WEST BEND - Weather permitting Gary Britton will bring his hot-air balloon to Holy Angels School next week as part of the Future Scientists and Engineers of America program.

FSEA is held after school on Wednesdays for students’ grades 4 through 8; parents who have a background in science teach the course.

“It’s totally awesome,” said middle school science teacher Barbara Gunnare. “The first year they had 10 to 15 kids and now there are about 40 kids; it’s so popular we’re talking about expanding it to two classrooms next year.”

The instructor this term is Mike Nowack, a 1981 graduate of Holy Angels who went on to work at NASA as a Space Shuttle Orbital Maneuvering Systems Engineering Technician at the Kennedy Space Center.

Five Richfield area schools will participate in the Activities Days at the Richfield Historical Park May 22nd and May 31st, St. Gabriel School, Friess Lake School, Richfield School, Erin School and St. Peter's School. A total of 127 third graders will join the Richfield Historical Society’s volunteers to learn how life was lived many years ago.

The students, teachers and assistants will tour the mill, mill house, woodshed, log cabin, log barn and sugar shack.  They will get hands on experience doing chores from a bygone era.  The will see various grains which could have been found at the mill and the students will help move the grain bags into the mill and learn how the mill processed grain when it was an active mill. 

WEST BEND - The 37th annual Jam Music Fest sponsored by Jam for Kids Inc., will be held this year at Jug’s Hitching Post.

For the past 17 years the event has been at Regner Park. Organizer Mary Fiegel said the move was debated several times last year, but a final decision was made in January.  

“Going out to Jug’s we’ll be allowed to stay open until 1 a.m. and we’ll be able to have a full-service bar with mixed drinks and beer,” said Fiegel.

The benefit for Special Olympics is traditionally the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend.

While at Regner, the event shut down at 11:30 p.m.

“The young 21 year olds don’t go out until 10 p.m. and if it’s over at 11:30 p.m. they don’t want to pay to come in,” she said.  

Over the years the Special Olympics program has grown in West Bend and Fiegel said the organization needs to make more money.