Jan. 31
Membership Madness Drive
CONWAY — The Conway Regional Women’s Council will host a drop-in Membership Madness Drive social and networking event from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at Michelangelo’s Italian Restaurant at the corner of Oak and Front streets. Prospective members are invited to this drop-in event to mingle with other members, hear plans for 2013 and check out the volunteer opportunities available with the Women’s Council. A brief presentation at 5 p.m. will highlight new events and upcoming changes being made to the council. The council is open to women age 18 and older, and all who join during the event will be entered to win a door prize. For more information, call (501) 513-5771.
Feb. 1
Retrospective of Jim Thorpe
CONWAY — Dr. Bob Reising will return to the Faulkner County Library at 7 p.m. with a video retrospective on Jim Thorpe, the man who made the Super Bowl possible. Thorpe is known as the greatest athlete of the 20th century. He was an Olympian, a professional baseball player and a professional football player. All library events are free and open to the public. For more information, call (501) 327-7482 or email Nancy@fcl.org.
Feb. 2
Newcomers Coffee
MAUMELLE — The Maumelle Newcomers will hold their monthly coffee at 10 a.m. at the Jess Odom Community Center. The community is invited to attend. For more information, call (501) 803-0225.
Feb. 3
First Baptist Church Maumelle
MAUMELLE — Pastor Tony Auxier of First Baptist Church Maumelle invites the community to worship with the congregation on Sundays with Bible classes for all age groups beginning at 9 a.m., followed by worship in the main sanctuary at 10:15. AWANA clubs for children age 2 through the sixth grade meet in the activities building at 4:30 p.m. Sundays, and a worship service is held in the sanctuary at 5 p.m. The church is at the corner of Maumelle Boulevard and Millwood Circle. For more information on church activities, call the church office at 851-3547 or visit www.fbcmaumelle.org.
Feb. 5
Interfaith Dialogue
MORRILTON — Dr. Ramesh Garimella, chairman of the University of Central Arkansas Department of Mathematics, will speak on Hinduism at the Interfaith Dialogues series from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Rialto Gallery, 213 E. Broadway in downtown Morrilton. Refreshments will be served. This is the third of six dialogues on world religions.
Classical Guitar Series Concert
RUSSELLVILLE — Arkansas Tech University will present a performance by Gohar Vardanyan at 7 p.m. in the Doc Bryan Student Services Building Lecture Hall. This is the second annual concert of the University Classical Guitar Series. The free concert is open to the public. For more information about Vardanyan, visit www.goharvardanyan.com.
Feb. 5 and Feb. 8
Bible Studies
MAUMELLE — The women of Maumelle and surrounding areas are invited to participate in an 11-week Bible study by Beth Moore, beginning at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at First Baptist Church Maumelle, at the corner of Maumelle Boulevard and Millwood Circle. The study, facilitated by Linda Obremski, will focus on “breaking free” of anything that hinders women from attaining an abundant and effective spirit-filled life. The cost of the workbook is $16. Beginning at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Jeannie Adams will facilitate a study called “Seed 1 and 2,” by Priscilla Shirer. The cost of the book for this six-week study is $20. Both Bible studies will be held in the Activities Building. To register, call the church office at (501) 851-3547. For more information, visit www.fbcmaumelle.org.
Feb. 6
Ladies’ Lunch Break
CONWAY — A Ladies’ Lunch Break will be held from noon to 1 p.m. at the Second Baptist Church Fellowship Hall. The cost for the meal is $5. For child care, call the church office at (501) 327-6565.
Ongoing
Art Exhibit
LITTLE ROCK — Beauty in the Natural State, a collection of oil paintings by Jeannie Stone of Russellville, will be featured from Monday through March 2 at the Community Bakery in Little Rock, a few blocks from the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion and part of the historic downtown district. Stone plans to graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in fine art from Arkansas Tech University. For more information, visit www.communitybakery.com or email dj@djstoneart.com.
Giving Tree Grants
CONWAY — Nonprofit organizations in Faulkner County may visit arcf.org to download an application for Giving Tree Grants through ARCF/Faulkner County, a local affiliate office of the Arkansas Community Foundation. Applications must be submitted by Feb. 15. Any IRS 501(c)(3) public charity, public school, government agency or hospital in Faulkner County is eligible to apply. Other applicants may be considered if the project has a clear charitable purpose for public benefit. Grants are not made to individuals. Applications will be reviewed by a grant-making committee from ARCF/Faulkner County. Grants generally range from $750 to $3,000. For submission guidelines and applications, visit arcf.org.
Class Registration
CONWAY — The Conway Adult Education Computer Training Department is accepting registration for classes. For more information, contact the center at (501) 450-4810, or visit www.caec.org.
Spring Art Exhibitions
CONWAY — The Baum Gallery of Fine Art at the University of Central Arkansas will present four exhibitions to be on display through Feb. 24: Swishbone: New Paintings by Julie Evans; Under the Influence: New Ceramic Work by Curt LaCross; Alternating Currents: A Mixed Media Art Installation by Mario Marzan; and Before and After: An Exploration of the Art Conservation Process. The gallery’s hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday; and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Entry to the exhibitions is free.
Upcoming
Email Basics Classes for Adults
CONWAY — The Faulkner County Library in Conway will offer email basics classes at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., noon, 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Feb. 7 and 21, and March 7. The hands-on, one-hour classes will cover how to set up an email account with a secure username and password, as well as some do’s and don’ts when using email. To register, call the library at (501) 327-7482, or email nancy@fcl.org. There is no charge and a limit of three students per hour-long class.
Spaghetti Dinner
NEW DIXIE — There will be a spaghetti and sausage dinner in St. Boniface Hall from 4-7:30 p.m. Feb. 9. The dinner will feature homemade rolls and peach cobbler. The cost is $10 for adults and $5 for children. Children under age 6 may eat free with a parent. For carryout meals, call (501) 759-2896 after 3:30 p.m. The public is invited.
Vocal and Piano Recital at Tech
RUSSELLVILLE — Arkansas Tech University will host baritone vocalist Stephen Swanson and pianist David Gompper for a recital of pieces from their Albany Records album Animal Songs: Bestiaries in English, French and German at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 9 at Witherspoon Auditorium at Tech. The free recital is open to the public. For more information, call (479) 968-0368 or visit www.atu.edu/music.
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.