Around Town: Local events will bless the pets

The Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi is approaching, and with that, blessings of animals.

Here are some places where pet owners can bring their furry, finned, feathered and scaled friends to be blessed:

Sunday: 10 a.m. at Lido Park at the corner of 32nd Street and Via Oporto in Newport Beach, presented by St. James the Great Episcopal Church;

Sunday: 2 p.m. at the school field at St. Joachim Catholic Church, 1964 Orange Ave., Costa Mesa;

Oct. 7: 11 a.m. at Animalia pet store, 16389 Bolsa Chica Road, Huntington Beach. Bring a 5-pound bag of dry pet food or a 13-ounce can of wet food to benefit the Orange County SPCA.

Nominations sought for Laguna parade honorees

The Laguna Beach Patriots Day Parade committee is inviting the public to submit nominations for honorees at the 52nd parade, to be held March 3 with the theme “Waves of Freedom.”

Nominees are sought for grand marshal and citizen, artist and athlete of the year.

Nominations, with biographical information on the nominees, can be emailed to Sandi Werthe at shworthy@cox.net by Oct. 10.

Race for the Cure is expected to raise $2 million

The 26th annual Susan G. Komen Orange County Race for the Cure, which took place Sunday at Newport Beach’s Fashion Island, is expected to raise more than $2 million for the Komen organization’s efforts to promote breast cancer research, according to a news release.

Donations are being accepted through Oct. 31 at komenoc.org.

The race involved about 15,000 people, including members of about 420 teams and some 1,600 volunteers.

The event included a tribute to Robin Pollok, who died in June at age 53 after fighting cancer three times. Pollok’s 17-year-old daughter, Emily, performed “My Heart Will Go On” in her mother’s memory.