Applications now available to schools and teachers – deadline is May 21

Each year, more than 1,500 elementary school students spend a fun-filled day at the Contra Costa County Fair’s School Tour Day. It’s a free field trip to the Fair for students in Contra Costa County schools in grades Kindergarten through fifth grade – and is designed to celebrate and educate!

This year, there are two school tour days to choose from – Thursday, May 30, or Friday, May 31, from 9 am to noon. Applications are now available and due by Tuesday, May 21. Teachers are required to fill out an application for their students and chaperones.

The 2013 School Tour Day will include live animal shows, livestock education and demonstrations, community exhibits, and tours of the Mangini Agricultural Museum. Entertainment acts during the tour include Wild About Monkeys, Circus Imagination, Jeremy the Juggler, Tyzen the Hypnotist, and Skip Banks the Balloon Man. Additionally, all visitors are invited to picnic in the Fairgrounds Front Park.

To reserve your space at the 2013 School Tour Day, fill out an application and register by Tuesday, May 21. Applications are available at the Fairgrounds Office in Antioch, by calling the Fairgrounds Office at (925) 757-4400, or by visiting the website at www.ContraCostaFair.com. All Contra Costa County schools, grades K-5, are invited to attend.

This year’s Contra Costa County Fair is May 30 – June 2. For information, visit www.ContraCostaFair.com or call the Fair Office at (925) 757-4400.

The internationally-acclaimed Harlem Ambassadors will be visiting Pittsburg for a game at Pittsburg High School on Friday, May 10, 2013 at 7:00 p.m.

The Harlem Ambassadors offer a unique brand of Harlem-style basketball, featuring high-flying slam dunks, dazzling ball-handling tricks and hilarious comedy routines.

The Ambassadors feature non-stop laughs and deliver a positive message for kids wherever the Ambassadors play.

“At our shows, we want the kids to know that they’re part of our team too,” Coach Ladè Majic said. “We invite as many kids as we can to come sit on the bench, have a front row seat during the show, and get involved in all of the fun stuff we do.”

The Ambassadors set themselves apart from other “Harlem-style” basketball teams by working with local not-for- profit and service organizations and holding Harlem Ambassadors shows as community fundraising events. For Pittsburg’s  event  the  Ambassadors  have  partnered  with  the  Center  for Human  Development  and  Antioch Rivertown Jamboree to help raise funds for the youth and families of East Contra Costa County.

The Center for Human Development (CHD) is a community-based organization that offers a spectrum of services for at-risk youth, individuals, families, and communities in the Bay Area.  CHD staff deliver programs addressing wellness and prevention, youth leadership, conflict resolution, parenting skills and other challenges facing the community. East Contra Costa programs include African American Wellness, Empowerment, Four Corners, Project SUCCESS, and Youth Nutrition Advocates.

Antioch Rivertown Jamboree is a non-profit organization with a primary goal of conducting public celebrations and events to make the public aware of and enjoy the benefits of the City of Antioch and the Rivertown District. All profits are contributed to various local non-profit organizations

The Ambassadors have worked extensively with organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, Boys & Girls Clubs, Big Brothers Big Sisters and American Red Cross as well as Rotary, Lions and Kiwanis clubs in communities throughout the U.S., and perform more than 200 shows a year. Those shows have helped raise millions of dollars

– an accomplishment of which Ambassadors President Dale Moss is very proud.

“It feels good to be able to provide quality entertainment and create memories that the fans will take with them,” Moss explained. “We’re able to give even more when we can help provide funding for a Habitat for Humanity house or new computers for the school library, and that feels great.”

To learn more, visit www.harlemambassadors.com.

GAME TICKET INFORMATION: Please contact Kris Pascoe or Betty Smith to inquire about or purchase tickets

Kris Pascoe @925-687-8844 x246

kristin@chd-prevention.org

Center for Human Development, non-profit organization

ID #94-2520840

Betty Smith @ 925-757-0972

betty@rivertownjamboree.com

Rivertown Jamboree, non-profit organization

ID #68-0159140

The Contra Costa County Fair is currently looking for individuals interested in volunteering at the 2013 Contra Costa County Fair, May 30 – June 2. Here’s your chance to attend the Fair, while also being part of the Fair! Contra Costa County Fair volunteers play an important role in helping to make the annual Fair a success. Plus, the Fair is a great place to give your time, learn something new, and have some fun!

The Fair is looking for volunteers to help in the exhibit department, livestock area, agricultural education, Fairgrounds classroom and museum, gardens, and office.

Teen and adult volunteers are encouraged to participate. Volunteer applications are now available at www.ContraCostaFair.com. Simply fill out the form and return it to the Fair office by Tuesday, May 14, 2013.

This year’s Contra Costa County Fair is May 30 – June 2. For information, visit www.ContraCostaFair.com or call the Fair Office at (925) 757-4400.

Enter at the Fair Office or on-line – it’s fun and easy!

Want to enter something in this year’s Contra Costa County Fair? Imagine the thrill of winning a blue ribbon at the Fair for a special talent. Think you own the best pig, bake the most delicious apple pie, make a beautiful quilt, or have an uncanny knack for making crafts? Be sure to enter the Contra Costa County Fair’s competitive exhibits – and join the thousands of Contra Costa County residents who enter exhibits each year in the Fair. There are hundreds of categories and specialty contests for adults and children.

Now is the time to complete the paperwork for those entries. The Contra Costa County Fair’s Exhibit Handbook, which includes all the information you need to enter exhibits, is now available on the Fair’s website at www.ContraCostaFair.com. Both paper entries and online entries are currently being accepted. Simply visit the Fair Office in Antioch or log-on to the Fair’s website at www.ContraCostaFair.com to complete the entry process.

The Fair is accepting paper entries until April 30 and on-line entries will be accepted until May 5. In order to accommodate exhibitors, the Fair Office will be open from 8 am – 8 pm on April 30 to accept paper entries. If you prefer to enter online, visit the Fair’s website from now until May 5 at midnight to complete the process.

The Fairgrounds is also accepting coloring contest forms and cook-out paper entries from now until May 17 at 5 pm.

This year’s Contra Costa County Fair is May 30 – June 2. For information, visit www.ContraCostaFair.com or call the Fair Office at (925) 757-4400. If you’re interested in receiving a copy of the Fair’s free electronic newsletter, visit the Fair’s website to sign up.

 

You’re invited to attend theYouth Intervention Network (YIN) Spring Luncheon:
“Preventing Bullying and Reconnecting Our Youth” on Thursday, May 9, 11:30 – 1:30 pm at the Lone Tree Golf and Event Center in Antioch.

We anticipate an audience of about 100 local and regional leaders at this historic event.
Individual tickets are $50 and we are looking for additional sponsors for this event to support the work of YIN. As a sponsor, you will be recognized in outreach and event material. In addition, this program will be taped for broadcast by CCTV and will reach thousands of households throughout the Contra Costa community.

The Youth Intervention Network (YIN) Spring Luncheon

Honorary Hosts

Assemblyman Jim Frazier, Supervisor Mary Peipho, AUSD School Board President Joy Motts,

AUSD Superintendent Donald Gill, and Antioch Mayor Wade Harper

“Preventing Bullying and Reconnecting Our Youth”

Building Healthy Families, Safe Schools, and an Inclusive Community

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Lone Tree Golf Course and Event Center,

4800 Golf Course Road in Antioch

11:30 am – 1:30 pm

Keynote Speaker: Melinda Haag, US Attorney for the Northern District of California

Panelists:

Allan Cantando, Antioch Police Chief

Stephanie Anello, Antioch Unified School District Student Services

Devorah Levine, Contra Costa Zero Tolerance for Domestic Violence Initiative

Iris Archuleta, Co-Founder, YIN/CEO, Emerald HPC International, LLC

As recent events have demonstrated, bullying, cyberbullying and other forms of mistreatment continue to permeate our schools. The growing indifference and increase in bystander behavior has had the unintended consequence of ‘normalizing’ incivility and intolerance. These dangerous behaviors are occurring at younger ages and are more pervasive and therefore more challenging for adults to identify. It is not possible to legislate civility or punish young people into being tolerant. Evidence and experience call for a change in direction, priorities and the allocation of resources. To increase school safety, attendance, achievement and graduation rates, schools and communities need a new approach and strategies that focus on the fundamental determinants affecting school climate:
– Strengthening the relationships between among youth and adults

– Viewing students as resources and contributors

– Utilizing restorative justice practices and policies

– Changing the social norms that allow bullying to occur.

The principal objective of school violence-reduction strategies should be to
create cultures and climates of safety, respect, and emotional support within educational institutions.

– U.S. Secret Service and Department of Education

Our keynote speaker, Melinda Haag, is serving her first term as the US Attorney for the Northern District of California. She was appointed by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the US Senate in August 2010. Ms. Haag served most recently as the Chief of the White Collar Crimes Section in the Northern District, where she supervised the prosecution of white collar, environmental, child exploitation, and civil rights offenses. Selected by the Daily Journal as one of the Top 100 Lawyers (2009 and 2010) and Top Women Litigators (2005-2009) in California, she received the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Public Service Award in 2003.

This luncheon will highlight the continuing efforts of the Youth Intervention Network (YIN) to engage youth ages 10 through 18 who, because they are truant and/or academically disengaged, are likely to commit or become victims of violence without the appropriate interventions. Our distinguished panelists will focus on national and regional strategies to prevent bullying and how parents, businesses, and civic organizations can support efforts by AUSD, the City of Antioch, the Antioch Police Department, Contra Costa County, and YIN to prevent bullying and create safe and inclusive learning environments for our youth and young adults in Antioch and East County.

Since 2008, YIN has trained over 250 youth and adult leaders and volunteers, served over 50 families and 90 youth, and brought together more than 35 Antioch and Contra Costa County agencies and organizations. Among youth and families served, there has been a 92% reduction in police calls for service, an 83% reduction in truancy, and an improvement in student GPA by an average of 2 grade points. Ninety percent of the students participating in YIN have graduated from high school. Of these, 100% have gone on to postsecondary education.

YIN was recently featured at the opening celebration of the United Nations Peace University at the Hague in the Netherlands. Also, YIN’s success has been acclaimed in several local, state and national awards, including the National Project Safe Neighborhoods Best Community Involvement Award for 2010.
It has been a goal since the inception of YIN to integrate its best practices into the right community vehicle that would move the vision forward and take it to a level of sustainability. To that end, a transition team has completed the incorporation of YIN as an independent 501c3, and selected a board of directors and officers.

Your participation will support:

• the continuing work of YIN to reduce youth crime and gang violence though direct intervention into the lives of youth and their families, though agency collaboration and accountability, and through positive community messaging and transformation based on inclusion, service, cooperation, personal responsibility, and mutual accountability.

• the development and measurement of cross-agency strategies to reduce truancy, dropout rates, and youth violence and to increase academic performance, graduation, employability, and college-going rates among youth.

• the recruitment, training, and support of community volunteers to serve as mediators and educational advocates who directly engage youth and families under the award-winning YIN mediative intervention model.

We anticipate an audience of about 100 local and regional leaders and the event will be taped for broadcast by CCTV to the Contra Costa community.

Will you support YIN by sponsoring and/or attending this event?

Tickets are $50 and we are seeking additional sponsors for this event to support the work of YIN. Please complete the attached reservation or sponsorship form and confirm your attendance by Wednesday, April 30.

For more information about Melinda Haag, click here.

If you have any questions, please feel fee to contact: keith@emeraldhpc.com

The Contra Costa County Fairgrounds would like to invite all non-profit groups in Contra Costa County to participate in a fundraising opportunity that raises funds for non-profit organizations, while also sharing the enthusiasm for the Contra Costa County Fair!

Non-profit organizations that choose to participate are invited to sell tickets for the Unlimited Ride Wristbands valid at the Contra Costa County Fair carnival. Unlimited Carnival Ride Wristband tickets will be sold by the non-profit organization for $18 each (this is $7 off the regular price)and $4 of each ticket sold goes back to the non-profit organization. That’s right – your organization will receive $4 for every ticket sold!

If your organization is interested – it’s an easy process. From April 15 until May 17, your non–profit organization will pre–sell tickets for the Unlimited Ride Wristbands.The purchaser can redeem their ticket at any of the Midway of Fun Main Carnival Ticket Booths during the Fair, May 30-June 2, 2013, and receive their Unlimited Ride Wristband at that time. The carnival ride wristband is valid for one whole dayof unlimited carnival rides at the Contra Costa County Fair!

If interested, please call the Fair Office at (925) 757-4400 for an application and additional details. This year’s Contra Costa County Fair is May 30 – June 2. For Fair information, visit www.ContraCostaFair.com.