From knit 'til midnight pajama parties to kids' crocheting classes, Shawn Meinung said her new Forest Grove business is all about fun.Meinung opened Spin a Good Yarn on May 1 after purchasing what was previously Kathy's Knit Corner.

She's made some changes, adding new types of yarn and creating a tearoom in the back of the shop, where sunlight from a corner window falls across two white-clothed tables and a growing collection of teapots.Meinung also expanded classes for beginning to advanced crochet and knitting. The classes are mostly for adults, but the shop hosts $5 kids-only lessons on Saturday mornings.

She has been knitting and crocheting for seven years and worked at Kathy's Knit Corner for about a year and a half. When the owner of the shop decided to sell, everything kind of fell into place for Spin a Good Yarn.

The selection of yarn ranges from silk and cashmere to wool and cotton, from black and white to skeins of hand-dyed, multicolored creations. Texture is key, she said, indicating a wall of wool, shelves of royal llama silk and cubbies of cotton.

Meinung wants the shop to be a gathering place. She hopes to eventually host tea parties and has a number of events planned, most of which will kick off this fall. There will be a morning bible study before the shop opens, a book club that reads knitting and crocheting themed murder mysteries – such as Betty Hechtman's "By Hook or By Crook" and Maggie Sefton's "Knit One, Kill Two" – and a variety of "knit-alongs" where people can chat while working on scarves, sweaters or shawls.

"This is where you can come sit and relax," Meinung said. "You can knit or crochet or just sit and visit."Though Meinung is the only employee at the shop, she has help from Pursell and Kroft, who take over when she's away. Her husband, David, also helps out.The Meinungs moved from Salem to Banks more than six years ago. They have seven children, most of them adults, and three grandchildren.

Meinung said her 6-year-old granddaughter Nicole thinks the shop is "the most boringest place on earth" but always has a list of requests for Grandma to knit for her. It's a familiar situation for crafters who frequent the store, and Meinung expects things will get busy before the holidays as people start working on projects for children, grandchildren and friends. The more the merrier, as far as the new business owner is concerned.

Following exhaustive efforts to avoid it, the Fort Belvoir Garrison and the Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation have made the difficult but necessary decision to discontinue services at the Kawamura Arts and Crafts Center’s wood and main shops. The auto hobby shop will not be affected by this closure and will continue normal operations.

The closure comes as a result of budgetary constraints that have recently impacted many military recreational programs, said Kristen Kinnamon, Fort Belvoir Community Recreation director.“Over the past several years the amount of appropriated funds that we have received at MWR has decreased and, therefore, we’ve had to shift priorities and programs. We’ve had to get creative and do the same or more with less” Kinnamon said. “We attempted to increase our profitability by cutting back to peak operating hours in FY12. Although there were improvements, we’re still not meeting the financial standard for Arts and Crafts Centers.”

“On the flip side we are excited because we will be opening a new fitness center to expand our Functional Training program with Tactical Strength Conditioning,” she said. “We’ll continue to have our regular classes at Specker Field House but this new facility will allow the same types of exercises and core strength building during operational hours. We are simply increasing our tactical and strength conditioning program.”

Kawamura Center will be converted to a new fitness training center to better serve the installation’s growing population, a goal which DFMWR hopes will alleviate other identified shortfalls in physical fitness opportunities on post.

“There’s a high demand for these programs and we need a dedicated space that we have not been able to find. So this will allow us to reutilize that space,” she said. “Sports and fitness continues to be our number one priority within recreation in support of Soldier, Civilian and Family Readiness, and we currently have a shortage of designated space on Fort Belvoir. So, as a sports and fitness center, it will allow us to offer services to a wider range of patrons.

Cossette garners plenty of support from her co-stars, Stephen Hill as Cowardly Lion, Katt Gilcrease as Tin Woodsman, and particularly from Scarecrow Josh Clark, who demonstrates expertise he acquired all over Houston. Clark continually amazes when he clicks his heels in the air, with watchers expecting that he, too, might land on the other side of the rainbow.

Voices of the four blend in harmony, as does their dancing. They step in perfect synchronization, arm in arm, with Toto in a wicker basket, or teaming up with about 25 little Munchkins and Munchkinettes.

Choreography is outstanding. Well-earned kudos to award-winning choreographer Dinah Mahlman, and assistant Isabella Munson, soon to begin her first year of high school in Livingston, Tex., and whose tap-dance solo wowed the opening night crowd.

Particularly impressive are several ballet numbers; everybody loves the cleverly costumed blackbirds who wrest the cornfield from the scarecrow with finely coordinated caw-caws. Later they delight all (except the scarecrow) in yet another scene. The stage surges with lollipops, soldiers, butterflies, poppies, trees, monkeys, and on and on, all adorably costumed.

Actors generally are warned to beware of scene-stealing kids and animals, but these adult actors hold their own against a stage full of kids and one little heart-tugger, Toto. In reality, the pooch is once-homeless Lizzy and her understudy Cosmo, but nobody upstages anybody. Imagine that, and you get the sense of camaraderie and goodwill that help make this show so nearly perfect.

All children in the audience, regardless of age, fall in love with good witch Glinda (Elizabeth Garret Curtin). She floats above the conflict, beautifully costumed, with beaming countenance and a spectacular voice. Every child who attends will want a photo with her, and she graciously complies following the closing curtain, as do the other characters.

Read the full products at http://artsunlight.com/.