Santa will be at the new City of Lake Charles Transit Customer Service Center, 1155 Ryan St. on Friday, December 21 to hold a meet and greet with area youth and families.  Santa will bring "holiday cheer" to everyone who attends the meet and greet at the Transfer Canopy from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. For more information, call Transit at 337-491-1253.

As a community service, associates of Coushatta Casino Resort and Koasati Pines Golf Course made donations of cash and new toys to Vietnam Veterans of America, benefiting foster and underprivileged children of Allen and Jeff Davis parishes. Associates' contributions resulted from three employee fundraisers: a slot tournament, a Blackjack tournament, and a golf tournament. Casino and tribal management donated additional funds to bring the total amount to $10,000.

Young people from Family & Youth's Leadership Center are wrapping gifts Saturdays leading up to Christmas from 2pm to 4pm at Affordable Elegance (925 Enterprise Street, Lake Charles). There is no charge, but donations will be greatly appreciated. For more information call 337.436.9533, visit www.fyca.org, or like Family & Youth on Facebook.

Wonderland on Ice is back bigger and better than ever - ice skating at L'Auberge Casino Resort runs through Tuesday, January 1, 2013, with a larger rink. Skating sessions are three hours long and are $15 per person/per session. For more information, visit https://www.llakecharles.com/entertainment/wonderland-on-ice.

Ship to Shore, Co. has great ideas for last minute Christmas gifts for anyone:  American flags, Costa Del Mar sunglasses, Yeti Coolers,Calcasieu Lake fishing Maps, North Face jackets and backpacks, custom photo of any area in 3-5 days.  They also offer free gift wrapping. Ship to Shore is open from 8am to 5pm at 4313 Lake St, call ahead to have presents ready for pickup

The Cash & Carry Farmer's market located in the historic Cash & Carry building on 801 Enterprise Boulevard is opening the market to arts and craft vendors for the entire month of December.  The Farmer's Market is held weekly on Tuesday afternoons from 4 p.m. -6 p.m.  Space is limited, so secure your spot now by contacting Jacob Manceaux at lclocalroots@gmail.com 

The USS Orleck is now offering a First Edition Orleck Christmas ornament through their online store at www.orleck.org.

On Tuesday, January 8, at 11:30am, the Arts Council will host a free seminar in Room 108 of Central School Arts & Humanities Center as part of the quarterly Regional Arts Network luncheon series. The seminar will focus on how Lake Charles is working to nurture its artistic community and how vital the art scene will be in attracting and keeping the next generation of young professionals in Lake Charles. Topics will focus on promotional strategies in the Lake Area for event planners, artists, and nonprofit organizations, and panel presentations will include tips on writing press releases, budget-conscious promotional tools, and advice on how artists can be ready for the upcoming wave of economic activity headed for Lake Charles. An RSVP is required, and lunch is served at 11:30 a.m. for $5 per person. For more information or to RSVP, call the Arts Council office at (337) 439-2787 or visit www.artsandhumanitiesswla.org.

Individuals are needed as volunteers to assist with providing free tax preparation for the upcoming tax season. United Way of Southwest Louisiana is looking for individuals to join their volunteer team as an Internal Revenue Service-certified volunteer tax preparer. The IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program provides free tax preparation services for low-income individuals and families. No experience is necessary to become a volunteer tax preparer. Volunteers will need to complete an online IRS course to obtain certification in basic tax preparation. There are a number of sites that will be providing tax preparation services. For more information and to sign up, call 337/433-1088, Ext. 11.

The Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors Bureau is honored to host the Lieutenant Governor's Tourism Summit in Lake Charles January 22-24, 2013 at L'Auberge Casino Resort. Lieutenant Governor Jay Dardenne has declared 2013 the Year of Music, so the conference theme will be "Louisiana Strong - Tourism Jam Session." The Louisiana Travel Promotion Association has planned one of the largest educational opportunities for tourism professionals across the state at the Summit. Attendees will hear from the Lieutenant Governor and other legislators on the state of the industry; Roger Dow, the President and CEO of the US Travel Association; and the Louisiana Office of Tourism. Breakout sessions will be held for sales, marketing, leadership and communications. To attend the entire conference, the Early Bird Rate is $325 until December 31. Or, consider coming for a single day for $195. To find out more about the conference, go to www.ltpa.org.

American pop rock band, Matchbox Twenty, will hit the stage of L'Auberge Casino Resort on Friday, March 22. Matchbox Twenty recently released its fourth album, "NORTH," which debuted at number one on the Billboard Top 200 album chart. Tickets will go on sale on Feb. 8, and can be purchased for $55 via www.ticketmaster.com. Must be 21. For more information on upcoming concerts log on to www.mylauberge.com or visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/laubergedulac.