Dec. 27 and Dec. 29
Eagle Tours
RUSSELLVILLE — Lake Dardanelle State Park is offering free winter lake cruises for the best chance of seeing the American bald eagle. Many other birds will be in the area for viewing, including American white pelicans, ducks and snow geese. Participants are asked to dress warmly, as temperatures and winds are more severe on the lake. The last two tours will take place at 2 p.m. today and at 9 a.m. Saturday. To reserve a seat, call (479) 967-5516.
Dec. 27-Dec. 29
Holiday Basketball Tournament
HEBER SPRINGS — Heber Springs High School will host the Payton Chevrolet Holiday Hoops tournament today through Saturday. The tourney will feature teams from throughout the state and from a variety of classifications, plus one boys team from Brownsville, Tenn. Also in the tournament will be teams from Star City, Batesville, Riverview, Little Rock Central, Heber Springs, McCrory and Decatur. The action will begin at 11 a.m. Thursday and last all day. Games will begin at 10 a.m. Friday and Saturday, and there will be four boys games and four girls games each day. The championship games will be Saturday, at 7 p.m. for the girls and at 8:30 p.m. for the boys.
Ongoing
Food for Fines
CONWAY — The Faulkner County Library will offer its Food for Fines program through Wednesday. Patrons who bring in nonperishable food items will have their library fines forgiven. All food donations will go to the Community Action Program for Central Arkansas. Food may be dropped off at any library branch. For more information, call the library at (501) 327-7482 or email Nancy@fcl.org.
Group Study Exchange Program
CONWAY/RUSSELLVILLE/MORRILTON — The Rotary Club is seeking four outstanding professionals to visit southern Italy as part of the Group Study Exchange Program of the Rotary Foundation. A Rotarian will lead the team to visit southwestern Italy from May 22 to June 20. The team will make
presentations to Rotary Clubs and other groups about Arkansas and their professions. The Rotary Foundation pays for round-trip airfare. Rotary Club members in Italy will provide meals, lodging and group travel in their district. Team members will pay only for personal and incidental expenses. Non-Rotarian team members should be between the ages of 25 and 40; employed full time in a business or profession; and live or work in Rotary District 6170. Applications, which can be found at rotary.org/RIdocuments/en_pdf/161en.pdf, need to be submitted by Jan. 15.
Upcoming
Jazz Performance
CONWAY — The Summertime Jazz Band, a local band consisting of Gary and Sylvia Summers, Bill White, John Timeaus and Heather Smith, will return to the Faulkner County Library at 7 p.m. Jan. 3. Refreshments will be served. 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.
Master Naturalists Membership Drive
The Central Arkansas Master Naturalists are looking for new members. Classes will begin Jan. 12 on botany, entomology, mammals, meteorology, birding, archaeology and more. After completing the Master Naturalist training program, volunteers are armed with knowledge that can change lives, help the environment and make a difference in the world. For more information, call (501) 837-9634 or visit arkansasmasternaturalists.org.
Cheerleading and Dance Clinic
RUSSELLVILLE — The Arkansas Tech University spirit squads will hold a cheerleading and dance clinic from noon to 2:30 p.m. Jan. 12 for children ages 5 to 12. The clinic will be held in the Hull Physical Education Building, Room 112. All participants will perform at halftime of the Arkansas Tech women’s basketball game later that evening at Tucker Coliseum. Tipoff will be at 4 p.m. The cost for the clinic is $25 per participant, which includes a clinic T-shirt. For more information or a registration form, visit www.atu.edu/spirit.
Sweetheart Dinner
MORRILTON — The General Federated Women’s Adelaide Club of Morrilton will host a sweetheart dinner and dance Feb. 9 at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Morrilton. The pork-chop dinner, catered by the Knights, will begin at 7 p.m. Jim Aldridge, singer, showman and saxophonist, along with his partner, Kern Kennedy, on the keyboard, will provide music for the annual benefit. A dessert table will be provided by Adelaide Club members, and auction items will be available for silent bids. Tickets are $30 per person and must be purchased in advance from any Adelaide member or by calling Sue Noble at (501) 354-2756.
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.