AroundTown

by times staff
Thursday, January 8, 2009 2:04 PM CST

Center offers safety course

Parkstone Place Retirement Center in North Little Rock, will host an AARP Driver Safety Course on Friday, Jan. 16, from 2 to 4 p.m., in its dining room. Park in the west lot and come in the side door. On completing the course, Arkansas drivers age 55 years and older will receive an immediate discount on their auto insurance premiums. There are no tests. Snacks will be served. Cost is $12 for AARP members and $14 for non-members. Mike Zelhof is the instructor. To reserve a seat in the class, call Peggy Schultz at (501) 771-1228.

Maumelle Newcomers meet

The Maumelle Newcomers monthly coffee is at 10 a.m. Friday at the Jess Odom Community Center. Hostesses are Bonnie Fulks and Kathy Stanley.

Puzzles & Games Maumelle Library

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K-5 Puzzles & Games Day is from 4 to 5:30 p.m. every Wednesday. Children in kindergarten through fifth grades are invited to work jigsaw puzzles and play board games in the meeting room at the Maumelle Library, 10 Lake Point Drive. The event is free, and no registration is required. For more information, call 851-2551.

Shelter revises

adoption schedule

The Sherwood Humane Animal Shelter at 6500 North Hills Blvd. is closed to adoptions every other Saturday.

People who want to adopt an animal should arrive at least one hour before closing to complete the documents.

The shelter is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.

For more information, call the shelter at 834-2287.

Wellness clinic

open weekly

The Baptist Wellness Clinic for senior citizens is open from 9 to 11 a.m. Wednesdays at the Jack Evans Senior Center, 2301 Thornhill Drive in Sherwood.

For more information, call the senior center at 834-5770.

GriefShare meets

weekly at church

A GriefShare recovery seminar and support group meets at 7 p.m. Thursdays at Sylvan Hills Church of Christ, 117 W. Maryland Ave. in Sherwood, said John Snyder, GriefShare facilitator.

GriefShare features nationally recognized experts on grief and recovery. Topics include “The Journey of Grief,” “When Your Spouse Dies,” “Your Family in Grief,” “Why?” and “Stuck in Grief.”

Child care is provided.

For more information, call the church at 835-4141.

Poets society

reconvenes

The Frontier Poets, formerly known as the Maumelle Poets, has reconvened.

The group meets at 7 p.m. the second Thursday of each month at the Maumelle Arts Center, 14421 Frontier Drive, behind Razorback Pizza on Arkansas 365, according to member Harding Stedler.

The meetings are open to the public, and poets are invited to bring poems with which they would like assistance in editing and polishing, Stedler said.

For more information, call Stedler at 851-2986.

Farmers market

open twice a week

The Certified Arkansas Farmer’s Market in Argenta is open 7 a.m. to noon Tuesdays and Saturdays in the parking lot on Main Street between Fourth and Fifth streets.

For vendor information, e-mail csalittlerock@yahoo.com. For market progress reports, visit www.arkansasfood.net.

Center features

museum, riverboat

The North Shore Maritime Center at 100 Riverfront Drive includes a Maritime Museum, the submarine USS Razorback; the Salty Parrot Restaurant; a party barge and stern-wheel excursion boat the Arkansas Queen.

The Arkansas Queen offers sightseeing and dining cruises and sails on the Arkansas River.

For details, visit www.arkansasqueen.com or call 372-5777.

Mobile unit makes

adoptions possible

Pets are available for adoption every Saturday in the North Little Rock Animal Shelter’s Mobile Adoption Unit in the Lakewood Village shopping center.

The hours are 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays.

For the Sunday schedule or more details, call the shelter at 791-8577.

Bingo to benefit

friends of animals

Maumelle Friends of the Animals hosts bingo every Friday and Saturday at 21510 Arkansas 365 North at Maumelle Boulevard. The proceeds benefit the organization.

The doors open at 5 p.m., and the game starts at 6 p.m.

For more information, call Jeanie Lentz at 680-6109.

Pet adoptions set

every Saturday

Maumelle Friends of the Animals is at the North Little Rock PetSmart store from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays for pet adoptions.

For more information, call Charleen Akins at 851-7114.

Museum displays

artillery piece

The MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History in Little Rock is displaying a rare piece of Civil War-era artillery, coinciding with the 145th anniversary of the July 4 Battle of Helena, according to museum Executive Director Stephan McAteer.

An oil portrait of Lt. William Rector, recently donated to the museum by a relative, will also make its debut. A son of Arkansas Gov. Henry Rector, William was killed July 4, 1863, at the Battle of Helena.

The unwheeled tube of one gun from a pair of 1851 Alger Cadet Guns will be on display in Arkansas for the first time. Produced for the Arkansas Military Institute by Cyrus Alger & Co. of Boston, the rare Civil War-era artillery is on loan to the MacArthur Museum from the Petersburg National Battlefield in Virginia.

The MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History, at 503 E. Ninth St. in Little Rock’s MacArthur Park, was created to preserve and interpret the state’s military heritage from its territorial period to the present.

For more information, call McAteer at 376-4602 or visit www.arkmilitaryheritage.com.

Symphony season

tickets available

Tickets are on sale for all 2008-09 Arkansas Symphony Orchestra concerts.

The lineup includes:

“Brahms for Two,” Jan. 17-18.

National Symphony Orchestra, March 29.

“SuperPOPS! The Music of Pink Floyd,” May 8.

For tickets, call 666-1761, Ext. 21, or visit www.arkansassymphony.org.

Historic site has

abolition exhibit

The Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site is hosting a national traveling panel exhibit, “Free at Last: A History of the Abolition of Slavery in America,” created and funded by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

The free exhibit is in the Visitor Center, which is open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. every day.

The historic site is at 2120 Daisy L. Gatson Bates Drive in Little Rock.

For more information, call the center at 374-1957 or e-mail chsc_visitor_center@nps.gov.

Theater announces

2008-09 season

The Community Theatre of Little Rock will present its 2008-09 season at its new venue, the Public Theatre, according to the theater company’s Frank O. Butler.

The season contains a comedic look at life imitating art, a Christmas musical about Dickens’ famous miser, a classic tale of justice in the South, a humorous trip to the beauty shop and a musical flashback to the era of music videos, bad hair and John Hughes films, Butler said.

The remaining 2008-09 season lineup includes:

To Kill a Mockingbird, March 20-22 and 27-29.

Steel Magnolias, May 22-24 and 29-31.

Back to the 80’s, July 17-19 and 24-26.

All shows will be presented at The Public Theatre, also the home of Improv Little Rock. The theater is at 616 Center St. in Little Rock.

For more information about the season and auditions, call 663-9494 or visit www.communitytheatreoflittlerock.com.

FOP plans basketball game

The Maumelle Fraternal Order of Police will hold its second annual Razorback Alumni basketball game on Friday, Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. The officers will be hosting the former hogs in a basketball game at Maumelle Middle School. The lodge is raising money for Stuff the Sleigh, Special Olympics, Adopt a Family and other programs it supports. Tickets are $10 and are available by calling 225-6528.

Iris Society show set for May 2

The Central Arkansas Iris Society will hold its Diamond Jubilee Iris Show and Exhbition and art sale from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 2. The event iwll be at Grace Lutheran Church and Family Life Center. Admission is free. For more information call (501) 455-1478.

Maumellopoly now available

The Maumelle Friends of the Animals have created a Maumellopoly board game as a fundraiser for the animal shelter. The game features spaces of businesses and organizations in and around Maumelle and is available for purchase at Arvest Bank, Bank of the Ozarks, Metropolitan Bank, the Maumelle Chamber of Commerce, Print Shop, or the Doggy Spa. For other locations, call Friends of the Animals at 851-7114.

Program offered

on hand problems

St. Vincent Infirmary Medical Center will offer a program on common hand problems on from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Jan. 16. Among the items discussed will be carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis and tendonitis. The program will be presented by Dr. Robert Mathis in the LaHarpe. Lunch is $6 per person. Reservations are required by Jan. 12. To register visit www.stvincenthealth.com/ortho or call (501) 552-2499.

Argenta Art Walk is Jan. 16

Art in Unexpected Places will be held Jan. 16 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. along the Downtown Trolley Loop. Contact Margaret Powell at 340-5305 for details.

Razorback Sub has winter hours

Winter hours for the USS Razorback (SS 394) located at the North Shore Maritime Center are Fridays and Saturdays 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sundays 1 p.m.-6 p.m. Closed Monday through Thursday. Visit the USS Razorback online at www.aimm.museum. To schedule a group tour call 501-371-8320 or e-mail: info@aimm.museum.

NLR Chambers holds luncheon

The North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce will hold it’s Tip-Off Lunchon on Monday, Jan. 12: from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Wyndham Riverfront Hotel. Speaker is Coach Joe Foley, University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Tickets are $15 for members and $20 for non-members. For more information contact Kenda Ford at 372-5959, kenda@nlrchamber.org or visit www.nlrchamber.org.

FYI Luncheon set for Friday

The North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce FYI Luncheon will be Friday at 11:50 a.m. at the NLR Chamber of Commerce. This month’s keynote speaker is Beth Phelps, Pulaski County Master Gardeners. Tickets are $12 for members and $15 for non-members.

Veterans to have flag ceremony

The Maumelle Veterans Memorial Committe will have a flag retirement ceremony at 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 17, at the Veterans Memorial at Lake Willastein City Park in Maumelle. The public is invited to bring their faded and/or tatered flags to the ceremony for a proper and dignified retirement. The ceremony will be rescheduled in case of inclement weather. For more informaion, call Jim Alberson at 851-2085.

“Dirty Dirt” to be topic

at garden club meeting

"Just Dirty Dirt ?” will be the topic for the Maumelle Garden Club meeting at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow at the home of B.J. Saunders, 12 Riverwood Place in Maumelle. Dr. Michael Daniels of the University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture, Crop, Soil and Environmental Science Department will share with the club what you need to know about soil quality and sampling. There is no charge and the public is invited to attend. For directions or additional information, call Melissa Kohler at (501) 349-7212.

Lipizzaner Stallions

come to Alltel

The Lipizzaner Stalions will perform Jan. 31 at Alltel Arena. The shows will be at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available at the Alltel Arena box office, all Ticketmaster outlets snd www.ticketmaster.com. More information is available online at www.kipizzaner.com and www.alltelarena.com.

Murry’s offer’s

‘Harvey’

Murry’s Dinner Playhouse in Litle Rock is presenting “Harvey” from Jan. 9 to Feb. 15. For show times and ticket information visit www.murrysdinnerplayhouse.com.

Coin, stamps and cards

featured at show

The Annual Coin, Stamp and Sports Card show sponsored by the Tri-Lakes Coin Club, will be open free to the public at the Hot Springs Convention Center on Friday, Jan. 16 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Hours are 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 17 and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on on Sunday, January 18. For information contact Gene Johnson at (501) 624-0074.

“Warm Hearts, Warm Coat,” at Maumelle Library

The Maumelle Library will collect new or gently used coats of all sizes and other types of warm outerwear such as sweaters, jackets, sweatshirts, hats, or gloves from Jan. 2-15. All donations will be given to the Salvation Army of Little Rock to distribute to familys and individuals who cannot afford to buy items of warmth for the winter months. Labeled collection bins are located inside the library for drop-off. For more information, call the library at 851-2551.