Monroe Lake will celebrate National Public Lands Day on Saturday, Sep. 22. Admission is free that day for all visitors to both Paynetown and Fairfax SRAs.

Monroe Lake’s interpretive staff is also offering three public programs on Sep. 22 at Paynetown SRA. Bring a towel or yoga mat to kick off your day at 9:30 a.m. with a 30-minute session of nature yoga for families at the playground next to the Campground gate.

You can construct a “bug hotel” to provide comfortable winter accommodations for beneficial insects like solitary bees, ladybugs, and lacewings during a 3 p.m. workshop at the Activity Center Amphitheater. The workshop fee is $5 and space is limited to 12 participants. You can reserve a workshop spot in advance at http://bit.ly/bughotel2018.

At 8 p.m., you can finish off your day with a fun game of Track Twister at the Activity Center Amphitheater.

Monroe Lake’s naturalist staff suggest filling the remainder of the day with short hikes on Paynetown’s three trails, a picnic lunch, and a canoe or kayak rental. You can also stop by the Activity Center between 1 and 5 p.m. to make a craft, have fun in the kids’ corner, visit the snakes, play a nature-themed board game, or work on a puzzle.

Questions about the activities on Sep. 22 should be directed to 812-837-9967 or [email protected].

Sip and Shop Boutique and Vendor Fair will feature vendors that include LulaRoe, Monat, Alayna’s Candy Kitchen, Shine Designs, Mary Kay, Agnes & Dora, Photo Folk, Ateliers, Lit, Skirt & Satchel, and more.

Harmony School invites the community to our 37th Annual Harmony School Extravaganza on Saturday, September 22nd, 2018 from 12 – 4pm at Harmony School located at 909 E. 2nd St, Bloomington IN 47401.

The Extravaganza is Harmony’s annual community celebration offering plenty of exciting things to see and do for people of all ages! If the weather isn’t great, we’ll move all activities inside the school. There’s sure to be something for everyone, and it is open to the public, so invite your friends and neighbors! The event features: carnival booths and games, continuous live entertainment from local musicians and artists, a silent auction, local food vendors, and a haunted house. Funds raised from this event support much-needed scholarships for children in our community.

For information on the event or being an event sponsor please visit www.harmonyschool.org/extravaganza or contact [email protected] or 812-334-8349 ext. 215.

Many of us have a tendency to be excessively self-critical, full of self-doubt and lacking in confidence. Our relationships, our work, and our ability to realize our full potential in life are affected by these debilitating thoughts. Through meditation practice and Buddha’s practical advice, we can begin to loosen the grip and power of our “inner critic”. Eventually, we can completely let go of our self-judgment and experience real inner freedom, confidence and joy.
This half-day course consists of two hour-long sessions which include guided meditations, teachings on the topic and time for questions and answers. Enjoy light refreshments and tea on the break between sessions.
Everyone is welcome.

The inaugural WCLS FEST will be Saturday, September 22 at Waldron Hill Buskirk Park (Third Street Park). The Fest will feature a variety of diverse, genre-spanning local music, dance groups, performance artists, life-size games, beer/wine garden and food trucks. Visit with, and learn more about, the local businesses that are partnering with us to bring you the fest. They will have giveaways and offer special discounts available only at the Fest.

Live music performances by: 8-Track Mind, Soul Stricken, Hoosier Darling, StraightDavis, and Mallets & Skins.

Performing Artists: Hula Hoop dance by Amie Crites (Flows with Love & Speak to your Soul), 4OVER Local Hip Hop Dance Team and Motion Arts Dance Academy.

For more information, check out the WCLS FEST Event page on Facebook at: WCLS Classic Hits 97.7.

Join us for a celebration of harvest during the final Cork & Fork event of the season. Watch for grape stomp details, and bring your dancing shoes, too. With Toy Factory on stage, it’s sure to be a party at Creekbend Vineyard.

Kade Puckett, AKA Pickin’ Puckett, is a songwriter and a fingerstyle guitarist with 30 years of experience playing music. A third-generation picker with a dedicated love of music, his musical mastery allows for the innovative meeting of sound and emotion. Spontaneous, magical, laughable, and honest, his live performance is both engaging and entertaining. Puckett also holds the 2013 Indiana Fingerstyle Contest title. His musical repertoire includes jazz, rock, country, blues, and funk.

This original musical comedy “Platinum Girls” wows audiences of all ages and is Golden Ticket Productions most popular show.

The musical is great fun and offers a funny twist on some popular music. This musical comedy tells a story of three women – Elaine, Doris and Ruby Lee. The best of friends in High School, they entered a songwriting contest and won. One hit song defined their friendship and now, forty years later, their claim to fame is less than ideal. Let’s hope their stars will align for them once again as they prepare for the comeback concert of their lives. Hopefully overcoming their biggest obstacle, themselves.

Platinum Girls The Musical has everyone laughing and dancing in the aisles on this musical journey of fame and friendship. All age show

Directed by Russell Moss

Never has the phrase “he shoots, he scores” been more applicable than when introducing rabid hockey fan and chart-topping singer/songwriter John Ondrasik. The Los Angeles native, who goes by Five for Fighting (a five-minute penalty for on-the-ice fist-a-cuffs), burst on the scene some 15 years ago with his Grammy Award-nominated hit “Superman (It’s Not Easy),” and has been a mainstay on mainstream radio ever since. While he doesn’t wear tights and fight crime as his breakthrough track “Superman” suggests, his songs could bring any maniacal villain to their knees (and tears) with his poignantly sharp lyrics that cut deeper than a Ginsu knife.

Ondrasik signed his first record deal in 1997 with Message For Albert, but it was his follow-up album American Town that really took flight. The aforementioned “Superman (It’s Not Easy)” went Platinum (as did the album) and was #1 on the Adult Top 40 chart. The song actually hit the airwaves and reached #1 the same week his daughter Olivia was born. Adding more fuel to the emotional fire, the mega-hit served as sort of an unofficial anthem following the 9/11 attacks on American soil. Naturally, he performed it at The Concert For New York City.

In his career, Ondrasik has sold over 2.5 million albums including 2004’s Battle for Everything, which spawned the 2X platinum “100 Years,” a song that continues to melt hearts and provide all ages with an instant case of nostalgia. Other hits have included “The Riddle,” “World,” “Chances,” and “What If.” His music has been featured in 350 films, TV shows, and advertisements, ranging from the The Blind Side to Hawaii Five-O. He has also written tunes for everyone from Josh Groban to The Backstreet Boys.

Yet, there’s more to Ondrasik than the music and it’s far more important to him and countless others. “Music is the great healer as well as being a unique vehicle in raising awareness and funds for important causes,” he explains. Ondrasik has given away a million copies of a five-volume compilation album (featuring himself and other artists) he created for United States troops. He has also performed regularly for the USO.

Additionally, www.whatkindofworlddoyouwant.com was created off of his song “World,” in which fans uploaded videos showing their interpretations of a better world. That initiative raised more than $250,000 for five designated charities: Augie’s Quest, Autism Speaks, Fisher House Foundation, Save the Children, and Operation Homefront.

Ondrasik has been a featured speaker from TED Talks to the Salk Institute. He’s also presented at various private and corporate events, graced The Kennedy Center stage, performed for world leaders and presidents, and contributed a special performance for NASA to commemorate the conclusion of the Space Shuttle Mission.

When not writing killer tunes, Ondrasik is putting pen to paper for his other passion: sports. The avid Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings fan has been a sports commentator for the Kings and outlets such as SI.com, as well as a guest on everything from Jim Rome to ESPN SportsCenter, where he was the first musical act to appear and perform.

“I recognize the immature shallowness of the adult sports fan obsession, but I’ve always had it. Lakers as a kid, UCLA, Kings etc. … Many folks use music as their escape, I imagine sports as mine. Writing is a kick as I’ve always had a fantasy to be a sports reporter/writer,” he says gleefully.

All the while he’s making new music. Ondrasik’s “What If” hit the Hot AC charts and was chosen by Sir Richard Branson as the theme song for his non-profit Virgin Unite. And his most recent song “All for One” was penned for the 100th episode of Hawaii Five-O. Ondrasik is currently working on the follow-up to his sixth album, Bookmarks.

Looking ahead while looking back, the one-man Fighting army, said, “I have been blessed to have loving and supportive parents, an amazing wife and partner, and two great kids. Family is crucial to any career, keeps the ups and downs, down and up.”

John Ondrasik, as Five for Fighting, will perform with a string quartet at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater.

Comedy legends Steve Martin and Martin Short will make their way to IU Auditorium with their show An Evening You Will Forget For The Rest Of Your Life on Saturday, September 22. In this special performance presented by 35 Concerts, Martin and Short will present new material in a variety of musical sketches and conversations on their iconic careers, most memorable encounters, and of course, their legendary lives in show-business and stand-up.

Martin and Short will also be joined on stage by the Grammy Award-winning bluegrass band The Steep Canyon Rangers and renowned jazz pianist and Jimmy Kimmel Live band member Jeff Babko.