Eighteen years ago Evelyn Breting, then director of the Community Center, suggested to Jackie that it would be fun to have professional quality concerts in the intimacy of private homes. Jackie took the idea and put it into effect. The result is, we are now approaching our 19th season of In Home Concerts; three jazz and three classical concerts in private Fountain Hills homes. The concerts run on Sunday afternoons from January through March.

Invitations to the concerts will go into the mail tomorrow, Nov. 5, to the members of the Fountain Hills Cultural and Civic Association, organizer of the concerts. Ticket prices remain the same as last year, $40 for season tickets for each of the jazz and classical series, $15 for individual tickets, if there are any tickets remaining after season tickets have been sold. Season ticket opportunities will go to the general public later in the month. Individual tickets will go on sale in December.

If past experience is any indication, the jazz season tickets will sell out immediately. The classical season tickets will take a few days longer. In most homes, seating is limited to about 65 people, so that is the number of season tickets sold. If there are homes with larger capacity, a few individual tickets will be available.

The artists at these concerts are professional musicians from around the state, always outstanding, always entertaining. As usual, Carol Coates, chair of the In Home Concerts, has lined up six outstanding concerts for this season.

The best way to make sure you are on the invitation list is to join the Fountain Hills Cultural and Civic Association. And this is just one of the benefits of membership in the community’s oldest volunteer organization. Contact Jean Linzer, membership chair, at jlinzer@aol.com. Jean is also in charge of In Home Concert ticket sales, so be nice to her.

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Everyone is invited to a party at Wally and Sheila Nichols’ home on Friday, Nov. 6, from 7 to 9 p.m. There will be pizza and wine, beer or whatever, and great entertainment by Allen Fossenkemper’s OK Chorale Quartet. Cost is $20 per person; you can pay at the door, but please call Sheila ahead of time so she knows how much pizza to have on hand…837-0209. All proceeds go to the FHCCA’s Public Art fund.

Speaking of public art, don’t miss the kick-off and ribbon cutting of the new Docent Tours Art Walk on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 9:45 a.m.  Thanks to a year’s worth of effort by Linda Kavanagh and others, there will now be docent led tours of the town’s collection of public art on the first Saturday of every month from November to April. The docents will tell you about the various artists represented, and the inspiration for their creations. This is a worthwhile experience for residents and town visitors alike. These personally conducted art walks are the joint effort of the Public Art Committee and the Friends of the Chamber. We’ll meet you in front of George Lundeen’s “Joy of Music” outside the Community Center on the 7th!

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Another joint effort is the second annual Fountain Hills Public Forum series, produced through the cooperation of the FHCCA, the Community Center and the Fountain Hills Senior Activity Center.  The featured speakers this year are Dr. Richard Caselli on Cognitive Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease, Dec. 1 at 5 p.m.; Bonny Bentzin on Sustainability...Are you in? on Jan. 14 at 6 p.m.; Neville Cramer on America’s Immigration Crisis, Feb. 11 at 6 p.m.; and Dr. Paul McElligott on the 100 mpg Car Build, March 4 at 6 p.m. All forums are held at the Community Center.

The Fountain Hills Art League is doing its monthly First Saturday Art Walks again this winter at Plaza Fountainside. The first Saturday this month is Nov. 7. The businesses at Plaza Fountainside sponsor these art walks from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  You can enjoy live music from 12:30 to 4 p.m. thanks to the Art league and Grapeables Fine Wines.

Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap” is currently playing at our Community Theater. It will run through Nov. 15. Show times are 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sundays. Call the box office for tickets, 837-9661.

The Fountain Hills Chamber Players will give a concert on Sunday, Nov. 15, at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, 16150 El Lago Blvd. This 3 p.m. performance will feature a Beethoven Piano Trio, Miniatures by Frank Bridge, a Khachaturian Trio and Vincent Persichetti’s Pastoral. Tickets are $15.

November features the works of the Fountain Hills Photography Club at the Community Center. It is always amazing to see how many talented people live in Fountain Hills.

And speaking of talented people, the FHCCA annual Juried Art Show will be hung in January. The show features the oils, acrylics, watercolors, pastels, photographs and sculptures created by artists from Fountain Hills, Rio and Tonto Verde, and Fort McDowell. If you would like to enter this show, please call Jackie at 837-3214.

The new Community Band, sponsored by the FHCCA, will make its first appearance at the Thanksgiving Parade Nov. 26. Don’t miss this debut directed by Dale Larson.

And Thanksgiving is always the kickoff for purchasing poinsettias for the annual Live Poinsettia Tree. For your tax-deductible donation of $20 to FHCCA, you can remember or honor a loved one, with names placed on the adjacent donor board. Plants this year are being supplied by the grower, Gardener’s World of Phoenix.

Members of the Community Chorus are selling tickets to their Holiday Concert Sunday, Dec. 6, at 3 p.m. or Monday, Dec. 7, at 7 p.m.  If you buy from them, tickets are only $12. Otherwise, tickets purchased at the door are $15.

The first weekend in December should put everyone in the holiday mood. First, the Community Center hosts the Noon Kiwanis Club’s Breakfast or Lunch With Santa the morning of Saturday, Dec. 5; concurrently is the Trees, Wreaths and Trains display inside and the Live Poinsettia Tree outside. That evening, the lighting of the Avenue and Stroll in the Glow is climaxed by the arrival of Santa. Then the next two days the Community Center is the venue for the Chorus’ Holiday Concert. ‘Tis the season to be jolly!

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Finally, if anyone would like to purchase a beautiful bronze sculpture of a stallion which is 58 inches tall, contact Jean Linzer, jlinzer@aol.com or 837-0762. Valued at over $3,000, the horse will go to the highest bidder. The sculpture is being offered by FHCCA and all proceeds will go to the Public Art Fund.