Saturday, September 11th, 2010: 10th Annual Catherine's Craft Fair

South Hamilton, MA

The 10th Annual Catherine's Craft Fair will be held on Saturday, September 11th from 10am - 3pm at 62 Union Street in South Hamilton, MA. 

The fair will be a fantastic day of crafts, games, food, kids' activities, live rock and jazz music, and fun!  For the past 9 years, Catherine MacLean, a survivor of aplastic anemia, organized and ran the fair.  Since Catherine is now attending college, this year's fair will be run by Catherine's brother and close friends.

All the crafts at the fair are handmade by local artisans, and the music will be provided by local bands.  Enjoy fair food like popcorn, cotton candy, and hot dogs.  Kids will love the craft activities they can make.  They'll also love the games with prizes!  Bring the whole family and come have some fun.

For more information, visit Catherine's Web site at http://catherinescraftfair.googlepages.com/

Saturday, September 11th, 2010: 11th Annual Caring Car Cruise 'n' Festival

Jeannette, PA

The 11th Annual Caring Car Cruise 'n' Festival will be held on Saturday, September 11at 3:30 pm in Jeannette, PA on Clay Avenue.  The event, organized by Tina Beranek, is held in memory of her sister, Holly Cataldo, who passed away from aplastic anemia in 1999.

The event will be packed with fun and entertainment, and it will help in the continued fight against aplastic anemia.  Entertainment will be provided by JWP, The Susan Yadamec Dance Company, The Essentials, ATA Black Belt Academy, Snap on Tool Truck, DJ Pete Highlands and Patches the Magician. 

This year, there will be a special 9/11 tribute. 

Trophies will be awarded in various car classes.  There will be food and drink booths, kids' games, a Chinese auction, 50/50 raffle, face painting and much more. There will also be a chance to win free prizes in the twist, limbo, and hula hoop contests.  Dash plaques will be given to the first 150 cars registered.  Admission is free -- only a donation is asked for.

For more information, please visit the event Web site . If you're unable to attend, but would like to donate, visit the Firstgiving Web site.

Saturday, September 11th, 2010: 6th Annual Our Hike for Bone Marrow Failure Disease

Phillips, WI

The 6th Annual "Our Hike" will be held on September 11, 2010 in Phillips, WI.  This walk was established by Robin Grapa to celebrate her life after being diagnosed with aplastic anemia in 1998.  The hike raises money and awareness for those patients and families facing bone marrow failure disease.

There are two different options to register for this event.  Option 1 is collecting a minimum of $25 in pledges.  You can go to the Our Hike Web site and download the pledge form.  There will be a prize for the highest pledge amount.  Option 2 is to register at Active.com and pay the $25 registration fee.

This year's hike festivities will start at 8:00 am at the Corner Connection in Phillips, WI.  The actual hike will kick off at 9:00 am.  The 7.5 mile hike will be partially on a paved road and on a wide gravel trail through the woods across beautiful terrain.

Hikers will arrive back at Corner Connection between 12:00 pm and 2:00 pm, where there will be a meat raffle, lunch special with snacks and other prize drawings for registered hikers.

Later in the day, the celebration will continue with dinner and raffles.  Dinner will be from 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm at Club 13 Restaurant and Lounge.  The small fee of $10/plate will include pasta plus three different choices of sauce, salad, and breadsticks.  Following dinner, from 7:00 pm - 12:00 am, there will be music provided by a DJ, paddle raffles for fun prize baskets, ticket raffles for other larger items (including a handmade items such as the "Our Hike" bandana quilt, a crocheted sock monkey and an original print), and a 50/50 raffle.

New this year will be group camping at the Price County Fairgrounds, about 2 miles from the restaurant.  Everyone is welcome, and it only costs $15/person for Friday-Saturday.  The campsite is located on Lake Duroy and there are numerous amenities at the facility.  There will also be midnight shuttle rides from the restaurant to the fairgrounds for registered campers.

For more information on Our Hike, visit their Web site .  If you're unable to attend, but would like to support Robin's event by making a donation, you can donate directly on either the Our Hike or AA&MDSIF Web sites.

Sunday, September 26th, 2010: PNH Walk

Fundraising Walk in New York City - September 26, 2010

Registration for the PNH Foundation's annual walk for PNH is officially open!  This year, the walk is taking place on Sunday, September 26th in NYC.  Please visit the Walk Web site to learn more and sign up. You can register as an  individual walker, start a team, or join an existing team. Simply click on the Registration button on the Web site and follow the instructions. If you can't join the Walk in person, please consider signing up and raising funds for the cause as an 'Off-site Walker'!  Gather your friends and family together and walk with them on the 26th in your own community.  While you can expect a fun day with friends old and new from all over the country, the Walk is also a great opportunity to gather together as a community to re-commit ourselves to work together to fight this terrible disease.  It's also a time to make new friends and honor those we have lost. Please  lace up your walking shoes on September 26 for the Walk for PNH 2010!

Warm wishes,

Your friends at the  PNH Foundation