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CHILI CON CARPOOLING ... The 30th Annual Summer Festival and Chili Cook-off takes place Monday, July 4, noon to 5 p.m., at Mitchell Park, 600 East Meadow Drive, Palo Alto, and this year there is limited parking. A construction project is underway, and biking and carpooling is recommended. Parking along East Meadow Drive and adjacent neighborhoods will be limited. To reduce traffic and headaches for the residential neighborhoods, event visitors are encouraged to park offsite at Cubberley Community Center, 4000 Middlefield Road, just two blocks away. A shuttle van will drive between Cubberley and Mitchell Park from noon to 5 p.m. Onsite parking preference will be given to people with disabilities until 2 p.m. More details are available at www.cityofpaloalto.org/recreation or 650-463-4921.

BEANIE BABIES, NOT BOMBS ... Kudos to Duveneck-St. Francis neighborhood residents for responding to neighbor Mary Carlstead's recent Beanie Baby toy drive to benefit children in Afghanistan. Carlstead recently sent out a request for Beanie Babies and other small stuffed toys for children in NATO and local hospitals in Kabul. The NATO hospital had been bombed a few weeks ago, she said. A Navy lieutenant nurse who is a classmate of Carlstead's daughter is giving the toys along with coloring books and crayons to ill and injured young patients. Carlstead's neighbors came through big time, furnishing enough plush critters for a village, she said, so she doesn't need any more. "My dining room looks like Santa's Workshop," she said.

PALO ALTO CONNECTIONS ... If you've ever wondered how to get around Palo Alto and surrounding areas for a nice long bike ride on a sunny summer day, the city has a bike map available on its website at www.cityofpaloalto.org (search under "bike routes map"). The map includes bike routes, bike boulevards and paths into the Stanford foothills and through the cities and baylands of East Palo Alto, Palo Alto and Menlo Park.

BIKEABLE PALO ALTO REDUX ... The City of Palo Alto's Draft Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan 2011 will be available in July for public comment, and a second citywide community meeting will be scheduled. The plan and meeting information when ready will be available at www.cityofpaloalto.org/bike.

Send announcements of neighborhood events, meetings and news to Sue Dremann, Neighborhoods editor, at sdremann@paweekly.com. Or talk about your neighborhood news on Town Square at www.PaloAltoOnline.com.