Carolina Indian Circle Pow Wow

CHAPEL HILL -- The Carolina Indian Circle 23rd Annual Pow Wow will be held from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday.

The free public program, organized by a UNC student group, will be in Fetzer Gymnasium on South Road, across from Raleigh Street on the UNC campus. Free parking will be available in the Cobb deck off Manning Drive.

Food, craft and jewelry vendors will be on hand. Dancers in traditional regalia will compete for cash prizes in categories including fancy dance and traditional dance. For more information visit http://americanindiancenter.unc.edu.

Speakers civil rights veterans

CHAPEL HILL -- Three women civil rights veterans will speak, and one will screen her film about the "desegregation and resegregation of U.S. public schools," in two events March 16 at UNC.

Constance Curry, producer of the film "The Intolerable Burden," will screen and discuss her project at noon in Toy Lounge on the fourth floor of Dey Hall.

At 6 p.m., Curry will be joined by two other women veterans of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) for the program: "Women of SNCC: Civil Rights Activism in the 1960s and Today." The event will take place in the Nelson Mandela Auditorium of the FedEx Global Education Center.

Also speaking are Efia Nwangaza, an attorney and director of the Afrikan-Amerikan Institute for Policy Studies and Planning in Greenville, S.C., and Theresa El-Amin, the founder of the Southern Anti-Racism Network.

For more information, contact Kia Caldwell, klcaldwe@email.unc.edu or visit http://womenofsnccspeakout.web.unc.edu.

Celebrate spring at Carolina Inn

CHAPEL HILL -- Get ready for spring during the annual Birdhouses on Parade Sunday through April 11, at the historic Carolina Inn.

Uniquely crafted birdhouses and feeders by North Carolina artists will be showcased. Spring-themed events include Birds of Prey -- Live Raptor Exhibit, Build Your Own Birdhouse, Easter Egg Decorating and Breakfast with the Easter Bunny. Visit www.carolinainn.com or call (919) 918-2711 for more information.

Readathon goes 'camping' Friday

CHAPEL HILL -- As part of Frank Porter Graham Elementary School's 12-year Readathon tradition, the students have pledged to read 500,000 minutes in just 14 days, culminating on Friday.

This year's theme, "Reading Adventures in Your Back Yard," focuses on the natural world all around us and how students can discover it through reading.

Members of the media are invited to visit the school's Readathon Night "Campgrounds" -- the school media center has been transformed into Cole's Campground, complete with cozy places to curl up with a good book, like tents, canoes and kayaks. During Readathon Night, Cole's Campground features a family reading area, BookFlix (one of the online reading programs available to all of the school's families) on the big screen and the Chapel Hill Public Library signing up kids and families for library cards.

The Piedmont Wildlife Center is bringing a selection of rehabilitated wild animals to the science lab for a show and tell with students and their families, and storytelling by local children's authors Amy Odom and Rosemarie Gulla will be presented.

For more information, call Readathon co-chairwoman Kathy Irvin at (919) 260-0383 or Paige Zinn at (919) 730-2029

Reception to honor Hackney

CHAPEL HILL -- A public reception is being held March 24 in honor of N.C. House Speaker Joe Hackney in recognition of his support of the N.C. Racial Justice Act last year. The Carrboro-based nonprofit group People of Faith Against the Death Penalty is sponsoring the free reception.

The N.C. Racial Justice Act allows for a person facing a death sentence or someone already sentenced to die to have a court review whether racial bias influenced the case or the prosecutor's decision to seek the death penalty. Gov. Beverly Perdue signed the act into law last August.

"The N.C. Racial Justice Act is one of the most significant reforms of the death penalty anywhere and a model piece of legislation nationwide," said PFADP Executive Director Stephen Dear. "We are deeply grateful for the leadership Speaker Hackney provided in supporting this important redress of some of the inequities of the death penalty."

Reservations are required and should be made by March 17 by contacting Kristen Smith at (919) 933-7567 or kristen@pfadp.org. The reception will be from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the home of James Crow, 109 Ledge Lane. Heavy hors d'oeuvres will be served.

Teen center to celebrate 25th

CHAPEL HILL -- Thousands of teens have come to the Street Scene Teen Center since it first opened March 15, 1985, and to celebrate its 25th anniversary the center will hold an open house and party on Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m. in the center, at 179 E. Franklin St., in the basement of the old post office downtown.

Teens, past and present; former directors, staff, and volunteers; and the general public are invited. There will be displays of old photos, art work and recordings of bands that have performed there over the years, as well as refreshments and fellowship. For more information visit the Street Scene Teen Center Friends Facebook page.

Chapel Hill Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt has proclaimed the week of March 15-21 as Street Scene Teen Center Week in honor of the partnership between the Town of Chapel Hill and Street Scene Teen Center. Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation Department cosponsors the Teen Center's After School Program.

Street Scene officially began in 1983 when the Chapel Hill Downtown Association in conjunction with parents, community leaders, clergy, and others, petitioned the Town Council for the use of the unused and basically unusable basement space and renovated it.

Professor to give talk at UNC

CHAPEL HILL -- "The Shadow of Empire: Re-Writing British History for the 21st Century," will be the title of a March 25 talk at UNC.

Catherine Hall, professor of modern British social and cultural history at University College London, will give the free public talk at 7:30 p.m. in Gerrard Hall, 160 Cameron Ave.

She will explore stories the British tell about their history and examine the legacy of 19th century English historian Thomas Babington Macaulay. Hall will reflect on Macaulay's vision of home, nation and empire. Her research focuses on rethinking the relationship between Britain and its empire in the 19th and 20th centuries. She examines ways in which the empire affected everyday life in Britain and how English identities were constituted in relation to the empire.

The talk will be the 2010 Mary Stevens Reckford Memorial Lecture in European Studies presented by the Institute for the Arts and Humanities, a part of the College of Arts and Sciences.