Artwork from local artists

Public viewing hours:
• Friday–Saturday 10:30 a.m.–5 p.m.
• Tuesday–Thursday 10:30 a.m.–8 p.m.
• CLOSED SUNDAYS AND MONDAYS

For Additional Information: Nancy Stein, 541-347-8256.

The Coos Historical & Maritime Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

Exhibits currently on display focus on the Coos Bay Wagon Road, coal mining, shipwrecks, the "Merci Train," and other aspects of Coos County history, along with a large exhibit of traditional and transitional Native American tools, baskets and artifacts from the Coos region.

The museum store offers more than 40 books and items for all ages which emphasize regional history. Research and the reproduction of historic photographs also is available.

An open jam for any type of music is held Sunday afternoons at Joe’s Family Diner in North Bend. Power pickers and beginners welcome, or just come to listen. For information, those interested can call 756-6090.

Bridge lessons will be offered from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. each Monday at the Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 400 Highland Ave., in Coos Bay.

Tammy Laird will start with a 20-minute lesson over a specific topic. There will be a new topic each week.

A meditation session will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday evenings. All are welcome, and instruction will be given. The weekly session will be held at 1506 Monroe Ave., North Bend. For more information, those interested can contact Monica at 756-2042.

The Friday Foreign Film series at Coos Bay Public Library is held on the second Friday of the month and is free to the public. Many of the films are not rated and parental discretion is advised. For more information, those interested can call 269-1101.

Ballroom dance lessons will be offered from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Saturdays at the Bandon Grange Farwest Hall on state Highway 42 South, just east of U.S. Highway 101. A dance follows the lessons from 8:30 to 10 p.m. Those attending can wear casual clothing, and singles and couples are welcome. No smoking or alcohol is allowed. There is no charge but donations will be accepted to support grange activities. For more information, those interested can call 756-6998 or 347-5626.

senior citizen dance of Evergreen Court invites the public to attend at 1 p.m. on the last Wednesday of each month, at Evergreen Court, on the campus of Baycrest Village, located at 451 O'Connell in North Bend. Admission is free. For more information, those interested can call 751-7669.

Grade 2 - 6

A Pre-school Story Time is held at 11 a.m. on Wednesdays, at the Reedsport Branch Library, 395 Winchester Ave.

There will be stories and crafts. No sign up is required, however children must be supervised. Kindergarten and homeschooled children also are welcome.

Independent Reading and Listening for prizes

The Flora M. Laird Memorial Library’s children’s reading and craft programs continue throughout the school year.

n Storytime, a program for preschool children, ages 3 to 5, will be held from 10:30 to 11 on Wednesdays at the library.

n Reader’s Club, a program for students in kindergarten through third grade, will meet from 3:45 to 4:30 p.m. on Wednesdays.

n Young Friends of the Library, a program for students in fourth grade through sixth grade, will meet from 3:45 to 4:30 p.m. on Thursdays.

School buses will stop at the library to drop off students after school and parents can make arrangements for students to ride the bus by contacting the Myrtle Crest Elementary School office at 572-2811.

All library programs are provided free to the community. For more information, those interested can call the library at at 572-2591.

The Lakeside Library will begin a pre-school story time for children ages newborn to 5 years old on Thursday, Jan. 3.
Story time will run from 11 to 11:45 a.m. every Thursday. Included in the fun will be learning the alphabet, shapes, numbers and colors; listening to music and stories and doing different activities. The library is located at 915 North Lake Road at the east end of the city hall building. All children must be accompanied by an adult.
For more information, those interested can call the library at 759-4432 or stop by.
The Early Literacy Program is funded by Oregon State Library’s Ready-To-Read Grant and The Friends of the Lakeside Public Library.

There are still trains in Coos County, at the Oregon Coast Historical Railroad and Logging Museum, at 766 S. First St. in Coos Bay. The museum features the 104 steam locomotive and a refurbished caboose. It is open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Organizers are in the process of doubling the inside display area and are in need of volunteers. For more information, those interested can call 756-6684.

Bingo is back for 2008 in Lakeside. It will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Saturdays, at the Lakeside Lions Hall, 890 Bowron Road. Doors will open at 5 p.m.

For more information, those interested can call David Westgate at 361-9236 or Madeline at 759-2374.

The Bandon Ministerial Association is sponsoring “The Rose of Calvary,” at Community Holy Week cantata, which focuses on the Passion of Christ.
It will be performed at 4 p.m. on Palm Sunday, March 16; and 7 p.m. on Good Friday, March 21, at the First Presbyterian Church, 592 Edison Ave. S.W., Bandon.
The 35-voice choir includes members of around eight area churches and will be accompanied by the piano and oboe.

Epiphany’s offers dancing from 7 to 9 p.m. every Thursday and Friday nights at its ballroom,

Swing dancing is offered Thursday nights. There are lessons for the first hour open dancing the rest of the night. The cost is $6 a person, and participants can bring a friend or come alone.

On Friday nights, there is open ballroom dancing. An instructor will be available. The cost is $2 a person, and participants can bring a friend or come alone.

For more information, those interested can call Brenda Sund at 756-7900.

Free
The traveling exhibition of the Spring Watercolor Society of Oregon Conference award winners will be displayed. Fourteen local artists will augment this beautiful show. Reception is Saturday, May 9 from 3 - 5 p.m.

Free
The show is traveling around Oregon displaying the award winners from the Watercolor Society of Oregon Spring Convention. There will be beautiful examples of Oregon's finest artists.

Free
The artist creates colorful paintings, fused glass decorative pieces, clocks, jewelry, assemblages and furniture with an air of sophistication, creativity and whimsy.

Saturday 7 pm
Sunday 2 pm

The Rhododendron Festival is held in Florence Oregon each year in the 3rd weekend of May.

There have been some changes to Florence since the first Rhododendron Festival of 1908.

The population has grown from fewer than 500 to more than 8,000. The streets are paved, and the Siuslaw Bridge spans the river, and computers are commonplace.

The town has enjoyed many improvements in this last decade. It has a new library, hospital, convention center and justice center.

Logging, farming and fishing are no longer the major industries. They have all but disappeared.

The annual Florence Rhododendron Parade has grown to over 100 entries and attracts over 15,000 visitors.

Each spring the wild rhododendrons bloom in the hills and fields of Florence as they have been doing for 1,000 or more years, and the white-pink flowers still represent the end of winter and the imminent arrival of summer.

Each year there is a parade and a Rhododendron Queen, and each year beautiful wild flowers of Florence echo the theme of the first Florence Rhododendron Festival, “Watch Florence Grow."

Tickets $10.00 (Includes $5.00 FREE Slot Play)

The Mom Show brings together three of the top female comedians in the country to talk about the battlefields of motherhood. Everything from being a mother and wife of over 10 years to being a brand new wife and mother. This show is selling out clubs and casinos across the country, and they are becoming the hot new show for mothers everywhere to see. The show stars:

MARY KENNEDY: Mary is not only a top touring comedienne, but an accomplished actress as well. Starting out in Boston, she has been featured in the Boston Comedy Festival, and was a finalist in the HBO Comedy Arts Festival Talent Search. She has been on numerous national commercials as well as on Comedy Central and the USA Network.

STEPHANIE BLUM: Stephanie not only draws on her own life as a mother and wife to talk about children, but she also was a school psychiatrist back in her hometown of Brooklyn, New York. Her laid back biting humor is a welcome change for women to hear that not every day is sunshine and roses trying to raise three children (including her husband).

LAURIE MCDERMOTT: Originally from Chicago, Laurie is an international touring comedian whose opinionated, feisty columns appear all over the U.S. family and parenting magazines. Most recently, Laurie published a book titled after her show and column, “The CEO of the House”.\

Tickets $19.99 (Includes $5.00 FREE Slot Play)
Starts at 7:00pm

Every Second Saturday
Ten art galleries and art related venues with new art, free hors d'oeuvres and live music.

Elizabeth Roe & Greg Anderson Piano Duo. 3:00 pm @ Calvary Assembly of God Church. 541-469-7104

Street Fair, Parade, Craft Fair,
Quilt Show, Seafood Luncheon, BBQ and much more. 469-3181

Free
Laugh Out Loud with Tom Clark, trying to be a nice guy in a not-so-nice world. Joe Klocek opens. Aces Sports Bar & Lounge, 21 and older.

Free
Activities include nature arts and crafts, kayak tours, interpretive walks and an ice cream social at the Cleawox Lake day-use area. An Oregon 150 event.

Free
Activities include a walk to the homestead of the first white settler on this site. An Oregon 150 event.

Free
A joyful display of high-fire wheel-thrown stoneware, Ali uses beautiful crystalline glazes and highfire reduction glazes to create her unique wares of useful and decorative pieces.