Low Cost Culture and Entertainment

UA Jazz Ensemble Free Concert
Although we’re all watching our budgets these days, there are top shelf things happening that won’t cost you a dime.
For example, this week there’s a free concert by the University of Arkansas Jazz Ensembles. Two 17-piece big bands under the direction of James Greeson and Gerald Sloan will perform at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the University of Arkansas Arkansas Union Theater. The program will include music by Sammy Nestico, Count Basie, Thad Jones, Bill Holman, Tito Puente and others.
Undergraduate and graduate musicians will be featured in solo roles, including trombonists Matthew Shipes, Matt Cope and Michael Olefsky, trumpeter Michael Howland, and saxophonists Jason Cooney and Sid Winford. Pianist Claudia Burson will also be featured as a soloist.
A highlight of the program will be a performance of Bill Holman’s composition “A View from the Side” which won a Grammy award in 1996 for “Best Instrumental Jazz Composition.”

3 Penny Acre Debuts New Album

The roots Americana band, 3 Penny Acre, which is based in Fayetteville, will release their debut, self-titled album at a show this Friday night at GoodFolk. All four of the band members are songwriters and the band won three awards at the Walnut Valley New Song Contest in Winfield, Kan., last year. The band is made up of Shannon Wurst, Bayard Blain and Bryan and Bernice Hembree. This is the only local CD release show scheduled, so reservations are recommended. The show is at 8 p.m. and tickets are $12 by calling 521-1812.

Soup Sunday
Enjoy a nice warm bowl of soup and help Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, a statewide policy advocacy organization that opened its first NWA office last year.
The organization works to improve the state’s health, education, tax, child welfare and juvenile justice systems so that all children have the opportunity to live up to their full potential. Soup Sunday will be from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, 206 W. Johnson St. in Springdale. The cost is $15 for adults and $5 for children. For tickets call 927-9800.

The Goddess Festival

A new festival, The Goddess Festival, will be headquartered at Ultra Studios, 118 South St. in Fayetteville. The month-long festival will honor the power and divinity of women as expressed in the archetypes of goddess, angel and amazon. Vickie Kelley, one of the organizers said the festival will bring attention to the idea that the world needs a shift in consciousness from a paradigm of war and aggression to one of peace and cooperation, which can be achieved by honoring women’s values. The opening reception will be at 5 p.m. Sunday with an art show, followed by the opening ritual at 7 p.m. The festival producers, Diana Rivers and Vickie Kelley will be there. The opening ritual, will focus on three words: invocation, dedication, and celebration and will include a staged reading of “Sisters Let Us Remember” and “Time to Bring the Goddess Home Again.” Both events are free. Other opening week activities are a panel presentation “Creating Ritual” at 7 p.m. Monday. Iyengar style yoga for all levels led by Renee Janski at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. African drumming with Shelia Richards ($10 donation and bring your drum) at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Cajun dance lessons ($6) with Jamey Hall. For a complete schedule, go to www.goddessfestival.com