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COMMUNITY EVENTS IN THE RIVER VALLEY & OZARK AREA

TODAY Book Signing

CONWAY — Local author Skylar Overman will sign copies of her book Sky’s High Dreams at 2 p.m. at the Faulkner County Library. Skylar is in the sixth grade and participates in dance, cheer and pageants. She has a rare birth defect called schizencephaly and is in a wheelchair and is nonverbal. Skylar wants to raise awareness for schizencephaly and help families of children with special needs. 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.

The New Chinese Acrobats

CONWAY — The University of Central Arkansas’ Reynolds Performance Hall will open its 2018-19 Night Out series with The New Chinese Acrobats at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $30 to $40 for the general public and $10 for children. For more information, visit www.uca.edu/

reynolds or contact Amanda Horton at (501) 450-3682 or ahorton@uca.edu.

MONDAY Audubon Society Meeting

CONWAY — The Arkansas River Valley Audubon Society will meet at 7 p.m. in Room 010 of the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Life Sciences, in the basement’s north hall, at Hendrix College. The program will be Search for the Texas Frosted Elfin, by Matthew D. Moran, the Bill and Connie Bowen Odyssey Professor of Biology. Refreshments will be served, and the public is invited. Call (501) 9773899 for directions.

MONDAY  FRIDAY UCA Communication Week

CONWAY — The University of Central Arkansas School of Communication will host Communication Week with the theme “Communication Unites!” All events, free and open to the public, will be on the UCA campus. On Monday will be A Seat at the Table from 5-6:30 p.m. in the Mirror Room of McAlister Hall. On Tuesday, an alumni panel will feature communication and writing graduates at 1:40 p.m. in the Thompson Hall lobby. On Wednesday, Journalism and Public Relations will be featured at 1 p.m. in the Thompson Hall lobby. On Thursday, the Hilliard Speech Showcase will be at 6 p.m. in Stanley Russ Hall, Room 103. On Friday will be Starting the Conversation … Changing the Narrative on Race and Race Relations at 11 a.m. in the Thompson Hall lobby. For more information, contact Carey Clark at (501) 450-3345 or cclark@uca.edu.

TUESDAY

Open House CONWAY — The Child Care Resource Center and Lending Library in Olympia Plaza, 2115 E. Oak St., Suite 3, will hold an open house from 4-7 p.m. The resource center and library, part of Child Care Aware of Northcentral Arkansas, was created to assist licensed preschool and child care providers with books, curricula, lesson plans, manipulatives for fine-motor skills and other resources for free, as well as provide professional development. The organization, which covers Faulkner, Perry, White and Conway counties, teaches the mandatory prelicensing class required to open a child care facility.

TUESDAY, SATURDAY AND OCT. 30 UCA Tuba, Euphonium Events

CONWAY — The University of Central Arkansas Department of Music will host three OCTUBAthemed concerts to celebrate the tuba and euphonium. The UCA Octubafest, featuring members of the Tuba and Euphonium Studio, will be at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in UCA’s Snow Fine Arts Center Recital Hall. Toad Suck Buck’s fifth annual Octubafest will take place from 3-5 p.m. Saturday at 11 Roaring River Loop in Houston, Arkansas. Tubaween will take place at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 30 in the Snow Fine Arts Recital Hall. All three concerts are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Gail Robertson at

grobertson@uca.edu or (501) 450-5760.

WEDNESDAY World Polio Day Event

CONWAY — World Polio Day will be observed in Conway from 4:30-7 p.m. in the new Rotary Club Pavilion on the south side of Laurel Park. The event is sponsored by the Conway Morning Rotary Club, the Conway Rotary Club, Rotaract Clubs and St. Joseph Interact Club. Conway Mayor Bart Castleberry will make a proclamation about World Polio Day, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held for the pavilion. Activities include a paint-your-pinkie-purple tent, games and free food — hamburgers, hot dogs, water, soft drinks and ice cream. The public is invited. World Polio Day was established by Rotary International more than a decade ago to commemorate the birth of Jonas Salk, who led the first medical team to develop a vaccine against polio. Rotary International’s primary initiative is to help eradicate polio worldwide. World Polio Day CONWAY — Rotarians will celebrate World Polio Day from 4:30-7 p.m. at the new splash pad at Laurel Park, with a free family-friendly event that includes free food, music and fun. The event will begin with a ribbon-cutting to celebrate World Polio Day and to dedicate the new Rotary Club-funded picnic tables for the pavilion at the splash pad. This event is hosted by the Conway Noon Rotary Club, the Conway Morning Rotary Club and the Young Professionals of Conway.

THURSDAY Festival of Chairs

CONWAY — The Children’s Advocacy Alliance will celebrate its 17th annual Festival of Chairs from 6-8 p.m. at Legacy Acres. The keynote speaker will be Arkansas first lady Susan Hutchinson. As the regional nonprofit provider of advocacy services for abused and neglected children of Faulkner, Van Buren, Searcy, Conway and Perry counties, the Children’s Advocacy Alliance is a partnership of the Children’s Advocacy Center and the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of the 20th Judicial District.

Bookcase for Every Child Literacy Banquet

CONWAY — Tickets are on sale for the 11th annual Bookcase for Every Child Literacy Banquet, set for 6:30 p.m. in the Bob and Betty Courtway Middle School Cafeteria. The event will feature a catfish dinner and entertainment by the Sulphur Road Pickers of the Damascus area. Purchase tickets, at $15.95 each or $125 for a table of eight, by calling Jim Davidson at (501) 499-2179, or at Pickles Gap Village, Conway Copies, the Log Cabin Democrat or the Faulkner County Library. Proceeds from the event will be used to build 50 bookcases for children at Head Start centers.

Literary Arts Festival

CONWAY — The Faulkner County Library’s 2018 Literary Arts Festival will feature Mark Spencer, the award-winning author of three novels and two collections of short stories, including “A Haunted Love Story” about his home in Monticello, on Thursday. 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.

THURSDAY, SATURDAY AND OCT. 28 The Odyssey

CLINTON — The Clinton High School Players will present The

Odyssey, by R.N. Sandberg, at 7 p.m. Thursday and Saturday and at 3 p.m. Oct. 28 in the Clinton School Auditorium, 489 Yellowjacket Lane. The play is based on the classic epic poem by Homer. Tickets are $5 each or $15 per family of three or more. For more information, call Clinton High School at (501) 745-6000 or check out Instagram: @clintonhightheatre.

FRIDAY, SATURDAY AND NOV. 3 AND 4 Nuncrackers: The Nunsense Christmas Musical

FAIRFIELD BAY — Our Towne Productions of Fairfield Bay will present Nuncrackers: The

Nunsense Christmas Musical, directed by Janice Thompson, at 7 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Nov. 3, and at 2 p.m. Nov. 4 at the Fairfield Bay Conference Center, 548 Lost Creek Parkway. Tickets are $18 and are available at the center and the Fairfield Bay Library, or call (501) 884-4202 for reservations.

SATURDAY Community Breakfast

MAUMELLE — The men of

St. Nicholas Episcopal Church, 4001 Club Manor Blvd., will cook and serve a community breakfast from 7-10 a.m. Eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits, gravy, pancakes, coffee and other drinks will be available. A donation is suggested: $5 for adults and $3 for children 12 and younger. Proceeds from the event will benefit the ministries of St. Nicholas. For more information, call (501) 412-8510.

ONGOING

Eternity House Walk-Through Drama CONWAY — Eternity House in Conway, celebrating 19 years, will present a walk-through drama at Point of Grace Baptist Church, 767 U.S. 64B. Shows will take place at 5 p.m. today, at 6 p.m. Wednesday, at 5 p.m. Saturday and Oct. 28, and at 7 p.m. Oct. 31. Two nonperishable food items per person at the door will support a local food pantry. Monetary donations to support Eternity House will also be appreciated. There will be a Trunk-orTreat from 6-8 p.m. Oct. 31. For more information, visit www. eternityhouse.org. Food for Fines MORRILTON — The Conway County Library will offer its Food for Fines Program through Oct. 31. Patrons can donate nonperishable food items when returning overdue materials to erase the fine for that item, as well as other overdue fines. Each food item represents $1. Patrons may donate up to 10 items to cancel up to $10 of fines. Food items may not be used to waive charges for items that are lost. For more information, call at (501) 354-5204.

A Sense of Place Art Exhibit

CLINTON — The art exhibit A Sense of Place, in the halls of Ozark Health Medical Center, 2500 U.S. 65 S., will be open through Nov. 12. The exhibit includes more than 50 works by members of the North Central Arkansas Artist League. Art is displayed in the hallways near the cafeteria on the upper level and in the outpatient wing on the lower level. The paintings are for sale for $15 to $450. Proceeds will benefit Hospital Auxiliary projects. For more information, call Joyce Hartmann at (501) 745-6615. TOPS Meetings CONWAY — TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) meets each Tuesday at Peace Lutheran Church, at the corner of Donaghey Avenue and Dave Ward Drive. Weigh-in begins at 9:15 a.m., and a support meeting emphasizing weight loss and healthy living takes place from 10-11 a.m. Prospective members are welcome to attend. Enter the church from Donaghey Avenue. For more information, call Peggy at (501) 514-0823 or Sandy at (501) 329-0558.

Fairfield Bay Farmers Market

FAIRFIELD BAY — The Fairfield Bay Farmers Market is open from 9 a.m. to noon Thursdays through October at the Village Mall Gazebo. The market features certified naturally grown

produce from the Gathering Place at Meadow Creek. All vendors are welcome to bring bumper-crop vegetables to sell. No preregistration is required.

Neighbor’s Table

RUSSELLVILLE — Neighbor’s Table is a free meal from noon to 1 p.m. every Saturday at All Saints’ Episcopal Church, 501 S. Phoenix Ave. The doors open at 11:30 a.m. with free coffee. All are welcome to attend. Neighbor’s Table also sends home sack lunches with guests. All Saints’ has a Loaves and Fishes ministry, which accepts Sunday-morning offerings at the altar of necessities such as cereal, peanut butter, shelf-stable milk, toilet paper, toiletries, hand soap and detergent to be distributed at Neighbor’s Table. For more information, call the church office at (479) 968-3622.

Humane Society Benefit Bingo

GREENBRIER — Bingo, sponsored by the Humane Society of Faulkner County, is played every third Friday at the Melton Cotton City Event Center, 5 Lois Lane. Pregames start at 5:30 p.m., and full games begin at 6:30. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Sloan-Swindel Spay and Neuter Memorial Fund. For more information, email rescuethestrays@yahoo.com.

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) 3783500; or email to rvonews@arkansasonline.com. The deadline for calendar-item submissions is noon Tuesday.