The Local Scene: Symphony performs in Sterling this weekend

1. Listen to the music: The Clinton Symphony Orchestra will perform in Sterling’s Centennial Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. The program will include Tchaikovsky’s “Serenade for Strings,” Shubert’s “Unfinished Symphony,” and the overture to Mozart’s opera “The Magic Flute.” In cooperation with Community State Bank, the orchestra will run a charter bus from Clinton, Iowa through Fulton and Morrison, to the Sterling concert location. Bus reservations are required, and can be made at 563-219-8084. Adult tickets for $20 are available at the door, and all students are admitted free. Find more information at www.clintonsymphony.org.

2. Fill up a plate with pancakes: Have breakfast from 7 a.m. to noon Saturday at Self Help Enterprises, 2300 W. LeFevre Road, Sterling. The menu is all-you-can-eat, and there will be a bake sale, craft and vendor show and 50/50 raffle.

3. Warm up at a chili cookoff: Grab your friends and family to help decide whose chili will become the Village of Tampico’s favorite. A chili cook-off contest will be from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Saturday at the Reagan Community Center gym in Tampico. Each attendee will be given a ticket to place by their favorite tasting chili. Awards will be handed out at 7:30 p.m. Cost is $8 and children 15 and younger get in for $4. Also taking place during this fundraiser is a dessert silent auction, bake sale, kids drawing contest, fall selfie station, and friendly bags games. This is a Royal Neighbors of America Chapter 1570 Difference Maker Fundraiser and will raise funds for the Tampico Area Historical Society Museum foundation repairs. For information, call Terry Gaskill at 815-535-3665.

4. Sing a song: The First Fridays Open Mic presents its monthly show at the Oregon VFW on Friday. The show starts at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free, although a jar is available for donations. Performers can sign up for time slots on a first-come-first-served basis, so it’s best to arrive by 6 p.m. or earlier. Interested parties who have questions can contact Jerry Tice at 815-449-2660. The VFW is located at 1310 W. Washington St. in Oregon and provides ample parking, along with the availability of a restaurant and bar within the building. A fish fry runs from 4 to 8 p.m.

5. Buy some books: The Odell Public Library Friends will host the annual Book and Bake from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Odell Public Library, 307 S. Madison St., Morrison. All books and baked goods will be sold by donation only. The book sale will be held in the Program Room and there promises to be an array of books. Whatever fits your reading pleasure can be found – from romance, western and science fiction to biography, history, etc. This is an annual fundraising event for the library hosted by the Odell Public Library Friends.

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