NAMI support groups offered

MARQUETTE — The National Alliance on Mental Illness-Alger/Marquette offers free, confidential peer support groups and educational meetings for individuals living with mental illness and friends or families living with an individual with mental illness.

A support group will gather at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Baraga Place Conference Room, 129 W. Baraga Ave., Marquette.

For more information call 906-360-7107, visit www.namiam.org, or follow it on Facebook.

Bridge club at Erickson center

CURTIS — The Erickson Center for the Arts, Curtis, hosts Bridge Club every Friday at 1 p.m.

All are welcome to attend. Call the ECA office for more information at 906-586-9974.

Mentors sought for NMU program

MARQUETTE — Northern Michigan University’s nationally recognized Student Leader Fellowship Program is seeking faculty, staff and community members to serve as mentors for incoming participants for the 2019-20 academic year.

The SLFP matches students with mentors based on shared interests or hobbies and, when possible, academic and career interests. They are asked to meet at least twice monthly. Meetings can range from getting coffee and engaging in recreational activities to volunteering together and job shadowing.

“The Student Leader Fellowship Program is a mutually beneficial program,” said Carley Saint Onge, NMU senior social media coordinator and mentor, in a press release. “Students get to ask questions and learn from working professionals, while mentors get to develop their leadership skills by providing feedback and sharing experiences. I wish I had a mentorship program like this available to me when I was in college.”

The mentoring relationship is a critical component of the program. Others include an annual fall retreat, Skillbuilder workshop series, two-credit leadership theory class and a community service internship. For the past 27 years, the SLFP has assisted in the development of competent, ethical, and community-centered student leaders.

To find out more about being a mentor, or to volunteer, contact Hannah Lewis at 227-2444 or hkratz@nmu.edu.

NPL teen group to meet

NEGAUNEE — The Junior Teen Advisory Group at the Negaunee Public Library is hosting its very own Cupcake Wars at 6 p.m. June 26.

Each participant will receive two cupcakes and a variety of decorating options. Participants then judge the cupcakes and vote for their favorite — which must not be their own.

Participants get to take home and eat their cupcakes.

No nuts will be offered as decorating options. Gluten-free cupcakes can be available with an RSVP (allow time to get/bake the cupcakes). Expect egg and dairy products in the cupcakes.

This free event is for children ages 6-18.

RSVP by Monday, June 24, by calling the library at 906-475-7700 x18.

‘Loveless’ to be screened at library

MARQUETTE — Foreign Flicks, a program dedicated to contemporary films from around the world, presents the 2017 drama “Loveless” at 6 p.m. Monday, June 24, in the Peter White Public Library’s Community Room.

This is a BYO dinner event.

Amidst a bitter divorce, a couple finds they must put aside their differences to find their 12-year-old son who has disappeared. This Russian film, directed by Andrey Zvyaginstev, (in Russian with English subtitles) is rated R and runs for 127 minutes.

“Loveless” was nominated for 44 awards including Best Foreign Film (2019) from the Academy Awards, USA and Golden Globes, USA. It won 19 awards including the Jury Prize at Cannes, and Best Director and Best Feature Film from the Golden Eagle Awards, Russia.

There is no admission charge to attend this event sponsored by the Friends of the Peter White Public Library.

For more information, visit www.pwpl.info or call 226-4318.

Bluesday Tuesday at PWPL

MARQUETTE — The Peter White Public Library and the Marquette Area Blues Society invite music lovers to a concert with U.P. Gumbo at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 25, part of the monthly Bluesday Tuesday series.

The concert will be held in the library’s Community Room on the lower level.

Started around 10 years ago, U.P. Gumbo has been entertaining Marquette at Lagniappe and other venues with their unique blend of Louisiana and Mississippi Delta Folk, Blues, Cajun, Zydeco and Boogie.

The band includes Bill Hart on resonator guitar and vocals, Warren Hantz on keys, dobro, banjo and vocals, Bob Guideback on standup bass, and percussionist Randy “da Bones Man” Sepalla.

There is no admission charge to attend this event which is co-sponsored by the Marquette Area Blues Society and the Carroll Paul Memorial Trust Fund of the Peter White Public Library.

Call 226-4318 or visit www.pwpl.info for more information.

I.M.’s DDA to host conference

MARQUETTE — Iron Mountain’s Downtown Development Authority, Bay College, the Tourism Association of Dickinson County Area, and Michigan State University Extension announce the upcoming Connecting Tourism Communities Conference, to be held on Tuesday, June 25 at Bay College in Iron Mountain.

Tourism is a growing portion of the Upper Peninsula economy. The conference will focus on successful strategies that communities can use to market themselves and improve the amenities and recreational opportunities that today’s tourists demand.

Sessions will focus on marketing and branding, downtown development, outdoor recreation, and policy strategies communities can use to improve their tourism economies. Anyone working in tourism development from the public, nonprofit, or private sector should consider attending.

For more information contact Downtown Iron Mountain at 906-774-8534 or www.downtownironmountain.com.