Time for Wassailing!

It's December and that can only mean . . . Wassailing in Richland! Come out for more fun than ever this Thursday, December 3, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. in and near the village square in Richland. There will be treats of all kinds, and music galore. On the village green, you can hear the Gull Lake Middle School Band, the Ryan Chorus, the Middle School Minors, and the High School Choir. After 6:30, groups from the Gull Lake High School Band will play at the Richland Community Library. At the Little Yellow Frame Shop and Gallery, enjoy the seasonal harmonies of the Kalamazoo Barbershop Chorus. The choir will be practicing inside First Presbyterian Church. And students from the Daisies Dance Studio will perform at the Library at 5:30 and 6 p.m.

Meanwhile, Richland merchants will be open and offering deals and treats, Santa will be at the Community Hall, the Scouts will be selling Christmas trees, the Presbyterian Church will have an alternative gift market going on, and there will be live reindeer in the park. The whole festive evening is sponsored by the Richland Area Business Association. Happy holidays!

Theatricals for tweens at the libe

Richland Community Library will bring Dr. Tom's Semi-Silent Theatre to the First Presbyterian Church (next door to the library) on Thursday, July 16, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. The show, which includes mime, comedy, European-style clowning, and other performing arts, is intended for pre-teens, but all kids who will be in third grade or higher this fall are welcome. The show is free. For more info, call teen librarian LeeAnn Martens at 269-629-9085 or check the library's website.

Fight cabin fever! We've got the cure.

Time to take off the fuzzy slippers and get OUT, everyone!

Start with a healthy dose of the blues. Jordan Lunardini is playing right down the street at the Stagecoach Barn at the Blackhawk Grill, M-89 and C Avenue, this Saturday, January 26, starting at 9 p.m.

Then head downtown to hear Combat Corduroy play Thursdays, February 7 and 14 at Rugger's Up and Under and Friday, February 8, at Harvey's on the Mall.

There are two exciting openings on Friday, February 8: First, it's the grand opening of the new Blue Water Gallery, 8860 N. 32nd Street, in the equally new Clocktower Green. Come between 5 and 9 p.m. and commune with artworks of all kinds--sculpture, jewelry, photography, ceramics, wood, fiber--by Kathy Kreager, Maryellen Hains, Gretchen Huggett, Michael Dunn, and many other great Michigan artists.

Also opening Friday, February 8, and continuing through Saturday, February 23, is Shakespeare in Hollywood at the Civic Theatre in downtown Kalamazoo. This fast-paced comedy, in which Oberon and Puck materialize on a Warner Brothers' 1934 film production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, is our chance to spot Mary Teutsch on stage again.

Wee folks in need of an outing should head for the Richland Community Library. Preschool story hour happens at 1 p.m. Tuesdays and 10:15 a.m. Fridays; toddlers love Wednesday Wigglers at 10:15 a.m. Wednesdays, of course.

And finally: Could this be the end of house concerts at Chicken House Concerts in Halifax, Nova Scotia? The concerts may go on, but Louise Hanavan's chickens must go, apparently. Check the CBC News for the latest!