Discount fair tickets available Sunday
Former Vice-Mayor and honorary member of the Alameda County Fair board of directors “Lil” Arnerich will be in the City Hall parking lot on Oak Street from noon to 2 p.m. this Sunday, June 22, to distribute discount tickets to the Alameda County Fair. 

This marks the 14th consecutive year that Arnerich has given away these tickets, which will get holders into the fair at half the price of regular admission tickets. 

He served on the fair’s board of director for 12 years, and the board has honored him with the title “director emeritus.

The Alameda County Fair opened last Friday and will run until Sunday, July 6. The fair is closed on Mondays and offers special days for military, senior citizens and children. The fair takes place on the Alameda County Fairgrounds, 4501 Pleasanton Ave. in Pleasanton. 

City Seeking a new Poet Laureate
The City of Alameda wishes to appoint a local writer as Alameda’s next Poet Laureate. Any local resident working as an active poet is invited to apply for this position.

The honorary position is given to a writer who uses poetry to express and celebrate a spirit of community throughout the year and to foster a love of poetry and literature among citizens young and old.

The Poet Laureate is expected to write poems throughout the year and participate in community events, education and readings. They will write at least one commemorative poem to be read at the City Council meeting at which their appointment is made.

The Poet Laureate encourages citizens to express their literary creativity, promotes and showcases original works of citizens and creates works of the written word that commemorate special events in the City of Alameda.

Applicants must have been a resident of Alameda for at least two years, have an established history of activity in the Alameda literary community and have demonstrated a commitment to and passion for poetry and embrace the opportunity to engage in community service to make poetry more accessible and available to all ages.

The Poet Laureate shall be appointed by the Mayor based upon the recommendation of the Selection Committee. The Selection Committee shall consist of the library director; one member of the library board or other library support group (Library Foundation or Friends of the Library); and one member of Alameda Island Poets.

The deadline to apply is Thursday, July 10.

Applications are available at the city’s website http://alamedaca.gov/library/alameda-poet-laureate. Completed applications should be sent to Alameda Free Library, Attn: Alameda Poet Laureate Selection Committee, 1550 Oak St. Alameda, CA, 94501.

Relay for Life coming up this weekend
This Saturday, June 21, Alameda’s 20th annual Relay for Life event will kick off at the Encinal High School track. The weekend-long Relay for Life is a fundraising event that benefits the American Cancer Society. Alameda hosted the Relay’s first event held in the Bay Area 20 years ago. 

So far this year, 27 teams have raised $43,000 for the event. The relay begins at 10 a.m. this Saturday with opening ceremonies that include live bands, fun competitions and food.

The celebration continues for 24 hours. After a midnight torch lap, there will be movies until dawn, followed by a closing ceremony at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday. 

For more information, call Lisa Leverton at 459-3333, visit www.RelayForLife.org/AlamedaCA or the Facebook page RelayForLifeofAlamedaCA.