Hello Granger | WG Homecoming Week + Local Events + What’s New Around Town

Good morning, Granger!

Well, we got about two days of sunshine—and apparently that was enough. ☔ The rain is back, but there’s plenty happening around town!

WG Homecoming Week is here! Plus, read about a local business started by a WG middle schooler during COVID. And don’t forget to check the Community Board for more local updates!

One more thing: past editions now have a home at hellogranger.com! I guess that makes us official. 😄

Enjoy the newsletter—and share it with a friend! 💚💛

Friday, Sept. 25
A Little Social
Granger Community Center | 9- 10:15 a.m. | $7/per family |
A Little Social is back for its first fall playdate! Kids ages 0–5 can enjoy unstructured play while caregivers connect, with a snack included. No registration is required — just pay by Venmo at the playdate.

Dolly Parton Tribute Night at Bud’s
Bud’s Pub | 7 p.m. -12 a.m.
Break out the pink and big hair for a Dolly-themed night at Bud’s Pub! Sing Dolly classics and your favorite karaoke hits from 8 p.m.–midnight and drink specials all night.

Saturday, Sept. 26
Chair Yoga
Granger Community Center | 9-10 a.m. | Adults only
Enjoy gentle stretches, mindful movement, balance and core strength work—all with the support of a chair. It’s hard work but fun! Register before attending.

Cruise into Bouton: Cars, Music + More
11 a.m. - 4 p.m . | Bouton Park in the center of town
Head to Bouton, about 15 miles north of Granger, for a free, family-friendly car show supporting the Crisis Intervention & Advocacy Center. Bring a lawn chair and enjoy live music, food, raffle prizes and a live auction.

Woodward Community Food Pantry
Woodward United Methodist Church | 2-4 p.m.
The Woodward Community Food Pantry serves the residents of Woodward, Granger and Bouton,  and is open the second and fourth Saturday’s of the month.

Sunday, Sept. 27
Last Granger Farmers Market of the Season
Centennial Park | 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
The Granger Farmers Market is going out with a bang! Shop local vendors, grab burgers and hot dogs from Fareway, then stick around for football on the big inflatable screen, sand volleyball, soccer and cornhole. Bring a lawn chair or blanket and enjoy an afternoon at Centennial Park!

Monday, Sept. 28
🦅WG Homecoming Week Kicks Off!
It’s Homecoming week, which means dress-up days start now! Themes are different at each school, so click the school below to see what’s planned for your WG student:
ELC, Elementary, Middle School. and High School.

Bingo Night in Woodward
407 W. Ninth St., Woodward | 6 p.m.
Try your luck at 10 games of Bingo for $10, with three cards per game, cash prizes and Blackout Bingo to end the night. Come early and grab dinner before Bingo begins! Hosted by Woodward Friends and Neighbors Day.

Tuesday, Sept. 29
Adult Yoga
Granger Community Center | 10-11 a.m. |
Yoga for adults with beginner to intermediate experience.

Early Readers Daytime Craft
Woodward Public Library | 10-11 a.m.
Little ones can stop by the Woodward Public Library to make leafy butterflies to take home.

Wednesday, Sept. 30
Library Story Time
Granger Public Library | 11:15-11:45 a.m. | Ages 0-5 |
Little ones can enjoy stories, songs, snacks and crafts at this weekly library get-together. No registration needed.

Early Out at Woodward Public Library
Woodward Public Library | 2:30-3:30 p.m. | K-12th grade
This week’s theme: Learn balloon twisting! No registration needed.

🦅 Woodward-Granger Homecoming Parade
Main Street in Woodward | 5:30 p.m.
Show your Hawk pride at the WG Homecoming Parade in Woodward! Grab some candy and see WG teams, students and local organizations make their way through town. Any spot along Main Street is a good place to catch the parade!

🦅WG Booster Club Homecoming Dinner + Coronation
WG High School Cafeteria | 6-7 p.m.
Stick around after the Homecoming Parade for dinner provided by the Woodward-Granger Booster Club. Choose pulled pork or a hot dog, plus cheesy potatoes, chips, dessert and a drink. Free-will donation. All are welcome!

Thursday, Oct. 1
Toddler Tales
Jester Park Nature Center | 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. —two sessions |  
Kids ages 2 and up can enjoy a bat-themed story time followed by a naturalist-led activity that may include crafts, puppets or a chance to meet an animal. This event is free and no registration is needed.

Senior BINGO
Granger Community Center | 1-3 p.m. |
This is the happening place for Granger seniors! More than 30 older adults have been gathering for a fun, friendly game and a chance to connect with others in the community. Here’s your chance to join the fun—and win prizes!

Nature Club: Colors & Counting with Spiders
The Brenton Arboretum at | 2:30-3:30 p.m. | Ages 2-5
Just 15 miles from Granger, kids can learn, play, craft and make new friends at The Brenton Arboretum’s Nature Club. This week’s theme is Colors & Counting with Spiders! Dress for outdoor fun and bring a water bottle.

H.Y.P.E. Club: Learn to Play Chess
Woodward Public Library | 4-5 p.m. | Older elementary-High School
The H.Y.P.E. Club (Hobbies, Youth Pop-Culture & Entertainment) is a place to hang out after school, try something new and meet others. This week, they’ll learn how to play chess! No registration needed.

When school ended early because of COVID in 2020, then-middle schooler Kayden Danti found himself with some extra time—and used it to start a business. What began as a small lawn care operation kept growing, even as Kayden went back to school.

By high school, he was balancing classes with customers—answering business emails on his school computer and even recruiting friends to work for him during lunch. Last spring, Kayden graduated from Woodward-Granger with six years of business ownership already behind him.

“Whether I was responding to emails on my school computer or recruiting friends to work at lunch, I knew it had to get done, so I always found a way,” Danti said.

Today, Danti Lawn Care has grown into a full-service lawn and landscape company. And as lawn care season winds down, Kayden is shifting into another part of the business: professional Christmas light installation.

After customers began asking about holiday lights, he added the service in 2024. Danti Lawn Care handles the whole process—from designing a display specifically for the home to installation and maintenance, then taking the lights down and storing them for next year.

For Kayden, who has spent his whole life in the Woodward-Granger community, building the business here is important. Much of its growth has come from repeat customers and referrals, and he hopes to continue supporting the local community that has supported him.

🌱 Support local and get ahold of Danti Lawn Care here:
🔗 dantilawncare.com
📧 [email protected]
📞 515-419-9119
📌 FYI: Christmas is only 91 days away! ✨

• 🎃 Only in a Small Town: The Mayor’s Pumpkin Patch

I’m from bigger suburbs—not big cities, but bigger than Granger—so maybe that’s why this is still such a novel idea to me. But did you realize the mayor of our town is literally out growing pumpkins just because he thought it would be something nice for Granger?

I walked the pumpkin patch with Mayor Clint Davis awhile back, and I kept asking him why he wanted to do it. I think I was looking for some ulterior motive or bigger reason. There really wasn’t one. He told me he had experience growing pumpkins with his family and thought it would be a nice way to bring the community together.

So, he planted them. And for months, he’s been caring for these pumpkins through the ridiculous heat, humidity—and plenty of mud. Now they’re almost ready!

They’ll be picked soon and headed to the Granger Fall Festival on Oct. 17, where it’ll be your turn to take one home for a free-will donation.

🥂 Cheers to small-town living, hometown festivals and the people who make them happen.

Granger Fall Festival
📅 October 17
📍 WIndcrest Pond + surrounding area
👉Click here to stay updated!

• 🩶 Silver Cord 101 + A Chance to Start Earning Hours

You’ve probably seen “students can earn Silver Cord hours” when local events and organizations are looking for volunteers. But what does that actually mean?

At Woodward-Granger, students who complete 140 volunteer hours by May 1 of their senior year can earn a Silver Cord as part of the national Silver Cord Program recognizing volunteerism. Students wear their Silver Cord at graduation and are also recognized during the ceremony and in the graduation program.

Those volunteer hours can be useful beyond earning the cord, too. More scholarships are asking students to list volunteer activities they’ve completed throughout high school, and volunteer hours are also part of the application process for WG’s National Honor Society.

To count toward the 140 hours, activities must be pre-approved by High School Counselor Mr. Chapman, can’t be paid or required, and students submit a form afterward so their hours can be tracked. Another tip: start early! Students get busy with all the things, and fitting 140 volunteer hours into four years can get challenging fast.

👉👉 One opportunity coming up: the Granger Fall Festival--happening Oct. 17--is looking for high school volunteers—giving today’s Woodward-Granger teens a chance to help make the festival special for the next generation of WG kids. Send this to your high schooler and have them ask Mr. Chapman about getting involved and earning Silver Cord hours.

• 🏫 Could Early Childhood Education Return to Assumption?

Assumption Catholic Church in Granger is exploring interest in bringing back its early childhood education program for children ages 3–5, potentially beginning as early as the 2027–28 school year.

Families with children ages 0–5 are being asked to complete a short survey to help determine whether there’s enough interest to move forward. The survey is for planning purposes only and is not an official registration.

👉 Take the Assumption ECE Interest Survey

📌 Community Board

🎉 PTO Fundraiser Tops Its Goal
The final numbers are in! The Woodward-Granger ELC & Elementary PTO raised $56,296.75, surpassing its $50,000 goal. A huge showing of support from WG families, friends, local businesses and the community!

💚💛🦅 Let’s Help Everyone Get WG Gear!
If you have WG Hawks gear at home that no longer fits—or just wasn’t quite the right fit—consider passing it along! Granger Emmanuel United Methodist Church and Woodward United Methodist Church are collecting new and gently used WG spiritwear to help get Hawks gear into the hands of local kids and families who could use it. Donations can be dropped off at either church, or contact Brenda Talbert at [email protected] for more information.

🧀 The community refrigerator at the Granger Public Library has been seeing a lot of use lately. If you’re able, consider picking up an extra source of protein—dairy, meat, etc.—during your next grocery trip and dropping it off at the library. In Woodward, donations can also be dropped off at the Woodward Public Library’s community refrigerator.

🍀 Join Granger’s Daring Dreamers 4-H Club
Registration is open for kids in grades K–12, with Clover Kids for younger members and 4-H for older kids. The club meets at the Granger Community Center. Questions? Contact Jessica Hebert at [email protected].

🚘 Volunteer Drivers Needed
Volunteer Community Services of Woodward & Granger (VCSWG) is looking for volunteer drivers to help local residents get to appointments, pick up groceries, and run errands—helping neighbors stay independent. Students, this is also a great opportunity to earn Silver Cord hours.For more information, call 515-978-8114 or visit vcswg.org.

❓Do you have a volunteer opportunity, job posting or another local announcement you’d like included here? Reply to this email and let me know.