An exhibit opening this week at the William F. Laman Public Library will invite visitors to relive the history, popularity and fantasy of the circus from the late 19th century through the middle of the 20th century.
The exhibit "Step Right Up! Behind the Scenes of the Circus Big Top, 1890-1965," is to open by Friday in the exhibit hall at the library, 2801 Orange St., North Little Rock.
The free exhibit will remain through Oct. 20 and will be open during regular library hours Mondays-Saturdays.
It will display about 60 pieces of circus history, including full-color posters, costume regalia, photographs, billboards and oral histories from performers of the era. It also highlights the "fantasy of circus life" as lived by circus performers.
By 1900, there were more than 100 circuses that would crisscross the country, including P.T. Barnum's, the first to introduce sideshow oddities and human curiosities such as Tom Thumb. The circus was "the king of American entertainment" during those years, especially in smaller cities and towns, the exhibit news release said.
"For many, it was their first chance to see a lion or elephant and their first opportunity to explore new inventions like the electric light," the news release said.
The exhibit is curated by Timothy Tegge, a circus historian, collector and second-generation circus performer.
Garden committee grants announced
North Little Rock's Fit 2 Live Community Garden Committee has awarded $19,000 in grants to six community gardens in its fall round of funding, the city department announced.
The awarded funds and projects are:
• $4,800 to St. Joseph's Hunger Relief Garden to run irrigation to a half-acre plot that will be cultivated with vegetables for donation to the Arkansas Food Bank.
• $4,400 to Heritage House to install a greenhouse and toolshed and expand the garden food varieties.
• $4,000 to the North Little Rock Community Farm to build more raised beds, increase solar power and automate irrigation.
• $2,800 to The Field to build beekeeping boxes and chicken coops to expand other gardens' ability to pollinate crops and to produce honey and eggs for sale.
• $1,500 to First Presbyterian Church Community Garden, to replace wooden garden boxes with concrete blocks, provide seating and improve the growing areas.
• $1,500 to St. Joseph University Institute of Theology, to start a new raised bed garden at 108 E. Emily St. in the Meadow Park neighborhood.
More information on the community garden program is available from the city's Fit 2 Live Department at (501) 975-8777 or by email at fit2live@nlr.ar.gov.
Alzheimer's tips offered at library
Workshops to provide support for Alzheimer's patients, families and caregivers are being held every first and third Wednesday through December at the William F. Laman Public Library's Argenta Branch.
The next workshop, "Effective Communication Strategies," will be 1 p.m.-2 p.m. Wednesday at the Argenta library, 420 Main St.
The sessions are provided free through a partnership between the Argenta library and the Arkansas Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association.
More information is available from the Argenta Branch Library at (501) 687-1061.
Metro on 08/30/2015