ORANGE CITY – Festival Latino will return to Orange City’s Windmill Park on Wednesday, May 29.

Beginning at 5 PM, the Festival will feature free arts and crafts – among them Day of the Dead masks, God’s Eyes, and Latin American flag coloring pages. Activities include a soccer challenge, bouncy castle, and face and fingernail painting as well as mural painting led by Rein and Margo Vanderhill. Andy Keller and his band will provide background Latino music. A Mexican cooking class is tentatively part of the schedule.

Mexican food will be served from 5:30 to 7 PM at a small price: $5 for adults and $3.50 for children, and Hands Around the World will display and sell fair-trade coffee from Mexico and other Latin American countries.

There will also be a piñata design contest at 6 PM; those wishing to enter this contest should bring their homemade piñata – with a string for hanging – to the Festival at 5 PM.

Luna y Sol, a mariachi band from Omaha, NE, will perform from 7 to 8 PM. One of the Midwest’s preeminent mariachi bands, Luna y Sol won ‘Best Ethnic Group’ in the Live Music category of the Omaha Entertainment Awards in 2007. Their ensemble bears the distinction of being the region’s only complete mariachi band.

Zumba will follow Luna y Sol at 8 PM; Zumba is a dance-based workout rooted in a variety of South American music and dance traditions, including salsa, merengue, belly dancing, flamenco, and mamba. This high-energy group activity provides a fun exercise for all age groups and fitness levels.

A dance, from 8:30 to 10 PM, will conclude the evening’s exciting activities. Noel Campanis will DJ.

Transportation from Sioux Center to Orange City will be provided, with a bus leaving the mall parking lot in Sioux Center (near the Pizza Ranch entrance) at 4:30, 5:00 and 5:30. Return trips to Sioux Center will depart at 8:15, 8:45, and 9:15.

Festival Latino opens Onstage Orange City, a series of free shows each Wednesday in Windmill Park, brought to you by the Orange City Arts Council. Sponsors for Festival Latino are CASA, Hands Around the World, Bar-K Cattle, Natural Food Holdings, Bird House Rentals, Center Fresh Eggs, Fareway, Western Iowa Dairy Alliance, Al & Carol Kramer and the Orange City Arts Council.

Bring lawn chairs or blankets. Rain location is the Orange City town hall.

For more information or weather-related announcements, see orangecityarts

This year The Boyden American Legion Auxiliary will not be canvassing the town of Boyden distributing poppies as in the past. This year the poppies will be available at each cemetery 20 minutes before the service begins.

The donations collected for the purchase of poppies will be used for area veterans in need.

The Boyden American Legion is asking for volunteers to help put up the Avenue of Flags on Memorial Day, May 27. Meet at the Boyden Legion Building at 6:00 a.m. if you can help.

Memorial Day Services are 8:30 a.m. Matlock Cemetery
9:00 a.m. Lutheran Cemetery (Pastor Hart)
9:30 a.m. Boyden-Sheridan Township Cemetery (Pastor Draffen)

In case of inclement weather, one joint service will be held at 9:30 a.m. in the Demco Community Center in Boyden.

Orange City Tulip Festival (file photo)

We talked to the Tulip Festival Steering Committee’s Ashley Saras, and she sounds confident there will be tulips to enjoy.

Saras highlights a few of the activities planned at this year’s Orange City Tulip Festival.

Over 100,000 visitors are expected to take in the annual festival. Again, that’s all this weekend, starting on Thursday in Orange City.

For more information, go to the new www.octulipfestival.com or call the Tulip Festival Information Booth at 712-707-4510.

Rock Valley, IA-Community Blood Bank will host a community blood drive on Tuesday, May 28 from 1:00pm to 3:00pm at Hegg Memorial Health Center. Residents will have an opportunity to donate blood, save a life and make a difference in the local blood supply. All blood types are in need.

“Just coming off the Memorial Day weekend, this blood drive will ensure that blood is available for patients in need as we enter the month of June. The summer months find many families busy taking their vacations and attending summer events.” states Ken Versteeg, Executive Director, Community Blood Bank. “This is the time of year when a critical need for blood can occur due to a drastic drop in donations and a spike in the need for blood. Please consider donating on Tuesday, May 31. A person can safely donate every 56 days.”

Donors must be at least 17 years old (16 years old with a signed parent consent form), weigh 110 lbs. or more and be in good general health. Please bring an ID with you. It is recommended that a person eat and drink plenty of fluids prior to donating blood. The donation process only takes 20 – 30 minutes on the bloodmobile.

Community Blood Bank is the sole provider of blood and blood products for 29 local hospitals including Hegg Memorial Health Center Avera Health Rock Valley. For an appointment or more information please call 476-8020. Walk-ins are always welcome.

The Bontrager Family is putting on a Gospel concert!

Saturday, June 8
7:00  p.m.
Cornerstone Baptist Church
221 3rd Street SW
Orange City, Iowa   51041

712/737-8444  Church

The Bontrager Family Singers are a family music group from eastern Iowa. The family consists of Marlin & Becky and their 10 children, ages 3-19 years. They have traveled extensively throughout the United States sharing in word and song through a unique, refreshing gospel/bluegrass style. They play a variety of instruments, which include banjo, violins, keyboard, mandolin, guitars, dobro, and bass guitar. Together they have ministered in churches, camps, prisons and many other venues.  Their one and only purpose is to glorify their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in all that they do. The Bontrager Family believes that together, families can do an incredible work for the Kingdom of God.

Summer Suites is early this year– Thursday, June 6 at 6:30p.

Beautiful gardens, wonderful sweets! The shows: Erika (Van Den Hul) Hoogeveen, violinist from Mill City Quartet of the Twin Cities; Andy Juhl & the Bluestem Players; and dueling marimbas!

Tickets will go on sale soon. Call 707-6514

So much happening. ORANGE RIND FILM FESTIVAL!

Featuring a free showing of Mark Volkers’ award-winning film, The Fourth World, August 29, and a documentary film workshop taught by Volkers in September & October.

Do you like documentary films? Reality TV? Come learn from an expert with global awards and international sales how to create a documentary film that gets attention! Fee for workshop: $40. Prize for Best of Show: $250. Honorable mention: $100.  http://orangecityarts.net/2013/04/orangerind-2013/