CALENDAR EVENTS IN THE THREE RIVERS AREA

Tuesday
Mardi Gras Dinner
HEBER SPRINGS — St. Francis Episcopal Church will hold its annual Mardi Gras Dinner from 5-7 p.m. Shrove Tuesday in the church’s Parish Hall, 20 Woodland Cove, just off Arkansas 110 across from the Heber Springs Sports Complex. The menu will feature New Orleans gumbo, red beans and rice, French bread, dessert and assorted beverages. Tickets are $10 for adults and $4 for children 7 to 12. Children 6 and younger may eat free. Takeout meals will also be available. Proceeds from the dinner will benefit community outreach ministries. For more information, call (501) 362-6564 or (501) 362-3311.
Tuesday Mardi Gras Dinner HEBER SPRINGS — St. Francis Episcopal Church will hold its annual Mardi Gras Dinner from 5-7 p.m. Shrove Tuesday in the church’s Parish Hall, 20 Woodland Cove, just off Arkansas 110 across from the Heber Springs Sports Complex. The menu will feature New Orleans gumbo, red beans and rice, French bread, dessert and assorted beverages. Tickets are $10 for adults and $4 for children 7 to 12. Children 6 and younger may eat free. Takeout meals will also be available. Proceeds from the dinner will benefit community outreach ministries. For more information, call (501) 362-6564 or (501) 362-3311.

Feb. 7

Iris Society Meeting

SEARCY — The White County Iris Society will meet at 2 p.m. at the home of Paul Love, 605 E. Race Ave. Mark Shipp, president of the Central Arkansas Iris Society, will speak on the soil structure and microorganisms needed for successful iris cultivation. Anyone interested in the culture of irises is invited to the meeting.

Feb. 8

White County Tea Party Meeting

SEARCY — The White County Tea Party will meet at 6:30 p.m. at IHOP, 3513 E. Race Ave. Mark Derrick, a candidate for district-court judge, will speak. The public is invited. For more information, call 278-9413 or email teaparty@tpwca.org.

Retired Teachers Association Meeting

BATESVILLE — The Arkansas Retired Teachers Association of Independence County will meet at 11:30 a.m. in the George Ryder Room of First Community Bank. Susan Ball will speak on retaining memory. A potluck lunch will be served.

Feb. 11

Tea Party Meeting

CABOT — The Arkansas Constitutional Tea Party will meet at 7 p.m. at Papa’s Place, 2798 S. Second St., in the South Fork Shopping Center. Everyone is welcome. The group meets the second Thursday of each month. For more information, call (501) 813-6980.

Candidate Forum

CABOT — An open community candidate forum will be held at 6 p.m. at the Cabot National Guard Armory, 300 Commerce Park Drive. All U.S. Senate, state and local candidates will be invited to participate. The event is open to the public.

North Pulaski Retired Teachers Valentine Party

JACKSONVILLE — The North Pulaski Retired Teachers will have a valentine party at 1 p.m. at First Electric, 1000 S. JP Wright Loop Road. Attorney Coleman Westbrook of the Friday, Eldridge and Clark, LLP law firm in Little Rock will present the program, which is on estate planning. Westbrook will answer questions after the presentation. The meeting is open to the public. For more information, call Sharon Johnson at (501) 982-6345.

Paint Night: Date Night

BATESVILLE — The Batesville Area Arts Council will offer Paint Night: Date Night from 6-8 p.m. at the Citizens Bank Annex, 285 E. College St. The cost is $50 per couple, and preregistration is required. For more information or to register, call the arts council at (870) 793-3382.

Feb. 13

Valentine’s Dinner

CALICO ROCK — The Printing Press Cafe, 120 Main St., will host a Valentine’s Dinner at 6 p.m. The candlelight four-course dinner will include an appetizer of smoked trout with cream cheese and capers; Asian salad; a choice of beef Wellington or chicken Florentine served with caramelized carrots, baked potato and gourmet rolls; and baked Alaska. A chocolate fountain will be included with the meal. The cost is $25.99 per person. All proceeds will benefit the Calico Rock Museum. There will be only one seating, so reservations are recommended. To reserve a seat, call (870)-297-6200.

ONGOING

ESL Classes

JACKSONVILLE — The El Zocalo Cultural Center will present English as a Second Language classes at 10 a.m. Mondays through May 23 at the Nixon Library, 703 W. Main St. Registration is encouraged. For more information, call the library at (501) 457-5038.

Adult Game Days

JACKSONVILLE — The Nixon Library, 703 W. Main St., will offer Adult Game Days at noon Wednesday and Feb. 17 and 24. Adults ages 18 and older are invited to play dominoes, poker, chess, board games or video games. For more information, call the library at (501) 457-5038.

Beginner Word Processing Course

MOUNTAIN VIEW — Ozarka College in Mountain View will offer a three-week beginner-level word-processing course through Continuing Education from from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fridays, running Feb. 19 to March 4. The course, taught by Frances Bullard, will teach students a wide variety of computer skills. The tuition is $25 per student, $20 for people 60 and older. Preregistration is required by Friday. Contact Lindsay Wilson-Galloway, director of Ozarka College in Mountain View, at (870) 269-5600 or lhgalloway@ozarka.edu.

Rotary Meat Sale

HEBER SPRINGS — The Rotary Club of Heber Springs will sell 7- to 9-pound fully cooked pork butts for $40 each. Proceeds from the sale will fund college scholarships for Heber Springs students. The meat can be picked up from 8-9:30 a.m. March 12. Place an order with any Rotarian, or call Connie Herrin of the Public Relations Committee at (501) 281-5115 or Julie Turney, Rotary president, at (501) 206-6855.

Photography Exhibit

BATESVILLE — The Kresge Gallery at Lyon College has opened the spring semester’s exhibition series with a photography exhibit by Lyon volleyball coach Ray Green through Feb. 26. Titled Road Trip, the exhibition features photographs taken by Green on various trips across the country. He explains in his artist statement that he stops a lot on trips and likes to capture details the typical tourist might overlook. The Kresge Gallery is in the Alphin Building on campus. The gallery’s hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Admission to the gallery is free, and the exhibit is open to the public.

The Fantasticks

SEARCY — Center on the Square Community Theater, 219 W. Arch Ave., will present The Fantasticks, directed by Mario Hofheinz, with Susan Bucher as musical director. The play is a funny, romantic musical about a boy, a girl and their fathers, who try to get the couple together by keeping them apart. Showtimes will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and again Feb. 19 and 20; and at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 14 and 21. Tickets are $18, plus tax. For more information or tickets, call (501) 368-0111 or visit centeronthesquare.org.

The Biggest Loser Community Challenge

HIGHLAND — The Spring River Area Chamber of Commerce will present the eight-week Biggest Loser Community Challenge, an online health and wellness challenge, beginning Feb. 15. The challenge seeks teams of four, for a $100 fee, for the national event, which will give away more than 10,000 prizes, including trips to the finale of The Biggest Loser television show in Los Angeles. People of all fitness levels are welcome. Register a team at www.biggestlosercommunity.com. For more information, contact Todd Conforth with Clary Fitness at (870) 994-4444, the chamber at (870) 856-3210, or Kari or Pat at Curves at (870) 856-6010.

GED/Adult Education Classes

FLORAL — The University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville Adult Education Department offers reading, math, writing and computer-literacy classes from 3-5 p.m. Mondays in the computer lab at Midland Elementary School in Floral. Enrollment is ongoing. Students must be at least 18 and not enrolled in school. For more information, contact Nancy Whitmire at (870) 612-2085 or nancy.whitmire@uaccb.edu, or Judy Pearson at (501) 345-2413.

Second Time Around Bookstore

SEARCY — The Literacy Council of White County operates the Second Time Around Bookstore at 811 S. Main St., Suite D. Proceeds from the sale of donated books support the mission of helping adults in the community improve their literacy and English-language skills. The store and literacy office are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and from 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays. To train as a tutor, to become a bookstore volunteer or for more information, call (501) 278-5500.

To submit an item for the Calendar of Events, mail information to Calendar of Events, Three Rivers Edition, P.O. Box 2221, Little Rock, AR, 72203; send faxes to (501) 378-3500; or email trnews@arkansasonline.com. Deadlines for calendar-item submissions are noon Friday for Thursday editions and noon Tuesday for Sunday editions.

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