Community Events Calendar

The Marion County Commissioners meet in public session every Tuesday and Thursday (minus holidays) in their chambers at the Marion County Building in downtown Marion. The meetings start at 9:00 am and the public is encouraged to attend.

Note: Meetings may be cancelled or moved for various reasons. This posting is for the regularly scheduled meeting only and may not reflect those changes.

The Marion County Athletic Boosters Association (MCABA) Bingo is held every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday evening at 1701 Marion-Bucyrus Road (State Route 4). Doors open at 4:30 pm and the Early Birds start at 6:30 pm.

Proceeds benefit all five Marion County public high school athletic booster clubs.

For more information, you can call 740-383-6102.

Applications for Marion Community Foundation’s 2013 Grants Program are now available to all area not-for-profit agencies and organizations. More than $725,000 in grant funds will be available this year.

To assist in the application process, an information session for potential grantees will be offered June 21, 2013 beginning at 10:00 a.m. in the Foundation’s conference room.  The session will include a detailed outline of the grant process and a description of the priorities the Grants Committee will use to select recipients.

You can learn more about the grants available by clicking here.

Applications, which will be due July 26, are available at the Foundation’s offices, 504 S. State St., or online at marioncommunityfoundation.org.  Award decisions will be made by the Grants Committee and Board of Trustees by late August.

Marion Community Foundation is located at 504 S. State St, inside the historic Stengel-True Museum. Office hours are weekdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.  The staff  may be reached by calling 387-9704.

The Marion County Children Services board will meet on June 21, 2013, at 12 noon at Marion County Children Services, 1680 Marion-Waldo Road.

The Marion County Children Services Board meets every 3rd Friday of the month unless otherwise posted. The meetings are held at their facility, 1680 Marion-Waldo Road, at noon.

The public is encouraged to attend. For more information, call 740-389-2317.

The Downtown Marion Market runs nearly every Friday through October 11, 2013 from 4:00pm to 7:00pm each night. While vendors vary with the week and season, those stopping by can find radishes, lettuce, pies, donuts, honey, homemade noodles, fry pies, vegetable bedding plants, flowers, lawn furniture, statuary, and more.

Vendors will set up on the sidewalks of West Center Street starting at North Main Street.

Organizers will still take signups for vendor space, and anyone interested can contact Herr at 740-382-2181 or via e-mail at herr.karen@gmail.com.

The sixth annual Baguette Run – a first step against domestic violence – is being held June 22, 2013 and will begin at the Panera Bread Café on Route 95, Marion, at 8:00 am.  The event is to raise funds for victims of domestic violence and their families.  All the money raised during this event will be exclusively donated to Turing Point.

Participants are invited to enter either into the 5K run or to walk the course which will pass through the University Heights area south of Panera Bread.  The entry fee for both the run and the walk is $25 by June 15th and $30 after that date.

Participants can enter online at www.signmeup.com/90203. Registration forms can also be picked up at either Turning Point or Panera Cafe.

The entry fee includes an official event t-shirt (guaranteed to the first 100 entrants), post-race refreshments provided by Panera and a chance to win great prizes. This is a chip timed event with awards presented to the top over-all three men and women, as well as to the top three men and women finishers in 12 age groups.

You don’t have to be an athlete to participate in this event.  Volunteers are needed to work the race, donations of door prizes are welcomed and monetary sponsorships are still being accepted.

For more information regarding the Baguette Run, contact Amy Cooperider at Turning Point – 740/382-8988 or acooperider@turningpoint6.org.

Turning Point offers a 24-hour hotline for victims of domestic violence.  If you or someone you know needs help or if you would like more information, please call (800) 232-6505 or (740) 382-8988. They are also online at www.turningpoint6.org.

The Marion Chess Club meets every Saturday from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm or until the last game is finished. They play at Tim Horton’s, 1325 Mt Vernon Avenue in Marion. Organizers invite anyone interested in playing or learning to join them.

There is no cost to play and all ages and skill levels, from beginners to experts, are welcome. You don’t have to stay the whole time and some people arrive early and some later.

To get more information, feel free to stop by on a Saturday or call Larry Edington at 740-244-1221.

The Mid-Ohio Fine Arts Society, and Federation of Women’s Club Home, is proud to present Dukes Mixture (a one day, one person showing) featuring the work of regional artist Betty Newcomer on June 22, 2013.

The showing is the first of a monthly series of work being shown at the new Barlow Art Center Gallery, 1126 East Center Street in Marion.

Hours for the June 22 show are 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. Admission is free, but donations are accepted and appreciated.

Guided tours of the historic Barlow Home will be available during the show.

For additional details, visit www.MidOhioFineArtSociety.org or call 740-361-0148.

The Marion County Fish and Game Club, located at the corner of Marseilles-Galion Road and State Route 4 North, will hold Youth Day for kids, ages 6 to 17, on June 22, 2013. The day will feature all types of events for the young shooters and bow hunters and prizes will be awarded.

The free day begins with lunch at 12 noon.

You must pre-register by calling Janet at 740-361-0440. If you bring someone else’s child, you must have a written slip from them stating you are responsible for them.

Fairpark Community Baptist Church, 940 Bermuda Drive in Marion, is holding a Chicken BBQ Dinner on Saturday, June 22, 2013 at 7:00pm.

The $8 dinner includes 1/2 chicken, home baked beans, cole slaw, roll and butter, drink, and cookies.

In addition to the dinner, there will be music and a pie auction.

Drive Thru service will be available.

Pioneering Healthier Communities – Marion (PHC) and the City of Marion are holding a ribbon cutting ceremony and community ride to celebrate the newly revamped recreational bike route within the city. The ceremony is planned for Sunday, June 23, 2013 at 1:00pm at McKinley Park.

A community ride will follow the ribbon cutting ceremony.  Riders will start in small groups, in fifteen minute increments. Maps will be provided with turnarounds marked for three and five miles.

Click here to learn more about the route.

The Marion Concert Band’s Summer Concert Series will feature Palace Theater Big Band on June 23, 2013. The outdoor concerts are held at the Erickson Pavilion in Marion’s McKinley Park every Sunday at 7:00pm through August 11.

Attendance at the concerts is free, although donations are accepted to offset expenses of the scheduled performers. The exception is the Marion Concert Band, which donates its time and energy for the project.

Other concerts in the 2013 schedule include:

June 30 – Presidential Brass – Classy but Brassy
July 7 – Marion Concert Band – Happy Birthday. USA
July 14 – Northside Jazz Band – Original Dixieland
July 21 – Fountainaires – Sing and Swing
July 28 – Marionaires – Barbershop Harmony
August 4 – Marion Concert Band – Summertime
August 11 – John Kennedy Orchestra – Thanks for the Memories

For those still wishing to make a donation, there is still time.  Cash donations can be placed in the sousaphone bells during each concert.  For those wishing documentation for tax deductible donations, checks made out to the Marion Concert Band can either be placed in the bells, or mailed to Director, Bill Swihart at 632 Bordeaux Avenue, Marion, Ohio  43302.

The Marion Concert Band is a registered 501 (C) (3) charity.

The Epworth United Methodist Church, 249 East Center Street in Marion, will be hosting the Cardinal Chorale in concert on Sunday, June 23, 2013 at 7:30pm. The Cardinal Chorale is the select touring group of the All-Ohio State Youth Choir made up of youth from all over Ohio.

The concert is free and a love offering will be taken to offset the costs of the group’s transportation. An ice cream social will follow the concert.

For more information, call the Epworth United Methodist Church at 740-387-8344.