Join friends and neighbors at the second Community Visioning meeting from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Saturday, April 19, at the New Castle Community Center for a fun and interactive session to help develop future visions for New Castle as part of the comprehensive planning process.

Mark Fuller, of Fuller Consulting Services and Davis Farrar of Western Slope Consulting, would like to see 30, 40 or 50 citizens participate in the event to get a wide range of opinions in the land use planning process.

“It’s really important for the community to use their knowledge of the area to help shape future land uses,” said Fuller. “Plus, in this kind of map exercise, with blank maps and markers, people use their imaginations and have a lot of fun.”

Fuller said at the planning meeting held last Saturday, 15 people participated in a visual preference survey to help determine people’s preferences for one urban design versus another. Survey results, along with the results of the mapping process, will help the planning team develop alternative land use scenarios.

Light refreshments will be served.

For more information, call Fuller at 963-4959 and Farrar at 963-7172.

The New Castle Lions need volunteers for the School Carnival, to be held from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Friday, April 25 at Kathryn Senor Elementary School. Volunteers who can help for an hour, more or less, begin setting-up at 3 p.m., start serving from 5:30, and cleaning up starts 8 p.m.

The New Castle Garden Club is offering “Color Your World with Gardening,” to be presented by Scott Niemann of Niemann’s Gardens of New Castle, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 29, at the New Castle Library. The master gardener will discuss what makes a successful garden, when to begin planting and container gardening. He will also have time to answer gardening questions.

For more information, please call Molly Kehoe at 948-7824.

A craft fair will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 26, in the Apple Tree Community Room located in the Apple Tree Mall, 5175 County Road 335.

Sixteen local crafters will sell their handmade crafts. Table rent will benefit the Pregnancy Resource Center of Glenwood Springs.

Contact Lola at 984-0479 (home) or 970-393-3774 (cell) for more information.

Local author /illustrator Ann Ramsey will present an “Illustrating with Photography” teen program at 6:30 p.m. tonight, April 17, at the New Castle Library. Learn the basics of creating illustrations with photography and Photoshop.

She will also be reading from her new book, “Just Be You,” featuring Honey, her cocker spaniel, along with her special “Earth Day” book, “Me, the Tree,” at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 22 at the library. A fun pine cone craft will follow.

For more information on both these events, please call the library at 984-2346.

Sometimes it’s frustrating to be landlocked. If you crave delicious, mouth-watering crab (and who doesn’t?), make your reservation now at the Miner’s Claim Restaurant in Silt. Owner Christian Harra is offering a Spring Crab Bake, with fresh crab flown in from Alaska, to be held Saturday, April 26. The dinner includes a cup of crab and corn chowder, honey wheat rolls, 1 1/2-pound Alaskan king crab, sweet corn on the cob, jumbo baked potato and French mini desserts to finish the evening.

Call 876-5372 for reservations. Bon appétit!

Kay Vasilakis’ “New Castle News” column appears every other week in the Glenwood Springs Post Independent. To contact her with a news tip or local inspiration, please call 384-9118 or e-mail kvasilakis@postindependent.com.