Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis set Dec. 5 at Racine Lutheran High

RACINE — The annual Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis will be held Dec. 5 at Racine Lutheran High School, 251 Luedtke Ave. The event includes a Kid’s Race at 9 a.m. and a 5K Run/Walk at 9:30 a.m.

People may run, walk, pledge or donate to support the 1.1 million Wisconsin residents living with arthritis. This astonishing number includes both children and adults who are living with this painful and often debilitating disease. This year’s event honoree is Kristin Wollmer, a Waterford High School junior who has polyarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA).

The fee to participate is $25 for adults and $15 for children. Individual and team registration is available online at http://jbrracine.kintera.org/

People may also register the day of the event between 8 and 9 a.m.

The top overall male and female finishers in the 5K run will receive medals, as well as the top three male and female finishers in each of 20 age brackets. Every individual fundraiser has the opportunity to meet pledge-raising goals and earn prizes. There are also awards for the top pledge-raising team, the largest team, the fastest team, and the team that shows the most holiday enthusiasm at the event.

For more information, contact Emily Baseheart at (414) 321-3933, ext. 214, or by e-mail at ebaseheart@arthritis.org

Free after-school activities scheduled for Racine students

RACINE — The City of Racine Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department’s Magic Bus special game for the week of Nov. 30 is a “Turkey Tri-Fecta,” a three-point basketball shooting contest.

The “Magic Bus” is a free after-school program for elementary and middle school youth. 

A Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services vehicle staffed by department members brings special games, activities and events to the department’s five community centers. The schedule:

* Tuesdays — Cesar Chavez Community Center, 3:30-5 p.m.

* Thursdays — Humble Park Community Center, 3:15-4 p.m.; Dr. John Bryant Community Center, 4:15-5 p.m.

* Fridays — Tyler-Domer Community Center, 3:15-4 p.m.; Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Center, 4:15-5 p.m.

For more information, call Duncan Cortez at (262) 636-9568.

Love Light Tree Celebration Dec. 7 at Aurora Memorial Hospital

BURLINGTON — The 24th annual Love Light Tree Celebration at Aurora Memorial Hospital of Burlington is scheduled to take place at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 7. The ceremony takes place at the Randolph Street entrance of the hospital.

The Love Light program provides people with an opportunity to honor or remember their loved ones. The Riverport Chorus will perform and Jean Jacobson, board member of Aurora Health Care’s South Market Group and former Racine County executive, will officially light the tree.

Proceeds from the Love Light Celebration, organized by the hospital’s Volunteer Services program, will go toward the hospital’s Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program and the LifeLine program through the Aurora Visiting Nurse Association of Wisconsin. 

Proceeds also benefit the hospital’s Personal Styling Program, a volunteer program that supplies wigs free of charge to people with medical needs.

“Our Love Light celebration is one of the hospital’s cherished traditions,” said Mary Chris Lynch, volunteer supervisor, Aurora Memorial Hospital of Burlington. “We appreciate the community’s support of this event. All three of these programs have an important impact on the health and well-being of our patients and community.”

For more information or to make a donation, call Lynch at (262) 767-7101.

Polish Center hosts traditional Christmas Eve celebration Dec. 20

FRANKLIN — The Polish Center of Wisconsin, 6941 S. 68th St., will host a traditional Polish Christmas Eve celebration at 5 p.m. Dec. 20. 

Guests will learn about Polish Christmas customs and savor a family-style Wigilia meal, catered by Crocus Restaurant and served by Polish Center volunteers. The menu includes oplatek, marinated herring, vegetable salad, beet soup with dumplings, fried and baked cod, crepes, pierogi, fruit compote and assorted sweets. 

Tickets cost $20 for adults and $15 for children ages 6-15. Children ages 5 and under eat free. Reservations are required by Dec. 10 by calling (414) 529-2140.

Get special savings now on 2010 Wisconsin State Fair tickets

WEST ALLIS — Officials at Wisconsin State Fair Park are giving the gift of special savings this holiday season through an online offer featuring savings of almost 50 percent on adult admission tickets for the 2010 Wisconsin State Fair Aug. 5-15.

The public can purchase $5 adult admission tickets and save $4 off the gate price of $9 through Dec. 16 by visiting the Web at http://www.WiStateFair.com

Purchasers will have the convenient option to order print-at-home tickets and have their gift immediately. For orders placed for delivery by mail, a special gift envelope will be included with the tickets. There will be a nominal service fee for all orders. Gift-givers can also brighten up someone’s holiday or enhance their Wisconsin State Fair gift package with a gift certificate for a six-pack of cream puffs for $15, a $3 savings.

In addition to the $5 holiday ticket offer, a Grand Champion Patio Brick is available for purchase online to benefit the Wisconsin State Fair Park Youth Foundation. Giving the gift of a brick offers the opportunity to commemorate a special occasion, remember friends or family, and become a permanent part of the Grand Champion Patio at State Fair Park. Bricks can be purchased via the Wisconsin State Fair Park Youth Foundation’s Web site at http://www.wsfpfoundation.org/buy-a-brick.html

Berres leads Southeast District of Wisconsin Elks Association

RACINE — As members of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks from across the nation gathered in Portland, Ore., last summer for the order’s 145th Grand Lodge Convention, Robert W. Berres of Racine Elks Lodge No. 252 was installed as the new leader of the Southeast District of the Wisconsin Elks Association, voted on key issues facing the order, and elected its new national leaders.

Berres, of Sturtevant, will now be responsible for working with local Elks lodges to fulfill the order’s longstanding commitment to promote charity and patriotism in their communities. 

He will play a vital role in the workings of Elks-USA, with duties including the advising of lodges on important internal and business matters, reviewing how national policy is implemented by the lodges in the district, and assisting in the coordination and supervision of Elks’ activities on many levels.