CCAP career exploration program

CCAP’s Learn to Earn Employment, Training, and Education Programs assist Rhode Islanders between the ages of 14 and 24 through free education, training programs, work readiness and job placement assistance. They provide a full range of services to youth enrolled in school and out of school. All enrollees are connected with a case manager to assist them in their education or employment goals throughout the program. Cash incentives and bus tickets are given to those who qualify.

Coming up is CCAP’s Learn to Earn Paid Career Exploration Program for Construction, which includes 60-hour paid construction training ($10.50 an hour), OSHA-10 certification and transportation available from Cranston High School East. Students must be 14 or 15 years of age and reside in Cranston to apply.

Classes will be held from Jan. 14 to April 9 on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3-6 p.m. To register, call CCAP’s Cranston Youth Center at 562-8325.

Winter storytimes at Hall Library

The William Hall Library will offer winter storytimes beginning the week of Jan. 13. The library will be offering Discovery Storytime on Monday mornings at 10:30 a.m. for ages 3-5, and Babies in the Hall on Thursday mornings at 10:30 a.m. for ages 0-2. No registration or tickets will be required. For more information, visit cranstonlibrary.org.

Warwick Center for the Arts

On Thursday, Jan. 23, the Warwick Center for the Arts, located at 3259 Post Road in Warwick, will host an opening reception for its Artist Member Show. The event is free and open to the public and will run from 6-7:30 p.m.

The exhibit will highlight the center’s artist members and their unique individual styles. Meet the artists and view their works in such mediums as drawing, painting, mixed media, sculpture, digital art, photography, textiles, jewelry, and more. Light refreshments will be served.

For more information, visit warwickcfa.org.

Theater program

This winter, the Cranston Parks and Recreation Department will be offering a 10-week theater program for students in grades 2-10 at all experience levels. Rehearsals will be held on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon in the Pastore Youth Center’s acting studio. Rehearsals begin Jan. 4 and run through March 15.

Rehearsals will be led by the Living Art Summer Theater teaching artists and will culminate with a performance of the musical “Cinderella” in the Hugh B. Bain Middle School Auditorium on Saturday, March 15, at 11 a.m.

The fee for this program is $115. There is a limit of 30 participants. For more information, visit the Parks and Recreation page on the city’s website, cranstonri.com, or follow the department’s page on Facebook.

Craft Bash at Artists’ Exchange

The Artists’ Exchange, 50 Rolfe Square, Cranston, invites families to take part in free Crash Bash events on the last Saturday of every month. The expressive arts can work as a tool for strengthening students’ skills in all disciplines by offering alternative ways to think about core subjects.

Craft Bash is free and open to all ages and abilities. For more information, call 490-9475 or visit artists-exchange.org.

Family health services at CCAP

Tired of ineffective yet expensive medical care? Check out Family Health Services at the Comprehensive Community Action Program. CCAP offers affordable, 24/7, professional family health and dentistry services. The experienced staff includes physicians, nurse practitioners and other health care professionals who are caring, compassionate and highly skilled. New patients are welcome. For more information, call 384-6007.

New Hope Art Gallery

The New Hope Art Gallery’s Holiday/Winter Show remains open at the Cranston Enrichment Center, located at 1070 Cranston St. The show features hundreds of pieces of artwork from a range of artists and provides a great opportunity post-holiday shopping. To learn more, visit the gallery’s Facebook page.

Pickleball schedule change

The Cranston Parks and Recreation Department is offering Pickleball at the Pastore Youth Center, located at 155 Gansett Ave. It will be held on Sundays from 4:30-7:30 p.m. through March 21. Monday and Wednesday times of noon to 2:15 p.m. will remain unchanged through the winter.

The fee is $3 per person per day. The program is open to Cranston residents and nonresidents. For more information, visit the Parks and Recreation page on the city’s website, cranstonri.com.

Cranston High School class of 1960 reunion

Cranston High School’s class of 1960 plans to hold its 60th reunion on Sept. 12, 2020, at the Cranston Country Club. The cost will be $50 per person. For more information, contact Joan Farmanian Fratterelli at 349-3922.

Toys and Tunes

Drop by Oak Lawn Branch Library, 230 Wilbur Ave., on Friday mornings from 10-11:30 a.m. this fall for Toys and Tunes, a play time program with music and stories. The program is open to ages 0-5 with a parent/caregiver. Registration is not required. For more information, visit cranstonlibrary.org.

Cookbook Club at the library

The Cranston Public Library’s Cookbook Club is a new book club for adults with a tasty twist. In this club, participants will read a different cookbook each month and come together to share the tasty recipes that lie inside their pages.

For more information or to sign up, contact Corrie at 943-9080, ext. 129, or calves@cranstonlibrary.org.

Delivery of library books

The Cranston Public Library will deliver any item that has a three-week loan period. Patrons never pay a late fee or fine because the library picks up all the materials within that three-week time frame.

Volunteers deliver books in regular or large print, as well as audiobooks, magazines, music CDs and documentary DVDs, to any homebound Cranston resident living in their own home. Due to concerns about chain of custody, the library is unable to deliver to nursing homes or assisted living facilities. To register or to become a volunteer driver, contact Karen McGrath at 781-6116 or karenmcgrath@cranstonlibrary.org.

Caregiver volunteers needed

Volunteers are being sought to provide respite services for home bound seniors. Services include providing companionship, running errands and providing transportation to medical appointments.

If you are interested in becoming an RSVP caregiver volunteer, contact Karen at 780-6159 for an interview. Volunteers must be 55 years of age or older and a BCI check is required. A mileage reimbursement is provided to cover the cost to travel.

St. David’s hall rentals

St. David’s on-the-Hill Episcopal Church, located at 200 Meshanticut Valley Parkway in Cranston, offers affordable rates to rent its upper and lower halls for events of all kinds. For more information, visit stdavidsonthehill.net/hall-rental or contact the church office Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., at 942-4368.

Did you know?

The first rooftop celebration atop One Times Square, a fireworks display, took place in 1904 and was produced by the New York Times to inaugurate its new headquarters and celebrate the renaming of Longacre Square to Times Square.

To submit your news from the community, email Meri R. Kennedy at CranstonChatter@aol.com. Photos in jpg format are accepted and news can include community events, promotions, academic news and nonprofit events. Email today and see your news in our column in the Cranston Herald. Please include a daytime telephone number in case we require any further information. Be sure to check out our website at cranstononline.com.