This Weekend in Blythewood January 15th-17th

Join Dawndy Mercer Plank, the Town of Blythewood in partnership with Westwood High School and the American Cancer Society, Sunday, January 18, for a kickoff celebration for the Relay for Life event. The celebration will be from 5:30 to 7:30 in the Manor at Doko Meadows.

This Weekend in Blythewood January 15th, 16th & 17th Join Dawndy Mercer Plank, the Town of Blythewood in partnership with Westwood High School and the American Cancer Society, Sunday, January 18, for a kickoff celebration for the Relay for Life event. The celebration will be from 5:30 to 7:30 in the Manor at Doko Meadows. Community volunteers are needed to assist the American Cancer Society in planning the event as well as participating on the day of the Relay.  Visit online at relayforlife.org/blythewoodsc or call Stephanie Reedy at the local American Cancer Society office at 750-1693 if you would like to help in this community-based event. The Relay for Life event will be held on Friday, May 8 from 6 p.m. until midnight on the track at Westwood High School. Westwood High School needs families to host 59 French exchange students and 5 teachers April 6-16, 2015. For more information about hosting a student or a teacher email  http://goo.gl/forms/di16F2ntr4  or to volunteer for the event at WHS contact Bill McCormick, Denise Pearman or Cheryl Guy at 691-4049.  New Year, New Hours... Business hours for the historic Langford-Nord House in Blythewood (home of the Blythewood Historical Society) are now Wednesday, noon to 4:00 PM, and by appointment.  For more information, call 333-8133.  J. Gordon Coogler Facts...Did you Know... James Gordon Coogler was born in Blythewood, (known then as Doko) in 1865.  He is best known as a poet, print shop owner (on East Lady Street in Columbia) and a son of Blythewood. In 1894, he was hired by the Rambler Bicycle Company to write a poem for their annual catalog and by 1897 he had sold 2,500 copies of the five editions of his poetry. Mr. Coogler was "welll respected in the community and admired for his positive, sincere and heartfelt verse". Join us at the Langford-Nord House, January 23 at 7:00 to learn more. Town Hall will be closed Monday, January 19, in observance of Martin Luther King Day.  We will reopen on Tuesday, January 20, at 8:00 a.m. Mark Your Calendar Blythewood Arts Center is offering a painting class on January 20. Join Christy Buchanan for a paint party from 6:30 to 8:30. The cost is  $45 for the class and all the materials, with a masterpiece for you to take home! Then on January 21, Bonnie Geiger will teach a Basket Weaving Class from 10 a.m. until 4:30.  The cost is $60. For more information contact Jean Bell at 550-9323. Get ready for some wonderful POETRY in Blythewood, sponsored in partnership with the Blythewood Historical Society and Bravo Blythewood. J. Gordon Coogler Festival January 22-24 January 22nd begins the annual  J.Gordon Coogler Poetry Celebration at Doko Manor starting at 6:00 p.m. Join our Blythewood students as they share their original poems written in the Coogler style. John English will MC the event. Next is a Book Event celebrating Coogler's Poetry "Purely Original Verse" . To commemorate Coogler's contributions to Blythewood history, the Historical Society will be hosting an educational program on Friday, January 23, at the Langford-Nord House starting at 7:00 PM. Writer and humorist Bill McDonald will explain how the events and culture of turn-of-the-century Columbia influenced Coogler's poetry. Mr. McDonald, a retired columnist for The State, participated in Blythewood's 1983 celebration of J. Gordon Coogler, during which the town celebrated the poet with a poetry contest, parade, and other festivities. Kelley Lannigan, a local creative writer, will read selections of Coogler's poetry. Refreshments will follow after the program. And then,  Saturday, January 24th the  Midlands Regional Poetry Out Loud High School Competition will be held  at 2:00 p.m. at Doko Manor. The winners from this event will attend the statewide Poetry event held on March 14 at the Columbia Museum of Art.  The State winner will then compete in Washington D.C. in April and receive $200, plus $500 for their school for the purchase of poetry books.