This Saturday, 1:00– 4:00 p.m., Somerville Recreation will be hosting its 2016 “Kick off Fair” at the High School Field House. Ring in the New Year with Somerville Recreation. Learn about all the great things that the Recreation Department has to offer in the upcoming year, play some games and have a great fun filled day. There will be many activities for all ages including a magic show, arts and crafts, recreational games and much more.

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Happy Birthdays this week go out to the following friends and Villens of The Times: Happy birthday to our good friend and a great guy, James “Jim” Ribeiro, who is celebrating this week. Also, to Julie Tarpey-DiPasquale, who is celebrating this week. We certainly send positive thoughts for her husband Paul. Julie, we hope you have a good day. Happy birthday to Theresa Rodriques-Clark, an old friend and a great person who is now a RN at Spaulding. We wish her nothing but the best this week. A local guy who also works here in the city, we wish Kevin O’Donovan the very best. A good friend and realtor up in Townsend, Michele Busler, who is celebrating this week. We wish her a HB. Another guy. originally from Brazil. Paulo DeOliverira is celebrating this week as well. We wish him the very best. Also, from Portugal, Teder Skiba ,who has a painting company here in the city. We wish him the very best.

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Congratulations to Ross Blouin and Bill Murphy for listing and finally selling that hole in the ground in Teele Square, successfully completing the deal. Hopefully, whatever is developed there will once again complete Teele Square. Congratulations to the Blouin and Murphy team at Colony Real Estate here in Somerville in Clarendon Hill.

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If you haven’t registered to vote yet you have until February 10 to do so to vote in the Presidential Primary coming up in March here in Massachusetts. You can go to the Election Department at City Hall and fill out the form, or better yet you can just go online at https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ovr/. This year’s presidential race is crucial to everyone. There is no excuse as registering to vote can’t be any easier.

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Interested in giving back to your community? If you are, the Somerville Council on Aging (SCOA) could be the place for you. The SCOA offers a rich volunteer program with opportunities to help with programming and services for Somerville’s older adults. Every quarter, the agency hosts a “Volunteer Roundtable” devoted to giving volunteers a forum to share experiences and stories. Current SCOA volunteers mingle with those interested in learning more about the ways they lend their time and skills to building an age-friendly community. Volunteering at the Somerville Council on Aging, explains Volunteer Coordinator Natasha Naim, LCSW, provides something fun to do, while at the same time providing meaningful work. “These roundtables are a great way for current and potential volunteers to meet each and to learn from each other,” says Naim. “It’s an excellent way to combat isolation and build unity, and to help people find ways to give back to the community where they live.” The next roundtable, and the first for 2016, is set for Friday, January 22nd at 10:00 a.m. at 167 Holland Street in Somerville. For more information, contact Natasha at (617) 625-6600, ext. 2317.

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East Somerville Community School will be having their Winter Concert on January 15 at 8:45 a.m. at ESCS, 50 Cross Street, in the Auditorium.  The concert will feature performances by students at every grade, with students in K-6 performing as grade level groups. You can also enjoy selections from the 5th/6th Choir and Strings programs. The grades 7/8 Band, World Music Ensemble, and Chorus will also perform.

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Just about every non-profit organization in Somerville has joined forces to organize a benefit for Warren Goldstein-Gelb, an outstanding member of the community, and director of the Welcome Project in Somerville. Warren had severe health problems a few months ago, and his recovery process has left a long trail of bills to pay by his family. The benefit will be held February 3 at 5 p.m. at Aeronaut Brewery, 14 Tyler St., Somerville.

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Celebrate the 22nd Anniversary of the Somerville Garden Club. Bring an appetizer, veggie, pasta, entree, or dessert to share. There will also be a digital photo presentation of images of the annual SGC plant sale. Please bring your prepared food dish at 6:45 p.m. and not before, as the room set-up crew needs time to get the room ready. This meeting will be held tonight, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 7:00-9:00 p.m. at the Tufts Administration Building, 167 Holland Street, Somerville. Meetings are on the second floor, wheelchair accessible. Parking is available on site and the building is a short walk from the Davis Square T station, and is on the #87 bus route. All Somerville Garden Club meetings are free and the public is invited to attend. For additional information please visit www.somervillegardenclub.org.

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Public benefits process continues this week. Two meetings are being held this week to further the process to identify public benefits that could be attained in conjunction with a successful redevelopment program for Union Square and to identify, prioritize and create a strategic plan for realizing these benefits. The working group sessions are open to the public and will be held as follows:· LOCUS Public Benefits Session II: Wednesday, January 13, 5:00–9:00 p.m. at Aldermanic Chambers at City Hall, 93 Highland Ave. LOCUS Public Benefits Session III: Thursday, January 14, 5:00–9:00 p.m., at at the Argenziano School at 290 Washington Street.

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The city’s Zoning meetings will discuss the ideas presented last year in the new zoning ordinance, respond to comments provided in the public review process, and propose changes to the ordinance based upon this feedback. The meetings will be held at the Visiting Nurse Association Community Room, 259 Lowell Street. The next meeting will be held January 25, 2016 at 6:30 p.m., Residential Neighborhoods Topics: Conserving neighborhoods, building types, lot dimensions. For a complete list of upcoming meeting go to the city’s website, http://www.somervillema.gov/.

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The Art of Mental Health: A Night of Celebration. As part of the #SomervilleSpeaks Young Mental Wellness Ambassador Program, Teen Empowerment, and Somerville’s Department of Health and Human Services are hosting a night of celebration featuring live music, food, local art, and fun activities. The winners of the youth writing and art contest will also be announced. Thursday, January 14 at 6 p.m. at The Union, 11 Sanborn Ct.