COMMUNITY CALENDAR

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Sep 21, 2008

Park it here -- The St. Marys Fall Festival will have games, hayrack rides, food and craft booths, and an evening concert. The fun goes from 10 a.m. to dusk Saturday at Riverside Park, 4th and Lasley. Pumpkin painting and scarecrow decorating are also on the schedule. The event is a fundraiser for the historic park. Information: (785) 321-1000.

Over the rainbow -- "The Wizard of Oz" comes to the stage of the Columbian Theatre, 521 Lincoln in Wamego, for a three weekend-run starting Friday. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and Oct. 2, 3, 4, 9, 10 and 11, with 2 p.m. shows on Sept. 28 and Oct. 5 and 12. Tickets for dinner and the show are $37.25 for adults and $20.75 for children. Tickets for the show only are $20 and $10. The buffet opens 90 minutes before the show. Information: (800) 899- 1893.

Salute to apples -- As if pie isn't enough, Apple Days also has historical re-enactors and the Fort Riley Mounted Color Guard, military equipment displays and hands-on activities. The fall festival runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday on the Cavalry Parade Field at Fort Riley. Booths with consumer displays also will be set up. The apple pies are hand-made. Information: (785) 239-2022.

Stomping good time -- The Campbell Winery and Vineyard's annual Tuscany Harvest Festival offers food and live music to go with the wine. Visitors also can put their names in a drawing for the chance to stomp the grapes. The festival is from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday at the winery, 17590 K-116 highway, five miles east of Holton. Admission is $18 per person, and reservations are required. Call: (785) 872-3176.

In White's day -- The William Allen White House State Historic Site salutes the famed publisher's hospitality with Sundays on the Porch, a series of talks that begins today at the home, 927 Exchange in Emporia. The programs are at 2 p.m. and are free. Tours of the White home are $5 for adults, $3 for seniors and $2 for students. Topics and speakers for Sundays on the Porch are:

- Today -- Poetry, led by Kevin Rabas, assistant professor of creative writing in the Department of English at Emporia State University. White's first published work was a book of poetry titled "Rhyme of Two Friends." It was co-authored by Albert Bigelow Paine, literary agent to Mark Twain.

- Sept. 28 -- Investigative journalism, with Max McCoy, journalism instructor in the Department of English at ESU. White's career began during the era of yellow journalism, and he was a forerunner of journalistic standards that clearly separated news from opinion.

- Oct. 5 -- Politics, with Nick Gronseth, historian and site administrator, who will talk about the politics of White's era and the climate when White wrote his Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial, "What's the matter with Kansas?"

Information: (620) 342-2800.

Don't scratch -- A flea market to benefit the Jefferson County Humane Society will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, but don't worry about the dogs -- vendors will be offering merchandise and food. The sale is at the Bargain Milk Barn, a mile west of the junction of K-4 and K-92 highways in Meriden. Information: (785) 215- 1861. Also in Jefferson County next weekend is the Meriden Threshers Association fall festival at the Cottonwood Station, a half-mile east of Meriden on K-4 highway. Tractor pulls will be at 2 p.m. Saturday and 12:30 p.m. Sunday. Information: (785) 484-3705.

Ride for a cause -- Critter Care of Topeka will have its annual benefit horse trail ride next weekend in the horse park at Lake Perry. Riders can arrive on Friday evening, and the ride will get under way after breakfast on Saturday. On Saturday evening, supper will be barbecue by Buddy Dog concessions, and entertainment will be provided by the band Borderline. Fee for the ride is $35, and participants will be entered into a drawing for prizes. Information and registration: (785) 478-9985.