Find out all the events going on in your community, and plan your week's activities with The Times.

To get listed in the calendar, contact Southlake community coordinator Marlene A. Zloza at least 10 days in advance.

• E-mail: mzloza@nwitimes.com.

• Fax: (219) 662-5296.

• Address: 2080 N. Main St., Crown Point, IN 46307.

• Questions? Call (219) 662-5340.

FOOD PANTRY | Dyer

St. Joseph's Helping Hands Food Pantry will be open from 10 a.m. to noon and 6 to 7:30 p.m. Sept. 17 in the Gathering Room in the lower level of St. Joseph Church, 440 Joliet St. (U.S. 30). Residents of Dyer, Schererville, St. John and Griffith are eligible for assistance and should bring two proofs of residency.

FYI: Call (219) 865-2271.

RUMMAGE SALE | Hobart

A rummage sale to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 14 at Chili's Restaurant, 2425 Southlake Mall. Children's items, household items and other goods will be available, with all proceeds going to St. Jude's in Memphis, Tenn.

FYI: Call (219) 791-1504.

BEAN BAG BENEFIT | Merrillville

A Bean Bag Tournament fundraiser for Dawn Beyer, of Crete, Ill., will be held from noon to 4 p.m. Sept. 14 at the Slovak Club, 6920 Broadway. Entry fee is $25 per team at the door, with cash prizes to the top three teams and free refreshments to competitors. Spectators are welcome and can make a donation at the door. Beyer, a hair stylist in Crete and a single parent, has been diagnosed with cervical cancer, and proceeds from the benefit will help pay for her medical treatment.

FYI: Call Melinda at (219) 942-4307 or Randy at (21) 661-5627.

POPCORN DRIVE | Northwest Indiana

Calumet Council Boy Scouts are currently going door-to-door selling popcorn products for their annual fundraiser. Scouts will be asking customers if they would like to purchase an additional $25 worth of popcorn to donate to Support Our Troops, a group that last year shipped more than 107 tons of donated popcorn to U.S. sailors and marines in the Pacific Fleet, added popcorn to 18,000 USO care packages and 11,000 holiday boxes to troops in Southeast Asia.

FYI: Call Ted Karns or Kathy James at (800) 513-2343.

SPAGHETTI SUPPER | Kouts

A benefit spaghetti supper for Jose Luis Reyes Family is from 4 to 7 p.m. Sept. 13 at Kouts American Legion on Ind. 8. Jose has been diagnosed with inoperable stage IV stomach cancer. He and his wife, Joy, owned and operated Joy's Family Restaurant in Kouts, but had to close the business to focus on Jose's care. The family lives in Wheatfield with their two daughters, students at DeMotte Elementary School. Tickets for the supper are $7 minimum donation for adults and $4 for children and are available at the door or in advance at The Purple Door, 806 S. Halleck, DeMotte, and at Lippelt's Florist and George's Koffee Kup.

FYI: Call (219) 766-9919.

GOLF OUTING | Crown Point

Ninth Annual Lakers Scramble golf outing will be held Sept. 21 at Oak Knoll Golf Course, 11200 Whitmore St., for the benefit of Special Olympics Lake County. Eighteen holes with a cart, games and prizes, lunch, and a grilled pork chop dinner are included in the cost of $65.

FYI: Call Margot at (219) 663-0627 for more information.

PET FOOD DRIVE | Hobart

Hobart Girl Scouts are dropping off Wiseway grocery bags to be filled with donations of pet food to help the Hobart Humane Society. The bags will be picked up from 9 a.m. to noon Sept. 20. Hobart area residents who do not receive a bag with instructions, but want to help, can also leave donations on the north side porch of the Trinity Lutheran Church, 900 Luther Drive, on Sept. 20. The Hobart Humane Society is in need of any of the following items: Purina Dog or Puppy or Cat Chow, canned cat food, Pine-Sol, Paper towel, Anti-bacterial soap and/or large trash bags.

FYI: Call Michelle Vega at (219) 942-9474.

POKER RUN | Cedar Lake

American Legion Riders will hold its second Bike Run for Vets on Sept. 13 starting at American Legion Post 261, 13050 Washington St., rain or shine. Registration for the 100-mile run begins at 10 a.m. and first bike out is at noon, with last bike in by 5:30 p.m. Donation is 20 per rider or $30 per couple and includes food and music. Free T-shirt to the first 50 registrants. Leather vendor will be available. Proceeds will be donated to the Indiana Veterans Home in West Lafayette.

FYI: Call Eryck at (219) 577-6316.

GRILLING PORK | Lowell

A grilling demonstration and sampling featuring pork will be held at 11:30 a.m. Sept. 13 at Gardens on the Prairie, 3242 W. 169th Ave. Fee is $10.

FYI: Call (219) 690-0911.

PLANT SWAP | Hobart

A Fall Perennial Plant Swap will be held at 10 a.m. Sept. 15 at Deep River County Park, 9410 Old Lincoln Hwy. Meet in the parking lot behind the Visitor Center. Pot your perennials, identify them and bring them to the plant swap to exchange for others. Gardening staff will be on hand to give information on planting and care of your new varieties. Also, bring empty containers for plants that may be divided and exchanged. Don't be late, since the plants go fast.

FYI: Call (219) 947-1958.

BOOK TALK | DeMotte

Bookies of DeMotte meets at 2 or 7 p.m. Sept. 16 at the DeMotte Library, 901 Birch St. SW, to discuss the book "The Devil in the White City" by Eirik Larson. The forces of good and evil collide in this true account of the magical World's Fair in Chicago during the Gilded Age, and the violence perpetrated by a serial killer in its midst. It is the story of architect Daniel Burnham and psychopathic killer Henry H. Holmes. Refreshments will be served. Copies are available for checkout.

FYI: Call (219) 987-2221.

DRIVING REFRESHER | Crown Point

St. Anthony Assisted Living, together with AARP, is offering a free Driver Safety Program from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sept. 15 and 16 at St. Anthony Assisted Living, 205 Franciscan Drive. Attendees must attend both days to complete the course. This program is designed to help drivers 55 and older improve their driving skills and prevent traffic accidents. Participants will update their driving knowledge, sharpen their driving skills, reduce traffic violations, drive more safely, learn how to compensate for normal age-related changes, and may receive discounts on auto insurance premiums. Instructional material and refreshments will be provided. Call to reserve a seat.

FYI: Call (219) 661-5150.

WEAVERS GUILD | Chesterton

Duneland Weavers Guild will meet at 10 a.m. Sept. 13 at the Westchester Public Library Annex, 100 W. Indiana St. This months program is " Wall Hanging Design for the Artistically Challenged!" Meetings are open to the public, including not-yet-weavers and non weavers. Refreshments will be served.

FYI: Call Karen at (219) 659-8550.

Y-ME MEETING | Munster

Northwest Indiana Group of Y-ME Illinois meets at 10 a.m. Sept. 13 and the second Saturday each month, September through May, in the Doctors' Meeting Room in Community Hospital's cafeteria, 901 MacArthur Blvd. Pandemic flu preparedness is the topic for this month's meeting. Kim Washington, the Red Cross program coordinator for Northwest Indiana, will be the speaker. Breast cancer patients, their families and friends, and health professionals are welcome. Reservations are not necessary.

FYI: Call (219) 838-6111 or visit www.y-me.org/illinois.

TEEN IN PAGEANT | Lake Station

Carrie Ann Veenstra, of Lake Station, will participate in the 2008 Miss Jr. Teen Northern Indiana pageant Sept. 14, competing in the Miss Jr. Teen Division, one of four divisions for youth 7 to 19 competing in modeling routines and a judges' interview. The daughter of Jerald and Carolyn Veenstra, she is a sophomore at Thomas A. Edison Junior-Senior High School and volunteers at child church services.

FYI: Call Cathy Fulton at (800) 569-2487 for more information about the pageant.