NORTH FORK – The 56th annual Mid-Sierra Loggers Jamboree Kick-Off Dinner and Dance is Saturday, Mar. 28, at the North Fork Town Hall. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., with dinner at 6, and introduction of the Queen and Little Logger contestants at 7 p.m. Dance to the music of The Freightshakers, and enjoy the barbeque for just $15. A no-host ...

OAKHURST – Mountain area residents are invited to take it easy this Friday night and let a couple of teenagers do all the dinner work. Katelyn Suderman and Jesse Villa-Martinez are hosting a Drive-Thru BBQ Tri-Tip Dinner on Friday, Mar. 27, from 4:30 to 7 p.m., in the Sierra Star parking lot on Road 426. The meal includes delicious tri-tip, ...

OAKHURST – Area author Kimberly Knight will be signing her newest romantic novel at Branches Books and Gifts in Oakhurst on Thursday, Mar. 26, from 6 – 8 p.m. at an author’s event billed as Ladies Night Out. Kimberly Knight’s newest book is Angels & Whiskey. Here’s a taste: “United States Army Captain Gabriel Hastings knew he would always follow ...

YOSEMITE – Yosemite National Park kicked off its celebration of the park’s 125th Anniversary with a ceremony at Yosemite Falls today. The theme of the event was Youth of Today: Park Stewards of Tomorrow. Approximately 500 people attended the event, 300 of whom were students from the Yosemite region and Sacramento.

FRESNO – Local educator and activist Karen Adell Scot will serve as Keynote Speaker at the Lavender Convention, set to take place on Saturday, Apr. 11 at Wesley United Methodist Church in Fresno. The Lavender Convention is an inclusive day-long event for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and allies in the community to join in the celebration of ...

AHWAHNEE – Calling all golfers and supporters of elementary education in the foothills: the PTA and kids of Coarsegold Elementary School invite duffers and others in the community to participate in the annual Cougar Classic Benefit Golf Tournament and dinner, on Saturday, Apr. 18, at Sierra Meadows Country Club. The tournament begins with a bang: “shotgun” start at 10 a.m. ...

COARSEGOLD – The popular Stage Route Tour, sponsored by the Coarsegold Historical Society, is now in its fifth year and scheduled for Saturday, Apr. 25 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Travel by bus from the Coarsegold Museum, 31899 Highway 41 near Lucky Lane, to Knowles and Raymond to visit the area of the quarry and the old railroad terminus.

COARSEGOLD – The Coarsegold Chamber of Commerce celebrates the grand opening of their new office and Visitors Center in the Historic Village on Saturday, Mar. 28, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. This will also be their annual meeting, offering the public a chance to meet the board of directors and network with local business colleagues, while enjoying some free ...

YOSEMITE – With the backdrop of spectacular Yosemite Falls, a special ceremony in Yosemite National Park will kick off its 125th anniversary celebration. Ranger Gabriel Lavan-Ying, who became an Honorary Park Ranger last summer through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, will make his first visit back to the park and will be appointed the Honorary Chairman for the park’s 125th anniversary.

OAKHURST – Branches Books and Gifts will host author Paul Henry Abram on Saturday, June 6 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. as he signs and talks about his book Trona, Bloody Trona, and some of the less expected ramifications of writing the stories he chose to tell. When his second book was published in the summer of 2013, Paul ...