Pumpkin activities set for Watkins Museum

Watkins Community Museum of History will be hosting an afternoon of pumpkin fun for children ages 3-5.

Alison Miller, museum curator, will be telling stories and having activities about pumpkins as well as helping children decorate their own miniature pumpkins to take home.

Admission is $5 per child, and an adult must accompany each child. The event is from 2 to 4 p.m. Oct. 26 at the museum, 1047 Mass. For more information, call the museum at 841-4109.

Art museum plans Halloween program

Kansas City, Mo.– The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is planning a Halloween-themed program for 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. Friday at the museum, 4525 Oak St.

The event will expose spirits, death and the femme fatale through masks, paintings and carved figures.

Leesa Fanning, assistant curator of modern and contemporary art, and Joyce Youmans, assistant curator of African art, will lead the program.

Admission is free. For more information, call the museum at (816) 751-1ART.

Vampire lore to be discussed

Topeka — The social history of the vampire in pop culture will be discussed by Thomas Prasch, assistant professor of history at Washburn University, at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Henderson Learning Resources Center, Room 208.

He will detail the image of the supernatural creature, illustrating the material with film clips from the 1920s to the present.

Admission is free.

Singer to perform at Unity Church

Singer-songwriter Christine Kane will perform a concert for West Side Folk at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Unity Church of Lawrence, Ninth Street and Madeline Lane.

Kane, one of the winners of the Merlefest songwriting contest, has toured nationally for seven years and released four compact discs.

Tickets are $15 for general public and $12 for students. For more information, call 865-FOLK.

Lawrence pianists advance to state event

Eight Lawrence school students received top ratings at the Kansas Music Teachers Assn. district piano auditions Oct. 11 at Baker University and advanced to the state honors audition.

The students who qualified were Justin Ahle, Southwest Junior High; Jason Chang, Schwegler School; Jordan Crice, Lawrence High School; Brooke Fox, St. John’s School; Charles He, Hillcrest School; Jimmy He, Hillcrest School; Ulrich Johanning, Wakarusa School; and Naomi Kurata, Raintree Montessori School.

The state honors audition is Nov. 15 at Kansas University.

Book release party set for Friday

219 Press will have a book release party for “Senegal Blues” at 7 p.m. Friday at Lawrence Visitor Center, 402 N. Second St.

“Senegal Blues” is a poetry collection by Kansas University English professor Brian Daldorph. It recounts his summer 2000 sojourn to the West African country of Senegal.

Seattle based artist to have workshop

Paul Lewing, a tile artist and ceramic glaze chemist from Seattle, will lead a workshop Oct. 25-26 at Bracker’s Good Earth Clays, 1831 E. 1450 Road.

The workshop will include demonstrations of forming tile and trim pieces by rolling, extruding and pressing. Lewing will also provide information on glaze chemistry, discussions of mortars, grouts, and installation techniques.

For more information, call Bracker’s at 841-4750.

Former KU faculty member to be on national show

Janice Smith, a former Kansas University faculty member in design, will be featured next weekend on Home & Garden Television’s show, “Modern Masters.

Smith, a furniture maker, will build an original piece on the show. The program is scheduled to be broadcast at 5 p.m. Oct. 26 on Sunflower Broadband Channel 45.

Anthropologist to give lecture at KU

Cultural anthropologist and curator Ute Ritchschel will discuss her work in a lecture titled “American and German Women in Performance Art” at 2 p.m. Monday at Kansas University’s Art and Design building, Room 421.

Ritschel, who lives in Darmstadt, Germany, has worked as a dramaturg at the Nurenberg Theatre and initiated the “Women in Theatre” project in Berlin.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 864-4401.

Architecture lecture planned at Nelson

Kansas City, Mo.– Peter Palumbo, an art collector, philanthropist and former chairman of the Arts Council of Great Britain, will talk about acquiring and restoring major icons of modern architecture at 2 p.m. Oct. 26 at Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

Palumbo has owned homes designed by Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright. He is also the owner and renovator of Farnsworth House, an all-glass rectangular structure in Plano, Ill.

The lecture is free and open to the public.

For more information, contact the museum at (816) 751-1ART.

Art Guild to feature art history night

The Lawrence Art Guild’s meeting Monday will feature a presentation by Lawrence artist Karen Woolery, titled “A Night of Art History.” Woolery, Lawrence Art Guild vice president, past co-president, and co-coordinator of the annual Art in the Park, will provide an slide presentation featuring her favorite artists and artworks.

The meeting is open to the public and is 7 p.m.-9 p.m. at the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 N.H. For more information, all the Lawrence Arts Center at 843-2787.

Deadline approaching to enter Holiday Art Fair

The deadline to enter the Lawrence Art Guild’s annual Holiday Art Fair is Friday.

The entry fee is $30 for Lawrence Art Guild members and $35 for non-members.

Applications are available at www.lawrenceartguild.com, the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 N.H., and the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vt.

American Jazz Museum to present poetry series

Kansas City, Mo.– Jazz Poetry Jams, the American Jazz Museum’s new monthly spoken word series, will feature poet Louis Moten at 7 p.m. Tuesday at The Blue Room, 18th and Vine streets.

A graduate of Langston University, Moten’s upbringing on Kansas City’s Indiana Avenue influences his outlook on life. He recalls the sounds of his childhood — his parents’ voices, the rhythm of a city bus pit stop, and “the occasional knock from hungry friends and relatives that had refused to take the road less traveled. I figured this was the way it was supposed to be: an open door.”

Admission is $5. For more information, call (816) 474-8463.

Kansas City Chorale to open season

Kansas City, Mo. — Kansas City Chorale, a professional choral ensemble, will open its 22nd season at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Folly Theater, 300 W. 12th St.

Kitty Carlisle Hart, chairman emeritus of the New York State Council on the Arts, will be the special guest artist.

Kansas City Chorale will be performing a selection of popular songs from some of Broadway’s greatest composers, such as Rodgers & Hammerstein and Cole Porter.

Ticket prices are $22 for general admission, $16 for seniors and $10 for students. For more information, call (816) 931-7669.

Kansas City museum to feature marbles

Kansas City, Mo.– The Kansas City Toy and Miniature Museum, 5235 Oak St., will open its permanent exhibit of a marble collection on Wednesday.

Collectors Cathy Runyon and Larry Svacina will feature handmade and machine made marbles, as well as various marble games and toys.

For museum hours, ticket prices or more information, contact the museum at (816) 333-2055 or go to www.umkc/tmm.

Convention to feature enthusiasts of miniatures

Topeka — The National Association of Miniature Enthusiasts will have a regional convention at Oct. 23-26 in the Sunflower Room of the Maner Conference Center, 1717 S.W. Topeka Blvd.

The organization was founded to promote the craft of miniature making through association and friendship of artisans, craftsmen and collectors.

The public is invited to the miniature exhibit rooms from 10:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Oct. 26. Admission to the exhibit room is $3 for people over the age of 15.

Award-winning poet to kick-off series

Kansas City, Mo. — Linda Pastan will open Rockhurst University’s 21st annual Midwest Poets Series at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Rockhurst’s Mabee Theater, 1100 Rockhurst Road.

Pastan, the former Poet Laureate of Maryland, has published 14 volumes of poetry. She will be reading and discussing selections from her work.

For more information, call (816) 501-4607.

Infantry band to have free concert

Topeka — The 35th Infantry Division Band, the official band of the Kansas Army National Guard, will be performing a free concert at 2 p.m. today at Grace Episcopal Cathedral, 701 S.W. Eighth St.

The 35-member band, under the direction of Stephen Patterson, will play a selection of songs, including military marches, patriotic music and Broadway show tunes, as well as a special salute to all veterans.