There will be a session of Learn to Skate  from 5:30-6:15 p.m. on Wednesdays starting on Sept. 26  and running through Nov. 7 at Riverside Arena. This is for ages 3 to 10 and the cost is $35 and you may register on-line at www.ci.austin.mn.us. Click on City Departments then click on on-line registration.  From there click on the Registration tab, click on youth and the programs will be listed.

Riverside Arena public skate times:  5:45-7:45 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 6, 13 and 20.

Stick-time dates are:  4-5:45 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 4, 11, 18 and 25.

We add times as different opportunities arise, so check our Facebook page as we will update this calendar as they happen.

How about renting Riverside Arena for your special event?  Call our office to check on availability.

The Austin Bruin’s will host two pre-season games on tonight and Sept. 15.  The first regular season game is on Friday, Sept. 28. Puck drops at 7:05 p.m.

Halloween Warm-up Fall is around the corner

Halloween Warm-up tickets go on sale Sept. 8 at Super Fresh Produce and Bakery.  The event takes place this year on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 12-13.

New this year, during the 6:50 p.m. time slot, will be 12 extra tickets available for those who cannot walk the trails.

If you have questions, please call the nature center.  Interested in participating in the event?  Auditions will be held on Sunday, Sept. 23, at the Paramount Theatre from 6:30-8 p.m.  Call Matchbox at 507-437-9078 if you have questions

Friends of the Nature Center

Have you ever given a thought to joining the Friends of the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center?

The great benefits you receive include $5 off each child’s fee for all Summer Adventure Programs (parent/guardian must be a member), $5 coupon to use at the Thanksgiving Feast fundraiser, participate in members-only events and classes for youth and families at the nature center and enjoy a members-only bus tour day trip.

Cost of the bus is paid for by the Friends; participants take care of their own admission fees (when applicable) and food.

Friends also enjoy a subscription to Nature Center News, a semiannual publication of the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center, delivered by post or email; support and promote environmental education programming, receive an invitation to the Friends annual meeting, give a free one-year gift membership to a non-member and, of course, help to preserve the incredible Jay C. Hormel Nature Center for future generations.

You can even sign up online. Go to www.hormelnaturecenter.org, click on “get involved” and then Friends of Hormel Nature Center. It is as easy as that to start to enjoy the benefits.

The following are two of those great benefits just for Friends members:

•Saturday, Sept. 15, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Join us on a trip to Winona for a guided boat tour of the Mississippi River with Captain Aaron Repinski. Bring your picnic lunch to enjoy in Levee Park. After lunch, we will participate in an interactive guided tour of the Minnesota Marine Art Museum.Space is limited to 50 people. Cost of bus paid for by the Friends. Admission fees are $15 per person (cash or check only). Please register in person at the Interpretive Center.

• Saturday, Sept. 22, 1-3:30 p.m.

Wild, Edible and Delectable: Mushrooms with Sammie Peterson for Friends members.  Fall is the most delicious time of the year in Minnesota woodlands. Join Quarry Hill Nature Center Naturalist Sammie Peterson (our former 2014 intern) and become acquainted with the wide variety of gourmet edible mushrooms found in our region. Sammie is a certified edible mushroom identification expert and has over 10 years of mushroom-specific foraging experience. She will share mushroom biology, identification and uses, followed by a guided foray.

You must be a current Friends member to register for this free event.  Space is limited to 30 participants and preregistration is required.  Join now and participate.

Christmas crafts

Interested in the Christmas craft class?

Mark your calendar for the online registration which opens at 9 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 28. We only offer three classes from 6-9 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 29 8:30-11:30 a.m. and 1:30-4:30 p.m. on Saturday Dec. 1. The cost is $35.  These classes fill up very fast so don’t wait to get in!

Get your nature center honey

Do you like honey?  The Jay C. Hormel Nature Center has a very successful honey harvest from their very own hives. You can purchase a pound of raw honey at the nature center for $12.  Stop out and get some soon.