this week’s EVENTS

Editor’s note: Many events have been canceled or postponed due to concern about the coronavirus.

TODAY  THURSDAY Winter Wonderland Ferris Wheel Rides

BATESVILLE — The Batesville Area Chamber of Commerce will host the White River Wonderland Ferris Wheel from 4-9 p.m. today through Thursday in Riverside Park. The fee to ride the Ferris wheel is $5 for ages 2 and older. Online reservations are required by visiting https://experienceindependence-merchandise.myshopify.com/collections/experiences/products/winterwonderland-ferris-wheel-ride.

TUESDAY American Legion Riders Meeting

CABOT — The American Legion Riders, a group for veterans who ride motorcycles, will meet at 7 p.m. at Criswell-Robinson American Legion Post 71, 114 N. First St. Because of COVID-19, health practices and guidelines will be followed. For more information, call Post 71 at (501) 203-5715.

Virtual Tree-Lighting Ceremony

BEEBE — Arkansas State University-Beebe invites the community to view its Virtual Tree-Lighting Ceremony at 5 p.m. on the ASU-Beebe website, www.asub.edu. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the event was changed to an online ceremony. The event will include holiday greetings from Jennifer Methvin, ASU-Beebe chancellor; ASUB mascot Van Vanguard; and Santa Claus. The Leyland cypress tree has an estimated height of 25 feet and is decorated with thousands of blue and white lights.

THURSDAY Basic Life Support CPR Class

BATESVILLE — The University of Arkansas Community College of Batesville Community Education will offer a Basic Life Support CPR course from 5-9 p.m. The class fee is $49. This course meets the requirements for health care professionals. Register at uaccb.coursestorm.com or call (870) 612-2082.

FRIDAY AND SATURDAY Old-Fashioned Christmas

BATESVILLE — Main Street Batesville’s Old-Fashioned Christmas will take place at 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The event will include a winter market, live music, carolers, pop-up shops, kids’ activities and more. for more information, call Main Street Batesville at (844) 462-4482.

SATURDAY Batesville Christmas Parade

BATESVILLE — The Batesville Kiwanis Christmas Parade, with the theme An Old-Fashioned Christmas, will begin at 6 p.m. on Main and College streets. Line-up will begin at 4 p.m. at the Town Plaza for all floats. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, everyone who normally walks in the parade must be either in a vehicle, be pulled by a vehicle or be in the back of a vehicle. No candy will be thrown from vehicles. Floats to be judged must be entered in the parade in advance. All entries are asked to not incorporate a Santa on any float or vehicle. To register for the parade, visit https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfD5uq3mn4Sb4NWcFqdhZ6h6UqqF9iZscY4slK_t8tz_0bcPg/formResponse.

ONGOING Cabot Public Library

CABOT — The Cabot Public Library, 909 W. Main St., is now open for browsing from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, with a limited capacity. Library services provided from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday include curbside pickup; copies, prints and faxes; online card signup; e-books, e-audiobooks and e-magazines; over-the-phone book selections; renewals; a newspaper station; take-home kits; virtual

programming; and computer use. For more information, call the library at (855) 572-6657.

The Living Nativity

SEARCY — Searcy First Assembly of God, 101 Benton Ave., will present The Living Nativity 2020 on Friday through Dec. 6 and Dec. 11-13.

Hours are 6:30-9:30 p.m. Fridays, 5:30-9:30 p.m. Saturdays and 5:30-8:30 p.m. Sundays. For more information, call Searcy First Assembly at (501) 268-3289.

White River Wonderland Light Display

BATESVILLE — The White River Wonderland Light Display is open for viewing from 5 p.m. to midnight seven days a week through Jan. 3 at Riverside Park.

Poetry Out Loud Registration

The Arkansas Arts Council is accepting registrations from public, charter and private schools, as well as home-school groups, to participate in the 2021 Arkansas Poetry Out Loud competition. The registration deadline is Dec. 18. Students compete at the school level for a chance to become the Arkansas champion. The state winner will compete for $20,000 at the national level next spring. The Arkansas Arts Council provides all materials needed, including coaches. Virtual workshops are also being planned. For more information or to register, contact Drekkia Morning, Arts in Education programs manager, at drekkia. morning@arkansas.gov.

Harding University Holiday Lighting

SEARCY — Guests are invited to view the holiday light display at Harding University through New Year’s. The university’s physical resources department has hung lights and Christmas wreaths across campus. All Arkansans are encouraged to add the campus to their lists of light displays to visit this year. The display is also featured in the city of Searcy’s Holiday of Lights, a guide to seasonal events that take place all over town during December.

Arkansas Governor’s School Applications

Applications are being taken for the 42nd Arkansas Governor’s School, set for July 5-31 and hosted by Arkansas Tech University in Russellville. Eligible students need to inquire about the nomination process with their school counselor. AGS serves approximately 400 selected students from around the state during the summer before their senior year in high school. Information and instructions for applying are available at www.atu.edu/ags, and the deadline to apply is Jan. 20. For more information, email ags@atu.edu or call (479) 968-0391.

Painting Classes

BATESVILLE — Two continuing painting classes take place at Gallery 246, 246 E. Main St. A watercolor class, taught by Aline McCracken, meets from 10 a.m. to noon Tuesdays. The fee is $10, with all supplies provided. Acrylic: Paint With Panaché, taught by Jim Tindall, meets from 10 a.m. to noon Thursdays. The fee is $45, with all supplies provided. To register, call (870) 262-8066, visit the gallery, or see its Facebook page. COVID-19 precautions are observed in the gallery.

Bald Knob VFW Free Coffee

BALD KNOB — The community is invited to get a free cup of coffee from 8:30 a.m. to

2 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday at Bald Knob Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10007, 3012 Highway Ave. The VFW recognizes the sacrifices and efforts of all veterans and understands the importance of rallying community support for them. Volunteering to serve coffee are Will “Ace” Marler, a Purple Heart recipient and post quartermaster; Bill “Rhino” Morton, a veteran service officer; and Savannah Breaux, commander of VFW Post 10007.

UPCOMING Searcy Chamber Virtual Awards Show

SEARCY — The Searcy Regional Chamber of Commerce will present its Virtual Awards Show, with the theme Christmas Vacation, airing at noon Dec. 11, along with on-location Watch Parties. The virtual event will include an overview of the year’s business successes and announcements of the 2020 Business Awards, including Business of the Year, Nonprofit of the Year, Emerging Business of the Year and Volunteer of the Year. A variety of sponsorships are available. For more information, call the chamber at (501) 268-2458.

Cabot Annual Christmas Parade

CABOT — The Cabot Annual Christmas Parade, with the theme “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is set for 5 p.m. Dec. 12. Parade entries are needed from businesses and groups in five categories: school/ civic, church, business, animal/ equestrian and general/ personal. Get entry forms, parade rules and route maps at the Veterans Park Community Center, the Cabot Chamber of Commerce Office or www.cabotparks.com. The entry deadline is Dec. 7. Mail forms and a $10 entry fee to Cabot Christmas Parade, P.O. Box 1101, Cabot, AR 72023. For more information, all (501) 920-2122 or email cabotbeautiful@yahoo.com. To submit an item for the Calendar of Events, mail information to Calendar of Events, Three Rivers Edition, P.O. Box 2221, Little Rock, AR, 72203; send faxes to (501) 378-3500; or email trnews@arkansasonline.com. The deadline for calendar-item submissions is noon Tuesday.