This month in the Townelaker, we featured an article about the “Breasta Fiesta” walk team created by Woodstock resident Katie Barkley. Katie and her team will participate in Atlanta’s 10th Anniversary of the 2-Day Walk for Breast Cancer on October 6th and 7th. (If you missed it, you can read it online here.) According to Executive Director Kimberly Goff, as of today, Woodstock has the highest number of registered walkers per capita, and that number is sure to grow.

The walkers for the Atlanta 2-Day Walk have planned training walks all over the city to help prepare participants for the 30 miles they will have to walk in October. There’s a training walk coming up in Woodstock next Saturday, May 19th at 8:00am.  The Woodstock Practice Walk will offer two options, a four-mile and a six-mile course, and the routes will be focused in most of downtown Woodstock, starting at the old Wal-Mart parking lot. Anyone is welcome to attend and come walk with the current registered walkers, but they ask that you please RSVP to info@2daywalk.org in order have enough bottled water and snacks. The deadline for RSVPs is next Friday, May 18th at 10:00am.

For more information about participating in the Training Walk or the 2-Day Atlanta Walk, you can visit their website or attend the open house next Tuesday, May 15th from 5:00-6:30 in Atlanta. 

In the spirit of Earth Month, the Woodstock High School Environmental Club is working hard to make the second year of Greenstock Woodstock a success.  Greenstock, which is set for this Saturday, April 28, 2012 is an event featuring music, fun, entertainment and peace that will be held in the high school auditorium. It starts at 2:00 and will go through 6:00pm. Local Woodstock bands as well as aspiring solo artists have signed to showcase their talents. Among them are The Bumblebees, The Thunderbears and The Last Relapse.

Madeline Shephard, Corinna Bolla and Sara Tarmariz working on Greenstock t-shirts.

With the help of Environmental Science teacher Christine Lauer, the Environmental Club supports the community by informing them to live more sustainably through recycling programs and other environmentally friendly events. The club hopes to educate the public on the importance of protecting the earth. With this in mind,  last year the club started an annual solar powered event at Woodstock High School. With the help of ACE, a non-profit organization that provides free multimedia assemblies on climate science and solutions to high schools, Woodstock was able to rent a stage and make the concert successful. This year’s theme is “Do One Thing” (for the environment) at Greenstock.

Mural in the WHS cafeteria--done by Environmental Club member, Mandy Holansek

Woodstock teachers and environmental club members are actively participating in this year’s Greenstock event by creating t-shirt designs and posters for the cause. This year students can make or purchase  t-shirts, get a henna tattoo, buy rope bracelets, play different games, and recycle their ink cartridges or old cellphones.

Additionally, club members are gathering local sponsors that will have the option to advertise their business on the promotion advertisements and the back of Greenstock event t-shirts. Sponsors also have the opportunity to host a booth where they can sell and promote their own business. Part of their proceeds goes to next year’s Environmental Club.

For more information, you can visit the Environmental Club’s Facebook Event page.

Do you have a child that’s fascinated with anything with wheels? Is your house littered with tiny Matchbox cars? Then you definitely don’t want to miss an upcoming event hosted by the Cherokee Parks and Recreation Agency.

This Saturday, April 21st, the Recreation Center in Woodstock is hosting an event called Touch-A-Truck, a one-of-a-kind event where kids young and old can explore many vehicles on display. Children are encouraged to explore, honk horns, push buttons, and climb on many vehicles.

The event will be start at 10:00am and go until 12:30pm, and will be FREE. Snacks and vendors will also be available.

Featured vehicles will include:    

• fire truck
• ambulance
• police cars
• motorcycles
• backhoe
• dump truck
• garbage truck
• race car
• bus
• utility trucks
• off-road vehicles

For more information, call 770-924-7768 or visit the Cherokee Parks and Recreation website. Make sure you don’t forget your cameras!

Photo courtesy of Flickr.

One thing that can be said about the residents of Towne Lake is that we love our pets. Over the years, the staff at The Townelaker have tried to help pets reunite with their owners, even posting a page for Lost and Found Pets on our site.

It breaks our hearts to see pets get separated from their owners, so to help, here’s a list of some important information that can help in the event you do lose your pet.

Fliers – If you print fliers, print “LOST CAT or LOST DOG in large letters. Be sure to include your pet’s size, coloring, hair length, and any distinctive markings, whether it has a collar, the location pet was last seen, as well as a phone number where you can be reached. If your pet is timid, add that your pet may run if approached.

Facebook – Facebook is one of the fastest ways to get information out about a lost pet, and The TowneLaker is always willing to post a description on our page to help. Many local businesses will re-post missing pet information if they see it posted on Facebook first.

Twitter – Retweeting information about a lost pet is another great way to help reunite you with your furry friends faster.

Cherokee County Animal Shelter – Families can visit Cherokee County Animal Shelter website and add their pet in the  ”Lost and Found Pets” section. There’s also an opportunity to fill out a lost and found form (including a photo) that will be emailed to the shelter’s intake department. The staff will create a lost report in their records with the information you submit. Additionally, it is also important to visit the shelter as soon as possible and check back often to see if your pet was brought in.

The Cherokee Tribune, Atlanta-Journal Constitution and Cherokee-Ledger News all report lost or found animals.

Related articles

• Support Cherokee County Animal Shelter (townelaker.com)

Animal lovers unite! Beginning April 5^th, the Cherokee County Animal Shelter will be a participant in the Qualifying Heat of the 2012 ASPCA Rachel Ray $100K Challenge, competing for grants totaling $500,000 from the ASPCA, including a grand prize of $100,000.

The 2012 ASPCA Rachel Ray $100K Challenge is a nationwide competition for animal shelters (and their communities) aimed to get more animals adopted or returned to their owners than ever before. This first phase of the challenge is the Qualifying Heat where 108 registered shelters are competing to accumulate the most online votes from their supporters. The 50 shelters with the most votes become the official contestants for the 2012 ASPCA Rachel Ray $100K Challenge. 

This is the second year of this competition for the Cherokee County Animal Shelter.  The Shelter was a contestant in the 2011 ASPCA $100K Challenge and saved more than 660 lives during the three months of the contest.  The shelter staff, volunteers and community participants worked extremely hard for that total, which was an increase over the same period in 2010 by more than 300 lives.

If you want to show your support of Cherokee County Animal Shelter, you can help by voting online at www.votetosavelives.org   Voting starts today, April 5^th and goes through April 16^th 2012.  Voters are encouraged to continue voting daily as well.

For more information about the Cherokee County Animal Shelter or the challenge, you can visit their website here or contact Lori Kekel, Rescue and Events Coordinator at (770) 345-7270 or lkekel@cherokeega.com. The shelter is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00am until 5:00pm.

With spring break quickly approaching next week, many families will head down to warmer climates and sunny beaches. But if you’re staying around Woodstock next week, there’s plenty to do within a short drive. We’ve compiled a list of things that you and your family can get into next week.

Rent a boat at Little River Marina – Little River Marina is officially open, and families can take advantage of renting a boat and cruising around Lake Allatoona. When it is full, Lake Allatoona covers more than 12,000 acres and has 270 miles of shoreline.

Zoo Atlanta- Zoo Atlanta has just announced that animal lovers can now feed the giraffes starting March 31st at Twiga Terrace. Your whole family can get up-close and personal with these beautiful animals. Giraffe feeding runs daily from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm and is $3 extra per person.

Zoo Atlanta (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 Studio Spring Break – The High Museum is offering a class for students from April 3rd through 7th on artist Fernand Léger. Your budding artists can use screws, nuts, and tools to create a cool character.

 Dolphin Tales – The new attraction at the Georgia Aquarium, Dolphin Tales, is a gallery and exhibit dedicated to creating memorable connections between humans and animals and helping guests better understand the bottlenose dolphin.

Atlanta Braves Open House – This Saturday, March 31st, the Atlanta Braves will be offering a free open house from 12:00pm to 4:00pm. Your kids can run the bases, play games, and even take behind the scenes tours.

Six Flags – Six Flags has been open on the weekends since St. Patrick’s Day, but next week, the park will be open from 10:30pm to 8:00pm.

The staff at the TowneLaker hopes that everyone has a safe and happy spring break!

Come tomorrow morning, downtown Woodstock will be hoppin.’ Greenprints Alliance is hosting their fundraiser, Streetfest, this Saturday, March 24th. Greenprints Alliance is an organization that advocates money for parks and trails, as well as a focus on getting out and enjoying the surrounding nature Woodstock has to offer. The all-day music festival is thrown in the middle of Woodstock and includes an artist’s market, kids activities, and plenty of food and drinks by local Woodstock restaurants.

Greenprints Alliance presents Streetfest 2012

Last year, says executive director Jennifer Stockton, “Streetfest drew in 5,000 people, even with pouring rain.”  This year, they are hoping for many more. Admission is free to the event, but donations are welcomed to Greenprints Alliance. The organization, which is raising funds for 60-plus miles of trails, will have a booth set up to answer questions and offer other information.

Parking will be available in several places in and around downtown: public parking lots are located at City Center, the Park at City Center, gravel lot off Mill Street, Chattahoochee Technical College and in any marked on-street parking space.

No coolers or outside food or drinks are permitted, and no open containers are permitted outside of the event area. Food and drink will be for sale from Streetfest event partners, including Pure Taqueria, Fire Stone Wood Fired Pizza and Grill, Canyons Burger Company, J. Christopher’s and Freight Kitchen & Tap. Chairs are permitted inside the event area beginning at 5 p.m.

For more information about Streetfest, you can visit their website here.

Today happened to be a very important Tuesday here at the Around-About TowneLaker. We were joined by the folks at Main Street Woodstock for our ribbon cutting ceremony to recognize our organization in the local community. Main Street Woodstock provides this service for any business in the area who wishes to signify their grand opening, an important business anniversary, or even a buisness expansion or new service being offered.

All the ladies here at the TowneLaker were properly primped and ready for their photo, and even the men looked very well put-together. In addition to the terrific staff at Main Street Woodstock, we also had the pleasure of having Woodstock Mayor Donnie Henriques stop by for the celebration.

If you are interested in showcasing your business with a ribbon cutting ceremony, please contact Kyle Bennet, Director of Tourism and Visitors Center Operations at Main Street Woodstock at (kbennett@oldetownewoodstock.com or 770-924-0406).

Pictured L to R: Katie Nietman, Mitzi Saxon, Jon Flaig, Lynne Lysaght, Billy Peppers, Marybeth Stockdale, Michelle McCulloh, James Ball, Kara Keifer, Kevin Ekmark, Ashley Velez, Rocky Salet, Patty Ponder, Woodstock Mayor Donnie Henriques, Chris Kennedy, Allison Stewart

Image via Wikipedia

Cherokee Recreation and Parks Agency is gearing up to collect Easter Baskets for their first annual “Some Bunny Special” program in which Easter Baskets will be delivered to children in need throughout Cherokee County. The program started March 1st and will run through the 30th. CRPA’s goal is to reach 300 children (150 boys and 150 girls). All baskets must be pre-filled. You may purchase one or create a basket with your own personal touch, but please fill baskets with Easter-related items only (i.e. candy, plastic eggs, toys, etc).

For this cause, CRPA has parterned with the Cherokee County Fire Department and will use various Fire Stations in the county as drop-off sites. For a full list of Fire Stations accepting baskets, you can visit the agency’s website here, call the agency at 770-924-7768, or email Becky Kerstetter at bkerstetter@cherokeega.com.