With the Christmas shopping season right around the corner, many people have problems shopping for some “hard to buy for” friends. But fear not - the Alternative Giving Fair will be returning to Logan County this weekend.

The event will take place at the First Presbyterian Church in Logan on Stratton Street this Saturday, Nov. 5, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and will feature international gifts, local charitable organizations and more.

For many years Susan Perry and some friends have worked on the Alternative Giving Fair, which makes it possible for folks to donate money to charity in the name of friends, help out people in third world countries, or purchase unique “fair trade” items that are made by indigenous peoples who receive a fair share of the profit, unlike sweatshop laborers in “free trade” countries.

One year, local donors made a gift of a cow to a small village in a third world country with folks paying for the animal in the names of friends as a present. The villagers got the cow and the friends of the donors received the credit.

Roger Perry said that everyone knows somebody who can be hard to shop for at the holidays and that the Alternative Giving Fair was a great way to do something for those folks, as well as a good cause.

A few weeks ago, Roger Perry discussed the return of the fair with his fellow members of the Lions Club of Logan and the Alt Giving Fair was a major topic of Tuesday evening’s meeting.

“We will need our club banner for our display table this weekend,” said longtime Lions Club member and past president Ken Nunley. “They have a lot of nice stuff this year, such as bracelets and other jewelry made in exotic places in the Fair Trade items. I am thinking about putting together a raffle of such items.”

Raffle tickets will be $1 each or six for $5.

Nunley said the Lions will have a booth featuring the raffle items, information about the club and special pre-order tickets for the Rubber Ducky Race in 2012. The club will also have mops and brooms for sale at the event.

The Lions also discussed the upcoming Tri-Club dinner where they will get together with friendly rivals in the Logan Kiwanis Club and the Logan Rotary Club on Wednesday, Nov. 16. Nunley noted that this year the Lions were to get the grand prize for the winning ticket.

“We will also have our meeting the Tuesday evening beforehand,” said Lions stalwart Odis Ratcliff.

The Logan Lions also discussed making preparations for Christmas in the Park. Nunley noted that the group needed to contact Phyllis Adkins about scheduling.

Lions President Chuck Puckett said he and Nunley had attended the recent Zone meeting in Logan, which was attended by Lions from Man and Charleston.

“We are the only club in the zone that has listed zero deficiencies,” Puckett said. “We are up to date on everything, thanks to our secretary and our treasurer.”

In other Lions Club news:

The Logan Lions Club has also received a $450 donation from The Aracoma Story. Tom Aguirre noted the club grossed $2,803 on the recent Rubber Duck Race for a net profit of $1,803 after awarding the grand prize.