Recently in Desert Category

Riverside Department of Mental Health is hosting a meeting to get community input about mental health prevention and intervention strategies from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 25 at Family Service Association at James A. Venable Community Center, 50390 Carmen Ave. in Cabazon. 951-922-1097.

A Claremont-based adult community concert band is accepting applications from young wind and percussion musicians ages 14 to 20 for their scholarship program.

The Claremont Winds is allowing contestants to audition by submitting a compact disc (CD) or a digital music file (mp3). Finalists will be invited to live auditions. First place winner will receive $800, second place gets $200 and third place $100. The first place winner will also play a solo with the band at their spring concert in May.

To be eligible, contestants must be in high school or in their first year of college. They also need to be a member of the band or orchestra in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino or Riverside counties. Applications with audition recordings must be postmarked or e-mailed by December 1, 2008. Auditions will be held January 10-11, 2009. Winners will be announced in early February.

For more information, go to www.claremontwinds.org.

The Republican Club meeting is set from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Palm Desert Greens Country Club, 73450 Country Club Drive. The club meets on the third Saturday of each month. 760-341-3702.

Applications for the 21st Annual Music Center Spotlight Awards by the Music Center of Los Angeles County are available to Southern California high school student performers, artists and photographers.

The awards program, which offers training in the arts and scholarships to finalists, is free and open to students who attend high school in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties.

Students audition before judges in categories including ballet, non-classical dance, classical voice, non-classical voice, classical instrumental, and jazz instrumental.
Twelve performance finalists will compete at the 21st Annual Music Center Spotlight Awards set for May 2, 2009 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Downtown Los Angeles.
Grand prize finalists will receive $5,000 and $4,000, honorable mentions will receive $250 and semi-finalists receive $100.

The Performing Arts application deadline is Oct. 1 and the Visual Arts applications are due by Dec. 1.

Applications and information are available at musiccenter.org or by calling 213-972-3300.

The Desert Chapter of ACLU presents Palm Springs City Council Member Ginny Foat to talk about Proposition 8 from 1 to 3 p.m. Sept. 21 at the Joselyn Senior Center, 73-750 Catalina Way in Palm Desert. 760-345-6293, 760-568-3437.

Apple Valley, CA. The Happy Trails Children's Foundation has announced the Happy Trails Breakfast Club, a special fund raising event to benefit the abused children served by the foundation. This special event will commemorate the lives and careers of legendary cowboy stars Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, the King of the Cowboys and Queen of the West.

The Breakfast Club will provide an opportunity for Roy and Dale's fans, Western film fans, and especially fans of old B-Westerns to come together in an informal way to enjoy a breakfast buffet, meet a special celebrity guest, enjoy live music in the tradition of the Sons of the Pioneers, and see a Roy Rogers double feature on the big screen. There will be a live auction of collectibles and memorabilia, a question and answer session, and much more. This is a great opportunity to turn back the clock to those thrilling days of our youth when we sat in a dark theater and watched Roy and Trigger bring truth, justice, music, romance, comedy and action to the Wild West as they galloped across the silver screen. This was entertainment for the entire family at its very best!

Our special celebrity guest will be stuntman/character actor Neil Summers. Neil has appeared in countless movies and TV Shows for more than 40 years, including 5 movies with John Wayne. Outspoken, opinionated and direct, Neil has been one of our most popular celebrity guests at the Roy Rogers Film Festival. He has been blown up, shot, knifed, struck by a rattlesnake, beat up, fallen down stairs, off balconies, and off more horses than he can count, all for the camera. Neil is still active in Hollywood and he has many exciting and fun stories to share with us.

Musical guests will be the Tumbling Tumbleweeds, a group of young men who were a big hit at the inaugural edition of the Breakfast Club this past February. There will be other special guests present including Dale Park as Gabby.

The Happy Trails Breakfast Club will be held 9 a.m. Saturday, September 13, at the Ambassador Hotel in Victorville, located at the Palmdale Road exit on I-15. The cost is $29 per person with a 10% discount for Happy Trails Trailblazer Club members. You do not have to be a member of the Trailblazer Club or any other organization to attend. All are welcome. Reservations are required so that the cooks will know how much breakfast to make. We invite you to come in costume, western or casual dress. For reservations, tickets, or more information, please call the Happy Trails Children's Foundation, (760) 240-3330. If you do not get an answer, please leave your name, phone number and a brief message and your call will be returned. We accept American Express, Discover, MasterCard and VISA. The Ambassador Hotel is offering a special room rate for Breakfast Club guests. For reservations, please call (760) 245-6565.

This is an event you do not want to miss. Tell your family, friends and neighbors and bring your kids and grandkids to this wholesome family event. Call today.

Happy Trails Children's Foundation is a charitable non-profit organization. All donations are fully tax deductible under the Internal Revenue Code, Section 501 (c)(3).

-- Joel Dortch
Executive Director

Special to The Press-Enterprise

DJ Scott Ellsworth will be playing Big Band music at 7 p.m. Sept. 23 in the community room of Rancho Mirarge Library, 71-100 Highway 111. 760-341-7323.

A memorial ceremony for 9/11 is set for noon Sept. 11 at the Palm Springs Air Museum, 745 N. Gene Autry Trail. 760-778-6262.

The Compassionate Friends, a support group for adults who have suffered the death of a child, meeting is set from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Hospice of Morongo Basin, 61675 29 Palms Highway in Joshua Tree. 760-366-1308.

The Desert Symphony has moved into a larger office just in time for the 20th Anniversary Celebration Series, showcasing performers with the Desert Cities' premier pops and classical orchestra at the McCallum Theatre.
The new office is located at 72925 Fred Waring Drive, Suite 101, diagonally across the street from the McCallum Theatre. Information: 760-773-5988, www.desertsymphony.org

A class on understanding problem gambling is set from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday at the UC Riverside Palm Desert Graduate Center, 75-080 Frank Sinatra Drive. $95 per person. Information about the class: www.extension.ucr.edu, 951-827-5804cq. To register: 951-827-4105.

The Agua Caliente Cultural Museum presents a new season of educational and cultural events in September.
The museum kicks off its new season with a celebration of Native American Day, declared by the state of California as the fourth Friday of September.
Performances from dancers, singers and storytellers are set for Sept. 25 at VillageFest in downtown Palm Springs at the intersection of Palm Canyon Drive and Tahquitz Canyon Way. For Sept. 26 and 27 only, the museum will feature the Ramona Basket exhibit.
For a complete list of exhibitions and events at the museum, call 760-778-1079 or visit www.accmuseum.org.

The second annual Palm Desert Adult/Junior Open is set for Sept. 21 at the Desert Willow Golf Resort.
Presented by the Palm Desert Youth Committee, the event will benefit the Joslyn Senior Center's Meals on Wheels program.
The event allows adult golfers to team up with their younger counterparts in a two-person best ball format. Teams will be divided into four divisions based on the junior member's age.
The tournament begins at 1 p.m. A junior skills challenge is underway at 10:30 a.m. and a barbecue lunch is set for 11 a.m.
Entry fee is $130 per team, including lunch and golf. Register by Sept. 14. Information: 760-346-7060x107, www.desertwillow.com.

A blood drive is set from 1 to 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 29 at the Smoke Tree Branch of Canyon National Bank, 1711 E. Palm Canyon Drive. Each donor will receive a coupon for a pint of Baskin Robbins ice cream, a beach bat and coz and a discount coupon for Knott's Soak City Water Park. 760-969-4648.

Coffee with Yucca Valley Major Robert Leone is from 7 to 8 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 2 at the Yucca Valley Community Center, 57090 29 Palms Highway. 760-365-6323cq.

A family day at the Living Free Animal Sanctuary is set from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday Sept. 13 at the sanctuary, 54250 Keen Camp Road in Mountain Center. There will be live music, face-painting, food and lots of animals. 951-659-4687.

A fundraiser for Soroptimist International of Palm Springs is set for 6 p.m. Saturday Oct. 25 at the Hyatt Grand Champions Resort in Indian Wells, 44-600 Indian Wells Lane. Tickets are $135 per person, including dinner and wine. 760-200-0704, 760-534-1081.

PALM DESERT - Incight's southern California office in Palm Desert has announced the names of the local winners of the 2008/2009 College Scholarships. $750 Incight Scholarships have been awarded to the following students: Sandra Baroni, Cathedral City; Hillary Campbell, Chino Hills; Thomas Circle, Valley Center; Megan Clancy, Dana Point; Susan Crane, Anza; Shavone Flores, Hesperia; Anthony Franco, Inglewood; Francisco Hernandez, Palm Desert; and Victoria Sanders, Rialto.

Incight's mission is to support disabled youth to successfully complete high school and post high school education and become gainfully employed. Only 16% of America's disabled adults graduate from college, only 24% is employed and 29% live in poverty. Besides scholarships, Incight provides direct support to disabled youth and their families, connects with local employers for job mentoring, job shadowing and employment opportunities.

For more information about Incight, contact Jim Rothblatt at 760-674-2473, e-mail Jim at jim@incight.org, or visit the website at www.incight.org.

--Jim Rothblatt