Local notes: OLLI offers new classes

A new performance of Gounod’s Petite Symphonie brings together the music of the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas and art by Romain Erkiletlian through the magic of videographer Darren Crisp. The performance is available free online on Facebook, YouTube and at sonamusic.org. Information: (479) 521-4166.

(Courtesy Image/SoNA)
A new performance of Gounod’s Petite Symphonie brings together the music of the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas and art by Romain Erkiletlian through the magic of videographer Darren Crisp. The performance is available free online on Facebook, YouTube and at sonamusic.org. Information: (479) 521-4166. (Courtesy Image/SoNA)

Circle of Life

The Circle of Life Hospice Home is offering a six-week grief class from 3 to 4:30 p.m. each Tuesday beginning April 6 at 901 Jones Road in Springdale. The class is open to any adult grieving the loss of a loved one to death.

The hospice is also offering a six-week grief support group for traumatic loss due to covid-19. The meetings will be from 3 to 4:30 p.m. every Thursday from April 22 to May 27. Preregistration is required by April 14.

Information: (479) 872-3364 or email krodriguez@nwacircleoflife.org.

Hope Cancer

The Wellness Center for Hope at Hope Cancer Resources offers a yoga, meditation and fitness class for cancer patients and caregivers via Zoom and YouTube.

Their team of counselors and social workers support cancer patients and their families every day with a focus on emotional health, no matter the circumstances.

A certified tobacco treatment specialist is available to support those looking to quit smoking with nicotine replacement therapy and counseling.

Those in need of medical supplies, liquid nutrition or durable medical equipment, such as shower chairs or walkers, are asked to reach out. Donations of new or gently used items are also accepted.

Information: (479) 361-5847 or email leea.johnson@hopecancerresources.org.

Walk Across NWA

Register for the spring 2021 Walk Across NWA, gain access to health and wellness resources from the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture and make a difference in the environment. Participation is free. Registration is open, and the program lasts five weeks until April 30.

This program combines the spring exercise program with the spring litter cleanups.

To participate, find a few friends, classmates, family members, or co-workers to form a team and register online. If you do not know others that are interested but want to be on a team, sign up and let us know as there are teams welcoming additional members. Joining a team provides support to help you reach your goals, but team members do not have to be physically active together.

Then, through April 30, just record details on litter collected -- litter cleanup supplies will be provided at various locations or just use old grocery bags -- and the number of minutes you spend walking, jogging, gardening or getting any other form of exercise. You can do any type of physical activity to increase your heart rate or break a sweat.

Information: (479) 444-1755 or email agoff@uada.edu.

Baptist Health

In April, Baptist Health Community Outreach will offer a variety of free health and wellness classes from the convenience of your computer or mobile device. Classes typically last one hour.

The following courses can be accessed through Google Meet so that participants can watch the presentation and interact with the presenters:

• Virtual CPR Family and Friends: 5 p.m. April 8

• Cooking with Community Outreach: 5:30 p.m. April 15

• Plant-Based Diets and Diabetes: 2 p.m. April 19

• Infant and Child First Aid: 5 p.m. April 22

• Diabetes Support Group: 5:30 p.m. April 29

• Spring Cooking Demonstration: 11:30 a.m. April 30

Information: baptist-health.com/community-outreach.

Shiloh Museum

Registration is under way for the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History's online summer camps for children. The theme is "Art in the Trades," with a focus on artistic expression in occupations such as weaving, sewing, pottery, sculpting, woodworking, architecture, writing, painting and photography. The life and work of historic Ozark tradespeople as well as members of modern-day Latinx and Marshallese communities will be explored.

Camp 1, for ages 7 to 10, takes place from 9 to 11:30 a.m. June 21-25, and Camp 2, for ages 11 to 14, is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 19-23.

The camps are free of charge, but in order to receive a box of craft supplies, campers must be preregistered by June 4 for Camp 1 and by July 2 for Camp 2.

Information: (479) 750-8165, shilohmuseum.org or email jcostello@springdalear.gov.

OLLI

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Arkansas announces the following classes for the upcoming week.

• April 6: "Hipbillies" (online). The counterculture flourished nationwide in the 1960s and 1970s, and while the hippies of Haight-Ashbury occupied the public eye, a faction of back-to-the-landers were quietly creating their own haven off the beaten path in the Arkansas Ozarks. In his book "Hipbillies," Jared Phillips discusses his research into the subject, which combines oral histories and archival resources to weave the story of the Ozarks and its population of country beatniks into the national narrative, showing how the back-to-the-landers engaged in "deep revolution" by sharing their ideas on rural development, small farm economy and education with the locals, and how they became a fascinating part of a traditional region's coming to terms with the modern world in the process. $25 members, $40 nonmembers.

• April 6: "OLLI for Coffee" (Zoom). Free and open to all, please contact office for Zoom details.

• April 7: "Chasing Waterfalls: Kings River Falls" (in person). $25 members, $40 nonmembers.

• April 8: "Blooming Spring in the Ozarks" (in person). $25 members, $40 nonmembers; "Native Plant Ecology" (in person tour, online class). $19 members, $34 nonmembers.

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute is seeking instructors and course proposals for the fall 2021 term. Established at the University of Arkansas in 2007, OLLI provides an avenue for adults to convene for a variety of stimulating courses, special events and social activities. It is based in the College of Education and Health Professions.

If you are an avid learner and are well-versed in your field or simply a hobbyist, then this is for you. Instructors include current or retired University of Arkansas faculty as well as distinguished community members and other experts. Ideal candidates also include graduate students and doctoral candidates actively pursuing independent research ventures they would like to share.

Course proposals are reviewed twice a year; the deadlines are April 30 for fall courses and Oct. 30 for spring courses.

Information: (479) 575-3541, olli.uark.edu or email olli@uark.edu.

Writers' Colony

The Writers' Colony at Dairy Hollow has announced the winners of the 2021 "Humor Me" fellowship, open to poets, fiction writers, playwrights, essayists, columnists, memoirists and screenwriters who use humor as a key element in their work. Two winners, Marco Kaye and Debra Kirschner, were selected from 58 applications received from writers across the U.S. They will each receive a fully funded two-week residency at the Writers' Colony at Dairy Hollow in 2021.

The Writer's Colony will present an online Fourth Friday Lunch and Learn writing workshop, "Your Stories Matter," instructed by Leslie-Ann Murray. All proceeds from the workshop will benefit the WCDH scholarship fund. The workshop will be held from noon to 1 p.m. April 23 via Zoom. The link will be provided upon registration. The cost of the workshop is $25. Class size is limited to q0 participants.

WCDH is offering an Emerging Poets Fellowship for poets assembling their first book of poems. Eligible applicants shall not have published a chapbook or other book of verse. Prior publication of individual poems is desirable, but not required. The fellowship winner will receive a two-week residency. The deadline is midnight June 14.

Writers who love the great outdoors are invited to apply for the Moondancer Fellowship. This fellowship is open to poets, fiction writers, playwrights, essayists, columnists, memoirists, and screenwriters. Prior publication is not a requirement. The fellowship winner will receive a two-week residency. The deadline is midnight May 31.

The Celebrate! Maya Project fellowship is for young writers, ages 18 to 25 to explore social justice issues including racial discrimination, women's rights and/or educational disparity. The work may be in any literary genre. Two fellowships will be awarded. The deadline is Midnight June 28.

Fellowship applications must be accompanied by a writing sample and a nonrefundable $35 application fee.

Information: (479) 253-7444 or writerscolony.org.

UAMS Health

UAMS Health will host its sixth annual forum to discuss Parkinson's disease from 1 to 2:30 p.m. April 11 via Zoom. The event is free and open to Parkinson's patients, their caregivers and family members, clinicians and anyone else interested in learning about the disease, treatment options and research initiatives.

Segments will focus on the direction of future treatments, digital health offerings, intimacy and cognitive rehabilitation and stimulation. Also, a patient will share ways of managing the disease, and a panel of experts will discuss frequently asked questions.

Participants will be able to ask questions through an online chat function. The Zoom link will be emailed to registrants the week of the event.

Information: uams.edu or uamshealth.com.

Rogers photographer Chuck Davis’ 2015 image “Blue Whale” captures one of the most memorable and whimsical oddities along the historical stretch of Route 66. His photo won first place in the Fort Smith Regional Art Museum’s 2021 Invitational, “Exploring Mindscapes: An Artist’s Reflection,” on show through May 16 at 1601 Rogers Ave. in Fort Smith. Admission is free. Information: (479) 784-2787, fsram.org.

(Courtesy Image/Chuck Davis)
Rogers photographer Chuck Davis’ 2015 image “Blue Whale” captures one of the most memorable and whimsical oddities along the historical stretch of Route 66. His photo won first place in the Fort Smith Regional Art Museum’s 2021 Invitational, “Exploring Mindscapes: An Artist’s Reflection,” on show through May 16 at 1601 Rogers Ave. in Fort Smith. Admission is free. Information: (479) 784-2787, fsram.org. (Courtesy Image/Chuck Davis)

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