Dancing Spirit Community Arts Center in Ignacio has to move from the old Moon’s Cycle building. Dancing Spirit will be one of the core occupants of the new community center that will take over the old elementary school downtown, now referred to as the ELHI.

Dancing Spirit will have its summer Fill Your Plate for Art fundraiser Saturday, Aug. 15, at 755 Goddard Ave. from 3 to 7 p.m. Pick out a hand-thrown plate and paint it, and enjoy a BBQ and potluck feast. Suggested donations are $20 for the plate and BBQ, $10 for the BBQ only, $5 for kids, BBQ only.

For information call 563-4600.

County commissioners to visit Vallecito

The La Plata County Commissioners will hold their next “on the road” meeting at the Vallecito Community Center on Monday, Aug. 17, starting at 7 p.m. It’s a chance for locals to learn about county issues, ask questions and give comments. For information call 382-6219.

Football, soccer registration starting

Bayfield Parks and Recreation is hosting youth fall soccer and flag football in September and October. Registration is due at 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 28 at Bayfield Town Hall. The cost is $35 per youth. Coaches meetings are on Sept. 3, games are on Saturdays from Sept. 12 to Oct. 17. Soccer is for youth from three years through eighth grade, flag football for pre-K through fifth grade. For more information, call Becky at 884-9544.

School board nominations due Aug. 28

The Board of Education of Ignacio School District is accepting nominations of candidates for school directors. The election will be held Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Three seats are available for four-year terms. To be qualified, a candidate must have been a registered voter for at least 12 consecutive months before the election. Anyone convicted of committing a sexual offense against a child is ineligible. Candidates must file a written notice of intention and a nomination petition signed by at least 25 eligible voters in the district. Nomination petitions may be obtained at Ignacio School District Administration Office, at 455 Becker St. Completed petitions are due at 3 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 28.

Dinner to benefit FFA scholarships

The Taste of the Four Corners dinner and silent auction will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 22 at Fox Fire Farms, 5737 CR 321, in Ignacio. All proceeds will benefit the Ignacio FFA Scholarship program, which offers graduating seniors the opportunity for a scholarship to continue their education in an agriculture-related field. The dinner includes live music by Lacey Black, food by CJ’s Diner and Baked, with wine tasting from the farm.  A silent auction will feature local artists’ wares. Tickets are $40 and may be purchased by calling 563-0510 or are available at the door.

Center for Independence holding picnic

The Southwest Center for Independence, a local nonprofit that helps people with disabilities live well in our community, is having its annual Kaa-vi- Nuu-ci Tuvu-pu (Mountain Utes Lands) Vallecito potluck picnic from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 19 at the north end of Vallecito Reservoir. The center will provide BBQ, drinks and table service, participants are asked to bring a dish to share. All are welcome. If finding an accessible ride is a challenge, please give us a call. For questions, directions, dish suggestions, or RSVP, call 259-1672. 

Commissioner meeting public at fairgrounds

County Commissioner Gwen Lachelt will hold her monthly meet-the-public session from noon to 2 p.m. Monday, Aug. 17 at the new county administration building (former Vectra Bank), at 1101 E. Second Ave. in Durango. The sessions are usually at the fairgrounds, but that is now the incident command center for the mine waste spill into the Animas River.

For information call 382-6219.

Cooking Matters starts Aug. 27

The secoond annual Cooking Matters: Garden to Table class will start on Aug. 27 at the Pine River Library and continue through Oct. 1. The free hands-on classes are each Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. Participants must attend all six sessions.

Learn how to nourish your body with locally grown foods and prepare healthy, low cost meals. Participants get to enjoy a healthy delicious meal with friends and receive groceries and recipes to take home each week.

Participants will start in the library’s community garden, selecting produce for the class. There will be a Farmers’ Market tour on Sept. 5. The class is taught by culinary and nutrition educators. Free child care is available.

Space is limited. Sign up at the Bayfield Family Center, 884-4747, or the library, 844-2222, ext. 513. The class is sponsored by the Family Center, Pine River Shares, and the library.

Walcher to address Farm Bureau

La Plata County Farm Bureau is hosting Greg Walcher to speak at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 22 at Fort Lewis College.

Raised in Western Colorado, Walcher has spent a lifetime working to conserve the environment while providing the resources needed to sustain a prosperous economy today. He is the former director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources and now works in Washington DC. Tickets are $15 per person, $10 per person with a Farm Bureau membership card and are on sale at Basin Co-Op in Durango. Dinner will be served at 6 p.m. and Walcher will speak at 7 p.m. Walcher’s book, “Smoking Them Out: The Theft of the Environment and How to Take it Back,” is in its second printing and will be available for sale at the event. For more information, email [email protected].

BHS alums holding reunion

Bayfield High School graduates are invited to a potluck at noon Friday and Saturday at the Cundiff Ranch at 6311 CR 502. Graduates of all classes are welcome.