Sertoma hosts Oktoberfest Sept. 22

Come celebrate the arrival of autumn at Carson Valley Sertoma’s 2024 Oktoberfest fundraiser 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 22 at Heritage Park, 1447 Courthouse Alley in Gardnerville.

This family-friendly event features a live German band, German-inspired eats and treats; beer, wine and soda in the Biergarten; a costume contest and stein-holding competitions for adults, children’s play area; and a variety of craft vendor booths. There’s also a cash-only raffle for chance to win some great prizes.

Sertoma stands for SERvice TO MAnkind, and proceeds from this year’s event will benefit The Douglas County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue and other community agencies and organizations in the area. The club meets weekly on Fridays from 7-8 a.m. at COD Casino, 1593 Esmeralda Avenue in Minden, and meetings are open to the public. Find more information at carsonvalleysertoma.org.

Oktoberfest originated in 1810 in Munich, Germany with the wedding of Bavaria’s crown prince (who became King Ludwig I) and Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen of Saxony. That original celebration lasted five days; today Oktoberfest is held annually in Munich over a two-week period starting in September and ending the first Sunday in October (britannica.com/topic/Oktoberfest).

Sertoma seeks support for annual Coat Drive

Each year, Carson Valley Sertoma hosts a coat drive to benefit local area non-profit organizations in supplying warm items to those in need. The project has been going strong for seven years and in order to continue with the annual event, the club is seeking partnership from individuals, a company, group, or organization to help implement the drive.

Specifically, Sertoma is looking for someone to coordinate the effort and a space to store and sort the donated items. An existing plan is already in place as is a robust list of volunteers, and the process on how to implement the coat drive is flexible.

Eileen Behr has led the effort from the beginning and is ready to hand over the reins. She welcomes inquiries from anyone interested in stepping up to the task and collaborating with Sertoma to make the annual Coat Drive possible now and into the future.

Please contact Behr at eileenbehr@gmail.com to learn more.

September’s super moon and partial lunar eclipse

September’s full super moon illuminates the sky on Sept. 17, peaking in the Carson Valley just after 7:30 p.m.

NASA defines a super moon as “a full moon occurring near or at the time when the Moon is at the closest point in its orbit around Earth” (solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/922/what-is-a-supermoon/). This point in the moon’s elliptical orbit around Earth is known as perigee, and the moon can appear bigger and brighter in the nighttime sky at this time.

A visible, partial lunar eclipse taking place around the same time makes matters even more interesting. Lunar eclipses happen when the moon is full and the Earth is positioned between it and the sun, creating a shadow effect on the moon. A partial lunar eclipse happens when the alignment between the sun, Earth, and moon isn’t perfect, and the moon passes through just a portion of Earth’s shadow (called the umbra).

In our area, only a bit of moon will be obscured during this partial eclipse, which reaches its maximum at 7:44 p.m. as the moon is rising and right after it reaches peak fullness. Lunar eclipses are safe to look at with the naked eye, through binoculars, or a telescope.

This month’s full moon is commonly referred to as the Harvest Moon, as it’s the full moon that rises closest to the start of autumn. The autumnal equinox takes place Sunday, September 22 in the Northern Hemisphere and marks the official start of fall.

Check out NASA’s “What’s Up” video for September to learn about more sky watching opportunities this month: science.nasa.gov/skywatching/whats-up/.