• Parker to perform at Rock Springs

Ivan Parker will be in concert at a luncheon at the Rock Springs Baptist Church Impact Center on May 12. The event is sponsored by Upstate Widowed Persons Groups.

The luncheon will begin at noon, with a concert following. Call (864) 295-1714 for tickets. Cost is $30 per person.

Those interested are asked to RSVP by April 15, and checks may be mailed to Marian Huskins, 108 Sedgewood Court, Easley, SC 29642. Rock Springs Baptist Church Impact Center is located at 102 Rock Springs Road in Easley.

• MOW pancake breakfast planned

Pickens County Meals on Wheels will be hosting its third annual Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser from 8-11 a.m. March 17 at the McKissick Center at 349 Edgemont Ave. in Liberty.

Tickets are $5, and to-go plates will be available.

Tickets can be bought at pcmow.org/events, Facebook.com/events/1624120827675949/ or by calling Kim at (864) 606-3745.

• Lenten luncheons planned in area

The Pickens Ministerial Association will sponsor the Community Lenten Luncheon series. Traditionally, Lent is a time for penance by all Christians lasting 40 days (not including Sundays) and beginning with Ash Wednesday.

It is a time for Christians to confront their own mortality and confess their sins before God within the community of faith.

The Ministerial Association invites all members of the Pickens community. Lent is a time to get closer to God. To do that, it helps to get closer to our neighbor, officials say. Everyone in the community is invited to worship, fellowship and break bread together. All services started last Tuesday. The services will continue on March 6 at Pickens Presbyterian, featuring Pastor Gerald Mobley from Pickens Seventh-day Adventist. On March 13, the Rev. Nath Briley of Pickens Presbyterian will speak at Grace United Methodist, and to cap off the events, Minister Carlton Holley of Griffin Ebenezer Baptist will speak on March 20 at Faith Lutheran Chapel.

• Alzheimer’s series slated for March

The Foothills Retirement Community encourages local residents to join a special educational series focusing on the unique challenges presented by Alzheimer’s disease and caregiving for those with dementia.The free sessions, led by executive director Karen Nichols, will be held each Thursday in March from 6-8 pm in the chapel at the Foothills Retirement Community. Light refreshments will be served. Those interested are asked to RSVP by calling (864) 307-7824.

• Clemson Music Fest set for April 20-28

It is called the Greater Clemson Music Festival, but since 2012 the event has grown to encompass the entirety of Pickens County.

Events are held each year in Central, Six Mile and at Hagood Mill, as well as in Clemson and other towns. Once, the festival centered primarily around blues music, but now the sounds of rock, bluegrass, Americana, gospel, jazz and a touch of reggae on occasion are heard.

The festival is a nonprofit corporation with three primary goals: encouraging talented musicians, benefiting local charities and supporting local business. The festival staff are all volunteers, and each year thousands of dollars are returned to the community via organization such as Pickens County Meals on Wheels, Clemson Free Clinic and Clemson Sertoma Club’s Camp Sertoma for disadvantaged children and many others.

The festival is set for April 20-28 at various locations. Consult the festival website — clemsonmusicfest.org — for complete details.

• NA meetings set around county

Narcotics Anonymous has several meetings scheduled around Pickens County.

The “Pioneers of Change” group has open meetings in Clemson every Sunday at 3 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Clemson. The church is located at 397 College Ave.

The group “Chock Full of Nuts” has open meetings in Easley every Wednesday starting at 7 p.m. at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, located at 1200 Powdersville Road.

“Clean and Serene Sisters” has open meetings in Pickens every Thursday at 5 p.m. at the Behavioral Health Services Building at 318 E. Main St.

“The NA Way” has open meetings in Liberty on Thursday at 7 p.m. The meetings are held at Liberty United Methodist Church, located at 310 Mae St.

“New Hope” has open candlelight meetings in Pickens every Saturday starting at 7 p.m. The meeting are held at Grace United Methodist Church, located at 309 E. Cedar Rock St.

The meeting is in the basement. Use the outside stairs off the rear parking lot.

For a full list of meetings in the area, call 800-922-5305. Some of the local groups meet more than one time during the week.