5 things to do this weekend
Sep. 1—1. The Missouri Department of Conservation will host a morning of fishing for families at 9 a.m. Saturday at Walter Woods Conservation Area. Learn about basic gear and how to use it as well as fish identification, strategies, rules and regulations. Bring your own poles or borrow some from the Department of Conservation; bait will be provided. A valid fishing permit is required for Missouri residents ages 16-64 and nonresidents ages 16 and older. Register at mdc.mo.gov.
2. The Labor Day Weekend Classic will take place from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Mo-Kan Dragway. This year, the nationally touring Funny Car Chaos Championship series will bring 30 professional racers battling for $35,000. Admission is $20-$25; children 12 and younger are admitted free. Parking is free. Details: mokandragway.com.
3. Little Balkans Days, an annual event that pays homage to the region's history, ethnic diversity and community spirit, will take place this weekend in Pittsburg, Kansas. Saturday events include a golf tournament, dog show, arts and crafts fair, petting zoo, parade and community singalong, train rides, Civil War battle reenactments, quilt show, live entertainment and folk life festival. For a full schedule, go to littlebalkansfestival.com.
4. Now that September is here, orders have opened for native tree and shrub seedlings from the Missouri Department of Conservation. The George O. White State Forest Nursery near Licking offers a variety of low-cost native tree and shrub seedlings for reforestation, windbreaks, erosion control, and wildlife food and cover. The nursery provides mainly 1-year-old, bare-root seedlings of pine, bald cypress, cottonwood, black walnut, hickory, oak, pecan, persimmon, river birch, maple, willow, sycamore, blackberry, buttonbush, hazelnut, redbud, ninebark, spicebush, elderberry, sumac, wild plum, witch hazel and others. Details and order forms: mdc.mo.gov.
5. Join writer Jane Blunschi for a conversation from 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas. Blunschi, of Fayetteville, Arkansas, writes fiction that explores issues of spirituality and domesticity through a lens of queerness. Her talk is part of a series that explores the works and lives of LGBTQ artists in the museum's permanent collection. Admission is free and open to the public.
