this week’s EVENTS

TODAY

Art Show MAUMELLE — The Maumelle Senior Wellness Center, 550 Edgewood Drive, will host its seventh annual art show today. The center exhibits original watercolor paintings and craft items that are created by class members and are for sale at reasonable prices. Tickets are $3 for seniors 65 or older, $4 for adults and $2 for youth ages 12-18. Children younger than 12 will be admitted free. Tickets are on sale at the Lakeside desk at the center or can be purchased at the door. For more information, call (501) 851-4344.

TODAY  SUNDAY

Candlelight Carol Service CONWAY — The Hendrix College Choir, under the direction of Andrew Morgan, will present its annual Candlelight Carol Service at 7:30 p.m. today, Friday and Saturday, and at 4 p.m. Sunday in Greene Chapel. The service is free and open to the public, but reservations are required. Reservations can be made by calling (501) 450-1495.

TODAY  DEC. 13 Festival of Trees FAIRFIELD BAY — Fairfield Bay will hold its inaugural Festival of Trees through Dec. 13 as the Fairfield Bay Conference and Visitor Center is transformed into a wonderland of holiday elegance and whimsy to suit any age — families and individuals. The center is at 110 Lost Creek Parkway. For tickets, call (501) 884-4202 or visit someday startstoday.tv/cms/festival.

FRIDAY

Newcomers Christmas Coffee MAUMELLE — The Maumelle Newcomers Christmas Coffee will be held at 10 a.m. at the Maumelle Community Center. All women in the community are invited. For more information, call Pat Matthews at (501) 803-0225. Make a Child Smile Fundraiser CONWAY — Make a Child Smile will hold a hamburger-dinner fundraiser from 5-8 p.m. at Bob’s Grill, 1112 Oak St. The cost is $8 for a burger, fries and a drink, or $15 for two dinners. To-go orders and other sandwiches will be available. The proceeds will go to the nonprofit organization’s annual Christmas project to buy presents for needy children and teenagers. New, unwrapped toys and gifts for older children will be accepted at the event as well. Checks may be mailed to Make A Child Smile, P.O. Box 2363, Conway, AR 72033.

SATURDAY

Pancake Breakfast CONWAY — The 24th annual Pancake Breakfast, Silent Auction and Bake Sale, sponsored by the Faulkner County Senior Citizens Program, will be held from 7 a.m. to noon at the Ola & John Hawks Senior Wellness and Activity Center, 705 E. Siebenmorgen Road. The meal will include allyou-can-eat pancakes, sausage, juice, coffee and milk. Tickets are $7 for adults and $3 for children 12 or younger. Tickets may be purchased at the center, from any board member or at the door. For more information, call (501) 327-2895.

Concord Tree Lighting CONCORD — The city of Concord will hold the 2014 Christmas Tree Lighting at 5:30 p.m. at the Concord Community Center. Christmas music, refreshments and a visit from Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus will follow the lighting of the tree.

Christmas Parade, BBQ Cook-off DAMASCUS — The annual Damascus Christmas Parade and BBQ Cook-off will be held Saturday. The parade will start at 10 a.m. on North Road, go down Oak Tree Road, make the block and return to North Road. Immediately following the parade, the BBQ Cook-off will be held at the Damascus Community Building on U.S. 65. Barbecue, a drink and dessert will cost $5, and proceeds will benefit the Damascus Fire Department.

Arts and Crafts Fair CONWAY — An arts and crafts holiday marketplace will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Carl Stuart Middle School gymnasium. Admission is $3. More than 30 vendors will sell their handmade wares. Door prizes will be given.

Shopping Event ATKINS — A new come-andgo-style ladies shopping event — Mingle All the Way — will be held from 4-8 p.m. at the depot in Atkins. Guests will have an opportunity to mix and mingle while having refreshments and shopping with local merchants. For more information or to reserve booth space, call Brandy Pitts at (479) 692-1019.

Book Signing CONWAY — Conway author Lelia Eye will hold a book signing from 1-3 p.m. at the Faulkner County Library. She wrote Smothered Rose Trilogy, a young-adult fantasy novel. She has co-authored three books with Jann Rowland and has published three solo works. For more information, call the library at (501) 327-7482 or email

nancy@fcl.org.

Trout Day 2014 RUSSELLVILLE — The CADDIS Fly Fishing Club, the Russellville Recreation and Parks Department, and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission are partnering to bring seasonal trout fishing to Russellville. The AGFC will stock Pleasant View Park pond with 1,200 rainbow trout, and Trout Day 2014 will be held from 9 a.m. to noon. Saturday. This will be an opportunity for folks of all ages to “Catch a Limit of Trout in Russellville.” For more information, call the Hughes Center at (479) 9681272.

SUNDAY

Christmas in Clinton CLINTON — Christmas in Clinton 2014 will be held from 1-5 p.m. with local participating businesses. Pictures with Santa will be available at the Clinton Fire Department. For more information, call Susan Weaver at (501) 940-9710 or Ashton Snowden Pruitt at (501) 5813887.

TUESDAY

Wintersong Choral Concert CONWAY — The Conway Men’s Chorus will present its 17th annual Wintersong Christmas Holiday choral concert at 7 p.m. at Reynolds Performance Hall at the University of Central Arkansas. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. The concert and parking are free. The chorus’s newly formed singing group, Profundus, will open the concert. For more information, contact Mike McCullars at (501) 327-5151, email info@conwaymenschorus.org or visit www.conwaymenschorus.org.

TUESDAY AND DEC. 11 AND 13

Book Signing MAUMELLE — Jay Grelen of Maumelle, who wrote the “Sweet Tea” column for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, will sell and sign copies of his book

Sweet Tea Times, a collection of his human-interest stories from the column, at three locations in Maumelle. Grelen will be at the Pasta House from 5-8 p.m. Tuesday, at Bradley’s Health-Mart from 4-6 p.m. Dec. 11 and at Morningside Bagels from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 13. For more information, contact Grelen at (501) 231-9619 or Jay@JayGrelenSweetTea.com, or visit www.JayGrelenSweetTea.com.

WEDNESDAY

QuickBooks Seminar RUSSELLVILLE — The Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center will present a hands-on QuickBooks Payroll workshop from 9 a.m. to noon at Arkansas Tech University. Participants will learn to use the payroll features in QuickBooks accounting software. Topics will include tracking employee time, issuing paychecks, paying liabilities and producing required payroll reports. A computer will be provided for each participant to use during the session. The cost is $65. Seating is limited, and registration is required by calling (479) 356-2067 or visiting asbtdc.org/training/russellville

ONGOING

Grief Support Group MAUMELLE — The Maumelle Senior Wellness Center, 550 Edgewood Drive, is offering a grief support group from 9:30-10:30 a.m. Wednesdays. The group is open to all center members who have experienced loss. Participants will have an opportunity to discuss their losses and gain insight into developing coping skills. For more information, call (501) 851-4344.

Midday Manna CONWAY — A Bible lecture and luncheon led by Wanda Landers takes place from 11:45 a.m. to 12:50 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month at Woodland Heights Baptist Church, 4215 Prince St. Lunch, including a drink and dessert, is served for $5. For child care by reservation, call (501) 329-0001. Conway Community Meditation Group CONWAY — The Conway Community Meditation group meets from 12:30-1:30 p.m. every Tuesday at The Locals, 1024 Van Ronkle St. This session provides a time of unifying harmony with fellow Conway residents. All are welcome. For more information, visit www.

the locals.be/events.

Simply Said Storytelling CONWAY — Simply Said is an informal, open-mic storytelling time held at 6 p.m. every Thursday at The Locals, 1024 Van Ronkle St. Participants are asked to share a story, without using notes, in no more than five minutes. For more information, visit

www.thelocals.be/events. Spanish Practice Group CONWAY — The Spanish Practice Group meets at 4 p.m. every Friday at The Locals, 1024 Van Ronkle St. Join other Spanish-speaking enthusiasts in conversation. Todos son bienvenidos! For more information, visit www.thelocals.be/events.

Wordpress Conway CONWAY — Wordpress Conway takes place at 6 p.m. the second Tuesday of every month at The Locals, 1024 Van Ronkle St. For anyone who uses Wordpress or wants to learn more about it, this central-Arkansas group can provide help with questions or issues Wordpress users may have. For more information, visit www.

thelocals.be/events.

Team KID MAUMELLE — Southern Hills Baptist Fellowship and Jump-Zone have teamed up to offer a free children’s program, Team KID, for first- through sixth-graders. The program is held at 6:30 p.m. each Wednesday at the Jump Zone building. For more information, call (501) 851-7729 or visit www.southernhillsbaptist.tv. 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.