Strut with your mutt June 2 at Riverfront Park: Holding Court

Fido-friendly WillaMutt Strut set for June 2

The WillaMutt Strut, a dog-friendly 5K run or 1K walk to benefit the Willamette Humane Society, is set for Sunday, June 2 at Riverfront Park, 200 Water St. NE.

The event kicks off at 9 a.m. with registration and the opening of information and vendor booths. The 1K walk begins at 10 a.m., followed by the 5K run at 10:30 a.m. The 5K course crosses the Peter Courtney Minto Island Bridge into Minto-Brown Island Park and back.

It will be a family-friendly event, featuring live music, food trucks, K9 demonstrations, games and contests such as the “Muttiest Mutt” contest and the “My Dog Will Eat That” contest.

Registration is $35 for adults, which includes a cotton shirt and goodie bag. Children age 12 and under run free with a paid adult. Youth shirts can be purchased for $10 and you can upgrade to a dri-fit shirt for an additional $15.

Last year's event raised over $35,000 to provide care for cats and dogs at Willamette Humane Society.

To sign up, go to whs4pets.org/strut. For more information, email events@whs4pets.org.

Donate dresses to SnoBall dress drive

SnoBall is months away, but you can help the event get off to a good start right now.

Class Act Event Coordinators, the organizers of the SnoBall dance, is holding a dress drive to ultimately enable as many students as possible to attend. SnoBall is scheduled for Dec. 7.

Class Act is looking for gently used formal wear in all sizes, however they are particularly looking for sizes 0-4 and 14 and up.

Four locations will accept donations during business hours Wednesday, May 22, through Friday, May 24.

You can drop off dresses at Lollypops & Roses, 2050 Lancaster Drive NE, the United Way Mid-Willamette Valley office, 455 Bliler Ave, NE, Rags to Riches, 3595 Liberty Road S or the Class Act Events office, upstairs inside the Mail Depot building, 4744 Liberty Road S, Suite 240.

But don't fret if you can't find that old dress in time for the dress drive. Class Act will arrange to pick up dresses after the official dress drive.

To arrange a pick up or for more information, contact Class Act at 503-371-8904 or susan@classactevents.net.

Local authors to showcase work

Independence Public Library is hosting Local Author Day, a book selling and signing event featuring six local authors on Saturday, May 25.

The event will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. at the library, 175 Monmouth St. in Independence.

Sue Armstrong, Kate Banco, Jackie McGuire, R.M. Gilmore, Tania Wall and Derek E. Keeling will be on hand for the event to answer questions and discuss their process and works.

Each of the attending authors brings a different style and genre of writing to the table, giving readers numerous options, Keeling said.

Attendees will have the chance to purchase books, have them signed and ask questions of the authors.

For more information, contact Independence Public Library at 503-838-1811.

Willamette Valley Concert Band performs May 27

The Willamette Valley Concert Band will perform its annual Memorial Day concert, “A Day Of Remembrance,” at 7 p.m. Monday, May 27, at the LaSells Stewart Center on the campus of Oregon State University, 875 SW 26th St., Corvallis.

Admission is free, but donations will be accepted, with money going to help Mid-Valley music students attend summer music camps.

The program will feature a special arrangement of “The Star Spangled Banner” along with other patriotic and military selections, a tribute to Harry James and a symphonic medley from the movie “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.” 

The concert will conclude with John Philip Sousa's “Stars and Stripes Forever.”

Based in Albany, the Willamette Valley Concert Band has performed throughout the Willamette Valley since 1970. Its 50-member band includes musicians from Benton, Linn, Marion and Polk counties. The band is directed by Mike Bevington. Emeritus director Dr. Richard Sorenson, who sponsored the concert in memory of his late wife, Mary, will lead the last two pieces of the concert.

For more information, email jddlove@cat-tummy.com.

See Keizer Community Band perform May 29

Keizer Community Band is hosting a free concert at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 29, in the auditorium at McNary High School, 595 Chemawa Road N in Keizer.

The performance will feature marches, show tunes and concert band literature. Greg Pelton will perform “Solo Pomposo” on the tuba. 

Keizer Community Band includes members of the Salem-Keizer community and musicians from surrounding areas. It was founded in 1998.

For more information, go to kcband.org or contact director Michael Koenig at 503-390-0579.

Reach Lee Clarkson at lclarkson@StatesmanJournal.com.

Submitting to Holding Court

Holding Court submissions can be emailed to HC@statesmanjournal.com. Submissions should be sent well in advance of the event date. Be sure to include all necessary information about your news or event. Individuals or groups may utilize Holding Court once every 90 days.