Weekend Events

Golf benefit — The Howell Elks Lodge hosts a two-person, nine-hole golf scramble at 3 p.m. at Chemung Hills Golf Club and Banquet Center, 3125 Golf Club Road in Oceola Township. Cost is $25 per person and includes golf, skins, two beverages and after-play entrance to the beer tent at Howell Elks Lodge 2168, 2823 E. Grand River Ave. in Genoa Township. Proceeds benefit the families of local soldiers. Call (517) 546-4941 for more details. Theater auditions — Community Theatre of Howell holds auditions for its fall musical, "White Christmas." A recommended dance workshop is open for those auditioning at 6:30 p.m. Vocal, dance and reading auditions start at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at Maria's School of Dance, 1205 E. Grand River Ave. in Fowlerville. For scripts and other information, call Linda Peasley at (517) 294-0738. Howell Elks beer tent — The unofficial Balloonfest beer tent opens at 5 p.m. at Howell Elks Lodge 2168, 2830 E. Grand River Ave. in Genoa Township. Highlights include a Texas Hold 'em tournament at 7 p.m., music by Dougie G. and the Sanctuary Blues Band from 6-8 p.m. and music by Paradise Band from 8 p.m. to midnight. Saturday, the tent opens at 5 p.m. and features Billy Mack & The Juke Joint Johnnies performing from 6-8 p.m. and New Fossils & the Heat performing from 8 p.m. to midnight. Admission to the tent is $5. Parking is free. Proceeds from this year's event will benefit the Michigan Army National Guard 1462nd Transportation Company in Howell. Call (517) 546-4941 for more information. Music — Spirit Jam, an acoustic music jam, happens from 7-11 p.m. at Holy Spirit Roman Catholic Church, 9565 Musch Road in Green Oak Township. Genres include but aren't limited to bluegrass, country, old-time rock, folk, sing-along, praise, worship, gospel, and patriotic. The jam is free, and coffee and tea are provided. Donations are accepted. Call (248) 446-3284. Pet adoptions — Livingston County Animal Control is partnering with Pet Supplies Plus of Brighton for a special cat and kitten adoption event from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Animal Control, 418 S. Highlander Way in Howell. Visitors can enjoy refreshments. Pet Supplies Plus is providing a 16-pound bag of dry cat food and two cans of cat food for those adopting an adult cat. The shelter is continuing its special adoption rates for cats and kittens. Cats are $90 and kittens younger than 4 months old are $80. A second feline can be adopted for $1. All felines have been spayed or neutered, microchipped, vaccinated and tested for diseases. Call (517) 546-2154 for more information. Benefit ride — A motorcycle poker run to benefit the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease) Association starts and ends at Harrison's Motorcycle Service, 391 Washington St. in Brighton. Registration is from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., with the last bike returning at 4 p.m. Cost is $15 for single riders and $20 for riders with a passenger. The event includes complimentary coffee and bagels. Door prizes and gift certificates will be awarded after the run. The run is being held in memory of John Lonskey, a Michigan motorcyclist who lost his life to Lou Gehrig's disease in 2010. Call (810) 844-2055 for more details. Cardboard regatta — The Rotary Club of Hartland will hold its inaugural cardboard regatta from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Lake Walden at Waldenwoods Resort and Conference Center, 2975 N. Old U.S. 23 in Hartland Township. Teams of participants ages 10 and older will design and build boats using corrugated cardboard, held together with Liquid Nails and duct tape, waterproofed with paint and varnish, and then decorated as desired. The boats will be powered by a team consisting of one to 10 members with paddles or oars. All race participants must wear life jackets and attend a safety briefing on race day. Rescue boats will be on the course to assist boaters as needed. The event will include contests for boat beauty, most spectacular sinking and a pirate destruction derby. Quick-build information is available. Cost to participate in the regatta is $50 plus a $25 refundable cleanup fee. Registration forms are available at www.hartlandrotary.org . Families can enjoy water activities at the beach. There will be a display of cars from the Livingston A's Model A club. The event will also feature a food tent, silent auction, bounce house and vendor tables. Spectator admission is $5 for adults and $3 for seniors. Children are admitted free with a paying adult. Maximum per carload is $20. The rain date is Sunday. Call (810) 632-4808 for more information.

This week's sporkful: Karaoke

My main thought is that it kind of doesn't matter whether you sing well or not--you just need to own the song. This should involve you liking the song. My first karaoke experience was not great because I could not find any good songs. The book we were looking at was listed by song titles, and that's a horrible way to try and find something. Having done this a few times since, I now know that there was quite possibly another book there with them listed by artist, but I ended up just settling on "There is a Light that Never Goes Out" which is my favorite Smiths song (for what that's worth), but I feel like the meter is a little weird, and it's not very melodic. I have done "Vindicated" which is also Dashboard Confessional, and it was not horrible, but it was not great. I tend to gravitate toward male singers because my voice is low, but somehow when I am singing louder, my voice starts getting higher, so what works when I am singing to myself may not work when I am singing to people. The last time I went, I kind of surprised myself by singing "Never Forget You" by the Noisettes, and it worked. Someone sang Cee-Lo Greene's (well, really Gwyneth Paltrow's version) "Forget You", and it put me in mind of the song, and I just felt like I could go for it, and it worked out. On the other hand, the time before that was at Galaxy, and man, they take it seriously there. Everyone seemed to have a really good voice, or choreography, or boundless energy. The DJ was great, and you could hear some good stuff, but it was also a bit intimidating, and I wouldn't go there as a first-timer. I did sing, but I felt kind of lame. The crowd was supportive, but that’s typical. Ultimately, I don't know that I am really a musical performer. I do stand-up every now and then, and I like entertaining people with words, but I tend to be better at appreciating music than doing it. And yet, I really like to sing. And it feels better when you sing loud, and karaoke is a chance to do that where it is totally socially acceptable. I will sometimes sing at the bus stop when there is nothing around but speeding cars, or walking down the road, but most of the time there is someone around, and singing loud makes you a bit of a fruitcake. In karaoke, this is endorsed.

Bowker's Directory of Videocassettes for Children 1999

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