• Auction set to help community center

The Dacusville Community Center will present its third annual “Best-Ever Chinese Auction” this Saturday, March 17.

The Dacusville Community Center is located at 2671 Earls Bridge Road in Easley. Doors will open at 11 a.m. for viewing.

Ticket drawing will begin at 1 p.m. There will be a hot dog sale and a bake sale. All proceeds will go to support the Dacusville Community Center.

• Lenten luncheons planned in area

The Pickens Ministerial Association is sponsoring 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.

The events are set to conclude with Minister Carlton Holley of Griffin Ebenezer Baptist speaking on March 20 at Faith Lutheran Chapel.

• 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.

• 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 p.m. in the chapel at the Foothills Retirement Community.

Light refreshments will be served. Those interested are asked to RSVP by calling (864) 307-7824.

• 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.

• EHS Class of 1978 planning reunion

The Easley High School Class of 1978 will have its 40-year class reunion April 21 at Looper’s Barn, located at 101 Laurenwood Drive in Pickens.

After registration from 5-7 p.m., the festivities will kick off with a BBQ dinner at 7 p.m. There will a live DJ to entertain, as well as a special memorial to the classmates who have passed away.

The event is BYOB, and fishing will also be available at the pond on-site.

Overnight camping is available, but checkout time is 9 a.m.

Cost is $40 per person if paid by mail and $45 per person paid via debit or credit card. The payment deadline is April 7.

To pay by mail, make checks out to EHS Class of ‘78 and send to P.O. Box 3033, Easley, SC 29641.

• PHS Class of 1956 to reunite on April 7

Members of the Pickens High School Class of 1956 and guests will meet for lunch at 11:30 a.m. April 7 at the Gatehouse Restaurant.

The Gatehouse is located at 116 Ann St. in Pickens. Call Tunkie Stokes at (864) 878-6101 if you have questions.

• 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.

• Literacy Assoc. book sale is April 27-28

The spring book sale sponsored by the Pickens Literacy Association is set for Friday April 27, from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturday, April 28, from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Pickens Presbyterian Church social hall.

Used books can be dropped off in Pickens at Blue Ridge Electric Co-op, the Grace UMC social hall and Pickens Savings and Loan.

In Liberty, there is a drop-off box at Cannon Family Practice on Liberty Highway.

Additional collection centers are available in Easley, Central and Clemson.

All books, both hardback and paperback are accepted, but please no magazines or encyclopedias. Contact pickensliteracy@yahoo.com, visit the association’s Facebook page or call Bill Shields at (864) 617-4237 for more information.