Dec. 11
AARP Chapter Christmas Party
MAUMELLE — The Maumelle AARP Chapter will meet at 6 p.m. at the Maumelle Senior Wellness Center for the group’s annual Christmas party. There will be a potluck, with the chapter furnishing ham and members bringing side dishes. Jay and the Twilighters will provide music for listening and dancing. Anyone 50 or older is welcome to attend. For more information on the meeting or on joining the chapter, call Betty Hall at (501) 851-6828 or Jan Bowen at (501) 803-0089.
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.
Dec. 11 and13
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 two locations in Maumelle. Grelen will be at Bradley’s HealthMart from 4-6 p.m. today 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.
Dec. 11-13
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 someday startstoday.tv/cms/festival.
Dec. 12
Gluten Intolerance/Celiac Disease Support Group
HEBER SPRINGS — A support group for people with gluten intolerance or celiac disease will meet at 10 a.m. in Heber Springs. All are invited to share their experiences and information with others. For more information, call Arleen at (501) 362-5527.
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.
Dec. 12 and 13
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 so families can shop for their children. Each family will pay $5 per box per child. To volunteer to help with the event, email volunteer@coho58.org.
Dec. 13
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 and informative. 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. Santa will be present for pictures with the kids. The race will begin at 10:30, with proceeds from the 5K benefiting the Greenbrier Chamber of Commerce Scholarship Fund. The parade will start at 2 p.m. To enter the parade, call Rhonda at (501) 450-2835 or the chamber at (501) 679-4009. There is no entry fee. Queens are invited to ride in the parade. Prizes will be awarded for the best float, old car and old tractor. Horses are welcome. 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.
Dec. 14-15
Conway Women’s Chorus Christmas Show
CONWAY — The Conway Women’s Chorus will present a Christmas show, Christmas Wishes, at 2 p.m. Sunday and at 7 p.m. Monday 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 Sunday. For more information, contact the Faulkner Academy of Arts at (501) 339-7401 or faulkneraarts@yahoo.com, or visit FaulknerAcademyofArts.org.
Dec. 16
Pinnacle Brass Holiday Concert
CONWAY — Ring in the holiday season at 7 p.m. at the Faulkner County Library with a performance by Pinnacle Brass. The brass quintet’s members are the four full-time brass professors at the University of Central Arkansas, along with an invited trumpet student. The faculty members are Larry Jones, trumpet; Brent Shires, horn; Justin Cook, trombone; and Gail Robertson, tuba. Ethan Shaw, second trumpet, is one of Jones’ graduate students. Refreshments will be served. All library events are free and open to the public. For more information, call the library at (501) 327-7482, email Nancy@fcl.org, or visit Facebook or Twitter.
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.