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Be inspired to decorate while helping animals

Valley Humane Society will present Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland, a Holiday Home Tour, from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday in downtown Pleasanton.

Tickets, which include shopping opportunities, treats and live music, are $35 per person and proceeds support the programs of Valley Humane Society, a nonprofit animal rescue organization. There will also be carolers and drawings.

Each of the featured homes on the tour, all decked out for the holidays, is located near downtown Pleasanton. The tour begins at 4444 First St., across from Wayside Park.

To purchase tickets, call the Valley Humane Society at 426-8656 or visit www.valleyhumanesociety.org. Tickets can also be purchased at Towne Center Books, Murphy's Paw and the Wine Steward, plus they will be available for purchase the day of the event at 4444 First St.

Professional basketball comes to town

The East Bay Pit Bulls, part of the rebirth of the American Basketball Association is based here in Pleasanton. It's part of a Northern California division that includes teams from Clayton to Modesto to Sacramento, and includes two Bay Area teams, the Pit Bulls and the East Bay Matrix.

The Pit Bulls kicked off the team's first-ever season in November and has a record of 2 and 1. The team is playing a full roster of games through this coming March, using the Las Positas College gym as its home court.

The ABA features a flamboyant type of basketball that flourished in the late 1960s and early 1970s, complete with its trademark red, white and blue ball. The original ABA merged with the National Basketball Association in 1976.

A vision statement for the team lists four goals: to ignite passion for professional basketball in the Tri-Valley area; to provide affordable sports entertainment to the community; to continue to build value into the ABA brand; and to provide professional basketball opportunities to local athletes.

Tickets are $10; parking at Las Positas costs $2.