Kief’s schedules viewing party for Tour de France

Cycling enthusiasts will find themselves in good company at Kief’s Audio and Video, 2429 Iowa, on Wednesday night.

For the second year in a row, Kief’s will host a Tour de France viewing party, with the store’s 30 televisions tuned to the race from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

“The Tour has been a bigger deal for us in here in the U.S. for the past couple years with Lance (Armstrong) doing so well,” said Ed Hawkins, Kief’s manager and an avid biker. “And it’s just fun to get a group of bikers together to watch.”

On the night of the party, the cyclists will be riding through the Swiss Alps, where Armstrong has performed well in the past.

Sesquicentennial

Museum will be site of Bloomington celebration

Past and present residents of Bloomington will celebrate the town’s sesquicentennial with an ice cream social and a historical re-enactment at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Clinton Lake Museum.

The old-fashioned fun will feature descendants of freed slaves and early settlers playing the parts of their family members in the re-enactment of the town’s early history. The re-enactment will touch on issues of the day, including Free Staters and Pro-Slavers, the Underground Railroad and the historic First Kansas Colored Infantry Regiment in the state.

Clinton Lake Museum Curator Martha Parker said the number of descendants and former residents returning for the celebration would make it authentic.

The Clinton Lake Historical Society asks attendees to bring lawn chairs.

The rain date will be July 23.

Education

School supplies program accepting applications

Ballard Community Center Inc. is taking applications for its School Kit program, which provides school supplies to children.

Applicants must provide proof of identity and residency in Douglas County, a Social Security card for each eligible child and proof of income. Eligibility will be determined by utilizing the Free and Reduced Lunch program guidelines. Application times are 9 a.m.-noon and 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday.

For information, call the center at 842-0729.

Dole Institute of Politics

Access to archives part of ‘White Gloves Tour’

Visitors to the Dole Institute of Politics can get a behind-the-scenes look at the institute’s archives during a tour at 1 p.m. Saturday.

The half-hour “White Gloves Tour” will include the reading room, archival storage area and archival processing room. The institute is home to more than 4,000 boxes of former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole’s personal and political papers.

For reservations, call 864-1420 or 864-1405, or e-mail bischoff@ku.edu or asweets@ku.edu.