Photographers featured at CornerBank exhibit

Mike McPheeters, Mary Tuven and Kathy Hird Wright are featured in CornerBank’s gallery through July 31. The three are Lawrence photographers with vastly different styles.

McPheeters’ photos (see above example) highlight the color, imagery and movement of a Haskell Indian Nations University powwow. Tuven’s photos feature nature, landscape and some abstracts, reflecting line, pattern and texture. Wright’s photos reflect a sense of place or a moment in time.

The artists will attend a reception from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday at the bank, 4621 W. Sixth St.

The exhibit may be viewed during bank hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday and 9 a.m.-noon Saturday.

Fireside books revive dime novel tradition

A Lawrence writer is reviving the dime novel tradition of the 19th century with his Fireside Novels.

Napoleon Crews, above, will set up a table to sign and discuss his books Saturday during Juneteenth activities at Burcham Park.

Two titles have been published in the monthly serial: “The Man Who Tamed Lawrence” and “Last Lynching on Mount Oread.” The novels feature Sam Jeans, a black man promoted to police chief in Lawrence during the 1890s.

The next title, “Eldridge House Disappearances,” will be released July 15.

The short books — they’re 35 to 40 pages each — can be purchased through a monthly subscription or at several local bookstores, including The Raven, 6 E. Seventh St.

To order a subscription or for more information, call 856-1118 or e-mail firesidenovels@sunflower.com.

‘River City Chronicles’

City’s founders spurred by charity, economy

Historian Matthew Veatch completes the story of the New England Emigrant Aid Company as he discusses the role of Lawrence’s namesake, Amos Lawrence, in the founding of the city at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. Monday on “River City Chronicles” on 6News.

Veatch, Kansas State Historical Society assistant state historian, describes the philanthropic and economic motives behind Lawrence’s backing of the New England Emigrant Aid Company in the 1850s and ’60s.

“River City Chronicles” is a weekly feature in honor of Lawrence’s sesquicentennial and will run each Monday through Sept. 13.

Lawrence City Band to celebrate children

The Lawrence City Band’s third concert of the summer season will feature both music for children and numbers from last week’s rained-out performance.

The free concert will be at 8 p.m. Wednesday at South Park, 11th and Massachusetts streets.

Featured on the program will be “Jubilation,” an original composition by Kansas University music professor James Barnes. The piece was commissioned by Lawrence residents David and Gunda Hiebert for the 150th anniversary of the founding of the city of Lawrence. Barnes will conduct the debut performance.

The program also will include the “Theme from ‘Superman,'” “Highlights from ‘The Lion King'” and “Parade of the Children,” led by Kansas University drum majors.

The band is under the direction of Robert Foster.

KPR comedy show ends season Saturday

It’s the last show of the season for Right Between the Ears, the award-winning comedy series produced by Kansas Public Radio.

Performances will be at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday at Liberty Hall, 642 Mass. The 8 p.m. show will be broadcast live on KPR stations, including FM 91.5.

The finale is expected to include spoofs of President Bush and the war in Iraq; former President Clinton’s upcoming autobiography; movie blockbusters “Troy” and “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban;” the Abu Ghraib prison scandal and job outsourcing.

Tickets are $10 to $14 and are on sale at the Liberty Hall box office and at Ticketmaster.com. Tickets also may be purchased by calling (816) 931-3330.

Lawrence artist selected for national park program

Lawrence painter Lisa Grossman is among six artists who have been selected for the summer 2004 Artist-in-Residence Program at Rocky Mountain National Park.

The other artists, chosen from a pool of 73 applicants from throughout the United States and the United Kingdom, are: Lane Kendrick, painter; Robert Root, writer; Suki Rae, musician and composer; Tina Holley, visual artist; and Wendy Bowen, quilter.

Artists are given two-week residencies at the William Allen White cabin from June through September. They’ll share their vision in two public presentations. Following their residencies, artists donate a finished piece, representative of their stay at the park.

Museum unrolls exhibit on bicycle history

The evolution of the bicycle is the subject of an exhibit at Watkins Community Museum of History.

In collaboration with The Wheelmen Antique Bicycle Club, the museum uses the exhibit to trace the history of bicycles from the 1869 boneshaker to the 1950 Black Phantom and the 1993 Eddy Merckx, a racer that was ridden by Sean Yates, a former teammate of Lance Armstrong for Team Motorola.

Also on display are bicycle accessories, including carbide lanterns, a cycle poco camera and a cyclometer. Lawrence personalities from the past are featured in photographs from the Watkins archives.

The exhibit will remain on view through July 31. For more information, call 841-4109 or visit www.watkinsmuseum.org.

Children’s Museum coming to Lawrence

Wonderscope, a hands-on children’s museum in Shawnee, will present a four-day workshop at the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 N.H.

The workshop, titled “Sticky Business,” will allow children to enjoy some creative aspects of “sticky,” including tape, magnets and sticky foods.

The workshop will be Tuesday through Friday with classes for children ages 4-5 from 10 a.m. to noon and for children who have completed grades K-2 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

For more information call 843-2787 or go to www.lawrenceartscenter.org.

Nelson highlights permanent collection

Kansas City, Mo. — The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art hopes to build visitors’ appreciation of its permanent collection during ongoing construction projects at the museum with a series of focus exhibitions that begin Saturday.

“Build on Art,” six small installations ranging from fifth-century Chinese sculpture to 20th-century abstract painting, is meant to dispense art knowledge in tidbits easy to digest in brief museum visits.

The first two exhibits, opening Saturday, are “Black and White in America: Photography of the Civil Rights Era” and “Realism and Abstraction: Six Degrees of Separation.” The former remains on view through Oct. 3, the latter through July 31.

Museum admission is free for the duration of the construction. The museum is at 4525 Oak St. in Kansas City, Mo. For more information, call (816) 751-1278.

Topeka school offers Harry Potter class

Topeka — Calling all wanna-be wizards.

Among the Topeka Collegiate School’s Summer Adventures program offerings is a magical opportunity to learn more about Harry Potter and Hogwarts.

Three sessions of a “Harry Potter” course will be taught by instructor Jenny Bergstrom this month. During the classes, for children entering grades 4-7, participants will become Hogwarts students, read from Potter stories, create art projects, play games and have a “Harry Potter Day” party.

The class meets from 9 a.m. to noon June 14-18, June 21-25 and June 28-July 2. Cost is $95 per session.

There is no registration deadline, but enrollment is limited. For more information, contact program director Barbara Shinn at (785) 228-0490 or bshinn@topekacollegiate.org.

The school is at 2200 S.W. Eveningside Drive in Topeka.

Ottawa genealogists play host to fair

Miami, Okla. — The Ottawa County Genealogical Society will present the Greater Four-States Genealogy Fair from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the First Christian Family Center, 2414 N. Main St., in Miami, Okla.

The fair features genealogical and historical societies from Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma.

Two mini-workshops will be given: “Researching in the British Isles” and “Surname Origins.” These sessions are $5. A free forum on “Beginning Genealogy” will be at 1 p.m.

Admission is $2. Proceeds will be used to add research materials to the genealogy room at the Miami Public Library. For more information, call (918) 540-0937.