Soroptimist International of Lodi and Lodi Sunrise recently held an awards night honoring outstanding women and girls. Soroptimist International is a volunteer organization of professional and business women who contribute their time and financial support to community projects benefitting women and girls. SI Lodi recently celebrated 68 years in Lodi.

The following is a list of public meetings in the Lodi and Galt areas this week:

The Youth Committee will host its annual Spookfest on Oct. 20, it was announced Monday. The event is a fundraiser with proceeds going toward the Galt Joint Union Elementary School District's after-school program.

Everyone from hula dancers to pixies to Disney's Mr. Incredible ran, walked and skipped around Lodi Lake on Saturday morning in an effort to raise money for high school athletic departments.

The Lodi-Woodbridge Rose Society held its 13th annual fall rose show and celebration on Sept. 17 and 18 at the Lodi Grape Festival Grounds.

1. Ballet performance of ‘The Spiral Bridge: Space’

Community members are invited to the Addams Family Monster Bash on Saturday. The event is a fundraiser for the Galt Youth Committee.

Tom Presler doesn’t want to do the same thing all the time, and that includes being a zombie.

The following is a list of public meetings in the Lodi and Galt areas this week:

Rhianna Chabolla was looking for a way to connect with other stay-at-home mothers when she came across a regional group that sets up playdates for both children and their mothers.

Billy De Herrera is what you might imagine a costume maker to be. Not only was he babysat in a theater’s costume shop, he is imaginative, a performer and knows his fabrics. Lately, he’s been busy making costumes for Costumes of Lodi, but that doesn’t mean he can’t find time to plan his own Halloween costume.

Editor's note: This is the third in an occasional series.

Crossroads/Heartland Church will host a "Night Out for the Kids" from 6 to 8 p.m. today at 2223 W. Kettleman Lane. The event will include bounce houses, cookie decorating, crafts, costume and carved pumpkin contests, and treat bags for each child.

Priests past and present will be the subject of remarks by parishioners today and Sunday at St. Anne's Catholic Church, 215 W. Walnut St., Lodi.

Gourds may be the ultimate decor of the fall season, but they are Elaine Fowler's art projects all year long. She gets them before they've been touched, when they're rough, dirty and speckled with black mold. But after a little soaking and scrubbing, the gourds become her own personal canvases. She uses different types of paints to make each one look unique. The gourds range in sizes, from little ones that fit in the palm of her hand, to large ones that she holds in two arms. Some are left whole, with their unique stems spiraling in their own unique ways. Others, she carves designs or removes the tops.

For Jerry Glenn, the benefits of being a part of Lodi Adopt-A-Child are priceless.

You may not realize it yet, but there is a lot more to Lodi's art scene than the sound of the saxophone you admired at Friday Night Live, or the large-scale paintings you stood under at the First Friday Art Hop.

They were decked as a football player, a sailor, a Harley driver, a jail inmate, a pug rocker, a skeleton, a baby in pajamas and a dinosaur.

Kameron Keefer stares at the TV game-show, laughs at Bob Barker and his retro, '70s sets.

Lodi residents, businesses and school children Tuesday scrambled to help victims in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Lodi residents might get a scare this Halloween, with the absence of Haunted Hutchins.

The little things add up when it comes to helping women to find jobs and be able to afford to live independently.

Halloween costume contest for dogs planned for Saturday

Therapeutic Riding for Exceptional Children is a rehabilitation and therapeutic program for children and adults with disabilities. The nonprofit program, which has been around since 1981, serves San Joaquin, Sacramento and nearby counties. Volunteers are working on a safe facility that can be used year-round.