Margaritas Anyone? Come join the fun for our July Ladies’ Fun Night. We will meet at the mexican restaurant El Jimador (corner of Centre and Shaver next to LODOs). We can't wait to see you all there!

Please RSVP by Tuesday, July 8th to Barbara Welke- bjmusf8880@aol.com

For Ladies Fun night in August we are planning to go bowling at Airway Lanes...more information will follow.

Moms & Tots is a playgroup for women and their children to get together to enjoy the fun activities Kalamazoo has to offer. It’s also a good chance for moms to socialize and children to play together. It meets twice a month. Times will vary.

Thursday, July 10th, 12:00-1:00PM

Lunch and Learn Explore with Dora Schrier Park- W. Osterhout Ave. Portage, MI 49024

Come go on a scavenger hunt with Dora as your guide. Guests will have to follow the map to find the items that Swiper the Fox hid in the park. Lunch and learn is a free, casual one-hour session.

Thursday, July 17th, 10:00AM

Full Blast Water Park Battle Creek

Get ready for some fun in the sun! Here is the website that will give you all the information for the water park, including directions - http://www.fullblast.org/jsps/directions.jsp. The price is $7.00 for Flashflood and $12.00 for Superblast. Two and under are free. There are concessions if you are interested in eating at the park. We will meet at 10:00 outside the entrance of the park. Please RSVP to Bobbi Jo at bjdonley@yahoo.com or 231.631.0291 by July 16th.

Thursday, July 24th, 12:00-1:00PM

Lunch and Learn Safety Day Millennium Park (on Romence across from Ritters)

Join in for an interactive session with a Portage police officer and fireman, a paramedic and the American Red Cross as they discuss the best ways to stay safe. Safety vehicles will be on hand for you to see and explore, provided they are not out on an emergency.

Wednesday, July 30th, 10:00AM

Meijer Gardens 1000 East Beltline NE Grand Rapids, MI 49525 www.meijergardens.org

Lena Meijer Children’s Garden is a family-friendly garden for kids of all ages— a place to have fun together learning about plants, animals and sculpture. The ten highly interactive themed areas include the Kid-Sense Garden, Great Lakes Garden, Story-Telling Garden, Wooded Wetlands, Rock Quarry, Log Cabin, Tree House Village, Sculpture Walk, Labyrinth and Butterfly Maze. We need 10 or more people (ages 3 and up) to get the group rate of $3 per person (children 2 and under are free). We will meet at the main entrance to the gardens @ 10:00. Please RSVP to tlreeves99@sbcglobal.net by July 23rd.

Lunch and Learn: Arts and Crafts Day Millennium Park (on Romence across from Ritters)

Let the artist in you shine as Millennium Park is transformed into a mini art show. Create a craft of your choosing and take it home with you. Free event.

Thursday, August 14th 11:00 AM

Ramona Park @ 11:00 8601 Sprinkle Road Portage, MI 49024

Join us for a relaxing day at the beach. Pack a picnic and your sunscreen and let’s enjoy the last of summer! Cost $5 per car for City of Portage residents, $10 for non-city residents

Thursday, August 21st, 12:00-1:00PM

Lunch and Learn: Peter Rabbit Millennium Park (on Romence across from Ritters)

Peter Rabbit is stopping by to meet and greet all of his friends in Portage after story time and other fun activities. After story time be sure to take your picture with Peter Rabbit! (Please note that sometimes their characters get stuck at the airport (this happened last year with Clifford).

Wednesday, August 27th, 10:00AM

Binder Park Zoo 7400 Division Dr. Battle Creek, MI 49014 www.binderparkzoo.org

Binder Park Zoo is located off exit 100 on Interstate 94. It’s well signed from there. Let’s meet at the Kiosk before the entrance to the zoo. Please RSVP to Bobbi Jo at bjdonley@yahoo.com or 231.631.0291 by Tuesday, August 26th.

There will be no bookclub in July

Book Club will meet on Thursday, August 7th. The book is Marley and Me by John Grogan. Grogan, a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer, and his wife, Jenny, were newly married and living in West Palm Beach when they decided that owning a dog would give them a foretaste of the parenthood they anticipated. Marley was a sweet, affectionate puppy who grew into a lovably naughty, hyperactive dog. With a light touch, the author details how Marley was kicked out of obedience school after humiliating his instructor (whom Grogan calls Miss Dominatrix) and swallowed an 18-karat solid gold necklace (Grogan describes his gross but hilarious "recovery operation"). With the arrival of children in the family, Marley became so incorrigible that Jenny, stressed out by a new baby, ordered her husband to get rid of him; she eventually recovered her equilibrium and relented. Grogan's chronicle of the adventures parents and children (eventually three) enjoyed with the overly energetic but endearing dog is delivered with great humor.

Book Club will meet on Saturday, September 6th A field trip to the Michigan Renaissance Festive in Holly, Michigan. We’re tentatively planning on leaving around 9:30 and being back by 6:00. We will be discussing the book Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett on the drive to the festival. Feel free to come to this event even if you choose not to read the book.

Book Club will meet on Thursday, October 2nd at 7:00 p.m. at the Full City Café located at 7878 Oakland Drive (near Centre St.) in Portage. The book is Mao’s Last Dancer by Li Cunxin. From a desperately poor village in northeast China, at age eleven, Li Cunxin was chosen by Madame Mao's cultural delegates to be taken from his rural home and brought to Beijing, where he would study ballet. In 1979, the young dancer arrived in Texas as part of a cultural exchange, only to fall in love with America-and with an American woman. Two years later, through a series of events worthy of the most exciting cloak-and-dagger fiction, he defected to the United States, where he quickly became known as one of the greatest ballet dancers in the world. This is his story, told in his own inimitable voice. I have this book (one of my favorites,) let me know if you want to borrow it.

Saturday, July 26th 8:00PM

Join us for a fun time at a Shakespeare in the Park play, As You Like It, at Celery Flats. Tickets are $13 and need to be purchased through https://www.stagetix.com/secureboxoffice/pessigninplease.asp Let's meet for dinner at a location near Celery Flats at 6:00, location TBD. You will probably want to purchase your tickets a month in advance. You don't want to miss this event, we have been twice and it is hilarious and a lot of fun!

Please RSVP by June 20 to Betsey at keithbetsey@charter.net and we can try to coordinate our seats so we all sit together.

August 16th, 7:00PM

Let's meet for supper, live music and drinks at Bell's Brewery Beer Garden. Please RSVP by August 1 to Betsey at keithbetsey@charter.net

Couple's Family event: Saturday, July 12th 7:00PM

Kalamazoo Outrage Mayors Riverfront Park 251 Mills St. Kalamazoo, MI 49048 http://www.kalamazoooutrage.com/index.php

Bring your family and come join us for family fun while watching a Kalamazoo Outrage soccer game. Admissions is $2

This event is open to singles, couples, or families! Please RSVP to Betsey at keithbetsey@charter.net