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COMMUNITY EVENTS IN THE RIVER VALLEY & OZARK AREA

MONDAY Russellville Christmas Parade Entry Deadline

RUSSELLVILLE — The entry deadline for the 2015 Russellville Christmas Parade is noon Monday. Entries will not be accepted past this time. Parade entry forms are available at the Recreation and Parks Department office, 1000 E. Parkway, or at www.russellville

arkansas.org. The parade, with the theme “Christmas Movies,” will be at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 3, with a rainout date of Dec. 7. The entry fee is $25 for a float and $100 for a commercial entry. For more information, call Recreation and Parks at (479) 968-1272.

TUESDAY Photographer Presentation

RUSSELLVILLE — Wilderness photographer Tim Ernst will present A Rare Quality of Light at 7 p.m. in the Doc Bryan Student Services Center Lecture Hall, 1605 Coliseum Drive, at Arkansas Tech University. The program will include 182 color photographs from Ernst’s 40 years of wilderness travel. Fifteen collections of his photographs have been published as coffee table books, including

A Rare Quality of Light, which was published earlier this year. Refreshments will be served, and a book signing will be held during the event, which is free and open to the public.

AARP Smart Driver Course

RUSSELLVILLE — Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center will offer an AARP Smart Driver Course for people 55 and older from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Cafe 2 in the hospital, next to the cafeteria. The cost is $15 for AARP members and $20 for nonmembers, payable to AARP the day of the class. Complimentary pastries and coffee will be provided. Following the class, lunch will be available in the hospital cafeteria at a 25 percent discount for attendees. To register for the class, call (479) 968-2841, ext. 0.

Lupus Foundation #GivingTuesday

The Lupus Foundation of Arkansas Inc. will hold #GivingTuesday. This effort aims to harness the collective power of partners-charities, families, businesses and individuals to transform how people think about and participate in the giving season, and to improve the lives of lupus patients by giving them hope that there is still life after the diagnosis of this unpredictable disease. Go to www.firstgiving. com/28300 on Tuesday to make a tax-deductible donation to the Lupus Foundation of Arkansas Inc.

WEDNESDAY First Wednesday Ladies’ Lunch Break

CONWAY — First Wednesday Ladies’ Lunch Break will be held from noon to 1 p.m. in the Second Baptist Church Fellowship Hall at Dave Ward Drive and Farris Road. Enter the church from Farris Road. Women of all ages are invited to attend. Lunch, for $5, includes a drink and dessert. Child care is available at no charge with advance registration by calling (501) 327-4066 or (501) 730-4106 by Monday.

THURSDAY UACCM Night of Luminarias

MORRILTON — The University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton will hold its 13th annual Night of Luminarias, a free family-friendly event, at around 6 p.m., following the Morrilton Christmas parade. The Timberwolf Crossing Walking Trail will be lined with more than 1,300 luminary bags, decorated by Conway County children. UACCM faculty and staff will serve cookies and hot cocoa, and Santa will visit with children, hand out gifts and pose for photos between the Fine Arts Building and the Business Technology Center. Families are invited to bring cameras. For more information, contact Helen Lockhart at (501) 9772084 or lockhart@uaccm.edu. For last-minute wintry-weather updates, check the UACCM Facebook page.

Countdown to Christmas Craft Session

CONWAY — A Countdown to Christmas craft session will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Faulkner County Library. Each participant will make an Advent garland out of shipping tags, twine, glue, colorful paper and other found objects, with the help of Jerusalem Jackson Greer, a craft designer and minister to children, youth and families at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Conway. She will have copies of her book A Homemade Year: The Blessings of Cooking, Crafting and Coming Together for sale. Her blog is at

jerusalemgreer.com. To preregister for the free event, call the library at (501) 327-7482 or email

nancy@fcl.org.

To submit an item for the Calendar of Events, mail information to Calendar of Events, River Valley

& Ozark Edition, P.O. Box 2221, Little Rock, AR 72203; fax to (501) 378-3500; or email to rvonews@ arkansasonline.com. Deadlines for calendar-item submissions are noon Friday for Thursday editions and noon Tuesday for Sunday editions.