It’s nearly Halloween, and I hope everyone is planning for a safe and fun time tomorrow. Watch out for the little ones that will be out and about around town.

The scariest thing about Halloween may well be the candy (all those calories in candy). Come on, you know you’ll be devouring some, too.

Mark Feb. 3-5 on your calendar for a new event. The Austin Bruins and The Hormel Institute, along with the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau, are planning the first ever Paint the Town Pink.

Last year, the Bruins held a very successful Paint the Rink Pink. This year will be a community-wide celebration.

Friday will include the weekend kickoff with the Bruins at Torge’s at the Austin Holiday Inn. Saturday will be the second annual Paint the Rink Pink when the Bruins face off against Alexandria. Many special events are planned around town for the entire weekend. There will be lots to do. Contact 434-4978 for Bruins ticket information and the CVB at 437-4563 for community events.

 

Tubas ring in the season

The CVB has many great Christmas holiday events to tell you about over the next few columns as we move right into the season.

An event I want to inform you of right away is our second annual Merry TubaChristmas on Dec. 3. It is planned for 1 p.m. at Center Court in the Oak Park Mall. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m., followed by rehearsal at 10 a.m.

TubaChristmas celebrates its 38th anniversary this year, with concerts set for over 250 cities across the globe. The free Christmas concert at will be presented by performers ages 8 to 90 and over. All tuba and euphonium players of any age are welcome.

Players are encouraged to bring a music stand, their instrument and to wear bright holiday colors.

Concerts have been presented in Mason City, Northfield and other nearby cities for years, and many of our local folks have gone to perform and to watch the concert.

This year, you can stay home and have the same holiday fun with our Austin TubaChristmas event. He hope lots of people plan to attend this concert.

We are seeking donations to help purchase music as well as gift items to be used in a drawing for the players. This will allow us to invite student groups from local schools to perform in this concert.

Last year, many local businesses graciously donated, and we will be contacting you again. For more information or to give a donation to assist students, please contact me at the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau, 507-437-4563. For more information about this fun and exciting event, go to www.tubachristmas.com.

 Get planning help with the Austin Community Calendar

Did you know that there is a great all-in-one-place resource to go to so you’ll always know what is happening in Austin?

There is an Austin Community Calendar for visitors considering Austin as a destination for a family trip, business meeting, or activity can go on our website. Simply go to www.austincvb.com.

You will see our bright and colorful Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau website and lots of local attractions.

Once there, you will see the choices along the left-hand side of your computer screen. Click on “Calendar of Events.” There you will see the current month’s calendar, and you have a few choices. You can either click on “view entire month” and get a full-page printout of all of this month’s many activities or you can click on a certain date or dates right on the month’s calendar and it will bring up the events for that day or days. Also, you can go to the next month or any upcoming month by simply using the buttons there. It really is easy.

 Helping you stay informed

Our office sends out a weekly e-mail to keep people informed.

We want to help you promote your events. If you get your events listed there, you can be sure that I am checking it, and you may even find your event being featured in this monthly column sometime, or mentioned on my weekly radio shows on KAUS.

Tune in every Friday morning at 8:50 a.m. to hear myself and John Wright at KAUS on 1480-AM bringing you the “Austin Action Report.”

Stay informed about everything that is happening in Austin.