Wash Lit logo

Are you a tutor? If so, Washtenaw Literacy encourages you to attend this free workshop dedicated to improving your skills and confidence. Power Tutoring will be held on Saturday February 26, from 8:30 am-2:00 pm at WCC's Liberal Arts & Sciences Building. There will be workshops to help you better prepare learners for the GED, and how to measure the progress of your learner, as well as a variety of other interactive sessions. This is an incredible opportunity for ESL and Basic Literacy tutors. Click here to see the schedule and other topics of the day.

suffragette

Liberty Awakes in Washtenaw County: When Women Won the Vote, a new exhibit at the Museum on Main Street runs January 8-February 27, 2011. The exhibit features artifacts, stories and images from the local woman suffrage movement. On the 2nd and 4th Thursday of January and February, please bring a lunch and join in a discussion on woman suffrage in Washtenaw County from 12 noon-1:00 PM.

The exhibit is sponsored by the League of Women Voters of the Ann Arbor Area and the Washtenaw County Historical Society. For more information or to arrange group tours or talks email Zoe Behnke at bliz468@yahoo.com

tree

There will be no curbside pickup of Christmas trees this year so we'll need to make after-Holiday plans to deliver the trees to their mulching destination. Undecorated Christmas trees may be dropped off — free and 24/7 — in the parking lot adjacent to the Drop-off Station at 2950 E. Ellsworth now through Monday, Jan. 31, 2011.

Remember, any metal, glass or plastic ornaments left on the tree can ruin the processing equipment, harm the operators, and spoil the landscaping mulch. For these reasons, the trees must have all tree stands, nails, ornaments, tinsel, and plastic bags removed.

If you'd rather not make the trip, cut and tie the tree into bundles and reserve for the beginning of compost-collection season, the first Monday in April.

clock

Here's the scoop on A2 services for the Holiday weeks:

-There will be no interruption of trash or recycling collection Christmas or New Year's weeks. Your regular pickup day is your regular pickup day. That's easy!

-All City Hall offices will close at noon on Thursday, Dec. 23 and reopen on Monday, Dec. 27. Likewise, offices will close at noon on Thursday, Dec. 30 and reopen on Monday, Jan. 3, 2011.

-The deadline to pay winter taxes to the City of Ann Arbor has been extended to Monday, Jan. 3, 2011 due to the City Hall closures over the New Year's Holiday.

arb

Here's your chance to help decide on future developments at Arbor Hills Park and Kilburn Park. The City of Ann Arbor is holding a Community Planning Meeting on Thursday, Nov. 18, 7:30 p.m., at the AADL Traverwood Branch. Park planners will be looking at the possibilities available to develop Arbor Hills into a mixed use park, and enhancing parts of Kilburn Park and long term plans for these two parks.

connector

The public is invited to attend the Ann Arbor Connector Open House on Monday, Nov. 15 in the Ann Arbor District Library Downtown Branch Multipurpose Room. There will be two sessions: 3:30 p.m. ~ 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. ~ 8:00 p.m. to discuss the the Ann Arbor Connector Feasibility Study. The information session will highlight the various transit technologies that are feasible including bus, bus rapid transit, streetcars, light rail transit and personal rapid transit technologies. And there will be plenty of time for comments and Q&A.

AccuVote

The Washtenaw County Clerk's Office and CTN Channel 19 will have official results for the Tuesday, Nov. 2 elections starting at 10 p.m. You can find further coverage of state and local results at Michigan Radio once the polls close at 8 p.m. NPR and CNN will have live online coverage throughout the night.

GalleryProjectTeresaPetersen

The Gallery Project is an art gallery in Ann Arbor that features rotating art exhibitions with a different theme running through the pieces included. “Gallery Project is a fine art collaborative. Its mission is to provide a venue for contemporary art that is culturally aware, individualistic, courageous, and thought provoking.”

The newest exhibit, What’s So Funny?, is a multimedia show featuring the artwork of local and national artists. “This exhibition invites each artist to offer expressions of humor with or without a point, humor that is for some reason is funny to them or makes sense in the broader cultural milieu.” It opens today! And runs from October 20 – November 28, with an opening reception this Friday, October 22.

To see what’s been shown in the gallery in previous shows, check the exhibit archive to see what sort of fun and interesting things have been on display.

The thumbnail image is by Detroit artist Teresa Petersen whose work is included in the current exhibit.

The Gallery Project | 215 South Fourth Avenue, Ann Arbor | Oct. 20 – Nov. 28 | Free

Ann Arbor has made it onto Design Sponge, the popular online design blog. One of Design Sponge’s popular features are the city guides that offer lists and images of hot spots in cities all over the world. The latest city guide is a guide to Ann Arbor. Of course, it’s not an inclusive list to all the great places to go in Ann Arbor, but it features some great stuff, was written by a local, and features artwork by a local. Pretty neat! What stops in our fine city would you add to the list?
DesignSponge

TransformationsOaken Transformations, an innovative integration of "art and poetry in a natural environment to promote community, support of the arts, and preservation of wilderness places," hosts its grand opening on Sunday, October 17, 1:00-4:00. Oaken Transformations was borne of Dr. Fred Bonine’s experience of the transformative and healing qualities of art and nature. Dr. Bonine invites the public to share in this experience by walking the .4 mile nature trail behind his office, throughout which are installed original sculptures and poetry from local and nationally-renowned artists and poets including John Sauve, Kate Silvio, Janet Kauffman, and Robert Fanning. This free exhibit will run for one year in Brighton, at 6893 Grand River Road, Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., but will be closed for holidays.