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Drifting at Infineon today, tomorrow

The top drifters in the nation will compete in the Formula Drift Championship series "Locked and Loaded" event at Infineon Raceway today, Friday, Sept. 12 (practice, qualifying and media-ride-alongs), and tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 13, when the main event starts at noon. Cost for Saturday is $23 for adults (includes a pit pass) online and $27 at the gate, with children ages six-and-under free - ticket information at www.formuladrift.com. Drifting started in Japan approximately 10 years ago. It's a high-powered motorsport that calls for drivers to control a 200 to 600hp car while it slides sideways at high speed through a marked course. For information about Infineon Raceway events, call (800) 870-RACE (7223), or visit www.infineonraceway.com. Dragon soccer boys car-wash set

Sonoma Valley High School's varsity boys soccer team's only fundraiser for the 2008 season will be a car wash at Sonoma Chevrolet, 687 W. Napa St., from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 13. First Dragon football kick-off BBQ

Sonoma Valley High School Boosters Club is sponsoring its first annual Football Kick-off Barbecue, which will take place before the varsity grid Dragons' first home game (7:30 p.m. start) on Friday night, Sept. 19, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Arnold Field parking lot next to Depot Park. The barbecue - provided by Blazing Saddles Catering - will include chicken, potato salad, beans, rolls and a drink. Presale tickets cost $15 for adults and $10 for children under-14-years-old, or $18 and $12, respectively, the night of the event. Everyone is welcome. Tickets can be purchased on weekdays until 3:30 p.m. at the SVHS student activities office, or at Sonoma Old School Skate Shop, 1001 Broadway.

Vintage Run returns, registering The popular Vintage Run, a fundraiser for Sonoma Valley High School's cross country and track and field programs, is returning after a two-year hiatus and will again take place during the Valley's Vintage Festival weekend, with the 5K race starting at 8 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 28, east of the Plaza, beginning and ending at Sebastiani Winery's parking lot. The cost is $20 a person in advance and must be received by mail no later than Friday, Sept. 26, to be valid, with race-day registration between 7 and 7:30 a.m. at check-in costing $30. Entry forms (with the mailing address) are available at the Sonoma Visitors Center on the Plaza, and on-line registration is at sonomavinfest.org (go to the 5K page).

For more information on the race or to volunteer, e-mail 5krun@sonomavinfest.org or call 933-1769.

Boys & Girls Club hoops, open gyms

Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma Valley will hold sign-ups for boys' and girls' basketball - two third-through-fifth-grade and two sixth-through-eighth leagues - from 6 to 7 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 15 and 16, and 10 to 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 27, at its Maxwell Farms Regional Park site. Cost is $150 - $90 club membership (one year) and $60 league fees - and $60 for club members. Practices start in November, games begin in December. Also, the BGCSV is holding open-gym coed volleyball and basketball for adults and high school students on Wednesdays and Thursdays, respectively, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the club through Oct. 30. Students play for free with high school identification while adults pay $2 a night. For more details on hoops sign-ups or open gyms, call Mike McEntee at 938-8544, ext. 112.

St. Francis CYO hoops sign-ups

Sonoma's St. Francis Solano's CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) basketball program for third- through eighth-grade boys' and girls' teams is holding 2008-09 season mail-in registration for all returning and new players through Sept. 15. New players need to include a copy of their birth certificate with their sign-up forms and fees. Registration forms can be obtained online at www.falconscyo.com or at the Chestbed Store, 800 W. Napa St. (939-7733) and mailed along with the sign-up fees - $135 for first child and $80 for additional family members, with checks made out to St. Francis CYO Basketball - to St. Francis CYO, P.O. Box 1663, Sonoma, CA 95476. Also, St. Francis CYO needs coaches for certain grade teams. Anyone interested in coaching or for more information, call Frank Lucchetti at 938-1031.

Tennis class, tourney, free clinics

Sonoma Valley Tennis Association will be holding free adult beginner/re-entry and Latino clinics, as well as a junior tennis class - all under the direction of instructor David Stanisic - at the Maxwell Farms Regional Park courts. Every Saturday in October, the free adult beginner and re-entry clinic (tennis shoes required) runs from 3 to 4 p.m., while the free Latino clinic with Spanish translation (tennis shoes required) takes place from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. The six-week junior tennis class started and runs every Saturday through Oct. 11 - ages 5 to 7, 9:15 to 10 a.m.; ages 8 to 12, 10 to 11 a.m.; ages 13-and-older, 11 a.m. to noon. To sign-up or for the clinics and class or for more details, call Stanisic at (415) 320-0651. The SVTA will hold its 2008 Marilyn Mertens Fall Tennis Tournament - a mixed doubles round-robin format event - on Saturday, Sept. 20, at the Maxwell Park courts. The tourney begins at 9 a.m. and concludes at approximately 3 p.m., with snacks and a light lunch provided. The entry fee is $10 a player - checks payable to SVTA can be mailed to Judy Muller, 1114 Fryer Creek Drive, Sonoma, CA 95476 - and the SVTA will assist anyone who needs a doubles partner. Entries will be limited and the registration deadline is Thursday, Sept. 18. For more information, call Muller at 933-8020.

Junior Dragons fundraiser slated

Sonoma Junior Dragons (formerly Sonoma Valley Youth Football and Cheer Association) hosts its sixth annual Casino Night fundraiser on Saturday, Sept. 20, at the Sonoma Veterans Memorial Building. For more information, visit the Web at www.sonomajrdragons.net.

Coed softball league needs teams

Sonoma Valley Coed Slowpitch Softball League is looking for teams to compete during the 2008 season on Monday and Tuesday evenings at the Sonoma Developmental Center field. Anyone wanting to register or start a team or for more information, call Deets Winslow at 996-6859.

Men's 'C' hoops looking for teams

Sonoma Valley Men's Recreational Basketball's "C" League, which plays Tuesday evenings at the Altimira Middle School gym, is looking for two teams to complete the 2008-09 six-team schedule, with Oct. 1, being the deadline for team fees and the season begins Oct. 14. Anyone wanting to start a team, or for more information, call Danny Dwyer at 287-5558.

49ers express bus tickets on sale

Golden Gate Transit offers round-trip express-bus service from Sonoma Valley to Candlestick Park for San Francisco 49ers' football games. Tickets, sold daily - Mondays through Saturdays from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., and on Sundays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. - are $25 (no checks accepted) and can be purchased at Broadway Market (20511 Broadway) at Four Corners. The ticket-purchase deadline is 6 p.m. the Saturday before game-day. On Sunday, Sept. 21, for the 1:05 p.m. game against the Detroit Lions, the bus will depart from Broadway Market at 10 a.m.

The 49er express bus service also departs from Santa Rosa and Larkspur in Marin County and tickets can be purchased at the Golden Gate Larkspur Ferry Terminal (101 E. Sir Francis Drake Blvd. - weekdays 5:15 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 2:45 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., weekends/holidays 9:15 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.), and at the GGT Santa Rosa Terminal (Piner Road and Industrial Drive, Santa Rosa - weekdays 4 a.m. to 7:45 p.m.).

For more information, call 541-2000; TDD - (415) 257-4554; or check the Web site at www.goldengate.org. Online tickets can be purchased at http://store.goldengate.org.

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