First time editer needs a little assistance

[Gorf]

I was perusing the forum searching for some answers to this, but part of my problem is that I don't really know what I am searching for.

I have a pretty vanilla layout of 3.6.0. What I would like to do is add a vertical space on the far right of everything. At the top it would contain some text for some upcoming events and stuff, as well as some vertical ads.

Can anyone help me with where to start?