By Obon festival this weekend
The Mountain View Buddhist Temple, 575 Shoreline Blvd., will hold its 49th annual Obon Festival and Bazaar, 4-10 p.m., Saturday, and noon to 9 p.m., Sunday.
Obon, or Bon, is a midsummer Buddhist festival celebrated in Japan and other parts of Asia, dedicated to the expression of gratitude and joy toward ancestors, family, relatives and friends.
There will be a weekend of Japanese and American foods, handmade gift items, religious and cultural books in the Sangha Hall and an array of cut and potted flowers and other plants in the Flower Shop.
The Dharma School Booths will feature a duck pond, grab bag and shooting gallery for children. The cultural exhibits in the YBA (Young Buddhist Association) Hall will include bonsai (miniature trees and shrubs) by the Peninsula Bonsai Club. On Sunday, at 12:30 p.m., the Mountain View Buddhist Temple Taiko Group will perform under the direction of Bobbie Arita. At 7 p.m., bon odori folk dancers will sport colorful kimonos and happi coats. The festival and parking are free of charge. For further information, call 964-9426.
‘Walk-and-Roll’ for Green Pastures
Green Pastures, a Christian non-profit organization that provides care and private residential homes for six children with disabilities, invites youths and adults to experience the challenges of the disabled at its third annual “Walk-and-Roll Aware-a-thon” fund-raiser. The event is scheduled 10 a.m. to noon, Saturday, at Rengstorff Park in Mountain View.
Participants are encouraged to obtain pledges for Green Pastures from friends and neighbors, a set amount for each lap completed. Anyone who would like to try navigating the course from a disabled person’s point of view can borrow wheelchairs.
The children who live at Green Pastures also participate in the course.
The “Walk-and-Roll Aware-a-thon” is designed not only to raise funds for Green Pastures, but also to bridge the gap between able-bodied and disabled people.
For more information, call 965-2333.
Amateur (ham) radio training course offered
The Foothills Amateur Radio Society (FARS) presents the “No [Morse] Code Technician Class,” in which participants learn not only what they need to know to get their first federal amateur radio license, but also what to do once they have their license and how to use the information they learn.
Graduates get one year’s free membership in FARS, as well as free further training through the FARS club.
Classes are held 7-10 p.m., Tuesdays through Aug. 28, at the Terman Library Meeting Room (next to the Jewish Community Center), 661 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto.
To register, send a check, a note with your name and e-mail address (or phone number), and a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Rich Stiebel, W6APZ, 840 Talisman Drive, Palo Alto 94303-4435.
For more information, e-mail W6APZ@arrl.net.
History Museum seeks volunteers
The Los Altos History Museum is looking for museum store volunteers, tour docents, resource volunteers and interns. Sales volunteers and docents are needed Thursdays through Sundays, noon to 4 p.m. Check www.losaltoshistory.org. To volunteer for the internship program, e-mail: madelyn.crawford@ci.los-altos.ca.us or call 948-9427, ext. 10.
