IN BRIEF: GAVA show ends Sunday

Sep. 13—Gainesville Area Visual Arts Fall Art Exhibition ends Sunday at the Depot in downtown Gainesville.

The art show is free to the public and will be open 11 a.m.- 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

This year's raffle features a digital painting by Milchanowski, a watercolor by Retha Bond, an abstract acrylic by Ashley Holder and a photograph by Christiane Schmidt. The raffle art will be on display during the art show and tickets are 1 for $5 or 3 for $10 — Buyers choose which piece they'd like to win and the four winners will be announced Sept. 17.

Can you dig it?

Archeology Month is next month, so the Texas Travel Information Center is hosting Texas! Can You Dig It! Friday, Sept. 22, from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at the state's rest area on northbound Interstate 35 near the Red River.

The event will feature experts from The Muenster Chamber of Commerce/Museum, Nocona Tales and Trails, Lake Ray Roberts, Texas Parks and Wildlife, Sherman Museum, Weatherford Chamber of Commerce, Waco Mammoth National Monument, Tarrant County Historical Commission, North Texas Archeological Society, W.K. Gordon Museum, Texas Parks and Wildlife, the Dallas Paleo Society and the Texas and North Texas Archeology Societies.

They will provide literature and information regarding state parks, museums, artifacts, fossils and dinosaur attractions. TxDOT Archaeologist Kevin Hanselka will be present to discuss the environmental aspects and how TxDOT helps to preserve Texas heritage before building roads. Travel counselors will be available to answer and assist with all travel and tourism questions.

See www.Facebook/TxOTWichitaFalls for more information.

Halloween Hustle signups now open

Registration is now open for the 2023 Halloween Hustle 5K and 10K races to benefit the North Texas Medical Center Foundation.

This year's event will be Saturday, Oct. 28 at NTMC. Warm-up begins at 8 a.m. and the races will start at 8:30 a.m. Medals will be handed out to the top three runners in each age division, along with the top overall male and female runner in the 5K and 10K.

Entry fee is $25, but groups of 10 or more can sign up as a team and receive $2 off each entry. Registration is open online at www. ntmcfoundation.org.

Children's chorus looking for young singers

Dolce Canto Children's Chorus of Cooke County is accepting new members for grades 2-8.

The choir works on learning proper choral singing, some music theory and appropriate concert etiquett. The rehearsals will be held on Tuesday evenings, 6-7 p.m., at North Central Texas College's First State Bank Center for the Performing Arts.

There is no audition process for membership, however there are some attendance and behavior requirements. The group includes singers representing Gainesville, Callisburg, Lindsay, Muenster and Sivells Bend, and students from St. Mary's and the area homeschool network. The group typically accepts new members during the months of September and January.

For more information about the choir, contact Susan Beall at dolcecantocccc@gmail.com, or come to an informational rehearsal on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 6 p.m., at North Central Texas College. The choir will accept new members for the fall semester through Sept. 26. Anyone wishing to sponsor Dolce Canto Children's Chorus of Cooke County should send an email or call 940-736-8239 for more information.

Let Freedom Read in October

The Cooke County Library will celebrate Americans' freedom to read in October with several displays of books that have been banned or challenged over the years.

Banned Books Week runs Oct. 2-7. This year's theme is Let Freedom Read. The event was launched in 1982 and is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. It highlights the value of free and open access to information by bringing together the entire book community — librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types — in support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.

Books are still being banned and challenged today. A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. Many popular books were challenged or banned at one time, including To Kill a Mockingbird, The Wings of Fire series, Madeline and the Gypsies, and even the Holy Bible.

Visit the Cooke County Library, located at Main and Weaver streets in downtown Gainesville, to look at the special displays of books. Readers should also go to the Banned Books Week website, http://www.ala.org/bbooks/about.

Whitesboro art festival Oct. 28

North Texas Visual Arts Club 2023 Chalk Art Festival is set for Oct. 28 at Godwin Park in Whitesboro.

Whitesboro Park and Recreation is co-hosting the event this year and, as always, the event is open to the public and to anyone of any age who would like to participate.

There are several different techniques to chalk art. All are welcome to join in and show their designs. Entries will be judged by the public and the event starts at 9:30 a.m.

Go to www.northtexasvisualarts. com or email northtexasvisualarts@gmail.com for an entry form.

All artists must be signed in before 10 a.m. the day of the event. Individual artists will have an 8-foot x 4-foot space, and groups will have a 16-foot x 4-foot space. The fee before Oct. 21 are Individual-$10, Groups (up to 5 artists)-$15. The fees the day of are Individual-$20, Groups fee-$25.

Noah's Ark fundraiser in October

Joe Conner is organizing a fundraiser for a Gainesville animal shelter. She and Chad Sykora, the owner of Krootz Brewing Company, are co-hosting an exhibition to benefit Noah's Ark.

The open themed show is open to any adults or students. Artists will enter the show by purchasing a blank 9 x 12-inch canvas. This will serve as the entry fee for the show. The artist must agree to donate their completed artwork to the art show.

The art will be on display from Oct. 17 — 22 at Krootz. An opening reception is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 17, from 6 — 8 p.m. Food and drinks will be available to purchase.

Each artist will receive a 9 x 12 canvas. Any medium is welcome and each artist is limited to two entries. Entries will be first-come, first-served. Joe Conner Designs and Krootz reserves the right to exclude any work based on appropriateness and/or violation of guidelines.

Go to https://tinyurl.com/3jeuk3ec or find the event on Facebook to sign up. The address for Sept. 28-29 pick up will be sent via email. Once all canvases have been purchased, the show will be closed to additional artists.

Each artist is limited to a total of two entries. Entry fee will be collected via the purchase of the canvases for $10 each. Students (any age from elementary through college) can participate at a discounted entry of $5. All work included in the exhibit will be priced at $25, with proceeds benefiting Noah's Ark Animal Shelter.