Around Town

EVENTS

•Imagination Unlimited, a mixed media art exhibition by Hank Herring, continues through June 5 at the York W. Bailey Museum at Penn Center on St. Helena Island.

Featured artwork will include composite materials, metals and small diameter wood drawn from the artist's imagination.

Herring, a self-taught mixed media artist, is known in the Beaufort arts community for his unique style of working with rescued materials and found objects. Admission is free. Details: 843-838-2474.

•The opening reception for Joan Templer's recent paintings, Africa Revisited, is from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Friday in the Beaufort Art Association Gallery, 1001 Bay St. The exhibit will continue through June 21.

Most of the paintings in the exhibit have been inspired by a revisit to Africa. This started on a cruise ship that originated in Genoa, Italy, and then passed south through the Suez Canal, sailed along the Sinai Peninsula and docked in Jordan.

Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The works of more than 75 member artists are on exhibit -- including paintings, photographs, jewelry, glass, ceramics and note cards. Details: 843-379-2222.

•The Colleton County Historical & Preservation Society will host the second annual Walterboro Antiques, History & Arts Festival on Friday and Sunday.

An opening soirée will be at the Green Lady Gallery, 261 E. Washington St., with entertainment by Cindy Newman and Holger Obenaus. The cost is $25.

Saturday's Historic House Tours are from 2 to 5 p.m. The cost is $20. Other Saturday events include antique vendors from three states, antique appraisals, the grand opening of the Farmers Market downtown, storytelling by University of South Carolina Salkehatchie and the Lowcountry Art Show sponsored by the Arts Council, the S.C. Artisans Center and the Colleton Museum. New this year are an Antique Tractor Show and parade, and guided tours of the Great Swamp Sanctuary conducted by the City of Walterboro.

A garden tour is from 12:30 to 3 p.m. Sunday. The cost is $10. Gospel singers will perform at the waterfall on Washington Street and all of the events are scheduled for Saturday, except the Farmers Market and the Tractor Parade, which are planned Sunday.

Suzy Anderson will appraise treasures Saturday and Sunday.

Tickets are available at Downtown Books & Espresso, Hiotts Pharmacy and all participating antique dealers. Details: 843-549-9633 or colletonhistoryandpreservation.com.

CLASSES AND SEMINARS

•Penn Center's Early Childhood Family Initiative Parenting Classes are scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday in the library and media center at the St. Helena Early Learning Center, St. Helena Island.

Child care is available for all ages during each class. The next class is "Financial Aid: University of South Carolina Beaufort and Technical College of the Lowcountry." Details: 843-521-4130 or 843-838-8563.

MEETINGS AND CLUBS

•The United Daughters of the Confederacy Stephen Elliott Chapter No. 1349 meeting is at 3 p.m. Wednesday at the home of Gladys Cousar, 123 Bull Point Drive, Seabrook.

A carpool is available for those who wish to meet at 2:15 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church. Jim Jordan, author of "Savannah Grey," is the speaker. Details: 843-846-5886.

•Dr. Stephen Wise, historian and director of the Parris Island Museum, will appear before the Lowcountry Civil War Round Table at 6:45 p.m. Wednesday at the Bluffton High School Auditorium, McCracken Circle, Bluffton.

The topic of discussion will be the Port Royal Experiment, a program begun during the Civil War in which former slaves worked on the land abandoned by the plantation owners. The object of the program was to help the freed slaves become self-sufficient, productive members of society.

Wise will detail the story of the slaves who flocked to the area after the arrival of the Federal troops in November 1861. Details: 843-705-9201.

•The Dr. Henry Woodward Chapter Colonial Dames XV11 Century meeting is at 2 p.m. Thursday at the Old Beaufort College, University of South Carolina Beaufort, 801 Carteret St.

Evan Thompson, executive director of the Historic Beaufort Foundation, will discuss the 1685 Settlement on Spanish Point called Stuart Town. Details: 843-838-4809.

•The National Federation of the Blind meeting is at noon Saturday in the Charles Lind Brown Center (formerly the Greene Street Gym), at Greene and Hamar streets.

The group is for blind and partially sighted people, their family and friends in Beaufort County.

The group's regular meeting date is the fourth Saturday of each month, but due to conflicts, the May and June meetings will be on the third Saturday. Details: 843-524-9247.

DEADLINES

•Wednesday is the final day to file an application for the Miss Gullah Teen Pageant 2008.

The pageant begins at 7 p.m. May 23 at the 2008 Gullah Festival.

Miss Gullah Teen is the official ambassador of the Gullah Festival. Her duties will include greeting and welcoming visiting dignitaries, performers and special guests, head the Gullah Teen Hostesses, and she will represent the Gullah Festival in various parades, gatherings, and cultural events for the rest of the year. Details: 843-525-0628.

CHARITIES AND VOLUNTEERS

•The Jasper County Department of Social Services is holding a foster parent recruitment drive at noon Saturday at Palmetto Electric, U.S. 278, Ridgeland.

More than 20 children are in foster care in Jasper County. There are four licensed foster homes in the county. The other children are placed in neighboring counties and throughout the state.

During this recruitment drive, potential foster parents will have the opportunity to complete the intake assessment, which includes finger printing and completing the application for the sled check. The entire process to become licensed takes about 90 to 120 days, but could be completed in less time. Details: 843-726-7727 ext. 232.

•The second annual Run Forrest Run Charity 5K Walk/Run for the Animals is from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday at Oscar Frasier Park in Bluffton.

Run Forrest Run is a fundraiser to support the program's Palmetto Animal League. The mission of the league is to eliminate the needless suffering of animals in the Beaufort County area.

This year, the Palmetto Animal League introduces a new face to the Run Forrest Run 5K Charity Run/Walk for the Animals and has created pledge incentives for both adults and kids and fun prizes for the Top Ten Winners. Pets are welcome and encouraged to attend; water stations will be set up along the path for everyone. Festivities will continue after the Walk/Run and will include: The Dog Bone Hunt and Doggie Derby for your four-legged friend. Doggie Goodie bags will be passed out to the first 100 attendees. Details: 843-227-2691 or palmettoanimalleague.org.

Send Around Town items, which are published only on Tuesdays and Sundays, at least 10 days before the event date to Features Department, The Beaufort Gazette, P.O. Box 399, Beaufort, SC 29901-0399, to features@beaufortgazette.com or via fax to 843-524-8728.