Monday, June 25, 2012

MARATHON

Help or adopt cats and kittens

A Kitten Shower Adoption event and open house for the new Cheap Shots Mobile Vet Clinic will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Purr-fect Thrift Store, 3580 Overseas Highway, Marathon.

Proceeds will benefit Forgotten Felines of the Florida Keys, and a variety of kittens and cats of all ages and personalities will be available for adoption. The event will feature refreshments and prize drawings.

Anyone who is not currently in the position to adopt a cat is welcome to stop by and browse the thrift store. Attendees are encouraged to bring a gift donation in the form of cat food or gift cards. All donors will be entered to win a grand prize.

For more information, call 305-240-5266 or email keysforgottenfelines@live.com.

KEY LARGO

Key Largo hosts Fourth festivities

Key Largo is gearing up for its Fourth of July Parade and Picnic. The parade begins at 10 a.m. and goes from Mile Marker 98 to 100. The northbound lanes of U.S. 1 will be diverted for the parade, starting at 9 a.m. and will reopen to two-way traffic at noon.

County Commissioner Sylvia Murphy is this year's grand marshal.

The community picnic, sponsored by the Key Largo Chamber of Commerce, takes place from 5-8 p.m. at the Murray Nelson Government and Cultural Center, Mile Marker 102.

The family-friendly event will feature a giant water slide, face painting, snow cones, a watermelon-seed-spitting contest, a petting zoo and plenty of relay races.

For more information about the parade or to enter a float for judging, call 305-852-3216.

FLORIDA KEYS

Bike adventure arrives in Keys

The Fuller Center Bicycle Adventure will arrive in Marathon Friday and stay overnight during its 2,000-mile journey down the East Coast, which concludes with its arrival in Key West Sunday. Cyclists are riding from Saco, Maine, to Key West and later from Seattle to San Diego to raise money and awareness for The Fuller Center for Housing, an ecumenical Christian nonprofit housing ministry founded in 2005 by the late Millard Fuller and his wife Linda, who also founded Habitat for Humanity in 1976. The East Coast ride began May 25 and ends this weekend. The West Coast ride begins July 13 and ends in San Diego on August 12.

In its first four years, the bike event raised more than $500,000 while cycling more than 10,800 miles through 31 states, working on 41 homes. For more information visit FullerCenter.org/BikeAdventure.