Community Calendar

Join local mixed media artist, poet, and passionate journal keeper Julie Jeannene Rickard for an inspiring three-part (very hands-on) workshop designed to explore vision and voice in new ways. By combining verbal and visual skills, participants will discover a mental balance that fosters evolving creative practices in fun ways.

In this engaging workshop, Julie will guide you through mixed media techniques, including drawing, collage, and basic printing, alongside revealing writing exercises with prompts to inspire memory, dreams, and sensory experiences. You’ll create working journals to continue this satisfying creative process long after the workshop concludes.

Dive deep into your creative potential, share your wisdom, and celebrate collective expression in a supportive environment. Come ready to unlock new avenues of creativity with Julie!

(All materials are included in the program fee.)

Embrace the journey of aging with confidence and vitality! Join Vicky Willis, a certified Yoga instructor and OLLI’s Yoga Guru, in this transformative program designed specifically for those looking to enhance their
well-being as they age. Through slow, precise movements rooted in Yoga, participants will systematically stretch and condition their muscles, providing essential support to aging joints. This
program focuses on four key areas: strength, flexibility, agility, and balance; fundamental elements for healthy living that can help eliminate morning stiffness and improve overall mobility.
Participants are encouraged to bring a blanket, blocks, a yoga strap, and a yoga mat, and to wear comfortable clothing that allows for ease of movement. Join us to foster a healthier, more active lifestyle as you embrace the changes that come with age! Activity Level: 1

Discover how Revolutionary War veterans were rewarded with pensions and land grants—and how these shaped
America’s westward growth. In this engaging
program, you’ll explore the history behind
Congress’s 1776 legislation offering pensions
and land bounties to soldiers and officers—
and how these benefits evolved to support
widows and heirs. Using historical records like
pension applications, you’ll learn about the
criteria veterans had to meet and the impact
these rewards had on poverty and settlement,
especially in Arkansas.
With expert guidance from local historian, Michelle Place, you’ll gain hands-on experience
interpreting primary sources, and uncover real
stories behind the documents—something
you can’t get from reading alone. Dive into the
fascinating intersection of military history, social policy, and westward expansion through
the lives of those who fought for independence.

This course begins by unraveling the mysteries of the brain. We will explore how to navigate the complex and fragmented healthcare system and discuss strategies for advocating for personalized care. In addition to simplifying common neurological conditions—such as headaches, dizziness, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, and memory loss—we will examine testing and imaging of the nervous system. The course will also focus on illness prevention through healthy lifestyles and provide an intimate discussion of end-of-life issues.

Perhaps you’ve always wanted to learn to knit. Or you learned to knit as a child and haven’t picked up a needle since. If so, this class is for you. Join Judith Tavano, inveterate knitter, to learn (or re-learn) the basics of knitting. You will learn how to cast on, knit, and purl, and what you can make with these two basic stitches. We will talk about knitting tension, yarn weights, and needle sizes, and how they influence the outcome of any knitted work.

The group will meet twice. In session 1, we will focus on the basics and the start of a project; in session 2, two weeks later, we will check in on your project and share your beginning knitting experiences with each other.

*Note: The class meets 11/6/25 & 11/20/25, skipping 11/13/25 to allow time for you to work on your piece.

Please bring a set of knitting needles, US size 9. Yarn will be supplied. Or if you have a favorite yarn, bring it along

The 3rd annual Northwest Arkansas Fiber Festival will be held at the Washington County Fairgrounds in Fayetteville on November 7 and 8 from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Forty-one national vendors from 11 states will offer their wares ranging from hand-dyed artisan yarns and exquisite fiber blends to project bags and supplies as well as project kits and finished art pieces. Find premium materials and tools, incredible expertise, and beautiful artisan gifts all under one roof! The NWA Fiber Festival also features 12 classes on knitting, crocheting, weaving, felting, embroidery projects and more! Visit nwafiberfest.com to pre-register for classes and learn about each vendor and their specialties. Proceeds from this event will support local 4-H youth development through camps, workshops and scholarships.

The Southern Italian port city of Naples is home to a rich and complex history stretching back to its foundation by Greek colonists in the 8th century B.C.E. Across the centuries, Naples evolved into a vibrant cultural, political and economic center of the Mediterranean world, first as a part of Magna Gracia, and later, under successive periods of Roman, Byzantine, Norman, Angevin, and Spanish rule, on route to becoming the capital of the independent Bourbon Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1816. In 1861, Naples’s incorporation into the newly unified Italian nation-state as a part of the Risorgimento initiated an era of modernization and adaptation that persists to the present day. In this six-week class, we will examine la storia e tradizioni of bella Napoli—a city famously pieno di contradizione (“full of contradictions”). Aimed at students and travelers alike, the course offers a virtual “grand tour” of Naples through a close examination of a dozen Neapolitan monuments/ historic sites reflective of milestones in the city’s historical development from its origins through today, including: Castel dell’ Ovo, Spaccanapoli, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II , Castel Nuovo, the Duomo, Santa Chiara, i musei Capodimonte e Archeologico Nazionale, Palazzo Reale, Teatro San Carlo, and the Galleria Umberto I among others (including “side visits” to the city’s best pizzerias, food stalls, pastry shops and cafes!)

Explore the biblical narrative about ancient Israel’s most successful yet
reluctant prophet, Jonah, as he avoids his mission to save Nineveh. This 3-week program,
brought to you by Dr. Spencer Allen, who
teaches ancient and biblical history at the University of Arkansas, is a deep dive into the belly
of the whale as we discuss, verse-by-verse, the
Bible’s most famous prophet from historical, literary, liturgical, and satirical contexts

The 3rd annual Northwest Arkansas Fiber Festival will be held at the Washington County Fairgrounds in Fayetteville on November 7 and 8 from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Forty-one national vendors from 11 states will offer their wares ranging from hand-dyed artisan yarns and exquisite fiber blends to project bags and supplies as well as project kits and finished art pieces. Find premium materials and tools, incredible expertise, and beautiful artisan gifts all under one roof! The NWA Fiber Festival also features 12 classes on knitting, crocheting, weaving, felting, embroidery projects and more! Visit nwafiberfest.com to pre-register for classes and learn about each vendor and their specialties. Proceeds from this event will support local 4-H youth development through camps, workshops and scholarships.

Master Mycologist Jay Justice will join us once again for a fun and informative fall fungi foray focusing on native Arkansas edible, poisonous, and medicinal fall mushrooms. After a morning PowerPoint, we will break for brown bag lunch and then carpool down to the beautiful Winfrey Valley to forage. An afternoon identification and Q&A session will be followed by one of our ever popular tastings. Jay Justice is a retired epidemiologist who formerly worked at the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality. He is a co-founder and scientific advisor for the Arkansas Mycological Society (1982) and a scientific advisor to the Cumberland Mycological Society as well as a chief mycologist for the Missouri Mycological Society. $65 fee includes presentation, foraging, ID session, and tasting experience. Tickets are non-refundable. Wear appropriate clothing for an outdoor hike and bring drinking water, insect repellent, a walking stick, and a brown paper bag for fungal finds.