Thursday

Events: God’s Breadbasket, a food pantry serving Hogansville residents, is open from 9 a.m.–noon.

The Interfaith Food Closet at 416 Pierce St. in LaGrange is open from 1–2:45 p.m. to help people in need of food. 706-882-9291

Bridge games are open to the public at 2:15 and 5:30 p.m. at Bellevue. Cost is $10 per person per month. 706-882-9655

New Community Church hosts Career Connect, a free job search assistance and networking event, at 5:30 p.m. with representatives from local staffing agencies, colleges, businesses and industries. Admission is free. Career coaches from the Department of Labor Career Center, Troup County Works, LaGrange College and West Georgia Technical College will be available.

Beginner ballroom dance lessons for all ages are given 7–8 p.m. at The Active Life center on Ragland Street. 706-881-2734

Line dance lessons are 1–2 p.m. at The Active Life at The Active Life center on Ragland Street.

Meetings: Troup County Retired Educators meet at noon at Highland Country Club, 1001 Country Club Drive in LaGrange, with a lunch at 11:30 a.m. Attendees will learn about about crime and safety from Sheriff James Woodruff. Attendees should RSVP for lunch by calling 706-884-9925.

Self Help Harbor, 909 Stonewall St., hosts AA meetings at noon, 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Troup County Center for Strategic Planning meets at noon at the LaGrange-Troup County Chamber of Commerce upstairs in the Lafayette Room.

Grief Share, a support group for people grieving the loss of someone close, meets at 6 p.m. at Hunter-Allen-Myhand Funeral Home, 506 Hill St. in LaGrange. Sessions through Nov. 19 focus on grief through the holidays. Attendees should RSVP to 706-884-5626. Refreshments served.

Elm City Lodge #544 F&AM meets at 7:30 p.m. at the lodge hall on Wilburn Avenue with supper at 6:30 p.m. All master Masons welcome.

Churches: Celebrate Recovery, a faith-based recovery program, meets at 6 p.m. with a fellowship meal and worship at the welcome center of First Baptist Church on Church Street. 706-884-5631, 706-884-5631

Matthew 28 Community Fellowship in Pine Mountain hosts Life Group at 7 p.m. 706-663-4747

Thursday–Sunday

Events: United Way of West Georgia hosts the fifth annual Merry Market Weekend Shopping Extravaganza from 9 a.m.–7 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Saturday, with a preview party and silent auction 5–8 p.m. Thursday, at the Callaway Conference Center on Fort Drive. Cost for a one-day ticket is $5 for Friday or Saturday, and $30 for the preview party and full weekend. The market features area vendors selling wares with proceeds to benefit the School Readiness Program.

Friday

Events: The Active Life senior center at 140 Ragland St. offers oil painting classes at noon for all adults 55 and older. 706-883-1681

Meetings: Self Help Harbor, 909 Stonewall St., hosts AA meetings at noon and 6 p.m.

Saturday

Events: Confidence Missionary Baptist Church hosts the inaugural 5K Breast Cancer Awareness Walk at Calumet Park on Union Street from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Registration is $10 for the walk and includes a water bottle, and $20 adds a T-shirt. For more information, contact Erma Gates, 706-302-2146; Debra Estes, 706-594-5580; or Lorena Wise, Peachstate, 404-293-0256

Jefferson Street Market featuring local wares and produce is 9:30 a.m. to noon at 625 Jefferson St.

The 25th annual Chili Cook Off is 11 a.m.–2 p.m. on Lafayette Square. Prizes will be given for People’s Choice Best Chili, Judges’ Choice Best Chili and Best Decorated Booth. The Halloween festival is 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with a children’s costume contest at noon. Downtown trick or treating around the square is 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.

Meetings: Self Help Harbor, 909 Stonewall St., hosts AA meetings 10:30 a.m. for women, 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Churches: Trinity SDA Church Prayer and Bible Study Center at 710 Jenkins St. holds a free Bible study from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Pastor Walter Gordon, 706-812-0760

R.F. Productions presents Gospel Explosion: An Evening of Music and Inspiration 6–9 p.m. at 412 Daniel St. featuring One Accord, Men on a Mission, Luthersville Song Bird. Admission is $8. 706-333-3592

Ongoing

Events

LaGrange Personal Aid, 416 Pierce St., is taking applications for the 2015 Empty Stocking Fund for families who cannot afford to buy toys for their children, up to 10 years old, at Christmas. Applications are open to residents of Troup County excluding Hogansville. Income must be lower than the current federal poverty guidelines and applicants should bring proof of income and ID. Application hours are 9–11 a.m. and 1–4 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday; 9–11 a.m. Tuesday and Thursday.

Pine Mountain First United Methodist Church is participating in Operation Christmas Child, an initiative to provide children in third-world countries with items like toys, school supplies, nonliquid hygiene items, clothing and accessories, and crafts. Boxes are available at the church. Boxes will be Blessed on Nov. 8. 706-663-2538

Exhibits

LaGrange Art Museum presents the exhibition Mirror Mirror through Jan. 16. in partnership with Hills & Dales for a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Callaway family home. Featuring portraiture mirroring portraiture, the exhibit takes a look at portraiture across centuries and cultures, and will include some Troup County residents. LaGrange Art Museum, 112 Lafayette Parkway, is open Tuesday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 706-882-3267

Legacy Museum on Main presents Freedom: A History of US; the exhibit is on loan from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and is on display locally through Oct. 23. It traces the evolution of American freedom from early documents — a rare 1776 printing of the Declaration of Independence through the Civil Rights movement in 1968; Lincoln’s handwritten notes, letters by activists like Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony and Martin Luther King Jr., plus articles that bring the national fight for freedom closer to Troup County. Legacy Museum on Main, 136 Main St., is open 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday to Friday and 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Saturday. 706-884-1828, www.legacymuseumonmain.org