IN BRIEF: Gainesville Home Expo Sunday and Monday

Mar. 20—The Gainesville Parks and Recreation Department invites the public to join them for the upcoming Home & Garden Expo at the Gainesville Texas Farmers Market.

The dates are March 24, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and March 25, noon-5 p.m.

Attendees can have a day filled with businesses and vendors offering personal looks at services and products for the home or business.

Vendors should visit https://secure.rec1.com/TX/gainesville-tx/catalog to register today.

The art of bread making

The Cooke County Extension Office, 301 S. Chestnut St. in downtown Gainesville, will help citizens "Discover the Art of Bread Making" March 28.

The program, scheduled for 1-3 p.m. will cover the basics of yeast breads, the purpose of each ingredient, healthy substitutes, sweet v. savory breads and shaping the perfect loaf. Each participant will take home recipes and a braided Challah bread.

Register by calling 940-668-5414 or visiting http://cooke.agrilife.org/events. Space is limited.

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.

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 Program meeting each Monday in March and 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.

Stanford House raffle tickets 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.

"It's a live murder mystery with lots of interaction, lots of ad-libbing and lots of fun," said VISTO Director Bekki Jones. "And of course, it supports VISTO, because we're 'dying to end hunger.'"

This year's theme is Battle of the Bands.

"David Jones at the State Theatre got some new lights and a new sound system," said Jones. "I thought it would be fun to do a modified concert, essentially."

For the first time, there will be two nights of Murder 76240. The first night on April 18 is the traditional night for teams of eight, with the second night on April 19 being a night for teams of two. There's room for 25 teams on Thursday and 50 couples on Friday.

"In the past, we have had people say, 'I don't have enough to make a team,' 'I can't get enough friends together to make up a team,' or 'I sure would like to do this with my husband,' and we thought that was a great idea," said Jones. "There is not a whole lot to do for like date night activities, and so we thought that would be something fun."

While it is the same theme for both nights, it will be a different solution with a different murderer and victim.

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.

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.