'Poker run' benefit

'Poker run' benefit
AUSTINTOWN -- A motorcycle "poker run" will be held next Sunday to benefit the family of Amanda Ferraro, a 16-year-old Fitch High School student who died last month in a car crash in Mill Creek Park.
Participants in the event will ride to five township bars and pick up playing cards. Riders who have the best poker hands after visiting the five bars will receive trophies.
The event will start with registration at 11 a.m. at the Budapest Inn at 3780 Mahoning Ave. Motorcyclists will leave the Budapest Inn to collect the playing cards at 1 p.m. and return at 4 p.m.
The fee to participate in the event is $10 for lone riders and $15 for riders with passengers. The fee is $5 for nonmotorcyclists who want to attend the event, which also will include a DJ, door prizes, food and raffles.
Proceeds will go to Ferraro's family.
All Class Reunion set
YOUNGSTOWN -- To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the leadership movement in Warren and Youngstown, Leadership Mahoning Valley will have an All Class Reunion at 5:30 p.m. April 28 at the Butler Institute of American Art.
The reunion, for all graduates of the leadership program, will be hosted by the Class of 2003.
An hors d'oeuvres reception will take place at the Butler, 524 Wick Ave. Cost is $25 per person.
For information or reservations, call (330) 941-1980.
Groups for event
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Festival of Nations, part of the Summer Festival of the Arts, is seeking ethnic groups to participate in the July 10-11 festival on the Youngstown State University campus.
A meeting to review which groups will be participating in the festival will be 4 p.m. Tuesday in the church hall of Holy Trinity Romanian Orthodox Church, 626 Wick Avenue, Youngstown.
The Festival of Nations highlights the Mahoning Valley's diverse ethnic populations through food, displays, presentations and musical or dance performances.
To participate, ethnic groups need to be members of a church, synagogue or established club or organization.
Contact Lori Factor, SFA coordinator, at (330) 941-2307 for more information and an application packet. For further details, visit www.ysu.edu/sfa/. SFA is sponsored by YSU and the Arts Council of Youngstown and Mahoning County.
American studies
YOUNGSTOWN -- An American Studies Colloquium discussion session at Youngstown State University will be held at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Ed Mann Library at the Center for Working-Class Studies in Smith Hall at the corner of Fifth and Lincoln avenues. The event is open to the public.
This is the final such informal gathering of the academic year. Featured is Dr. Diane Barnes, assistant professor of history, who will present her work on "Fraternity and Masculine Identity in the Old South: Artisan Workers in Antebellum Virginia."
The talk will explore three all-male fraternal organizations formed by white and black men in pre-Civil War Petersburg, Va., as each group sought to enhance its status in the community.
Scleroderma events
YOUNGSTOWN -- The local Scleroderma Foundation is having two fund-raising events this month to benefit its annual walk-a-thon, "Stepping Out to Cure Scleroderma," June 5 from 9 a.m. to noon in Boardman Park.
The first event is a bake sale from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, 220 N. Walnut St., Youngstown. It will feature loukomades (Greek donuts), rice pudding and kouloria (Greek butter cookies.)
The second event, "Bowl Over Scleroderma," is from 1 to 4 p.m. April 25 at Boardman Lanes. The three-game donation is $10.
People can participate in the 3-k walk-a-thon June 5 by donating a minimum of $10. People who raise at least $20 will receive a free T-shirt.
For more information, call (330) 533-0552.