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Community Calendar

• The Twin City Amateur Astronomers are holding a public viewing session at the Sugar Grove Observatory near Funks Grove on Saturday, March 20 at 7:30 PM. All ages are welcome to attend. A short lecture preceeds the viewing session. Admission is free. In the event of a cloudy sky, the viewing session will be cancelled.
• Luthy Botanical Garden in Peoria presents the anual Lily Show, March 19 - April 11 in the Garden Conservatory. A variety of lillies, tropicals and spring plants will be shown. Children 12 and under get in free.
• Community Players in Bloomington is holding auditions for their production of The Producers on Sunday - Tuesday, March 14 - 16 at 7 PM at the theatre on Robinhood Lane in Bloomington. An accompanist will be provided. Please come prepared with a song and sheet music -- and tap shoes if you have them. Also at Community Players it's Stephen Sondheim at 80: An Appreciation of Broadway's Greatest Composer on Sunday, March 21 at 1 PM. Sondheim scholar Robert McLaughlin leads the presentation. Admission is free.
• The Normal Public Library is holding game days for adults on the first Friday of each month starting at 1:30 PM. You can bring you own game to the event or play one of the games provided. Admission is free. Also, the library is offering a pair of lectures. On Sunday, March 28, teacher Kelly Keogh discusses Conflict and Refugees at 2 PM. And on April 17 IWU professor Olukayode Ajayi discusses Soccer and the Developing World, also at 2 PM. The lectures are free and occur in the Community Room.
• The Ecology Action Center is holding its 5th annual Affordable Fashion Challenge in conjunction with the Illinois Sustainable and Living Wellness Expo on April 10th at 2 PM in the IWU SHirk Center. Participants are welcome to submit entries in the apparel, accessories or interior design categories.
• The Peoria Public Library presents The Big Read, this year featuring F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.
• The McLean County Genealogical Society persents "The Irish in Illinois," a lecture on Tuesday, March 16 at 7 PM in the McLean County Museum of History in Bloomington.
• Bloomington Public Library presents Folklorist Margaret Read MacDonald's Storytime on Thursday, April 29 at 7 PM in the library's Community Room
• Biologist Tyrone Hayes is giving a pair of lectures on the negative effects of herbicides on Thursday, March 18, the first at noon in Schroeder Hall Annex 238 and the other at 7 PM in the Bone Student Center Brown Ballroom on the ISU campus in Normal.
• The 52nd Annual Illinois Mennonite Relief Sale is March 19 & 20 at the Interstate Center in Bloomington.
• Illinios State University presents the Academy of Seniors and Mornings with the Professors, two adult enrichment programs that feature classes in ragtime music, healthy aging, the miracle of spinach and more.
• The Forest Park Nature Center in Peoria Heights is holding a kite making workshop on Saturday, March 27 at 1 PM. The event is open to adults and to children ages 6 to 12. Preregistration is required.
• The McLean County Museum of History in Bloomington is featuring the new exhibit "Stevenson House Treasures," commenorating the 110th anniversary of the birth of Adlai Ewing Stevenson II. The special exhbiit features family heirlooms and more.
• The Milner Library Lecture Series in 2010 features a variety of speakers through spring. Michael Cart on March 22; LaVerne Council on March 31; Frank Warren on April 7; Janice Harrington on April 13; Ed Begley, Jr. on April 14 and Scott Carlson on May 4.
• The Eagles Club is holding a series of three flea markets in 2010 in order to raise money for various local charities. The flea markets are Jan. 17, Feb. 21 and March 21 from noon to 4 PM at the lodge on Main Street in Bloomington.
• The Relay for Life of McLean County is looking for teams of up to 15 people to join in the 16th annual 24-hour Relay event at Normal Community West High School June 25 & 26, 2010.
• The Forest Park Nature Center in Peoria Heights is hosting two "Leafless Tree I.D." sessions, March 6 & 13. The session is open to ages 14 and up.
• Carl's Pro Band in Bloomington is featuring a series of masterclasses with well-known local musicians during 2010. David Hoffman is featured on March 6 and Keith Zimmerman on May 8. The classes are limited to twenty persons. Pre-registration is required.
• The Glorious Garden Festival hosted by the David Davis Mansion in Bloomington is June 18 & 19, 2010. There are self-guided tours through spectacular private gardens. Proceeds benefit the David Davis Mansion State Historic Site.

• When you recycle your aluminum cans and scrap metal at Morris Tick in Bloomington, you can ask them to apply the proceeds to the Sugar Grove Nature Center account. Also, Morris Tick will donate an additional 5 cents per pound over base price for aluminum cans to the Narture Center. Types of metals accepted include aluminum, brass, copper, stainless steel, lead, radiators, appliances and even automobiles. 309-828-6084
• The Central Illinois Chapter of the Muscular Dystrophy Association offers a variety of services, from support groups, to wheelchair or leg braces purchases to summer camp for kids.

• The Ecology Action Center has a new CFL recycling program. County residents may recycle compact flourescent lamps at four different locations: Facilities Management parking lot, Town of Normal; City of Bloomington Public Service Drop Off Facility behind Bloomington Public Library; Springfield Electric, Bloomington; Ecology Action Center, Normal. 309-454-3169
• Air travel is a big part of making kids' wishes come true for the Make-a-Wish Foundation.  You can help special children continue to travel by donating you frequent flier miles at 1-800-722-9474 or at http://www.wish.org/
• If you're facing a home foreclosure, you should know that help may be available.  Foreclosure Help and Hope offers advice for struggling homeowners.
• Habitat for Humanity is looking for volunteers for their continuing hurricane recovery efforts all along the Gulf Coast.
• Chestnut Health Center hosts meetings of Debtors Anonymous on the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month at 6 PM.  309-820-3500
• Narconon offers free addition counseling, assessments and referrals to rehabilitation centers nationwide.  1-800-486-6933