For the weekend
Representatives and constituents of South Arkansas Community
College will break ground on the college’s newest facility at 10 a.m. today on SouthArk’s East Campus.
The Charles A. Hays Advanced Manufacturing Training Center will be more than 14,000 square feet and the new building will be utilized both for credit programs and non-credit programs. Including the high-tech equipment housed there, the project will total more than $3 million. The facility will bear the name of the late Charles A. Hays, founder of The Systems Group, an industrial construction, maintenance and fabrication business headquartered in El Dorado. The Systems Group pledged $200,000 in Hays’ memory to help fund the project. Jones said that federal sources provided nearly $1 million for construction, with more than half a million coming from state general-improvement funds and private donations have totaled about $175,000.
Designed by El Dorado’s CADM Architecture, the facility is forecast to be complete in time for use in the spring 2018 semester. Dayco General Contractors of Damascus won the bid for construction of the project.
The South Arkansas Arts Center will host an artist’s reception to honor El Dorado artist Sandy Bennett from 6 until 8 p.m. on Saturday. The reception will be held in the Price and Merkle Galleries, where Bennett’s exhibit, “Inside and Out,” will hang through May 4.
Bennett’s pieces vary from vibrant florals to quiet landscapes to introspective still lifes done in watercolor, acrylic and oils. She calls her style “The Kitchen Sink” because she is constantly changing media, materials and techniques, including the latest addition of acrylic finger painting. Her work is an eclectic reflection of her journey through life.
The Lobby Gallery features a retrospective of the work of Zettie Griffith Link (1919-2016). She studied art in college until the Great Depression made it necessary for her to go to work. After moving to Bearden in 1948, she continued to work as a commercial/graphic artist. In her own work, she painted primarily in oil on various surfaces and later in her life, she began working in acrylics and mosaics. She continued to paint until her death in December 2016.
The galleries are open to the public from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and are free of charge. For more information, call the SAAC office at 870-8625474 or visit the website at www.saac-arts.org. SAAC is located at 110 E. Fifth St., El Dorado.
“Disney’s The Jungle
Book KIDS,” will be held at 7 p.m. today, with a reception to be held on stage following the presentation, and at 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Saturday at the South Arkansas Arts Center, 110 E. Fifth St., El Dorado.
Tickets are $5 for children and adults with open seating. The box office may be contacted for tickets at (870) 8625474.
Kids in the production wear different colors of tie-dyed shirts to correspond with the part they are playing. The tie-dye looks like jungle background and actors then become part of the set. Most of the shirts are assorted shades of green and white, but some groups of animals have different colors so that the audience will recognize that they all go together, such as elephants or monkeys.
For more information on “Disney’s The Jungle Book KIDS,” sponsored by El Dorado Kiwanis Club, call the SAAC office at 870-862-5474 or visit the SAAC website at www.saac-arts.org. SAAC is located at 110 E.
Fifth St., El Dorado.
An Easter egg hunt will be held from 1 until 2:30 p.m. on Saturday as part of the Sharion Bailey Whitlock Proclamation and Birthday Weekend in the area of Lester and Columbia streets, behind Arby’s. The Easter egg hunt will be divided into four age groups, from ages 1 to 18. A Family Fun Day will be held following the Easter egg hunt and will continue until 5:30 p.m. Fun Day activities will include free food, a bounce house, face-painting, horse rides, board games, an electronic basketball arcade game and a basketball shoot-out with junior and senior divisions.
Activities will continue with a barbecue and fish dinner from 2 until 5 p.m. on Sunday. The food will be free and take-outs will be available. A balloon release will be held at 6 p.m. on Monday on the basketball court in the area of Columbia and Lester. All events are free and open to the public. Volunteers in the community will be working on the 41st Habitat for
Humanity home in this area from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Saturday. The new home is located at 537 E. Second St. and all volunteers are encouraged to help construct this home for the Lowery family. For more information, contact Habitat by email at director@ habitat-eldorado.org or call 870-3108157.