Carolina v. Clemson
at JSLB blood drive
The JSLB Carolina vs. Clemson Blood Drive on Thursday, November 15, will be from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Blood Drive will be held at the Jasmine Room at the Quality Inn at Town Center. Log on to www.igiveblood.com (use fund code 6011), and make an appointment online to donate. Please contact Sheila Miley, sheila@robinsongrant.com or visit www.jslbeaufort.org.

Historical society hosts discussion of fish camps
Thursday, Nov. 15 at noon, the Beaufort County Historical Society is pleased to host a possibly ruckus group from the newest book “Goin’ Down the River” including the author Jane Garrity; publisher Lydia Inglett, Lydia Inglett, Ltd.; and some of the infamous fish camp owners for a spirited panel discussion.  The meeting will be held at the Beaufort Yacht and Sailing Club off of Meridian Road on Lady’s Island. So far on tap for the panel discussion, locals, Gibbes McDowell, John Trask III, Pierre McGowan,Henry C Chambers and historian Larry Rowland. We’re sure their stories will be fun and entertaining to say the least. This meeting is free and open to the public. For more information, contact President Pamela Ovens at sail@singlestar.us or call 843-785-2767 or visit www.beaufortcountyhistoricalsociety.org.

Sea Island Quilters
to hold meeting
The Sea Island Quilters will meet on Thursday, Nov. 15 at Praise Assembly, 800 Paris Island Gateway, at 6 p.m. Special guest speaker will be Holly Anderson from Cummings, Ga. Holly is a certified quilt show judge and lecturer. The public is invited. For details contact Nan Brown at 441-4020 or scnanbrown@gmail.com.

Workshop will teach how to identify birds
Learn to distinguish among “lookalike” Lowcountry bird species by behavior and field marks. Naturalist Ken Scott shares identification tips at a Fripp Audubon-sponsored workshop Thursday, Nov. 15, 7 p.m., at the Fripp Community Centre. Reception at 6 p.m. held by Fripp Island POA Environmental Committee to announce Fripp’s new, exclusive status as official registration with the National Wildlife Federation to become a “Certified Wildlife Community.” Free for all; visitors get free pass at gate. Contact pete.richards@comcast.net, call 843-441-2153 or visit www.islc.net/audubon.

Challenge Walk MS Fundraiser cookout
There will be a cookout on Saturday, November 17 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the plaza stadium parking lot to benefit the National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society. Featuring the Classic Car and Truck Club of Beaufort and a Fire Truck Display, hamburger ($8) or Hotdog ($5), chips, coleslaw, and drinks, proceeds benefit the National MS Society National MS Challenge Walk March 2013. If you can’t make it to lunch, you may make donations at: http://www.ChallengeMS.org and go to donate/search for Gwen or Kevin Ragsdale or Statler Financial Team.

Family Fun Day at Beaufort Town Center
Beaufort Town Center is pleased to announce the first Family Fun Day event at Center Stage on Saturday, November 17, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Family Fun Day is a great way to bring families together for a few hours of free fun. Activities will include a Radio Remote from 104.9 The Surf, inflatable kid’s games, sno-cones, popcorn, karate and fitness demonstrations and food sampling from Moes, Jimmy Johns, The Irish Rose and the Hilton Garden Inn’s Great American Grill. Also gift certificates, giveaways and gift baskets have been donated by Michael’s Salon, Color Me RAD, Century Link, Carolina Florist Design, Outback, Amata Thai Fusion and more. Beaufort Town Center businesses are joining forces to provide a safe outlet for families to have fun and to showcase the Beaufort Town Center.

Shag club hosts Junior November Dance Party
The Beaufort Shag Club is pleased to host the Beaufort Junior Shag Club November Dance Party on Sunday, November 18,  from 4 to 6 p.m. At the AMVETS Post 70, 1831 Ribaut Road, Port Royal. Open to juniors ages 8 to 18 who want to learn the state dance, the Carolina Shag. Instructors on hand to teach beginner and intermediate steps, as well as lots of beach and shag music, snacks and soft drinks provided. Parents welcome. Come have fun learning and dancing  the carolina shag. Visit www.Beaufortshagclub.Com.
Author to sign copies of holiday decorating book
Kimberly Ergul, co-author of “A Savannah Christmas: Interiors &amp; Traditions from the Low Country,” will be signing copies of her book on Saturday, Nov. 17 from 12 to 2 p.m. at McIntosh Book Shoppe on Bay Street in Beaufort. This is a Christmas picture book about local houses, recipes and Christmas decorating throughout the Lowcountry. Call 524-1119.

Celebrity bartending event at Sweetgrass
If you want to combine a fun evening with giving back to your community, join us on Sunday, November 18 at Sweetgrass Restaurant on Dataw Island, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. for “Celebrity Bar Tending.” Watch Mayor Billy Keyserling, Bishop Alden Hathaway and All-Around-Hot-Guy Woody Rutter hone their bartending skills at a CODA fundraiser. See if you can stump them with a special drink order they’ll have to produce. Your generous tips are most welcome. This event benefits local survivors of domestic violence and their children who receive shelter and support through Citizens Opposed to Domestic Abuse (CODA).

33rd annual community Thanksgiving Dinner
On Thanksgiving Day, the Parish Church of St. Helena will host the 33rd Annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner and Community Worship Service on Thursday, Nov. 22, at 507 Newcastle Street in downtown Beaufort. The Community Worship Service will be held in the 300-year-old parish church at 11 a.m., where worshippers will gather to give thanks to the Lord for His provision over three centuries. Following the service, dinner and fellowship will be served across the street in the Parish Hall. All are welcome. Dinner will be served from noon to 2 p.m. Take-away meals are available from 9 to 11 a.m. for those who want to carry meals to the elderly or home-bound. The dinner is a gift to the community with admission being a smile and a thankful heart. Contact Rosalind Dixon, nursery@islc.net or call 843-522-1712, ext. 220.

Group to provide free meal Thanksgiving Day
Plant the Seed Ministry will be providing a Free Thanksgiving Meal on Thursday, November 22 at 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the Atlantic Inn, 2249 Boundary Street, Beaufort. Call Joy Kircher at 843-575-2200 for more information or to volunteer.

USCB presents Gullah Kinfolk Christmas
Aunt Pearlie Sue &amp; Gullah Kinfolk Christmas will be on stage Friday, December 7, at 7 p.m. at the  USCB Center for the Arts, 801 Carteret Street. There will be feasting, art and a full-stage musical. Tickets are $30 in advance; $35 at the door; and $10 for ages 7-17.

Alzheimer’s support group meetings offered
Is Alzheimer’s disease, dementia or increased confusion affecting your loved one? To help, Alzheimer’s Family Services of Greater Beaufort offers support group meetings at Helena House in Port Royal. Meeting leaders provide guidance, information and support to family members and caregivers. On Wednesdays at 12:30 p.m. a “mixed gender” support group is offered. On the second and fourth Mondays of the month from 10:30-11:30 a.m., a men’s support group meets. The meetings are free and open to the public. Helena House is located on Paris Avenue (across from the Port Royal Post Office.) For more information, please call Alzheimer’s Family Services of Greater Beaufort at 843-521-9190.

Donate to Toys for Tots at Solicitor’s Office
This holiday season, the Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor’s Office will serve as a drop-off location for Toys for Tots. The toys will be distributed to needy families throughout the area by volunteers from the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves. People may drop off new, unwrapped toys at five Solicitor’s Office locations throughout the Lowcountry from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays through December 13. Some locations are:
• Bluffton: 39 Sheridan Park Circle, Suite 2
• Beaufort: the Beaufort County Courthouse, 102 Ribaut Road.
• Ridgeland: 198 Second Avenue
For more information, please contact Linda Delahunty at 843-255-5893.

Qigong holistic exercise classes now available
QIGONG classes being offered on Mondays at 5:30 p.m. and Wednesday at 3 p.m. at Where Soul Meets Body, Massage Therapy &amp; Energy Medicine, 1606B Paris Avenue, Port Royal.  The cost is $10. Qigong is a holistic exercise that strengthens and cultivates our vital life-force energy.  An ancient Chinese practice that is the mother of Tai Chi and Acupuncture is amazingly healing, restorative and relaxing. For questions, please call Dottie Curtis, LMT, IC at 843-252-7716.

Aquarian Lightworkers Women’s Retreat
The Aquarian Lightworkers Women’s Retreat will be held on Fripp Island from 6 p.m. Friday, December 7 until 6 p.m. Sunday, December 9.
&gt; Tuition + Lodging  $355 - $400
There will be meditations, qigong healing forms, restorative yoga, food healing demonstration and cooking with Qi, inspirational mini-workshops, private time and personal mini-healing sessions, powerful breathwork and healing circle, and winter solstice drum/dance party. The cost is $355 to $400, so give yourself the gift of health and well-being. Restore and charge your energy resources to a level you have never reached in your life. To register, contact Dottie Curtis, LMT, IC, 843-252-7716 or dotcurtis@centurylink.net.