DECEMBER 5
•Breakfast with Santa 
The Brimstone Historical Society’s annual Breakfast with Santa at Christmas Under the Oaks is selling out quickly! This year’s Breakfast with Santa will be held at the Henning Cultural Center on December 5, with two seatings: 8:30 a.m. and 9:45 a.m. Tickets are available now, so call 527-0357, or visit the Henning Cultural Center during regular business hours. A Breakfast with Santa ticket includes a pancake breakfast provided by Pitt Grill and a photo with Santa, for only five dollars! Seating is limited for this exclusive event, so get your tickets soon! For the first time ever, they are also hosting a “Storytime with Santa” event from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.  For $3, your child can have cookies and milk with Santa. He will read a story to the children in attendance. Storytime with Santa does not include a photograph.

DECEMBER 6
•LaPaw Rescue Mistletoe Mutt Strut
Calcasieu Parish continues to have an enormous problem with pet overpopulation. Over the past five years, LaPaw Rescue has saved over 1500 homeless companion animals. All were vetted, spayed /neutered and adopted into forever homes. To help with this rescue effort LaPaw Rescue will host their annual Mistletoe Mutt Strut on Sunday, December 6 from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Sam Houston Jones State Park Pavilion. The day will include a Christmas costume contest for pets, treats for pets and people, and the crowning of Mr. and Ms. Mutt Strut 2009. Registration is $10 before the event and onsite $15. All proceeds from fundraisers go toward saving the lives of homeless pets. Log on to www.lapaw.org for more information.

DECEMBER 7
•First Monday in the Atrium
The Foundation at Lake Charles Memorial Hospital is pleased to present First Monday in the Atrium, a musical interlude held on the first Monday of each month from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. in the atrium at Memorial Hospital on Oak Park Boulevard. December’s performance will be held on Monday, December 7, and will feature the Masterworks Choral Ensemble. First Monday in the Atrium is free and open to the public. The performances are made possible thanks to the generous support of Business First Bank, The Eye Clinic and Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. For more information on First Monday in the Atrium or The Foundation at Lake Charles Memorial Hospital, please call (337) 494-3226.

DECEMBER 10
•WCAC’s 60th Annual Banquet and Fundraiser
The West Calcasieu Association of Commerce will host their 60th Annual Banquet and Fundraiser on Thursday, December 10 at the new Holiday Inn in Sulphur on Arena Road. Entertainment will be provided by "The Cajun AmbassadorTM", Jonathan Perry. 
Major sponsors of the WCAC Banquet and Fundraiser are Citgo Petroleum Company, Capital One Bank, Entergy and AT & T. Tickets for two are $100 and tables for 10 people are $500. Seating is limited. You will enjoy a great night of entertainment, a wonderful meal, and a chance to win some great prizes including a 32” flat screen television, barbeque pit, shotgun, gift certificates, jewelry, etc. You do not have to be present to win. Everyone who purchases a ticket is automatically put into the drawing.
All West Calcasieu of Commerce members, friends, and the public are welcome to attend.
Lloyd Lauw, current WCAC president, will be presenting the 2009 Citizen of the Year Award. This award has been presented to a deserving citizen of West Calcasieu Parish since 1984 and all past recipients are invited to attend this year’s banquet. The WCAC will also be unveiling its new logo and Membership Campaign for 2010. Come join the excitement. Buy your tickets today by calling the WCAC office at 337-533-1040 or contacting any WCAC member.
•CCOA’s ‘Very Merry Christmas Party for Seniors’
Calcasieu Council on Aging is hosting their 16th Annual “Very Merry Christmas Party for Seniors” on December 10, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Registration begins at 9 a.m. at the Lake Charles Civic Exhibition Hall. There will be live entertainment, ENTERGY Bingo, and Santa will fill the day with Christmas cheer. A continental breakfast and a full Christmas lunch with all the trimmings will be served.

DECEMBER 11
•Care Help of Sulphur Life Skills Class
Life Skills Class with noted workshop presenter Carol Pettyjohn will be held on December 11 from 1 to 3 p.m. at 112 E. Thomas St. in Sulphur. Attendees will learn: Why a budget is necessary - How to prepare a simple budget - How to avoid financial pitfalls - How to repair bad credit. There will be a free drawing for Care Help’s Wise Penny Thrift Store gift certificate. Seating is limited, so call to reserve your place at 528-2273. Feel free to visit our website at www.care-help.org to find out more about our organization.

DECEMBER 16 & 17
•Care Help Christmas Project Application and Distribution Days
Care Help of Sulphur will be holding their Christmas Project application and distribution days on December 16 and 17 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Care Help located at 112 E. Thomas Street. All Sulphur residents who qualify will receive a food box and a care packet (soap, toothpaste, laundry detergent, etc.)  Folks aged 58 and older will also receive a $50 gift card.  Pick up an application at the Wise Penny Thrift Store, 200 N. Huntington Street. Questions? Please call 528-2273.

DECEMBER 28
•Mardi Gras Shoebox Float Contest Deadline
Glitter, feathers, glue and shoeboxes. Who knew that Mardi Gras could be so crafty? The Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors Bureau is inviting the community to bedazzle their shoeboxes and help usher in the 2010 Mardi Gras season.
Anyone can participate! There are school group divisions as well as divisions for amateurs ranging from child to adult, and new to the contest is an additional category for adult civic groups and organizations. The deadline for registering is Monday, Dec. 28. Floats will be received at the bureau’s welcome center, 1205 N. Lakeshore Drive, on Friday, Jan. 8, and judging will take place on Saturday, Jan. 9. Visitors to the bureau will vote on their favorite floats until Wednesday, Feb. 17, and the People’s Choice Award will be announced Thursday, Feb. 18. For a registration form, visit www.swlamardigras.com and click on “Get Involved” or contact the Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors Bureau at 800-456-7952.

FEBRUARY 1, 2010
•VFW Outstanding Young Volunteer Contest
The Outstanding Young Volunteer Contest is for outstanding youth who submit, by February 1, 2010, three letters of recommendation from the organizations for which you volunteer. Contact VFW Post 8107 for more details.

MARCH 31, 2010
•VFW Young American Creative Art Contest
Young American Creative Art Contest for Grades 9 through 12. Please submit a sketch, painting or drawing of a patriotic theme. The deadline is March 31, 2010. Contact VFW Post 8107 for more details. Contact VFW Post 8107 for more details.

ONGOING
•Performing Arts during the Holidays
Christmas is not just about parades, candy, and gifts. Here in the Lake Area, many other forms of celebration are happening, too! From the theatrical stage to the chorus line, our additional Christmas festivities will have you feeling the spirit of the holidays! Concerts include The Messiah at Bulber Auditorium, Sunday, Dec. 6 at 3 p.m.; the Bulber Youth Orchestra’s Musical Christmas Card on the evening of Saturday, Dec. 12, at the Shearman Fine Arts Center at 6 p.m.; and performances of "A Festival of Nine Lessons & Carols” by Masterworks Chorale, Bayou Bell Choir and Les Petites Voix on Friday, Dec. 11, at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in downtown Lake Charles and Sunday, Dec. 13, at the Immaculate Conception Church in Sulphur. Lighting up the stage is Rudolph, the ballet, presented by the Lake Charles Civic Ballet Dec. 12 at the Lake Charles Civic Center’s Rosa Hart Theatre. For a 2009 Christmas in Southwest Louisiana brochure of all the festivities and locations, contact the Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention and Visitors Bureau at (337) 436-9588 or visit www.visitlakecharles.org.
•Sponsors Wanted for new Community Garden
The Maplewood/Hollywood Lions Club is looking for sponsors for the new Sulphur Community Garden that is located next to the Lions Club building at 3310 Maplewood Drive. Any business or non-profit organization interested in sponsoring a garden bed should call Lion Nancy Tower at (337) 842-7849 or leave a message at the Club by calling (337) 625-2516.
•Mayor’s Commission for the Needs of the Disabled
On the second Wednesday of each month, 10:30 a.m., the Mayor’s Commission for the Needs of the Disabled meet in the Sulphur City Council Chambers, 500 N. Huntington Street.
•CFO Offers Saturday Morning Sports Injury Clinic
Center for Orthopaedics (CFO) will be offering a Sports Injury Clinic for high school athletes every Saturday morning beginning August 29.  The Sports Injury Clinic will be open from 8 to 10 a.m. at CFO’s new Lake Charles office, located at 1747 Imperial Blvd. (just off Nelson, 1/2 mile South of Country Club). CFO’s staff of orthopaedic and sports medicine physicians and support staff have extensive experience in working with local and national high school, college and professional athletes.  Walk-in patients with sports injuries are accepted and no appointment is needed. The Sports Injury Clinic is offered as a convenient service for area athletes and will continue throughout the high school football season. Call 721-7CFO for more information or visit www.centerforortho.com.
•Shots for Tots Program
West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital is a provider of the Shots for Tots program. The schedule is as follows: First Saturday of each month, 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon, West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital, 701 Cypress Street, Sulphur; First Saturday of odd months, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Vinton Medical Clinic, 1611 Hampton Street, Vinton; Second Thursday of each month, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Dynamic Dimensions East, 602 Sam Houston Jones Parkway, Moss Bluff. There is a $10 fee for shots. Program is open to children, teens and adults. For more information, or for schedule changes, call (337) 527-4361 or visit www.wcch.com.
•WCCH Diabetes Support Group Held Monthly
A Diabetes Support Group meeting is held on the last Tuesday of the month at 11:30 a.m. at West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital in the Cafeteria Conference Room. This meeting is free to the public. However, there are no meetings slated for November and December due to the holidays.