LOCAL CALENDAR

Saturday Sunday Feb. 25-26

To have your event included, please submit information in writing at least one week in advance by email to recorder@ portervillerecorder.com, Attn: Community Calendar, or by fax to 784-1689. For information, call 784-5000, Ext. 1048.

ENTERTAINMENT

SATURDAY the 55th annual City

of Hope Spectacular is just around the corner, scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 25, at the Porterville Memorial Auditorium with the theme of Get Your Kicks on Route 66. Tickets are $10 per person and can be bought at Porterville Chamber of Commerce office, 93 N. Main St. Tickets will also be available at the door at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 25. imagine Community Arts Center is having a fundraiser Mardi Gras Art Auction and Dinner Dance at 5 p.m. on Feb. 25 at the Springville Veterans Memorial Building. Tickets are $35. Tickets can be purchased at Burford Frames, 39 W. Putnam Ave., in Porterville. the Porterville College Foundation 2017 Hall of Fame Reception is 6 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 25, at River Island Country Club. Rob Haynes and Virginia Gurrola are its 2017 Hall of Fame inductees. Haynes is the 2017 Athletic Hall of Fame inductee and Gurrola is the 2017 Distinguished Hall of

Fame inductee. There will be heavy hors d’oeuvres at the reception and a short program. The guest speaker for the evening will be the California State University, Fresno, Athletic Director Jim Bartko. Tickets are limited and can be purchased from a foundation board member or at the Foundation Office in AC-102 on the PC campus. Individual tickets are $30, a table of six is $160 and a table of eight is $215.

SUNDAY the Porterville Historical Museum will hold its annual Bill Horst

Lecture Series this month. The first program in the series is Sunday, Feb. 26 from 2 to 4 p.m. on the “Indian Wars of 1856.” The lecture is $5 per adults, $1 per student, and free for Friends of the Museum. Light refreshments will be served at intermission. Object appraisals will be available before the lecture at 1:30 p.m. and after the talk, as time allows. The next program on Sunday, March 12, Horst will present “Local History from 1850s to 1860s.” The lecture series concludes with a talk on “Antique Guns and Weapons” on Sunday, March 26, from 2-4 p.m. Appraisals are available at all three lectures. For more information, contact the museum at 784-2053.

SUPPORT

SATURDAY A 12-Step Workshop meets from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. each Saturday at Porterville 12-Step Recovery Club at 186 N. D St. at the corner of D and Walnut. It is open to all 12-Step groups. For more information, call 539-3814. Take Off Pounds Sensibly meets from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturdays in the Fashion Center at the Porterville Developmental Center. Weigh-in is from 9 to 9:45 a.m. For more information, call 784-9539 or 799-4291, or visit www. TOPS.ORG. SUNDAY Pills Anonymous, a support group for people who have been using pills addictively, meets each Sunday from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at The Recovery Club at 186 S. D St. in Porterville. For more information, contact Carolyn at 920-1382.

ONGOING

Porterville Historical Museum, located at 257 N. D St., is open winter hours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays. Admission is $5 for adults and $1 for students. Children age 6 and under are free. Friends of the Museum and sponsors are also free. For more information call 784-2053, go to www.portervillemuseum.org ,or visit the museum’s Facebook page.

Zalud House Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays. Admission is $2 for adults and 50 cents for children. The garden is available for special events. For more information, call 782-7548 or the Heritage Center at 791-7695.

the Porterville Art Association gallery is located at 151 N. Main St. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and admission is free. Art work is changed every two months. The gift shop features items handcrafted by members. The PAA gallery is located at 151 N. Main St. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and admission is free. For more information, call 784-4323.

porterville Art Walk is held the first Friday of each month in downtown Porterville. Ten or more venues including galleries, studios and businesses will open their art exhibitions from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Participants can meet the artists, listen to musicians and poets, and enjoy receptions and beverages. The gallery is located at 151 North Main Street; everyone is welcome and admission is free.

to start the new year, the Brandon-mitchell Gallery is hosting an art show of more than 30 mandalas made by Three Rivers artist Elsah Cort. The show will be on display through February. There will be a reception on Friday, Feb. 3. The show may also be viewed Mondays-wednesdays from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. by ringing the bell at the door. A mandala is a circular design symbolizing that life is never ending. While long embraced by some Eastern spiritual traditions, it is now also popular in Western cultures, often used as an aid to meditation or contemplation. For more information, call 625-2441 or visit www. cslvisalia.org. 'the Best of Tulare County Pastels, 2017,”

will open Jan. 20 at the Lindsay Museum and Gallery, and run through March 26. It will include work by some nationally known local artists, such as Shane Guffogg of Strathmore, Lavone Sterling and Ellen Milinich of Visalia, and Russell Frank of Camp Nelson, as well as many popular local artists from all over the county. The Lindsay Museum and Gallery is located at 165 N. Gale Hill Ave. in Lindsay. Museum hours are Friday and Sunday, noon to 4 p.m. porterville Historical Museum will be hosting a Vintage Toy Show starting Feb.4. In addition, there will be special demonstrations of how the toys work and a magic show. The demonstrations and magic shows are scheduled for Feb. 4, 11, 18, 25 and March 1, 11 and 18. Each session will include a “walk-around” with music from 10:20–10:40 a.m. and demonstrations will be followed by the magic show from 11-11:30 a.m. All the activities are covered by the standard admission fee of $5 for adults and $1 for students. Children under six years of age are free. The Museum is located at 257 N. D St. For more information call the Museum at 784-2053.

tax season has arrived

and for the 12th consecutive year, Community Services Employment Training (CSET) will be offering free tax

preparation services to residents of Tulare County. The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program will take place every Saturday from 9 a.m.-3p.m. beginning Feb. 4 through April 15 in Visalia, Tulare, Cutler and Porterville. In Porterville the tax filing assisting will be held at the Employment Connection,1063 W. Henderson Ave. The VITA program prepares federal and state tax returns at no cost to households with less than $54,000 annual income. Tax returns are filed electronically, which allows residents to receive their tax refunds in as little as 5-10 business days with direct deposit. Tax returns are prepared by Irs-certified volunteer tax preparers on a first-come, first-served basis. Individuals who are unable to visit a VITA site to file their return or those who prefer to file from the comfort of their own home may do so by visiting Myfreetaxes.com. More information regarding the VITA program including contact information, documentation requirements and helpful links is available online by visiting www.cset.org/vita or by calling 741-4640. For information on tax preparation services offered in Kings County, contact Kings United Way at 584-1536 or Kings Community Action Organization at 582-4386.