Pigskin, Play, Party, Mules and More

The Green Wave kicks off its 2013 season by facing rival Pickens at home tonight. The game starts at 8pm. During halftime, fans will learn which school raised the most money for Pickens County Meals on Wheels in the 6th Annual Sam Wyche Food Fight Bowl.

The stadium is sure to be packed, so give yourself time to get there without missing any of the action.

You have three more chances to catch “Smoke on the Mountain Homecoming” at the Foothills Playhouse.

The show is the third in the Sanders family saga, a series about a traveling Southern Gospel band that goes from church to church preaching and singing bluegrass gospel tunes. This part of the series is set in 1945 at the end of World War II.

“Prosperity is just around the corner and from the vantage point of the 21st Century we can see the innocence that is now gone,” says the show’s producer Maurice Reed. “This play is full of fun, sometimes tetchy family dynamics and, best of all, some really good toe-tapping feel-good music.”

The show will run Friday, August 23 and Saturday August 24 at 8pm and Sunday, August 25 at 3pm.

For ticket information call 864-855-1817, go to www.showtix4u.com or email the Playhouse at foothillsplayhouse@att.net. 

Upstate School Spirit and a number of other Easley businesses are teaming up for a Back-to-School Block Party 11am – 4pm Saturday at 1035 South Pendleton Street.

The party is free.

Vendors include Coyote Coffee, Pure Purse Obsession, Skin’s, Subway,  The UPS Store, Lollypop Lady,  Subway,  Butterfly Ministry for Girls, Paper Party Place,  Sport Clips, Easley Patch,  Origami Owl,  DJ N-Fa-Miss, the Easley Police Department and Easley Fire Department.

The party will feature door prizes, face painting, balloons, games, Child ID kits, fire truck, a police car and more.

Local booster clubs, football players, cheerleaders, beauty queens and bands will make special appearances during the block party.

Sport Clips will be spray-painting hair during the event. There will also be a Corn Hole competition.

A new Easley business is celebrating its Grand Opening Saturday.

Kyle Shirley has opened Palmetto Cycling Adventures at 101 North A Street.

The store will celebrate its Grand Opening on August 24 from 9am – 1pm.

“We'll have a drawing for a free tuneup on a bicycle that's equal to $69,” Shirley said.

Hot dog plates will be available during the Grand Opening for $3.

The Easley Farmers Market will be open from 8am – noon on Saturday in front of City Hall. See what the area's farmers and vendors have to offer.

The 2013 Mission Action Challenge (MAC) will be held Saturday August 24 and will once again include cycling events and a popular 5K Run through downtown Easley. Cycling events originating and concluding at Old Market Square will include 100-mile, 62-mile, 40-mile and 20-mile routes as well as a 10-mile Family ride. Participants are urged to register online at rideformac.com.

Approximately 460 area children received shoes this year courtesy of the MAC Ride and Run, Easley First Baptist Church,  5 Point Fellowship and Fleet Feet Sports in Greenville. In total, more than 1,700 pairs of shoes have been distributed since the event’s inception in 2008. A portion of the funds are donated to Hope Unlimited, a missions organization committed to the physical, educational, and spiritual needs of Brazil’s street children.

The Mission Action Challenge originated in 2008 when a group of cyclists named the event in honor of Mac Lawton, a community leader, founder of the 567 Club for Boys, and recipient of the Order of the Silver Crescent, South Carolina’s highest honor for outstanding achievements and community contributions. Mr. Lawton lost his battle with prostate cancer in January of this year.

The MAC Ride starts at 7:30am. The MAC Run starts at 8:30am.

For more information and to register, visit rideformac.com

The Crosswell Fire Department is hosting a blood drive Sunday afternoon.

The blood drive will be held 1pm – 6:30pm Sunday, August 25.

All blood types are needed. Call 884-2994.

If you're planning to donate, please bring a photo ID.

Alison Smith, the student blood drive coordinator for Sunday's drive, could win a scholarship through the American Red Cross.

The Hampton Memorial Library in Easley is hosting a screening of the documentary “Molly the Mule” at 3pm Sunday, August 25. The movie details how Molly the Mule keeps Fowler Farm of Liberty going and captures a vanishing way of life. The screening is free.