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Send community events to news@orangeleader.com at least two weeks in advance. Events may be added to the Events Calendar at orangeleader.com

Getting Better Grief Group

Best Hospice Care of Texas hosts Getting Better Grief Group Orange every Thursday from 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. from April 8-May 27, 2021 at Orange Train Depot located at 1210 West Green Ave in Orange or via Zoom. Register with Zoom in advance at https://bit.ly/2XSGiL2 Licensed Professional Counselor Chuck Olliff will lead the group. For more information call 409-813-1116 or email chuck@chuckolliff.com

Ultimate Easter Weekend

Fruit City is Back is hosting The Ultimate Easter Weekend on April 4, 2021 at Navy Park in Orange. An egg hunt for ages 3-11 will be held from 2:30 p.m. – 4 p.m. The family event will include prizes, fun jumps and snocones. No venders will be present. To donate to the event, CASHAPP: $FruitCityIsBack For more information visit their Facebook page.

Book signing

A book signing for Cindy Wade Idiom’s book, Nannie’s Hands, will be held from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Wednesday, April 7 at The Garden District, located at 7536 State Hwy 87 N in Orange. The book is available on Amazon. Idiom is a 1970 graduate of Little Cypress. We are looking forward for everyone to come and wish this hometown girl the best.

Parenting Class

In order to keep our clients and volunteers safe, we will be doing our upcoming Parenting class on Saturday, April 10 via ZOOM.

This will be an all-day class 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.

If you have someone that needs to register, they can go to www.wellsofagape.org

Under the classes and services tab click on Parenting class. There will be instructions there as well as a link for them to click on to register.

Once they register, we will send them information on what they will need to do prior to the date of the class.

Spring Things Craft Fair

Over 40 vendors with items ranging from wood crafts to beauty products and everything in between will be at Spring Things Craft Fair from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 3 at Harmony Baptist Church located at 4685 Hwy 12 in Vidor.  Lifeshare blood drive, Spirit Stables, blood pressure screenings and more!

Prom Dress Giveaway

Gate City Guild #42 is giving away 80 prom dresses. To qualify, one must be a senior and show school ID. This is open to Southeast Texas High School seniors only. Dresses are brand new. To set up a time on April 3 to select a dress, call Benitris Edwards at 409-330-6730.

Kindergarten Roundup for Little Cypress Elementary

Kindergarten Roundup for Little Cypress Elementary is coming up in April. It is a two-part process. Parents can pick up registration packets from April 5 to April 9 between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m.

We hope to provide more individualized attention when registering the children by dividing the Round-Up into smaller groups. On Tuesday, April 13 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., we will register incoming students with last names beginning with letters A-M. Thursday, April 15, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., we will register incoming students with last names beginning with letters N-Z.

Registration will be held in the school cafeteria, so please park in the lot behind the school. If you have a conflict with the day scheduled for your child’s last name, please let the school staff know when you pick up your packet so they will expect you at the other registration event.

If you have questions, please call the school after spring break (March 15-19) at 409.883.2838.

CASA Classic Golf Tournament

CASA Classic Golf Tournament benefitting the programs of CASA of the Sabine Neches Region is from 7 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Friday, April 9, 2021 at Wildwood Golf Course. Four person Scramble, $300 per team, $100 Hole Sponsor. Register at casanr.org for more information call 409-886-2272

Fishing Tournament Vendor applications available

BASS Masters Elite Fishing Tournament will be here April 8-11, 2021. Are you interested in being a Vendor for the event? Or do you know someone that would want to be? We would love to have you! Call the chamber today to secure your spot! 883-3536

Free Concerts

As part of Bassmaster Fishing Tournament, the Orange County River Festival and The Greater Orange Area Chamber of Commerce present free concerts April 8 – April 10 at the Orange Boat Ramp. Thursday, April 8 at 7 p.m. is Joey Greer. Friday at 7 p.m. is New Orleans Bag of Donuts. Britt Godwin is performing at 6 p.m. and Neal McCoy hits the stage at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 10.

Art in the Park and Orange Riverfront Car Show

Orange Convention and Visitors Bureau is hosting Art in the Park and the Orange Riverfront Car Show at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 10 at Stark Park located at 201 7^th Street in Orange.

Bloomin’ Crazy Plant

Our annual Bloomin’ Crazy Plant sale will be held Saturday, April 10 from 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. at Cormier Park, 8235 FM 1442 in Orangefield between the railroad tracks and the Catholic Church. We will have a large variety of plants along with several vendors to enhance your gardening experience. Masks will be required to enter the pavilion. Temperatures will be taken prior to entrance. Tickets will be given out on a first come basis and the number of people allowed in at a time will be limited to properly social distance. For more information, please email ocmg1990@gmail.com

 Sign ups for Cowboy Church Pro Rodeo Kids Events

Cowboy Church Pro Rodeo 2021 will have Mutton Bustin’ (5 yrs and under), Calf Scramble (12 yrs and under) and Sheep Scramble (6 yrs and under), and kids will need to get to the rodeo grounds a little early the night “of,” to get signed up. The Hometown Barrels events will be: Pee Wee Barrels (9 yrs and under), Junior Barrels (15 yrs and under), and Open Barrels. Sign-up for these will be by phone, and participants must call Shane Young at 409-988-3637 on Tuesday, April 13 between 6-9 p.m. to get signed up.

An Evening with The Quebe Sisters

Shine your boots, kick up your heels for A Western Swing Spring: An Evening with The Quebe Sisters at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Saturday, April 17 at the Lutcher Theater parking lot! Tickets are available at Lutcher.org The outdoor event will include live music, dance floor and food trucks.

Bimonthly meeting of Friends of the Orange Depot

The board of directors meeting for the Friends of the Orange Depot will be held on Thursday, April 8, 5:30 p.m., at the depot.  Plans will be cemented for the annual fundraiser, Depot Day, to be held on the grounds on Saturday, May 1.  We encourage interested volunteers to attend the meeting.

Depot Day activities will include, petting zoo, train rides, pony rides, balloon expert, musical entertainment, plus tours of the inside of the depot to see the changes that have been made in the past year.  Entry is free, with small fees for rides.  A number of Orange area vendors will be set up inside the depot as well. We are still open for sponsors for this year’s event, so if you are interested, please contact Rose at 409-330-1576.  She is also the contact for special events in this very popular historic space.

Free Electronic Filing Tax Services

Jackson Community Center will be offering Free Tax Assistance through Lamar University Community Tax Center.  Fast refund and electronic filing are available to eligible families and individuals earning up to $57,000.

Date and time:  Thru April 15, 2021.  Open Monday thru Friday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.  and every other Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 520 W. Decatur Ave in Orange, Texas, by appointments only.

To schedule an appointment and for additional information please contact Elizabeth Campbell, Program Manager at (409) 779-1981 or email jccorange@gmail.com

A&M AgriLife Extension Office Programs

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Office has some upcoming programs in April:

April 13, 20, and 27:  Intro to Beekeeping:  The topics that will be covered in this series are Equipment, Personal Protective Gear, Hive Products, and Basic Biology & Starting Concerns.  The cost for the whole series is $25 if paid prior to the class and $30 if paid at the door.  This will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the AgriLife Extension Office on FM 1442 in Orange. Please reserve your spot by April 10 by calling the Extension Office at 409-882-7010.

April 17:  Cooking Class for Adults with Rocky:  Have fun while cooking healthy recipes.  You will be preparing a 3-course meal, have mystery box ingredients, and door prizes.  Your instructor will be Rocky Bridges and will be held at 10 a.m.  The cost of this class is $25 per person due by April 9. This will also be held at the AgriLife Extension office on FM 1442 in Orange.  Call 409-882-7010 to sign-up for the class.  Class size is limited.