NIGHT HOURS OF DANCING THROUGH THE DECADES! Choose your favourite Musical Decade and COME OUT AND DANCE while supporting the Alzheimer Society of Thunder Bay. The goal is to raise $16,000 or more! If we can get 20-30 dancers per hour raising on average $100 per dancer, we can reach our goal!

Dance For Memories Community Dance Event is very similar to a walk, run or relay event. Participants raise money by DANCING for an hour or longer. Don’t know how to dance… need to brush up on some moves? No Problem! Dance lessons, volunteer dancers and dance performances will be available throughout the day. This event is open to all who want to participate – all ages and all abilities. Do you have to have a dance partner? NO – read more at FAQ’s

For more information visit the official Dace for Memories website at: www.danceformemories.com

Take a Trip Around the World in 48 Hours! The Thunder Bay Multicultural Association will be hosting the annual Folklore Festival at the Fort William Gardens and Curling Club on Saturday April 30th (noon to 11pm) & Sunday May 1st, 2011 (noon to 7pm).

Folklore Festival is a major festival in Thunder Bay. Each year, a combination of volunteers, exhibitors, artists, food booths, and entertainers work together to make it a successful event. The Fort William Gardens is located at 901 Miles Street, Thunder Bay. Tickets are purchased the day of the event and admission cost is as follows: Adults $5.00 Seniors $3.00 (60 years of age and older) Student $3.00 (13-18 years of age or valid student card) Child $1.00.

For more information visit the Folklore Festival official website at: www.folklorefestival.ca

Both kids and parents had so much fun at Breakfast with the Easter Bunny, which took place last April 17, 2011, Sunday. Children had a sumptuous breakfast with the whole family, with their new friends and of course, the Easter Bunny. All the kids were so happy to see the Easter Bunny dance around and play with them, while participants had a great time with games, with great and exciting prizes up for grabs. The sumptuous breakfast included eggs, sausages and pancakes for everyone, paired with either fresh apple juice or orange juice for the kids and coffee or tea for the grownups. The event happened at the Moose Hall, Fort William Road Thunder Bay, with dozens of kids flocking to the venue looking to have a grand time.

This recently concluded event marked the 15^th year of the annual breakfast together with the Easter Bunny. This wonderful celebration of Easter was presented by Dougall Media in support of Thunder Bay Chapter SIDS, Wesway, Cystic Fibrosis Canada and Fort City Kinettes. It was an open to the public event that happened from 9 in the morning straight until 1 in the afternoon. Tickets were sold at all branches of Royal Bank Thunder Bay, ABC Embroidery and Promotions and from any Fort City Kinette member and were pegged at $5 per person while kids under the age of 3 were admitted for no charges, absolutely free.

The event hosted a whole lot of fun games and activities that were specially designed for the whole family to bond. The Easter Bunny was also there to play with the children and have breakfast with them. Face painting, booths, games and so much more made this Easter celebration the most exciting event at the area. Parents, bring your kids again next year at the Breakfast with the Easter Bunny event.

Come out to the Central Canada Outdoor Show to see over 100 exhibits and interactive displays relating to outdoor recreation and sports – camping, tourism, fishing, water and adventure sports, hunting, cycling etc. Seminars and demos all weekend long from February 25 – 27th, 2011. Archery and airgun ranges, fun castle for the kids, Build A Boat and photo contests and much more.

For all event details visit the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce website at: www.tb-chamber.on.ca

Event will be taking place at the Sports Dome located at 141 Northern Ave., Thunder Bay, Ontario. You can also contact Nancy Milani by phone at 807-624-2621.

February 15th is the night were cost is no longer an excuse and your Valentine’s gift to yourself ought to be hitting the slopes! February 15th, 2011 is discount ski, snowboard and tubing night at Loch Lomond Ski Area.

The cost is only $15 per person (regular night ski price is $26). Equipment rentals are also discounted that night, only $19 for a set of equipment. Must be 42″ tall for tubing. Tickets available at: – Janzen’s Pharmacy – Half-way Motors Nissan – Anttila Norwest Ceramic Tile.

All proceeds go in support of the Canadian Diabetes Association. For more information visit www.lochlomond.ca.

Consortium Aurora Borealis presents “Extravaganza Italiana: Ravishing Italian Baroque”, a concert of stunning sonorities, playful and passionate moods, pastoral themes, love, joy and adoration, and lively dance rhythms from 17th-century Italy.

Sopranos Michele DeBoer and Dawn Bailey and lutenist Lucas Harris, three exceptional guest musicians from Toronto, perform sublime sacred and secular solos and duets by “the divine” Monteverdi, “the creator of modern music”. Violinists Jennifer Bryan and Michelle Zapf-Bélanger, cellist Anthony Bacon, and harpsichordist Elizabeth Ganiatsos play string sonatas by Marini and Uccellini. Lucas Harris introduces the theorbo, an imposing-looking long-necked bass lute.

The concert takes place on Saturday, January 22 at 8:00 PM at St. Paul’s United Church, 349 Waverley Street, Thunder Bay. Admission is by donation at the door (suggested $15 adult, $10 senior! /student), and everyone is welcome. For more information please call 285-1985 or 345-5864.

Handicapped accessible: buzz for elevator at front right corner outside.

Be Inspired! On January 20th more than 400 athletes and coaches from across Ontario will gather in Thunder Bay, Ontario to compete in the 2011 Special Olympics Provincial Winter Games. Come watch these athletes perform at: – Kamview Nordic Centre (cross-country skiing & snowshoeing); – Thunder Bay Tournament Centre (speed skating & figure skating); – Fort William Curling Club (curling) – Mount Baldy (downhill skiing) Admission is free!

The 2011 Games is their chance to compete on a provincial stage, and potentially represent Ontario at the 2012 Special Olympics National Winter Games in St. Albert, Alberta. Participants will compete in the sports of Speed Skating, Curling, Snowshoeing, Alpine Skiing, Figure Skating and Nordic Skiing.

For more detailed information, visit the Special Olympics website at: www.specialolympics2011games.com

No plan’s for New Year’s yet? Want something fun and family friendly? Come celebrate New Year’s Eve at the Fort William Historical Park for an evening of family fun and frolic starting at 6pm!

The event will include plenty of food, live entertainment, sleigh rides, and fun & games for the entire family to enjoy! Don’t miss the spectacular fireworks display that will certainly amaze the young and old!!! Children’s Entertainment (fiddlers, musicians, magic and puppet theatre) Family Entertainment (blues, rock and more) Outdoor Activities (Sledding, Shinney, Snowsnake) Horse Drawn Sleigh Rides Meet Father Time Food and Refreshments on sale- snacks and hot treats Childrens’ Crafts Crazy Hat Contest – bring a crazy hat or make one at FWHP – great prizes Fabulous Fireworks Display at 10pm.

The Fort William Historical Park is located at 1350 King Road, Thunder Bay, Ontario.

If it weren’t for the help and contributions made from events such as the Empty Bowls Caring Hearts dinner, Cal Rankin thinks that Shelter House Thunder Bay wouldn’t be able to provide the services it normally makes available to the community.

In 2009, Empty Bowls raised approximately $15,000 from their fundraising dinner, with one half of the proceeds going to Shelter House and the other donated to the Thunder Bay Food Bank. Rankin, executive director of Shelter House, points out that the need for food and shelter is growing in the community, making their work crucial for the survival of less fortunate individuals

He adds that the percentage of people in need of basic necessities has risen up by 30% over last year. Because of this, Shelter House now makes around 515 meals every day, which are divided into hot meals, bagged lunches and groceries which are distributed to those in need each day.

And yet while the organization moves huge amounts of food on a daily basis, it seems it still isn’t enough for everyone—more and more people still end up on the streets hungry.

To answer this call for help, Empty Bowls will be hosting the 11^th annual Empty Bowls Caring Hearts dinner on the 17^th of October, also known as World Food Day, at the Moose Hall here in Thunder Bay at 6 in the evening.

For more information on Empty Bowls Thunder Bay, logon to http://www.emptybowlstb.com/.

Sand’n Sea in Thunder Bay has an all new, exciting swimwear inventory so be sure to stop by their location at 273 Algoma St S.

As the cold weather approaches, you may be looking at escaping it all and visiting some place warm. Or maybe you are planning a fall wedding and are travelling South for your honeymoon. Whatever the case may be, remember to keep Sand ‘n Sea in mind for all your new trendy and sexy swimwear, clothing and accessories. Sand’n Sea has something for everyone, so check them out today!