Island francophiles and the families of 12 Mercer Island High School students are taking up their positions for the coming invasion.

The arrival of a dozen students from sister city Thonon-les-Bains on Feb. 11 will complete the second part of the exchange that took the Islanders to France last fall. During their stay, they attended the local high school with their host siblings, visited the United Nations in Geneva, skied the Alps and enjoyed French food three meals a day.

Now that they get to be the tour guides, the MIHS students have made a list of places they want their French friends to see. Pike Place Market, Pioneer Square and the Space Needle were among the usual suspects; other destinations included shopping on the Ave. in the University District, Seattle Thunderbirds hockey games, Island Books and Dick’s Burgers.

“I would love our French friends to get the overall funky vibe of Seattle,” said Islander Nana Ito.

Whether a Dick’s Deluxe achieves the culinary perfection of a Croque Monsieur is debatable; but the funky vibe is certainly in the bag.

No excuses

Thursdays on the Island aren’t just about shopping anymore. If strolling through the Town Center, sipping wine and popping chocolate-dipped strawberries doesn’t do it for you, the Feb. 15 Third Thursday will have a dose of local politics in the mix, if controversy is what gets you off the couch.

If there’s one thing that gets our readers fired up on our editorial pages, its the Boys & Girls Club’s PEAK project. Countrywide Home Loans at 2737 77th Ave. S.E. on Mercer Island is going to host information sessions from 5:30 to 8 p.m. next Thursday to educate people on what the project is all about. There will also be a model of the project on display. The annual Boys & Girls Club Phone-a-thon will also be taking place at Countrywide for some live-action fund raising.

You won’t be able to hide behind the excuse of rain this time around, either — starting this Third Thursday, new bright orange umbrellas, free for use at participating businesses, will be all you’ll need to hide behind to make it from one destination to the next.

With determination like that to get you involved, what are you waiting for — Hillary Clinton?

Running scared

Having blown out my knee two days before last year’s Rotary Run, I thought that this spring I’d be off the hook.

Until I got a call from local organizer and runner Jack Brandabur. “We’ve got a 5K walk now, so don’t worry about it,” he told me.

Right. I’ll start training in a few minutes when I walk my high heels over to the fridge to get my lunch.

In addition to the usual half-marathon run/walk and Kids’ Dash, this year’s event on March 25 will include a new 10K run and a 5K run/walk.

The race is now expanding across the entire weekend as well. A pre-race expo will be held at the Community Center at Mercer View on Saturday, March 24, where participants can pick up registration materials, check out the course and get a head start on filling their goodie bags.

After the race will be an “After-the-Run Fun” celebration at the VFW Hall on the Island’s north end. I hope heels don’t look out of place.