Civil War
The Bella Vista Civil War Round Table will meet at 7 p.m. June 1 at the Bella Vista Historical Museum, 1885 Bella Vista Way. The program will be presented by Jim Spillars, an experienced musician, band director, reenactor and martial music historian. He will be speaking about "Civil War Band Instruments" and how they were used in the camp and the field.
The meetings are open to all. There is no admission fee, but donations are gladly accepted and used to defray the speaker's costs.
Information: Email dkp55@ymail.com.
Andante
Andante Music Club of Bella Vista will hold a program titled "A Taste of Opera" at 1 p.m. June 6 at Highland Christian Church, 1500 Forest Hills Blvd. in Bella Vista.
Cast members from Opera in the Ozarks will present arias from their 2023 season opening June 23. This years presentations are Donizetti's delightful Italian comedy "The Elixir of Love," Offenbach's hilarious "Orpheus in the Underworld" and American composer Aaron Copland's "The Tender Land."
A meet-the-musicians reception follows the performance.
Andante is an affiliate of the National Federation of Music Clubs. Concerts are always free and open to the public. This is the last concert of the 2022-23 season. Meetings will resume Sept. 5.
Information: andantemusicclub.org or email ggrilk@att.net.
Historians
Statehood Day will be celebrated by the Washington County Historical Society with a lecture by James L. (Skip) Rutherford, the dean emeritus of the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock. Rutherford will speak at 2 p.m. June 11 at First Christian Church, 220 N. College Ave. in Fayetteville. Rutherford will discuss Arkansas contemporary history.
Prior to becoming dean, Rutherford coordinated the planning, construction and opening of the Clinton Presidential Library and Park in Little Rock. A graduate of the University of Arkansas, he received the School of Journalism and Strategic Media's first Distinguished Alumnus Award. Having an extensive private sector background in communications and public relations, he has served as a visiting professor at Lyon College, the UA, the University of the Ozarks and the University of Central Arkansas. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degree from Hendrix College.
Loco Focos, a Tulsa area band that performs music of the Civil War era, will play during the event.
Information: (479) 521-4681 or email dedmark@uark.edu.
APW
Arkansas Press Women announced the winners of the annual Communications Contest during an awards luncheon on the campus of NorthWest Arkansas Community College in Bentonville. Work produced in a variety of communications fields during 2022 was eligible to for the competition.
First-place winners in the APW Communications Contest are eligible to advance to the National Federation of Press Women competition if they are members of NFPW. National winners will be announced during the NFPW's annual conference June 22-24 in Cincinnati. The awards banquet will be the final event of the 2023 conference.
Dwain Hebda of Little Rock, president of Ya!Mule Wordsmiths Inc., took top honors, earning the 2023 Sweepstakes Award. Hebda was also the APW Sweepstakes winner in 2022.
The following individuals received awards in Arkansas Press Women's 2023 Professional Communications Contest:
Bill Bowden, reporter at Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, won First Place in Specialty Articles.
Antoinette Grajeda of Fayetteville, Senior Reporter at Arkansas Advocate won second and third place in News Story.
John Magsam, reporter, at Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, with co-entrant Serenah McKay, won Honorable Mention in Specialty Articles.
Samantha McClain, Editor-in-Chief at NorthWest Arkansas Community College's Eagle View, won Honorable Mention in Collegiate/Education Writing/News.
Fred Miller, of Bentonville, Science Editor at University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, won: Honorable Mention in Photography; Third Place in Specialty Articles -- Science or technology; Second Place in Specialty Articles -- Green/environmental; First Place in Specialty Articles -- Green/environmental; First Place in Specialty Articles -- Science or technology.
Zoe Moody of Rogers, a recent graduate of John Brown University, whose work included entries from The Threefold Advocate and KLRC, won Second Place in Collegiate/Education Writing/News; First Place in Collegiate/Education -- Prepared Report for Radio/Television Student Media; First Place in Collegiate/Education -- Prepared Report for Radio/Television Student Media.
Catherine Nolte of Springdale, Marketing Coordinator at Northwest Arkansas Food Bank, won Second Place in Web and Social Media -- Social Media Campaign -- Nonprofit; Second Place in Web and Social Media -- Social Media Presence -- Nonprofit, government or educational. Nolte also received an honorable mention for her work at the Times-Record in Fort Smith: Honorable Mention in Writing -- Continuing Coverage or Unfolding News.
Morgan Nunley of Springdale, contributing writer at NorthWest Arkansas Community College's Eagle View newspaper, won Second Place in Collegiate/Education Writing/Sports.
Michelle Parks of Fayetteville, Director of Communications, University of Arkansas, Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design, won Third Place in Writing -- Personality Profile; First Place in Publication Regularly Edited by Entrant; First Place in Writing -- Feature Story -- Magazine.
Anna Pope, Growth Impact Reporter at KUAF won Third Place in Radio and Television -- Prepared Report -- Radio; and Second Place in Radio and Television -- Prepared Report.
Delaney Reaves of Little Flock, reporter at NorthWest Arkansas Community College's Eagle View newspaper, won Second Place in Collegiate/Education Writing/News; and Second Place in Collegiate/Education Writing/Features.
Rachell Sanchez-Smith, producer, KUAF won First Place in Radio and Television -- On-the-scene Report -- Radio; and First Place in Radio and Television -- Interview -- Radio.
Jamie Smith, Owner, Jamie's Notebook won Third Place in Web and Social Media -- Blog -- Nonprofit; Second Place in Website Edited or Managed by Entrant -- Nonprofit; Second Place in Web and Social Media -- Video for Web -- Video for nonprofit or government organization; and Second Place in Photography -- Single Photograph -- News or feature photo.
Information: nfpw.org.
The Garden of Eva, two acres just east of Goshen where the owners are passionate about native plants and are gradually replacing builder selections of non-natives with native plants, and Rocks and Rills, which climbs up a hillside from a Fayetteville street, are two of the gardens featured during the Garden Gate Tour from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 3. Sponsored by the Washington County Master Gardeners, the tour includes seven privately owned gardens along with the Compost Demonstration Site in Fayetteville, which is a Washington County Master Gardeners sanctioned project. Also at the compost site, the Northwest Arkansas Master Naturalists will be selling homegrown native plants. Tickets are $15 at wcmgar.org or at any of the gardens on the day of the tour. Information: www.facebook.com/ArkansasWCMG.