s Advocate; also go to www.stiftungfest.org. – Americana musician Dennis Warner will perform a free concert at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 28, at the Annandale Municipal Park. This is the final concert of the summer series. – Bendix Elementary School (grades 1-4) will hold an open house from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 2, at the school. Annandale Middle School will hold an open house from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., also on Wednesday, at the school. – The Annandale Improvement Club will meet at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 3, at Reichel’s Event Center, Annandale. There will be a meeting and program. Jill Bishop and Rose Mary Nelson will present the history of the Improvement Club, and they will give the reasons why the group is still going strong after a century. Reservations for the October winery tour will be taken at this meeting. – You Can Run But You Cannot Hide International will host an open house from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 3, at the group’s office at 125 Oak Ave. N., Annandale. This is a family event. Call 274-8400 for more information. – The annual Haiti Gardens Harvest Festival Benefit will be held Sunday, Sept. 6, at the corner of Highway 55 and County Road 8 in Maple Lake. A produce sale will begin at 9 a.m. followed by lunch and a 1 p.m. program on the latest reflections on Haiti gardening and local square foot gardening challenges. Gifts of garden produce and related crafts and service are welcome. Call Connie, 963-3690, for more information. – Monday, Sept. 7, is Labor Day. – School opens in the Annandale School District on Tuesday, Sept. 8. – The Annandale School District will hold a special election from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10. The election will be to construct a preK-5 school and a second question to construct and equip athletic fields and recreation facilities. For more on the election refer to the Wednesday, July 29, Advocate story, which is available at www.annandaleadvocate.com.
List your community event in this Update. Fax it to 274-2301 or e-mail it to advocate@ lakedalelink.net.