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COMMUNITY EVENTS IN THE RIVER VALLEY & OZARK AREA

TODAY

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.

Candlelight Carol Service CONWAY — The Hendrix College Choir, under the direction of Andrew Morgan, will present its annual Candlelight Carol Service at 4 p.m. 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 SATURDAY

Festival of Trees FAIRFIELD BAY — Fairfield Bay will hold its inaugural Festival of Trees through Saturday 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 somedaystartstoday.tv/cms/festival.

TUESDAY

Recreation and Parks Meeting RUSSELLVILLE — The Russellville Recreation and Parks Department will hold the monthly meeting of the Recreation and Parks Commission at noon at the Hughes Community Center. 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’ 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, THURSDAY AND SATURDAY

Book Signings 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 HealthMart from 4-6 p.m. Thursday and at Morningside Bagels from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. 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) 3562067 or visiting asbtdc.org/ training/russellville-events.

THURSDAY

Reading and Children’s Concert CONWAY — Local author Maria Hoskins will read from her new book, Christmas Night on the Farm, at 7 p.m. at the Faulkner County Library. At 6 p.m., Brian and Terri Kinder will present a Christmas children’s concert. All library events are free and open to the public. For more information, call the library at (501) 327-7482 or email Nancy@fcl.org or Kara@fcl.org.

FRIDAY

Comedy Performance CONWAY — Comedian Darryl Littleton will perform at 4 p.m. at the Faulkner County Library. Littleton began his comedy career writing sketches for The Tom Joyner Morning Show on CBS Radio. During his tenure there, Littleton became a regular at the world-famous Comedy Store and adopted the stage name “D’Militant” for his social and political commentary. All library events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact the library at (501) 327-7482 or email Nancy@fcl.org.

FRIDAY AND SATURDAY

Christmas Store Donations CONWAY — City of Hope Outreach is seeking donations of new clothing and toys for children ages 1 through 18 to stock the organization’s annual Christmas Store on Friday and Saturday for families in the Conway mobile-home communities that City of Hope serves with its ministry. The items will be on display for families to shop for their children. Each family will pay $5 per box per child. To volunteer to help with the event, email volunteer@coho58.org.

SATURDAY

Second Saturday Bingo HEBER SPRINGS — St. Albert Catholic Church, at 21 Park Road, will hold its Second Saturday Bingo at 5:30 p.m. For more information, call Myrna Shaw at (501) 362-9450.

Spaghetti Dinner NEW DIXIE — St. Boniface Catholic Church will have a spaghetti and sausage dinner from 4-7:30 p.m. in St. Boniface Hall. The dinner will feature homemade rolls and cobbler. Children younger than 6 may eat free with a parent. The public is invited. For carryout meals, call (501) 759-2896 after 3:30 p.m.

Piano 4-te Event CONWAY — Piano 4-te, a piano ensemble, will bring an event to the Faulkner County Library at 2 p.m. The ensemble will feature American folk music presented in a game-show format. Name That Tune is interactive, informative and fun. Audience members will be asked to challenge the musicians and win bragging rights as music-trivia champions. Ensemble members are Amanda Norris, Kayla Pointer, Marissa Lindsay and Chloe Sharp. Assisting are Rachel Barnett and Faith Carter. All are piano students at the Faulkner Academy of Arts and range in age from 9 to 17. For more information, call the library at (501) 327-7482 or email Nancy@fcl.org.

Hometown Holiday GREENBRIER — The Greenbrier Chamber of Commerce’s Hometown Holiday will be held Saturday. The event is a family fun day, including the Ugly Sweater Run 5K and the 2014 Christmas parade. The race will begin at 10:30 a.m., and the parade will start at 2 p.m. Santa

will be present for pictures with the kids. Proceeds from the 5K will benefit the Greenbrier Chamber of Commerce Scholarship Fund. For more information or registration forms, visit www.greenbrierchamber.org/ hometown-holiday.

Concealed Carry Course MAUMELLE — Safe Shooting Sports of Arkansas LLC will conduct an Arkansas Concealed Handgun Carry License course Saturday at the Hampton Inn. Every Concealed Carry Course also includes a free National Rifle Association Basic Pistol Shooting Course and lunch. Discounts are available for couples and groups. See www. safeshootarkansas.com to register, or contact Jeff Allison, ASP #14-996, at (501) 813-2908.

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 JumpZone have teamed up to offer a free children’s program, TeamKID, for first- through sixth-graders. The program is held at 6:30 p.m. each Wednesday at the JumpZone building. For more information, call (501) 851-7729 or visit www.southernhillsbaptist.tv.

Tea Party Meeting HEBER SPRINGS — Arkansas’ We the People Tea Party of Cleburne County meets at 6:30 p.m. the first and third Thursdays of every month at St. Barnabas Anglican Church, 1101C W. Main St. Various issues are discussed. For more information, call Marlin Schwartz at (847) 977-5261.

UPCOMING

Conway Women’s Chorus Christmas Show CONWAY — The Conway Women’s Chorus will present a Christmas show, Christmas Wishes, at 2 p.m. Dec. 14 and at 7 p.m. Dec. 15 at the Conway Dinner Theater, 2201 Washington Ave. There is no admission charge. The Mustang Singers of Julia Lee Moore Elementary School will join the chorus on Dec. 14. For more information, contact the Faulkner Academy of Arts at (501) 339-7401 or faulk neraarts@yahoo.com, or visit FaulknerAcademyofArts.org. Author Visit GREENBRIER — Local author Jesse Lee Hatfield will be at the Greenbrier Public Library from 5-7 p.m. Dec. 16 to sign copies of his newly released book, 72058: The Many Mini Adventures of a Small-Town Mailman. The books will be on sale for $12.95. The mail must go through, and it does, in this humorous look at the real-life experiences of mailmen in a small Southern town that goes by the ZIP code 72058.

Annual Christmas Dinner DANVILLE — The Leon Millsap Senior Center will hold its annual Christmas Dinner from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Dec. 18. The menu includes ham or half Cornish hen, dressing and gravy, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, glazed carrots, ambrosia, cranberry sauce, rolls, Italian cream cake and peach cobbler. Tickets are $8. For more information, call (479) 495-7371.