IN BRIEF: Holy Week at First Presbyterian

Mar. 30—The public is welcome at First Presbyterian Church Sunday, March 31, at 10:30 a.m. to commemorate the culmination of Holy Week and a special sermon by Jo Brannan entitled The Beginning.

A Bible Study, led by Dr. Vivian Tomlinson, meets each Friday in the parlor at the church beginning at 10 a.m. All are welcome.

First Presbyterian Church is located at the corner of Denton and Church streets in downtown Gainesville. For more information, call 940-665-5153.

Easter Sunday at First Baptist

First Baptist-Gainesville will host Easter Sunday for its Early First Service at 9 a.m. in The Summit and the second, more traditional, service at 11 a.m. in the sanctuary. Pastor Jeff will bring the Easter sermon.

The Sunday School hour is 10-11 a.m. There are classes for all ages.

Moore, Cortes to speak to GOP Women

The public will get a preview soon for next month's Medal of Honor Week in Gainesville.

Everyone is invited to the Thursday, April 4, meeting of Cooke County Republican Women, which will feature guest speakers Mayor Tommy Moore and County Veteran Services Officer Tim Cortes.

Moore will talk about the Medal of Honor Host City Program history, plans for this year's events and the MOH Museum under construction at North Central Texas College. Cortes will explain how his office listens to the needs of veterans and helps them access the many services and benefits they earned through their military service.

The meeting will be at 7 p.m. at the Fellowship Hall of First Christian Church, 401 N. Dixon St. in downtown Gainesville. The public is welcome to attend. Refreshments will be served.

For more details, call 940-902-3102 or 940-368-0007.

Get your CASA burgers

CASA is taking orders for its third annual hamburger lunch.

The lunch is pre-sale orders only which can be placed through April 8.

This annual fundraiser will take place on April 18 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Drive through and pick up is in the back parking lot of CASA on Elm Street across from First Baptist Church. Delivery is available for orders of 10 or more meals within Cooke County.

Lunches are $10 each and include a burger, chips and water.

CASA is also working this April to help raise awareness for Child Abuse Prevention Month.

To place an order, visit casant.org or call 940-665-2244.

Gainesville Wine Stroll April 6

The Gainesville Wine Stroll is coming back to downtown Gainesville.

This year's event will feature 15 local wineries set up at local boutiques and shops. It will be Saturday, April 6, from 1-7 p.m.

Tickets for the Gainesville Wine Stroll are available to purchase online at facebook.com/GainesvilleWineStroll under the Gainesville Wine Stroll 2024 event tab. Tickets are $50 a person and include wine tastings from a variety of local wineries, a souvenir wine glass for tastings, and a reusable six bottle wine carrier.

Special service at St. Pete's

St. Peter's Catholic Church, 424 Main St. in Lindsay, will celebrate a Divine Mercy Sunday service April 7 at 3 p.m. A relic of St. Faustina will be present for veneration. Confessions will be hear between 2 and 2:45 p.m.

Genealogy tips April 2 in Gainesville

Ever wanted to track down that elusive ancestor? Ever wanted to learn what was going on in the country 75 or 100 years ago when one of your relatives was living?

The next meeting of the Cross Timbers Genealogical Society will address those questions.

Shana Powell will speak about Using Newspapers to Discover the Stories of Your Ancestors Tuesday, April 2, at the First United Bank Building, 101 W. Broadway in Gainesville. Refreshments and fellowship will be at 6:30 p.m. and the meeting will begin at 7 p.m.

Patriot Dinner Tickets on sale

The Medal of Honor Host City Program Patriot Dinner will be held at the Gainesville Airport on Thursday, April 25. Tickets are $15 each and only 300 are available.

Tickets will be available before the M of H meeting April 1 and 8 from 5-6 p.m at the Gainesville Civic Center. Cash, check or credit cards will be accepted before and after the meeting.

Tickets will also be available during regular business hours at the Gainesville Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber of Commerce will only be able to accept cash or checks for tickets.

No tickets will be sold at the Patriot Dinner.

Contact Rickey Nichols at treasurer@mohhostcity.com for more information.

Tickets available for Cooke Co. arts show

Take in Cooke County's music, art, food and more at "Sights and Sounds" Scholarship fundraiser Friday, April 12.

Tickets are now on sale for the Cooke County Arts Council event, set for the First State Bank Center for Performing Arts at North Central Texas College in Gainesville. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for seniors and children at the door, or they can be purchased in advance from Kevin & Susan Beall Insurance Agency, 326 E California St. in Gainesville. The doors open at 6:30 p.m. and performances begin at 7:30 p.m.

Gainesville Area Visual Arts (GAVA) members will display their work and meet the artists while enjoying light hors d'oeuvres and libations.

The North Texas Chorale, directed by Clint Kelley, will present A Little Jazz Mass. Two very diverse traditions — the Latin mass and the jazz idiom — are brought together by composer Bob Chilcott.

The Butterfield Stage Players will preview of the summer musical, Legally Blonde, directed by Drake Jackson. He started out at Butterfield Stage Players while in middle school doing youth theater classes, then continued to perform in numerous shows there.

The Dolce Canto Children's Chorus of Cooke County, directed by Susan Beall, will perform around the theme "Sing a Rainbow," conveyingoptimism and aspiration fitting for the spring season.

After the intermission, the 20-piece Gainesville Swing Orchestra led by Grammy-nominated Dave Alexander will take the stage. The band brings together percussion, horn, saxophones, and more.

For more information, visit www.cookecountyartscouncil.org or find the council's Facebook page.

Stanford House raffle tix on sale

Stanford House Center for Active Seniors has begun selling tickets for this year's Lots of Luck cash raffle. Ticket cost is $50 for a chance to win three prizes of $5,000, $2,000 and $1,000. A limited amount of tickets will be available for purchase.

The winning tickets will be drawn at noon on May 28, 2024. Winner need not be present. Proceeds will benefit programs offered by Stanford House, including activities and educational opportunities for active Seniors in Cooke County. All programs are offered free of charge.

For raffle tickets, contact Nancy Brannon 940-668-1452 or Henry Koehler 303-988-8191.

Murder 76240 coming to State Theater

Sign-ups are available for VISTO's 14th annual Murder 76240 for this year.

This mystery night at Gainesville's State Theater is VISTO's main fundraiser for the year.

Sign-ups are available on the VISTO website at vistohelps.com/visto-events. The deadline is March 22 to get a t-shirt. The fee for April 18's teams is $250 and the fee for April 19's couples is $100.

For more information, contact VISTO at 940-668-6403.

Mountain Springs announces '24 slate

Mountain Springs Community Center (MSCC) in Valley View, just north of Ray Roberts Lake, has released its 2024 calendar:

April 13

Market Day Kick Off & Garage Sale, 8 a.m. — 2 p.m. Outside is a free vendor fee, but donations welcome. No registration necessary, but vendor should contact center in advance. Email mountainspringstx@gmail.com for more information.

May 11

Market Day, 8 a.m. — 3 p.m.

May 25

Annual MSCC Dessert Auction with local auctioneer Johnny Hudson, 5 p.m.

June 8

Market Day, 8 a.m. — 2 p.m.

July 13

Ice Cream Social

Sept. 14

Market Days, 8 a.m. — 3 p.m.

Sept. 21

Annual MSCC Spaghetti Super Fundraiser, 6 p.m.

Oct. 12

Fall Festival Music & Market

Nov. 9

Annual Holiday Gift Market, 9 a.m.

Dec. 14

Christmas Festival of Lights

Learn more by emailing mountainspringstx@gmail.com or visit https://mountainspringscommunitycenter.com. The center is located at 173 Mountain Springs Lane, just east of Valley View.

AARP tax help now available

AARP tax assistance packets are now available at the Cooke County Library in downtown Gainesville.

This packets include instructions on how to prepare 2023 tax returns. Clients will need to fill out the booklet and then contact AARP, as per the instructions attached with it.

Clients will need to make appointments this year. Instructions on how to make appointments will be attached with the AARP paperwork. Appointments will be from 1-4 p.m. on Tuesdays only. At this time, this service will be offered until Tuesday, April 9.

The library staff has no involvement with this service. The library is just the location, and the AARP Tax Aides are volunteers.

For any general questions, call the Cooke County Library at 940-668-5530. The library is located at 200 S. Weaver St.

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Do you have news and pictures to share from your favorite church, school or service club? Do you think Register readers want to keep up with what you and others are up to?

Please, by all means, send your stuff to editor@gainesvilleregister.com by end of the day on Wednesday for publication in the weekend edition. Be sure to include your name and phone number in the email if we have any questions.

For more information, call 940-665-5511.