September 16

Tonight, there is a jazz concert with donations going to Richard Davis' Retention Action Project. The Project works to keep minority students enrolled and active at the UW Madison. The concert features Richard Davis on bass, Javon Jackson on saxophone, Willie Pickens on piano and Lewis Nash on drums. This is free an open to the public but donations are encouraged. This is in the Mills Auditorium of the George Mosse Humanities Building at 7. For more information, check www.richarddavis.org/concert.htm.

Tomorrow night, Joan Dye Gussow gives the Food for Thought Festival keynote lecture titled "Of Pyramids and Parsnips: Just Eat Food” followed by a group discussion with panelists, Odessa Piper and Matt Sharp. This is in the UW Madison Health Sciences Center, 750 Highland Avenue, at 7:30. The REAP Festival is tomorrow on Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard. For more information, check www.reapfoodgroup.org.

Tonight, the Lothlorien Co-op holds an Open Mic featuring Folk Music, Poetry, Kung Fu Theater, and and whatever else participants bring! Snacks are provided, including fair trade Just Coffee. This is at the Lothlorien Coop, 244 W. Lakelawn Place, at 8. For more information, call 256-2051.

Tomorrow afternoon, students from across the state showcase their talents and skills in everything from interactive cinema to composing orchestral compositions to analysis of deforestation rates. The event will honor seventh and eighth graders in Wisconsin who participated in the Midwest Academic Talent Search and submitted an application for a grant project through the Young Scholar Program, offered annually by the Wisconsin Center for Academically Talented Youth. Applicants identify a mentor and develop a course of study that involves a minimum of six weeks of summer work. This is at American Family Insurance, 6000 American Parkway, from 12:30 to 4. For more information, call Beth Gengle 608-271-1617 x34 or check www.wcaty.org.

The Guatemala Support Group, Just Coffee and other individuals, host a forum titled “Politics of Poverty”. Attorney Mario Garcia Morales of Guatemala will speak on the impact of the Dominican Republic & Central American Free Trade Agreement in the region. He represents the National Indigenous and Campesino Organization of Guatemala. This is in the Memorial Union, 800 Langdon Street, from 3 to 5. For more information, call Mario at 575-9811.

Tomorrow is Earthdance 2005, a simultaneous dance party for peace in over 50 countries. The event features a picnic, a drum circle and the dance. Participants are asked to bring food and drink to last the evening, blankets, lawn chairs, and a log for the bonfire. This is free, open to the public, and at Olbrich Park beginning at 4. For more information, check www.earthdance.org/madison or call Laureen Keefer at 241-8178.

Tomorrow, the Latino community celebrates the 195th Anniversary of Mexico in the area’s 1st Annual Mexican Independence Day Festival. The event includes a patriotic observation and many cultural activities and presentations, both by professional and amateur groups throughout the afternoon. This is from 11 to 8 at Middleton’s Fireman ’s Park at the end of Lee Street.

Tomorrow, Southwest Badger Resource Conservation and Development Council, Inc., a nine-county group that works to improve Wisconsin's economy balanced against conserving its rich natural resources, holds workshops on how to turn animals waste into nutrients for crops and soil. Gary Zimmer of Midwestern Bio-Ag, a biologically based agri-consulting company, will lead a manure composting on-farm demonstrations. He will discuss how dairy producers and other livestock farmers can use Mother Nature as part of their approach to creating environmentally friendly, sustainable and profitable farming operations. This is free and in Lancaster, Wisconsin. For more information and to get direction, call the Southwest Badger RC&D Council office 608-723-6377 x136.

Sunday, the Wisconsin Center for Paper Arts holds a collective artwork project titled “Threads That Connect, The Shortest Distance Between Us Is Everyone” at the Williamson Street Fair. This is in front of their building at 811 Williamson Street from noon to 4. For more information, check wibookandpaper.org.

Sunday, the Peregrine Forum holds a discussion entitled “Globalization, Neo-Primitivism, or Semi-Autarky”. Discussion focuses on Boris Frankel's “The Post-Industrial Utopians”. This event is part of the Forum’s continuing Eco-Radicalism series. The books are available at the Madison Infoshop. This is at 616 Brearly Street from 3 to 5. For more information, call 442-8399 or email dvdwilliams51@yahoo.com.

Sunday night, British Member of Parliament George Galloway will speak at the UW Union Theater. He is a fierce critic of the War in Iraq and is author of a new book “Mr. Galloway Goes to Washington” on his opposition. This is at the UW Union Theater at the Memorial Union at 7. For more information, check www.mrgallowaygoestowashington.com or call Todd Chretien at 510-590-6073 or by email at ToddChretien@comcast.net.

Sunday and Monday, the UW Department of History holds a Turkish Festival celebrating Turkish culture. Throughout both days, vendors will sell Turkish food on the Library Mall and various people will speak on Turkish culture at the Pyle Center. For more information, including times, check http://gs1.gradsch.wisc.edu/CenTurk.