Saturday

Poets read

 Three poets from Eugene and Coos Bay are set to read at 1 p.m.  Saturday at the North Bend Public Library, 1800 Sherman Ave. This free reading is one in a series of poetry readings offered through the library’s collaboration with Eugene’s Traprock Press.

 The poets reading are:

* Lisa Rosen, of Eugene, who recently published a chapbook, “Bright Omens,” with Traprock Books. Lisa is an English as a second language instructor and attends Eugene-area workshops.

* Michael Hanner, also of Eugene, is an active participant in the Lane Literary Guild, in one of its poetry workshops and its administration. He designs chapbooks for workshop anthologies, organizes writers’ tours of the coast and France. He has recently produced a chapbook of travel poems and photos, “The Blue Table.”

* John Noland, of Coos Bay, was a long-time instructor of creative writing at Southwestern Oregon Community College and advisor to its arts magazine, won chapbook publication from Kalupi Press for “This Dark Land Where I Live.” Noland’s poems and essays have been published by Chicago Review, Orion and American Nature Writing.

This program is free, open to the public, and is sponsored by the Friends of the North Bend Public Library and Traprock Books.

Next Week

Finance counseling

A Southern Oregon Coast Housing Opportunities Provider public orientation will be held from 6 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the Coquille Community Building, 115 N. Birch.

SOC-HOP is a branch office of Umpqua Community Development Corp., a nonprofit organization that utilizes funding from Oregon Housing & Community Services to provided free housing counseling to the residents of Coos & Curry Counties.

Attendees will learn about all of the services and programs that the SOC-HOP office provides such as no-cost private budget, credit, homeownership counseling, financial fitness classes, funds for down payment assistance programs, 0 percent interest with deferred payment home repair loan program, pre- and post-purchase education courses, grant money for education, small business development or home purchases and more.

The meeting is part of a series of orientations to be held around Coos & Curry Counties through out the next six months.

 For more information about SOC-HOP and its programs, call 267-6505.

Senior dance

 Gene Valerio, Frosty West, Bob Richardson, Dean Conyers and Clell Laird will peform  for a senior citizen dance at 1 p.m. on Wednesday at Evergreen Court, on the campus of Baycrest Village at 451 O’Connell in North Bend. Admission is free, and the public can attend. Refreshments will be served. For more information, call 756-4466.

Voyage to Europe

The Video Voyage for June will be the first part of “Austria and Britain,” at 2 p.m. on Wednesday at the North Bend Public Library, 1800 Sherman Ave. Rick Steves will be the guide through areas such as Vienna, Salzburg, North Wales and more.

The free program is sponsored by the Friends of the Library. For more information, call 756-0400.

Last class

Unity By The Bay will hosts the last of its four-week class at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. The Rev.Carole Rose of Unity of the Redwood will present it. The last topic is “Finding and Celebrating your Special Purpose and Talents.”

 The program will be at Unity by the Bay is at 2100 Union Ave., North Bend. Participants are asked to bring a dinner.

Puppet play

The marionette show “The Great and Wonderful Marionette Flea Circus” by Celeste Rose of Eugene will be performed at 11 a.m. on Thursday at the Coos Bay Public Library, 525 W. Anderson Ave.

The play is part of the library’s summer reading program which encourages and motivates students, from preschool through high school, to read during the summer months by being offered programs and prizes.

The program follows this summer’s theme of “Catch the Reading Bug.” Fred the Fleabag tries to join the bug circus, but he doesn’t know how to do anything. What is a no-talent flea to do? Participants will meet the ladybug clowns and the bumblebee star of the show, while Fred tries to discover his hidden talents.

Puppeteer Celeste Rose is a popular performer for libraries throughout the state and has performed at Coos Bay Public Library many times in the past. She combines humor and music with her colorful marionettes to give a show that pleases young and old alike, a press release said. She is a member of Puppeteers of America and has traveled extensively in the Pacific Northwest.

Celeste makes all of her own marionettes. The heads are papier-mache, and the bodies are made from fabric. The most fun she had with this show was making an old-fashioned fire truck for the ladybug clowns and in the mayfly that does trapeze tricks, a press release said.

The 45-minute program is free and open to all ages. For more information, visit the library or call 269-1101.

The Friends of the Coos Bay Library sponsor all programs.

Free testing

There will be free, anonymous HIV testing from 4 to 6 p.m. on Thursday at the Family Resource Center, 5 St. John’s Way, Reedsport. There will be no needles, and results will be available in 20 minutes. No appointment is necessary.

Testing is encouraged for people who have had any kind of unprotected sex; shared needles for drugs, tattoos, body piercing or steroids; or had a sexually transmitted disease.

For more information, call Maggie McFadden at (541) 505-0823.