At Sunday school, the teacher's plan was to explore the children's notion of God. Six-yea... Hicks on Six...

So our bull-riding Environment Minister Guy Boutilier was happily driving the government-issue teeny-tiny Smart car from Edmonton through Calgary en route to Banff.

"I played Sarah Hite," she says. "I spent all my time in the outhouse. My character is married to a 60-year-old drunk who has ruined her plans by bringing her back to his farm.

"His son is a member of the Jesse James gang. So when the son comes home with other members of the gang, my character entertains them in the outhouse."

Kailin's juggling a growing acting career - with auditions all over Western Canada - with her part-time waitressing career. "The hard part is there are more movie roles in Calgary and Vancouver than here."

* Together long enough to be legit, i.e. dating for three months, are two well-known (blond) local personalities, Castle Downs MLA Thomas Lukaszuk and Citytv Breakfast Television host Stacey Brotzel.

* At the Rose & Crown after their Rexall Place show was much of the cast of Michael Flatley's Celtic Tiger, sans the great man himself. Don Johnston turned the ivories over to the show's Paul Carrington. "He was great," says Don. "A girl from the show joined in. They blew the doors off."

* Becoming the hangout for visiting NHL hockey teams, usually eating after the games, is the new Lux Steak House. Also spotted on site, Mike Holmes from Holmes on Homes, and MuchMusic VJ Leah Miller and her crew.

* What happened to excess? After last night's show, Alice Cooper is supposed to be awake and signing autographs this morning, 9:30 to 9:45, at West Edmonton Mall's K-Rock stage.

* Out of hundreds of entries to the Hicks on Six/Chicago Contest, draw winner Larry Miller knew Renee Zellweger played Roxie in the movie Chicago, Catherine Zeta-Jones was Velma, and in the earlier film Roxie Hart, Ginger Rogers played the title role. Larry and three friends will dine at Koutouki Taverna South Nov. 8, before being whisked to Chicago's opening night at the Jubilee in a Blue Sky Hummer limousine.

* If you have deep roots in Alberta, the Alberta Genealogical Society has a gift for you. An online index of every single Alberta homesteader, some 250,000 entries, is now available at www.abgensoc.ca.

Think about a chance to entertain your large group and support four most worthy charities at the same time by bidding during the Nov. 1-3 ATCO and Sun Christmas Charity Auction.

The Sawmill restaurant group, the Sherwood Park Hotel and Conference Centre, The Druid, Ceili's, The Palace and Maharajah banquet halls have all donated dinners/parties for big groups.

NAIT, in a unique coupling of its business and culinary divisions, is offering to a large group a team-building exercise in cooking (then eating) entitled "Thai One On."

We have Oilers suites donated by Mr. Lube, Northlands and the Sun for up to 14. A Twin Anchors houseboat for 15 is up for grabs, as well as a pub crawl from the Gateway Entertainment Group and cooking classes and eating experiences with fantastic chefs such as Brad Smoliak, John Lizotte and Gail Hall.

We can still accept donations, large and small, to the auction. You'll be supporting the United Way, Sign of Hope, Christmas Bureau and the Stollery Children's Hospital.

We had a sneak preview, with hotel manager Johanne Johnson, chef Patrick Turcot, sales manager Michael Hogan and maitre d' Brian Welsh, of the Mac's 90th birthday special menu. It's a set seven-course dinner with wine, available for the month of November.

The tastes and the courses - consomme, "old-fashioned" fish and chicken, neapolitan ice cream - unlocked a host of childhood memories, i.e. Sunday night dinners at gramma's.

Mind you, chef Turcotte's presentations and actual dishes are far superior to my gramma's Sunday best. And this time around, we, not our parents, enjoyed the sherry and port.

Not being part of the CFR means they have to find their own hotel sponsorship, unlike the other competitors for whom hotel rooms are part of the deal.

The team ropers are looking for 17 hotel rooms from Nov. 8 to 12. "They do their best to support the hotel that supports them," says spokesman Susan O'Connor. "They bring friends and relatives, buy food and beverages. Whenever they travel they stay with the hotels that sponsored them."

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