Amateur radio event Saturday at LCC
The 23rd annual Down East Hamfest will be from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Lenoir Community College gymnasium.
The public is invited to view vendor displays of radio equipment inside the gym and walk through the outside tailgate flea market area. FFC exams will be given at 11 a.m.
Admission tickets at the door are $6 each or three for $15. For more information, call 252-523-0988.
Family suspends reunion this year
The William “Grandpa Bill” Stroud annual reunion will not meet this year.
Traditionally held the fourth Sunday of April each year, descendants have suspended the reunion this year due to extenuating circumstances.
For information, call 252-523-5682 and leave a message.
Art happenings during Festival on Neuse
In anticipation of and during the 32nd annual BBQ Festival on the Neuse, set for May 3-4, the Community Council for the Arts is sponsoring several events.
The Plein Air Paint Out and Exhibition will begin Wednesday, and continue Thursday and Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. all three days. Painters will meet for coffee and donuts, then disperse to various downtown and riverfront locations to paint “in the open air.”
This competition will carry first-, second- and third-place prize money, with works on display and for sale Friday evening and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday of the festival weekend. Registration fee is $20.
Evening with the Stars, the official kick-off event of the festival, will be from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Thursday at The Red Room, 220 N. Herritage St. The event will showcase local artists’ work for sale, heavy hors d’oeuvres and beverages, and live musical entertainment by Sound Chemistry of Raleigh. Tickets are $35.
An Arts & Crafts Market will be from 6 to 9 p.m. May 3 and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 4, inside the Old Carriage Factory, 118 W. Blount St., also known as the Ellis Buggy Building. There will be activities for children and families, special musical presentations, and viewings of “Tobacco Money Feeds My Family” by filmmakers Cynthia Hill and Curtis Gaston.
Artfest will be Friday night and Saturday on Herritage Street between North and Blount streets, including the Old Carriage Factory and Overland Gallery. The Overland Gallery will open its doors for the first time to the public.
The Nnenna Freelon jazz concert at 8 p.m. May 4 will conclude the weekend of events.
For information on all events, contact the arts center at 252-527-2517 or Kinston.com.