Chestnut Mountain Gang to perform tonight

The Chestnut Mountain Gang, a local bluegrass and gospel band, will perform at 5 p.m. today at Hobbs Chapel United Methodist Church, 3020 State Highway 177. The performance is free.

The band includes members from Cape Girardeau, Whitewater and Morley, Mo.

Exchange student hosts sought

World Heritage Student Exchange, a public benefit organization, is seeking host families for high school boys and girls from many European countries as well as Thailand, China Russia and elsewhere.

Hosts are asked to include the student as a member of the family. Couples, single parents and families with or without children in the home are welcome to serve as hosts; students may be hosted for a semester or a full school year.

Each student is fully insured, brings his or her own spending money and expects to contribute to household responsibilities; each anticipates being included in regular family activities and lifestyles.

More information is available by contacting Jerry at 573-429-9268 or info@world-heritage.org or visiting whhosts.com.

*** March of Dimes walk scheduled

The 2014 Cape Girardeau March for Babies will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Boardman Pavilion in Cape Girardeau. The March of Dimes hopes to raise $38,000 in the walk.

The walk through downtown includes family-friendly entertainment and a free post-walk lunch. A collection of "then" and "now" photos will showcase prematurely born babies. Saint Francis Medical Center is the presenting sponsor of the Cape walk.

More information is available at marchforbabies.org.

*** Fundraiser for skin disorder awareness

Cale Schremp, a Perryville, Mo., 4, is affected with alopecia universal's, an autoimmune skin disorder resulting in the loss of body hair.

Cale's aunt, Angie Mezo, will host a May 17 event called Cale Trail, a Jeep/4x4 ride to raise awareness of the disorder and provide funding to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation & Cale Trail. The event coincides with the official "Go Topless Day" for Jeep enthusiasts.

The ride, approximately 60 miles in Perry County, starts and ends at The Barrens Winery in Perryville, with registration at 10:30 a.m. It includes stops at historic sites, a poker run and giveaways. Dinner and music will be available after the ride from 6 to 10 p.m. and the general public is invited to attend. Registration details are available from Mezo at 573-547-9201 or admezo@yahoo.com. Donations for the event may be dropped off at Perryville Overhead Door.

Jackson sets bicentennial fete

In celebration of Jackson's bicentennial, it is hosting Jackson In Bloom from 9 to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Jackson Courthouse.

Live music will be provided by The Whitewater Bluegrass Band and the Red Goat Band. Food -- including funnel cakes, pulled pork, Cajun cuisine and ribbon fries -- will be available, and items on display and for sale included plants and seedlings, handmade candles and chalk, birdhouses, local produce, lawn ornaments, hanging baskets and small live animals.

Activities include pottery painting, a presentation by local theater troupe Acting Out! and a Maypole.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held rain or shine. It is presented by the Uptown Jackson Revitalization Organization.

More information is available at jacksoninbloom.com.

Cardinal ticket sales benefit Special Olympics

Tickets are on sale for the St. Louis Cardinals vs. the Milwaukee Brewers game on Aug. 2, which has been declared "Cape Girardeau Night at Busch Stadium."

The event is sponsored by Banterra Bank, and a portion of the proceeds from ticket sales will benefit Special Olympics-Missouri. Tickets are $25 for the 7:30 p.m. game.

Tickets are available at Banterra Bank, 1650 N. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau.

Special Olympics is a national charity that promotes acceptance and inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities through year-round sports. Special Olympics-Missouri benefits more than 17,000 people in Missouri. Cape Girardeau's Banterra Bank has been a supporter of the organization, providing volunteers and sponsoring its Annual Polar Plunge.

"We are pleased to offer this exciting event to our community at such an exceptional value," said Ed Carroll, Cape Girardeau market executive for Banterra Bank. "We know that Cape Girardeau is filled with Cardinal fans that will benefit from this opportunity, and we are always happy to find additional ways to support our friends at Special Olympics."

Vine Street Connection events set

The second annual Vine Street Connection of Cape Girardeau, scheduled July 25, 26 and 27, is a reunion for those who lived or live in the Cape Girardeau neighborhoods and streets of Smelterville, Marble City Heights and Vine, Good Hope, Frederick and Sprigg streets.

The theme of the event is "In Honor of Those Gone Before Us, For the Love of Those Who Remain With Us, as a Gift to Our Children and to Those Who Follow."

The cost is $38.50 per person and includes all three days of events -- a fish fry in Capaha Park, a banquet and dance at Plaza Conference Center and a picnic at Cape County Park.

Registration and check or money order, due by June 25, should be mailed to Madeline Fletcher-Webb at 3227 E. 15th Street, Apt. B, Long Beach, CA 90804. Cape Girardeau-area residents may submit registration form and payment to Margaret Williams Lacey, 573-587-2300.

More information is available from Fletcher-Webb at haroletha@yahoo.com or at thevinestreetconnection.yolasite.com. Registration forms are available from Gwendolyn Squires, gweneg@yahoo.com.

Gaither family reunion scheduled

Descendants of John Gaither have scheduled a family reunion June 20, 21 and 22 in Charlotte, N.C. More information is available by calling Mrs. Paul Allison at 573-335-0547 or writing to Mack Gaither, president of the group, at 17805 Sunrise View Court, Leesburg, VA 20175-7075.

State flag and Missouri mule are topics

Local author Richard Flentge II will host a discussion on the Cape Girardeau connection to the design and creation of the Missouri state flag as well as how the mule came to be named as Missouri's state animal. The discussion will take place from 2 to 3:30 p.m. May 14 in the Oscar Hirsch Room of the Cape Girardeau Public Library. More information is available by calling the library, 573-334-5279.