Imagination Station to host free Virtual Girl Power! celebration

        What can a girl do with STEM? (You know, science, technology, engineering and math.)
        She could build a website, discover a new planet or design a video game. She could build a better airplane or create a new nail polish color. A girl can do anything with STEM.
        Join Imagination Station for Girl Power! – presented by Toledo Edison and the FirstEnergy Foundation – an event that will inspire girls to follow their dreams and consider becoming the next generation of engineers, inventors and pioneers.
        This year, the annual event will look a little different. Instead of one day, the science center has expanded it to a week-long, virtual event, March 14-20. Girls in grades 3-8 will get access to interviews with local female STEM professionals who will share their journeys as shining examples that anything is possible with hard work and dedication. Attendees also have the opportunity to purchase kits that come with supplies for several hands-on activities that reinforce the science principles behind each highlighted career.
        Girl Power! will culminate on Saturday, March 20 with a live conversation with the second woman to ever coach in the NFL and the first openly gay coach in the league, Katie Sowers.
        With a master’s in kinesiology, Sowers just completed her fourth season in the NFL and her second as an offensive assistant with the San Francisco 49ers. While her NFL career began with the Atlanta Falcons, football is in her blood. She has competed at the highest level of women’s tackle football, playing in the WFA (Women’s Football Alliance) for eight years and being selected as a member of the United States Women’s National Football Team in 2013. Her journey has not gone unnoticed. She is listed as one of the 100 Most Influential Women in Sport by Sport360 and won the 2019 Rising Star Award from The Sports Power Brunch: Celebrating the Most Powerful Women in Sports.  She was also Outsports’ 2017 Female Hero of the Year and named to the Bleacher Report Power 50. In addition, she has been featured in several publications and magazines, such as ESPN, USA Today, NFL.com, Forbes and Outsports.
        Girl Power! is free with registration and activity kits are available to purchase for $20. Participants can register for the full week or just the keynote speech. Links to all of the digital content, including March 20th’s keynote address, will be sent to the email provided at registration.
        Visit imaginationstationtoledo.org/girl-power to secure a spot.
 
Spend a day at the shelter
        The Wood County Humane Society invites the community get a glimpse of a day in the life of a shelter animal with its upcoming fundraiser on Saturday, Feb. 27.
        The fundraiser will take place virtually on Facebook Live and will be co-hosted by Fundraising Chair Melissa Rahal-Hall and Board President Heath A. Diehl. Hall will spend the day hanging out in the kennels with dogs that are available for adoption; Diehl will be located in the cat rooms with adoptable felines.
        The event will run from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. The organization hopes to raise $3,000 from the one-day event.
        Shelter staff will go live every hour on the hour. The broadcasts will provide viewers information about shelter operations, as well as upcoming events like the Annual Garage Sale and Reverse Raffle. Shelter staff also will provide additional information about the impending temporary closure of the shelter for the installation of new HVAC systems, happening from mid-March to early May.
        Live broadcasts with the co-hosts will happen on the half-hour. During these broadcasts, the co-hosts will be subjected to a variety of fun challenges that have been suggested by shelter staff and by viewers who tune in for the event. Challenges may include eating cat/dog food, rolling around in catnip, being walked on a leash, and other activities in which shelter dogs and cats regularly engage. Challenges will be selected randomly by the spin of a virtual enrichment wheel and are dependent upon donations.
        Prizes will also be given to select viewers throughout the day. For every $5 donated, individuals will be entered once into a drawing for gift cards to local retailers in Wood County, as well as cat- and dog-themed items like coloring books, mugs, puzzles, and more.
        To stay up-to-date with what’s happening at WCHS, follow the organization on Facebook (wchsohio) or visit its website (wchumane.org).
        Located in Bowling Green, Wood County Humane Society is a private, non-profit, managed admission shelter providing care for homeless and abused or neglected pets. The organization receives no funding from national humane organizations for daily operations, instead relying on earned revenue and the generosity of individual donors and businesses to fund programs such as Humane Investigations, Safe Pets, food assistance programs, low-cost spay/neuter opportunities, and educational presentations.
        The WCHS provides care for over a thousand animals each year—from dogs and cats, to the occasional pocket pet or farm animal. All animals admitted into the adoption program are housed and cared for as long as it takes to find their adoptive home.
 
“Dynamic Balance Through Dance”
        The Wood County Committee on Aging, Inc. (WCCOA) will hold a Dynamic Balance Through Dance movement class virtually via Zoom on Wednesdays, March 3 to April 7 at 6:30 p.m.
        The cost of the six-week class, taught by Certified Instructor Tammy Starr, is $15.
        Participants will work on range of motion, strength, balance and functional movement – and have fun. Participants may sit or stand during the class. Proper shoes are recommended for safety. No equipment or prior experience is needed for participation in this class.
        Register by calling the WCCOA Programs Department at 419-353-5661 or 1-800-367-493 or email programs@wccoa.net. Payment and waiver may be mailed or dropped off to the Wood County Senior Center, 305 North Main St., Bowling Green, OH 43402.
        For information on WCCOA programs and services visit www.wccoa.net.
 
Dinner to benefit Humane Society
        The Que Barbeque & Brew, 3975 East Harbor Rd., Port Clinton is hosting a drive-thru chicken dinner to benefit the Humane Society of Ottawa County on Tuesday, March 9 from 4-7 pm.
        Dinner is $10 and includes a chicken leg quarter, baked beans, baked potato salad and cornbread. Dinners must be pre-ordered by March 5.
        To order a dinner, call the Humane Society of Ottawa County at 419-734-5191. Payment may be made by credit card or PayPal.
 
Meet mystery author Hanna Dennison
        The Wood County District Public Library’s Live Online! Meet the Author series will present Hannah Dennison, author of mystery novels such as the Honeychurch Hall Mysteries, the Vicky Hill Mysteries, and her newest novel, “Death at High Tide,” the first book in the new Island Sisters Mysteries series.
        The event, which is free to the public, will be held Wednesday, March 10 at 11 a.m. Email woodref@wcdpl.org or call 419-352-5050 to reserve a spot and for information on how to join the call.
        Library patrons can check out Dennison’s books at the library or using the WCDPL Overdrive Collection and Hoopla app.
        Dennison has been an obituary reporter, antiques dealer, private jet flight attendant, and Hollywood story analyst. As an avid mystery fan, she taught a mystery writing workshop at the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program in Los Angeles.
 
Indoor Garage Sales
        Indoor Garage Sales are set for March 18-20 in downtown Pemberville.
        Hours are 9 a.m.-4 p.m. all three days in Riverbank Antique Market and The Gathering Place, located next to Beeker’s General Store. Beeker’s will also host a spring pop-up craft market at The Gathering Place. Masks and social distancing will be observed at all venues.
        Booth spaces are available for rent. For more info, call Beeker’s at 419-287-3274.
        Food will be available from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Proceeds from food sales benefit the Pemberville-Freedom Area Historical Society.
       
Congressional Art Competition
        Ohio Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH5) announced a call for entries for The Congressional Art Competition. Guidelines for the 2021 competition include:
        Each student is allowed one entry.                
        Eligible artwork includes the following:
        • Paintings – oil, acrylics, watercolor, etc.;
        • Drawings – pastels, colored pencil, pencil, charcoal, ink, markers;
        • Collages – must be two-dimensional;
        • Prints – lithographs, silkscreen, block prints;
        • Mixed Media – use of more than two mediums such as pencil, ink, etc.;
        • Computer-Generated Art;
        • Photography.
        All entries must meet the following criteria:
        • Submissions must be two dimensional.
        • If selected as the winning piece, submission must arrive in Washington, D.C., framed.
        • The submission must be no larger than 26 inches high, 26 inches wide, and 4 inches deep, including the frame. It also must have a wire attached to the back suitable for hanging on a wall.
        • The submission must not weigh more than 15 pounds.
• The submission must be original in concept, design, and execution and may not violate any U.S. copyright laws.
        Entries must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, March 31 and will be received by digital submission only.  Students may email their submissions to OH05.Art@mail.house.gov. Artwork should be submitted as a high-resolution JPEG or PDF.
        It is recommended that charcoal and pastel drawings be fixed. Work entered must be in the original medium; that is, not a scanned reproduction of a painting or drawing. Framing rules apply only to the winning artwork.
        For more information, visit www.house.gov/educators-and-students/congressional-art-competition.
 
Discover NW Ohio history
        What was the life of a soldier like during the War of 1812?
        Join the Wood County District Public Library and Fort Meigs Historical Site for “A Soldier’s Life: An Online Presentation” on Wednesday, March 24 at 11 a.m. to experience the life of an 1800s soldier.
        John Thompson, Manager of Historic Programming at Fort Meigs, will be dressed in historical uniform, and will share artifacts, maps, and prints of a day in the life of a soldier in the War of 1812.
        The presentation, presented via Zoom, will include timelines and maps detailing the origin and outcome of the war and how it affected the development of Ohio and the United States.
        “In this program, we’ll discuss everything from the uniform and equipment to the general background of the soldiers serving at Fort Meigs and the area’s crucial role in the War of 1812,” Thompson said. “We’ll also pay special attention to Col. E.D. Wood, engineer of Fort Meigs and namesake of Wood County.
        “This program will be a great way to learn more about the war’s aftermath and subsequent effect on Northwest Ohio,” he said.
        Registration is required. To register, email woodref@wcdpl.org or call 419-352-5050.
        For more info, visit wcdpl.org.
 
Washington, D.C. trip
        The East Toledo Senior Center, with the help of Diamond Tours, will host a trip to Washington, D.C. Sept. 10-14.
        The cost will be $605 per person, based on double occupancy. The price includes transportation via luxury motorcoach, four nights lodging, four breakfasts and dinners, tours of the WWII Memorial, Capitol Hill, Embassy Row, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the Smithsonian, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial and more. Admission to George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate and garden, admission to the Museum of the Bible and a tram ride through Arlington National Cemetery are also included.
        A $75 per person deposit is required by Monday, May 3 to reserve a spot. Checks may be mailed to the ETSC, 1001 White St., Toledo OH 43605 or call 419-691-2254 to pay with a credit card by phone.
 
Program to provide art experience for youth
        The Toledo Museum of Art (TMA) was recently awarded $126,000 from ProMedica through the Greater Toledo Community Foundation in support of its Art Out of School program.
        Over a period of two years, TMA will partner with key organizations located in the Junction neighborhood to serve youth that live and learn in that community. The ProMedica Junction Neighborhood Fund was announced in January to support critical reinvestment in central Toledo’s Junction neighborhood.
        “Through this grant, the Toledo Museum of Art is able to expand vital access to arts programming for youth in our community,” said Adam Levine, the Museum’s Edward Drummond and Florence Scott Libbey director and CEO. “TMA is committed to activating our outreach efforts beyond the Museum campus, and this partnership exemplifies what we are able to do together for our neighborhoods.”
        Confirmed site partners for the Art Out of School program include the Frederick Douglass Community Association, Toledo Lucas County Public Library’s Mott Branch and the Tabernacle Church/Art Tatum Zone.
        Research shows a positive relationship between participation in after-school arts programs and outcomes such as participants’ test scores, school attendance and graduation rates.
        Every week, youth from kindergarten to high school in the Junction neighborhood will be invited to participate in art-making, art appreciation and art mentorship at three Junction sites, as well as visits to the museum. These art experiences are hallmarks of Ohio’s New Learning Standards in the Visual Arts.
       The Junction neighborhood Art Out of School initiative is a direct expansion of TMA’s longstanding Art After School offerings, which currently welcome nearly 1,000 youth to the museum annually for after-school art experiences.