A sneak preview of this year's renaissance pageant will take place at the Middletown Luncheon Club on Wednesday, November 18, 2009. Photo by Michelle Stein.

MIDDLETOWN – “Huzzah, huzzah – come one, come all” for a special preview of the popular renaissance pageant planned for the next Middletown Luncheon Club program on Wednesday, Nov. 18.

Middletown Luncheon Club programs start at noon in the social hall of the Middletown Methodist Church, 15833 Armstrong at Washington in Middletown.

Lunch is only $5 per person with proceeds going to the serving group. This month’s serving group is the Oro Fino Rebekah Lodge.

Tickets will be available for renaissance pageant shows, which run every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from Dec. 4 to Dec. 13 at the Methodist Church in Middletown.

For more information on the pageant call 707-987-2653, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or check www.middletownmethodist.org .

If you don’t know about the Middletown Luncheon Club (MLC), here is the perfect opportunity to tap into one of the first non-profit groups in the county and one that has been meeting since 1926.

MLC meets every third Wednesday of the month from January through November. A nonprofit organization is selected to provide lunch, and there is a different program each month to keep things lively and informative.

The general public is always enthusiastically welcome to attend. Because of the popularity of this event, RSVPs would be appreciated, especially if you are coming with a group or don’t usually attend. Contact Helen Whitney at 707-928-9812 and leave a message to RSVP or for more information about the group.

MIDDLETOWN – Wiloth Equine Therapy and Riding Center will host a holistic horse care clinic on Friday, Nov. 20, through Sunday, Nov. 22.

The clinic will focus on nutrition and bodywork.

The cost is $450, which includes the stable for the horse.

Pre-registration is required. Space is limited to 10 horses.

Please contact Ghania Joia at 707-280-3855 for clinic information and Susie Wiloth at 707-355-1280 for stable information.

Wiloth Equine Therapy and Riding Center is located at 20740 Butts Canyon Road in Middletown.

Master Gardener Gabriele O’Neill will present a demonstration this Tuesday to show that working with herbs is no different than preparing food; if you can make gravy, you can make a salve.

Not only will the homemade salve contain exactly the ingredients you want, it will likely be a lot less expensive and higher quality than a store bought product. It’s as much fun as baking cookies and makes a great Christmas gift.

Join the members of Clear Lake Trowel & Trellis Garden Club for this presentation on Tuesday, Nov. 17. Social time starts at noon, followed by the flower roll call. The business meeting starts at 1 p.m., with the herb/salve program following the meeting.

The club meets at noon on the third Tuesday of the month at the Scotts Valley Women's Club House, 2298 Hendricks Road, Lakeport.

Members, guests and all those who are interested are most welcome. President Jo Jameson at 707-263-4039 or Program Chairman Jo Douville at 707-263-8549 invite interested gardeners to join them.

Clear Lake Trowel & Trellis Garden Club is a member of Mendo-Lake District, California Garden Club Inc., Pacific Region and National Garden Clubs Inc.

For more information see www.clttgc.org .

LAKEPORT – The Lake County Respect For All Task Force will meet from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, Nov. 16, at the Lake County Office of Education at 1152 S. Main St. in Lakeport.

The group of local individuals is striving to increase awareness about safe and inclusive learning environments. Working with a special organization based in San Francisco to identify possible actions to help the Lake County community, the task force will discuss updates to its action plans and possible next steps.

The Respect For All Project, a program of GroundSpark (www.groundspark.org ), in cooperation with Lake County Healthy Start and Lake County Family Resource Center, is collaborating with local educators, high school students, community leaders, and representatives from a variety of organizations.

The task force has been meeting for approximately one year. Respect For All Project coordinators Cristy Chung and Barry Chersky have traveled from the Bay Area on several occasions to facilitate meetings of the group.

Monday’s meeting of the group will include a special screening of GroundSpark’s newest film, “Straightlaced: How Gender’s Got Us All Tied Up,” according to Chung. Individuals planning to attend the meeting should notify Chung by Friday, Nov. 13, by sending an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or calling 415-641-4616 ext. 307.

A proposal for the Lake County project explains that GroundSpark, The Respect for All Project (RFAP) “is a non-profit organization that seeks to create safe, hate-free schools and communities by providing youth and the adults who guide their development the tools they need to talk openly about diversity in all of its forms.”

As part of its work toward safe and inclusive learning environments, the task force used GroundSpark’s Community Readiness Assessment tool to interview community members. GroundSpark compiled the results of the assessment, and a draft report was distributed to the task force members. Using the report, the group is focusing now on strategies for its next steps.

Individuals interested in helping the task force in its efforts to assist youth and their families in assuring safe and inclusive learning environments are invited to attend the meetings. More information about the Respect For All Task Force is available on the GroundSpark website, www.groundspark.org .