TODAY
• Applebee's Flapjack Fundraiser: Applebee's, 401 Market St., 8-10 a.m., $5, proceeds benefit 10/40 Connections' Lunch Change Initiative to help children and families in Indian slums. nicole@1040connections.org.
• Catoosa County Democratic Party: Apple Pie Rally at Davis Cattle Ranch, 1240 Ooltewah-Ringgold Road, Ringgold, Ga., noon-2 p.m., free. Public invited to meet local Democratic candidates; speakers include Michael Thurmond, former labor commissioner, and Stacey Godfrey Evans, state district representative. 770-826-8644.
• Daylilies class: Ooltewah Nursery, 5829 Ooltewah-Ringgold Road, 11 a.m., free seminar by Ruby Sunday on growing daylilies, hosta, ferns.
• Gospel benefit: Catoosa Colonnade, Ringgold, Ga., 6 p.m., $5, proceeds will support Harvest Outreach Ministries of Dalton, Ga. Performers include Terry Weeks, Brett Hill, Gary Winningham, Renay Jarvis Lee and the Terry Luna Trio.
• Health fair: Bradley Square Mall, 200 Paul Huff Parkway, Cleveland, Tenn., 10 a.m.-2 p.m., free community event sponsored by 100 Black Men of Bradley County. Health screenings, voter registration, free information. 423-472-5080.
• Vann House event: Open house at circa-1800s Chief Vann House, Georgia Highway 225, three miles west of Chatsworth, Ga., 10 a.m.-4 p.m., free admission. 706-695-2598
SUNDAY
• Celebration of Hope: Coolidge Park, 3-7:30 p.m., free. Special event for single moms and their children includes music by Woodland Park Baptist Church Choir and Vince Carr, children's activities, food from 3:30-4:30 p.m. 493-0288.
• Purple Light Chattanooga: Hunter Museum of American Art, 10 Bluff View, 6 p.m., free. Candlelight ceremony for victims of pancreatic cancer and current patients. www.purplelight.org.
TUESDAY
• Candidate meet-and-greet: Eastgate Town Center, 5600 Brainerd Road, 5-7 p.m., free and visitors welcome. Brainerd Unity Group sponsors meet and greet with candidates from 5-5:45 p.m. Hamilton County Election Commission representatives give overview of current voting laws at 5:45-6:15 p.m. Forum featuring state and congressional candidates at 6:15 p.m. with Joe Lance as moderator. 509-9142.
• Catoosa County Tea Party: Boynton Voting Precinct, 4057 Boynton Drive, Ringgold, Ga., 6:30 p.m., visitors welcome. Program on Adopt-a-State plans. 706-937-3155.
WEDNESDAY
• MacDowell Music Club: Brainerd Baptist Church sanctuary, 300 Brookfield Ave., 10:30 a.m., free musical program by Susan Whitacre, Rachel Bechmann, Virginia Marion, Kim Keck, Dr. Sigrid Luther and Margaret Randolph. 280-6783
THURSDAY
• Diabetes Sisters kickoff: First Church of the Nazarene, 5455 North Terrace, 6:30 p.m., free and visitors welcome. Chattanooga Diabetes Sisters kickoff meeting for women with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, hosted by Partners & Peers for Diabetes Care. www.diabetessisters.org
OCT. 6
• Horseshoe tournament: Marcella Center for Arts and Education, 117 Washington Road, Sweetwater, Tenn., 10 a.m. registration, 11 a.m. tournament begins, bring your own partner. Entry fee $5 per person. 423-351-1060.
• Kudzu Festival: North Shore business district, more than 50 events from Friday through Oct. 7 presented by North Shore Merchants Collective. Saturday street parade along Frazier Avenue at 10 a.m., Kudzu Ball at 8 p.m. at Chattanooga Theatre Centre. www.kudzufestival.com.
• Yard sale: 6738 Hickory Brook Road, 8 a.m.-1 p.m., yard sale to benefit Richmont Community Center. 648-2423.
Susan Palmer Pierce is a reporter and columnist in the Life department. She began her journalism career as a summer employee 1972 for the News Free Press, typing bridal announcements and photo captions. She became a full-time employee in 1980, working her way up to feature writer, then special sections editor, then Lifestyle editor in 1995 until the merge of the NFP and Times in 1999. She was honored with the 2007 Chattanooga Woman of ...
