Lions Club Wine Tasting and Teen Kula Idol

Welcome to "Club Hub," a weekly column featuring news and events from the clubs around town. Here's a look at what's going on with some of the organizations in Franklin Lakes. 

This Friday night, the Franklin Lakes Lions Club is hosting a wine tasting event at , from 7 to 10 p.m. A night of wine tasting with a variety of wines from the Wine Seller of Ridgewood. Wine tasting, appetizers, hot buffet with pasta station, dessert and coffee all included. Tickets cost $85 and are available by calling Dr. Warsak's office at 201-891-6065 or stop at his office at 777 Franklin Ave., Franklin Lakes. 

The Lions Club is the world's largest service organization, with 45,000 clubs and 1.35 million members world wide. It's primary cause is sight and blindness prevention. The Franklin Lakes chapter has about 20 members and holds five fundraisers a year to support various local groups, including St. Josephs School for the Blind, Eva's Village in Paterson, Emmanuel Cancer Foundation, Eastern Christian Childrens Retreat, The Seeing Eye and Camp Marcella, a camp for blind children. The club meets the first and third Thursday of every month. 

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Also this Friday, Teen Kula for Karma is hosting the TeenKula Idol singing competition at 7 p.m. in the Indian Hills High School auditorium. Ten finalists have been chosen. To preview the competitors and vote for your favorite, visit this link at MyBergen.com. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door.  All profits to benefit Teen Kula for Karma. For more information, visit  www.kulaforkarma.org. Tickets are available online or at Stage Left Fashions. 

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The Franklin Lakes Branch of the Valley Hospital Auxiliary is having the following events:   

• Monday, March 21 at 10:30 a.m. at the Ambulance Corps Building on Bender Court, Ellen Cramer, Registered Dietitian, will speak on Reading Food Labels & Healthy Snacking.” For more information, contact Jean Neri at 201-337-3528.
• Saturday, April 9, Casino Night, 7 p.m. North Jersey Country Club in Wayne. Casino Night, benefiting The Valley Hospital Auxiliary Project, will feature a variety of games including Blackjack, Texas Hold ‘Em, Roulette and even Craps. Jason Nazzaro will be singing Frank Sinatra classics.  For $100 per person, Casino Night guests will experience a Las Vegas-style party with delicious hors d’oeuvres, a buffet dinner, luscious desserts, wine, beer, soft drinks, music, prizes and $100 in chips. For more information, contact Ann Swist at 908-578-2286 or amswist@prodigy.net.

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The Franklin Lakes Seniors, Inc. meets on Wednesday, March 16 at 12:30 p.m. at the Bender Court Firehouse/Senior Citizen Center. The club is open to all residents 62 years of age or older. Residents wishing to join the organization may do so by attending a meeting and filling out a brief form. Initial membership fee is $5 and annual dues are $5. Meetings are $1, which goes into a 50/50 raffle, and covers the cost of a light lunch. The club meets the first and third Wednesday of the month.

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The Audobon Society of Lorrimer Sanctuary is going on a Woodcock Wonder Van Trip on March 27. Also called timberdoodle, googly-eyes, and bogsucker, the American Woodcock has a wonderful and somewhat humorous courtship display. For this van trip, the club will travel to a woodcock hotspot in the Delaware Water Gap National Park to witness the nuptial dance of this unusual bird. The woodcock show begins after dinner, just as the sun sets. Van departs Lorrimer Sanctuary at 4 p.m. and returns around 9 p.m. Limited to 12 participants so register early. $27 members, $35 nonmembers.  

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Kula for Karma along with Naturally Yoga is hosting Ride the Wave of Grace beach weekend May 14 and 15, at Ocean Place Resort in Long Branch. Awaken your inner surfer, cultivate patience, courage, compassion and fearlessness with meditations, vegetarian fare, and special sessions titled Diving into the Heart of Your Dreams and Riding the Wave of Grace. For more details and reservations, contact Pam Smith, 201-807-0710 or email pam@prosmith.com.  The flier and registration form can be found at www.kulaforkarma.org.

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The Woman’s Club of Franklin Lakes is having its next meeting April 11 at 7 p.m. the . The program will be Organizing Clutter. On May 11, the Club will have its annual Dinner Meeting and Installation of New Officers at the Preakness Country Club in Wayne. 

The Woman’s Club of Franklin Lakes is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting community, area and national causes. Founded in 1949 as part of the National Organization of Woman’s Clubs, the Franklin Lakes organization has been donating funds and offering support to the Borough on a continuous basis.  This year’s key beneficiaries are Gilda’s Club and the Center for Women’s Heart Health at Valley Hospital.  

Members of the community and general area are welcome to attend Club programs as well as to join. To learn more please introduce yourself at one of our programs or contact its membership Co-Chairs: Lois Vitenson at 201-891-5119 or Alice Booth at 973-696-3476.