LifeShare Blood Centers reports the local blood supply is critically low on all blood types and requests that all eligible donors come give as soon as possible, especially type O and B.  Currently there is less than a two-day supply vailable of type O negative and it takes at least 24 hours after someone gives blood before it is available for use. For center hours, to locate a convenient mobile blood drive, or to make a donation appointment, go to www.lifeshare.org or call 337-436-4932 or go to 214 Dr. Michael DeBakey Drive in Lake Charles.

Women & Children's Hospital will host a free bariatric seminar Wednesday, January 16, at 6pm in the First Floor Classroom of the hospital, located at 4200 Nelson Rd. Board-certified general surgeon, Keith Chung, M.D. will discuss the three surgical weight loss procedures offered at WCH, a designated Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence and will help you find out if weight loss surgery is right for you.  Call 475-4760 to reserve your place.  Feel free to bring a support person with you.

Join Chick-fil-A at Lumpkin Plaza for Free Breakfast Thursdays from 6am to 8am - only! They will have a special "Free Breakfast Thursday" item weekly, but you must request it to receive it. On January

17, they will serve a Spicy Chicken Biscuit. On January 24, they will serve a Sausage Biscuit. On January 31, they are serving Biscuit and Sausage Gravy. This offer is good for the advertised item only,

no substitutions. Must claim the offer at Chick-fil-A located at 3435 Nelson Road! Limit - 1 item per Customer per Thursday.

Women & Children's Hospital will host their next free Healthy Woman event on Thursday, January 17, from 5:30 to 7pm at the Lake Charles Country Club located at 3350 Country Club Drive.  The topic for this month's event is Start the New Year Off Right and will feature a sampling of the latest dance and exercise classes sweeping the nation including; Zumba, belly dancing and other Latin moves. Exercise attire is encouraged.  Anyone interested in attending this event or in joining Healthy Woman should register at www.women-childrens.com/healthywoman or call Lisa Guerrero at 337-475-4064. Door prizes and refreshments will be provided following the program.  

Everyone is invited to celebrate Coushatta Casino Resort's 18th Anniversary on Friday, January 18th at 10am in the Mikko Showroom.  Refreshments and hors d'oeuvres will be served.  Call 1-800-584-7263 for more information.

Caraway & Branch Chiropractic Clinic is currently accepting new patients into their Ideal Protein weight loss program. We are offering a 50% off of the initial consultation fee a $50 value for the month of January. Ideal Protein is a medically designed and in our office supervised by a health care professional. Participants may lose 3-7 pounds a week without exercise. For more information call us at 337-439-9313 or visit our website at carawaybranch.com.

The deadline for the 2013 ADDY Awards is January 18th for professional organizations and January 25th for Students. Submit your entry online and drop of your completed entry packet at Sowela Technical Community College (3820 J Bennett Johnston Ave, Lake Charles, LA). For more information on the ADDY process, check out their website at http://www.aaflakecharles.com/2013-addy-awards/. This awards showcase is an event of the American Advertising Federation Lake Charles.

Louisiana Public Broadcasting is hosting a four-episode, 2-hour marathon of Go Coast: Louisiana on Sunday, January 20, beginning at 5pm, and ending with the premiere of the Calcasieu and Cameron Parishes episode at 6:30pm. 

The Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors Bureau is honored to host the Lieutenant Governor's Tourism Summit in Lake Charles January 22-24, 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.

The Institute for Industry-Education Collaboration at McNeese State University offers the following classes: Construction Site Safety Technician (CSST) on Tue and Thur, Jan. 22 - May 16 from 6 - 9:30 pm; Private Investigator Basic Training on Fri, Sat, Sun, Feb. 1-3 & 8-10; from 6pm-10pm, and Sat & Sun from 8am-5pm; OSHA 10-HR Standards for General Industry on Wed and Thur, Feb 6 (8am-4:30pm) and Feb 7 (8am-11:30am); Fundamentals of Project Management on Fri, Feb 8 from 8am-3pm; and Introduction to Cyber Security on Tue, Feb 19 from 8am-5pm. For more information, go to www.mcneese.edu/iiec or call 562-4139.

The Senior Circle Chapter at Women & Children's Hospital is hosting a "Diabetes and Wound Care" Lunch and Learn Thursday, January 24, at the Lake Charles Country Club at 12 noon  The speaker will be Wound Care Specialist, Rocky Fowler, M.D. Senior Circle is open to men and women ages 50 and better. To RSVP, call 475-4018 by Monday, January 21.

Yellowbook 360 is hosting a free online marketing seminar on January 24 from 3pm to 6pm.  Topics will include your local online visibility, website design, search engine optimization, social media, local listings and maps, mobile search, and more.  This seminar will be held at SpringHill Suites in Lake Charles located at 1551 West Prien Lake Road.  To register, email gayla.richard@hibu.com or call 337-232-4831. 

The City of Lake Charles will open the traveling exhibition"50 Greatest Photographs of National Geographic." The opening reception will take place Friday, January 25, from 5:30-8pm at the Historic City Hall Arts and Cultural Center at 1001 Ryan Street. All ages are welcome at no charge and refreshments will be served.

The American Cancer Society would like to invite everyone to their 11th Annual Food Tasting Dinner Experience on Saturday, January 26. Patrons attending will have the opportunity to enjoy a meal created by a diverse group of local restaurants and food establishments who will provide a culinary sampling of their establishment's menu. There will also be a live and silent auction taking place during the event. The event will be held at the American Legion Post 208 in Vinton, Louisiana (Exit 8) from 6pm to 9pm. Tickets can be purchased in advance for $15 or at the door for $20. For more information, please contact Ariel Caraway 337-433-5817 ext. 2. 
 

The Louisiana Crossroads series continues as The City of Lake Charles presents Joel Savoy's Honky Tonk Merry-Go-Round & Special Guests on Wednesday, January 30, at 7pm at Central School Theater, 809 Kirby Street. Advance tickets for the Lake Charles shows are $10 and can be purchased at the Arts and Humanities Council of Southwest Louisiana on the second floor of Central School or online at www.louisianacrossroads.org. Tickets at the door will be $12. For more information, please call (337) 491-9159 or visit the department of cultural affairs at www.cityoflakecharles.com.

The Arts Council of SWLA announces that the application for the Lake Charles Partnership Grant is available for the 2013-2014 fiscal year. This competitive grant program is funded annually by the City of Lake Charles and administered by the Arts Council, and it expands the accessibility of the arts by providing arts organizations and community groups the opportunity to develop arts programming within Lake Charles. Applicants may apply for up to $3,000 for project assistance for events occurring between April 2013 and March 2014. Eligible applicants may also apply for up to $2,000 for organizational support which provides funding for operating expenses of arts organizations, such as salaries and supplies. Applications may be downloaded at www.artsandhumanitiesswla.org or picked up at the Arts Council office, located at 809 Kirby Street, Suite 202 in Lake Charles. Applications must be received, not post-marked, by Friday, February 1, at 5pm in the Arts Council office; applications may not be submitted to the City of Lake Charles.

The Empress of Soul, Gladys Knight, will perform at L'Auberge Casino Resort Lake Charles on February 15, in the Event Center. Gladys Knight is an eight-time Grammy winner and has performedas a solo and group artist over the past 50 years.Tickets are available through www.ticketmaster.com. Floor tickets will be $60, and stadium tickets will be $50. Must be 21 to attend.

American pop rock band, Matchbox Twenty, will hit the stage of L'Auberge Casino Resort Lake Charles 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.