Christmas tree lighting

Cranston Mayor Allan Fung invites members of the community to attend City Hall’s annual Christmas tree lighting at 6 p.m. on Dec. 7. The BASICS Glee Club and Cranston middle and high school ensembles will provide musical entertainment, and the tree will be lit at 6:45 p.m., followed by Santa’s arrival at 6:50 p.m. There is free parking behind City Hall. Bring your camera!

Menorah lighting in Pawtuxet

The lighting of the Pawtuxet Village Menorah will be held at 7 p.m. on Dec. 9 in the Pawtuxet Park Gazebo. Please gather at 6:45 p.m. Join in afterward for hot latkes, gelt, dreidel games, and Hanukkah songs led by Rabbi Yossi Laufer of Chabad of West Bay. The event will be held rain or snow. Bring an umbrella. All are welcome.

Menorah lighting at City Hall

There will be a celebration of Hanukah with a menorah lighting at Cranston City Hall on Dec. 8 at 5 p.m. The community is welcome.

Garden Club to decorate library

Members of the Edgewood Garden Club and Friends of the William Hall Library will once again decorate the library building on Saturday, Nov. 28, beginning at 11:30 a.m.

A variety of greens and embellishments will be used to bedeck the entrances, and selected interior locations, including the main circulation area and the downstairs Program Room. The club, which has beautified the library for the holiday season for several decades, has been helped in recent years by members of the Friends, the local branch’s booster organization.

Members of the public are welcome to join in, including families. Please wear clothing and shoes appropriate for outdoor work, and work gloves are advisable. Materials and equipment will be provided.

The Edgewood Garden Club was formed in January 1933. Its current membership consists of nearly seventy women and men residing primarily in Cranston and Warwick. The club is dedicated to furthering gardening education, horticulture cultivation and promoting civic beautification and environmental stewardship in the community. It is a member of the Rhode Island Federation of Garden Clubs and National Garden Clubs. For more information about the club, visit www.edgewoodgardenclubri.org.

Historical Holiday Open Houses

The Cranston Historical Society will hold festive open houses on Dec. 6 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at both the Governor Sprague Mansion Museum on Cranston Street and the colonial Joy Homestead on Scituate Avenue. Visitors can enjoy holiday music, cookies and wassail and get into the holiday spirit by visiting the museums. Sharon Albert and Friends has provided 18th and 19th century musical selections at the Sprague Mansion for at least 20 years. Sharon is a longtime resident of Cranston. The Western Cranston Garden Club will decorate the mansion in spirited greenery in a Victorian theme.

Theater at East and West

On Dec. 4 at 7 p.m., Cranston High School East will put on a performance of “The Addams Family.” The tickets are $5 at the door. The performance will be filled with craziness, passion and fun time had by all. The play is directed by high school senior Shoshana Adler.

On Dec. 4 and Dec. 5 at 7:30 p.m., Cranston High School West will perform “Salute to Broadway: A Musical Review.” A matinee performance will also be held at 2 p.m. on Dec. 6. General admission at the door is $10 per person, and the Lt. Jim Pagano Foundation is supporting this endeavor. Proceeds will benefit the Cranston West Theater Department.

Oaklawn Grange Tree Lighting

Come join the Oaklawn Grange for their annual Christmas tree lighting at 6 p.m. on Dec. 10. Santa arrives at 6:30 p.m. at the gazebo followed by horse-drawn hayrides provided by New Deal Farms, BASICS Glee Club, balloon creations by Anthony Marrapese, activities and refreshments. Please bring canned goods to be donated to the food bank.

Pawtuxet Village horse-drawn carriage rides

Pawtuxet Village horse-drawn carriage rides will take place on Dec. 5 and will offer carriage rides through the village every half hour from noon to 3 p.m.

The rides will leave from the parking lot behind Cork & Brew at 2200 Broad St. Ticket prices are $3 for children ages four to 12, $5 for children 13 and older, and $15 for a family of four or five (parents and children only). There is no charge for children three and under. Rides with Santa will be held at noon, 12:30 and 1 p.m. The last carriage ride leaves at 3 p.m.

To ensure a spot on the carriage ride, advance reservations are strongly advised. Tickets will be sold at Twice Told Tales, located at 2145 Broad St. Be sure to arrive at least 10 minutes before the scheduled ride. Dress for the weather and if need be, bring a blanket.

‘Happy Feet’ seeking donations

Garden City Elementary School’s sixth-grade class is participating in the project “Happy Feet for the Homeless,” which is a drive to collect socks for homeless men, women and children. Donations can be dropped off at Garden City School or at Retro Fitness from now until Dec. 4. Crossroads Family Shelter on Broad Street in Providence will be the recipient of these donations.

Sprague Mansion seeking volunteers

The Cranston Historical Society is seeking volunteers to help at the Sprague Mansion with fall leaf-raking from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Nov. 28. They have leaf bags kindly donated by Home Depot in Johnston. Last fall, they raked 130 bags. There will be hot chocolate and some snacks served. Volunteers are asked to bring their favorite rake! Call 401-944-9226 to volunteer.

Motta accepted into Alpha Sigma Nu

Alpha Sigma Nu, the Jesuit Honor Society founded in 1915, inducted 28 Holy Cross students on Oct. 25. The new inductees exemplify the Society’s values of excellence in scholarship, loyalty and service. Membership is only awarded to 4 percent of student applicants chosen from Jesuit institutions of higher learning who rank in the top 15 percent of their class. Congratulations to Gabriella E. Motta of Cranston, who is majoring in biology.

Carlin Testa of Cranston was among 48 first-year students at Keene State University who received a President’s Scholarship this year. This renewable merit scholarship is awarded annually to incoming freshmen who exhibit academic excellence with a high school GPA of 3.0 or higher and SAT scores of more than 1,800. Fulltime in-state students receive $3,500 annually, and fulltime out-of-state students receive an annual award of $8,000.

6th annual MS Holiday Bazaar

The sixth annual MS Holiday Bazaar to support the National Multiple Sclerosis Society will be held on Dec. 5 at the Scottish Rites Masonic Center, located at 2115 Broad St. in Cranston, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Last year’s bazaar attracted more than 300 shoppers and featured 35 vendors selling holiday gifts, jewelry, baskets, baby clothes, greeting cards, gourmet foods, artwork, and more. The event is free and open to the public, and holiday shoppers are encouraged to attend with their gift lists.

Proceeds help fund programs and services for people with MS. To find out more about the bazaar, contact chapter programs and advocacy manager Meredith Sheehan at Meredith.Sheehan@nmss.org.

Holiday Festival

Don’t miss Edgewood Congregational Church’s Festival on Dec. 5 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Breakfast with Santa will be held from 9 a.m. and 10 a.m., and there will be face painting, performing artists, and children’s activities. Vendors will be providing many types of items to purchase, including a variety of arts, crafts, gifts, collectibles, food items, greens, jewelry, ornaments, fudge, raffles, and more. For more information or to make a reservation for Breakfast with Santa, call 401-461-1344 or email office@edgewoodchurchri.org or patkohler1@hotmail.com. Vendor inquiries are welcome.

Congressional interns being sought

Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI) is accepting applications for interns in his Rhode Island and Washington, D.C., offices for the spring 2016 semester. This unpaid program is open to civic-minded college students who are available for at least 10 hours per week. A qualified candidate will be well organized, responsible and dependable, and have strong oral and written communication skills.

Responsibilities include answering phone calls, drafting constituent correspondence and supporting staff members on various projects. College credit is available, if approved by the institution.

For more information, visit langevin.house.gov and click on the Internships prompt under “Serving You” on the homepage.

Cranston Senior Guild

The Cranston Senior Guild’s annual Holiday Party will be held at West Valley Inn, 4 Blossom St. in West Warwick, at noon on Wednesday, Dec. 2. The cost of the lunch is $21, which includes soup, salad, pasta, entree and dessert. Following the lunch there will be entertainment and a raffle. Men and women 55-plus are welcome to join the Senior Guild. Reservations for the lunch must be made by Nov. 20. For more information, call Natalie at 401-615-9483.

Candlelight Stroll

Please mark your calendars for the 15th annual North Scituate Village Candlelight Stroll, to be held Friday, Dec. 4 and Saturday, Dec. 5. Step back in time and embrace the spirit of the season, as well as a wealth of holiday offerings and festivities, at your local shops. Enjoy Victorian carolers, trolley rides, a live nativity, children’s activities, and a visit from the Snow Queen on Friday evening. Saturday features breakfast with Santa, and of course, more shopping. In addition to the many holiday treasures to be found in the village shops, there will also be unique crafters’ wares at the North Scituate Community House, as well as local church bazaars to peruse.

Did you know?

TV dinners have Thanksgiving to thank. In 1953, someone at Swanson misjudged the number of frozen turkeys the company would sell that Thanksgiving – by 26 tons! Some industrious soul came up with a brilliant plan: Why not slice up the meat and repackage with some trimmings on the side? Thus, the first TV dinner was born. (Source: Thanksgiving Fun Facts)

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