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The African Children’s Choir performs at special events and concerts throughout the world, raising the profile of the African child as ambassadors for all children in Africa who have become orphans because of the AIDS pandemic.

The group will give a concert at Lawrence’s Free Methodist Church on Sunday, Nov. 5th at 6:00 pm. Many of the children in the Choir have lost one or both parents to poverty or disease, yet their message is one of hope and joy as they spotlight the plight of children in Africa.

You can catch all the exuberance of their music on their CD Windows on the World. Funds raised from this CD build and staff schools that provide food, shelter and education for orphans in various parts of Africa.

So who are these geeks? Well the one at the far right is none other than former Signs of Life intern Ethan Andyshak. It seems he and his college buddies got together, applied for a grant, and the next thing you know they’ve got the hottest thing going in fantasy politics. OK, so maybe its the only thing going in fantasy politics. You see, they came up with this incredibly cool site called Fantasy Congress - its like fantasy sports teams only with politicians. Bet your team can’t push its legislation into law faster than mine!

Singer/songwriter Warren Barfield will be in concert twice at Grace Evangelical Presbyterian Church here in Lawrence on Thursday evening, October 19. Concerts times are 6:30 and 9:30 with the latter time more oriented toward college students. Warren is a phenomenal performer whose style is acoustic/folk/soul. Cost is $5 at the door. Coffee and cookies will be available for purchase.

You will not hear another performance of this caliber for many times this price. Please, do yourself a favor - don’t miss it!

Signs of Life Gallery artist James Winn will conduct a painting workshop on Saturday, Nov. 4th from 9am to 4pm. Mr. Winn is one of America’s premier realist painters active today and has work appearing in major collections around the world and in our current show. Students or professional artists who would like to participate in the workshop should contact gallery director James Schaefer at 785-830-8030.

On Monday, October 2, the weekly Public House “Culinary Culture Lecture Series” featured Tom Wheat, director, farmer, importer, and roaster for Nueva Mission, Inc. in a talk entitled Thinking Locally in a Supranational Industry: Venezuela Biointesive Coffee Farm Communities and the American Consumer. Nueva Mission is a non-for-profit organization which links the people of the Caripe region in Venezuela with the community of Lawrence, KS, by growing, producing, importing, and roasting Venezuela coffee for the Lawrence market while using organic, sustainable, and community-focused methods. Wheat’s talk focused on the sharp distinctions between “conventional” farming techniques and “sustainable” farming techniques, and the impact each technique has on rural coffee-growing communities.

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By now everyone in Lawrence has heard that David Corliss is our new City Manager. We want to join with the well-wishers to offer Dave our hearty congratulations! All indications are the he will do an excellent job. We appreciate the City Council for noting that Dave is a man of integrity. We were glad they noticed and glad that it was important to them. Sarah and the girls can be more than proud.

Everyone knows that David is the new City Manager, but did you know that he is also a history buff? Before becoming Interim City Manager, you could find him on his lunch break perusing the history section at Signs of Life. With his added responsibilities, though, he probably doesn’t get time off for lunch. In honor of Dave’s new appointment and interest in history, we’re offering a special on one of our most popular history titles, River of Doubt. This is the story of another man of integrity, Theodore Roosevelt, and his amazing expedition to chart the Amazon. For a limited time you can pick up a copy of Candice Millard’s bestseller for only $16.90 (normally $26.00 - this price is only available in the store, not on the web).

This fall, Signs of Life in downtown Lawrence is offering a new series in its free Public House weekly community forum entitled, Culinary Culture: Pursuing Excellence and Sustainability from Farm to Plate. Each Monday night at 7:30 pm starting September 11, the series will feature one of our community’s foremost authorities on issues surrounding our pursuit and appreciation for local culinary culture and agriculture. Below is a description of the series:

“Excellence is a God-given virtue of a mature, sustainable, and fruitful culture, and should be pursued in all areas of life. This especially includes humankind’s relationship to the earth and its fruit. The pursuit of excellence has implications for the way we prepare our food and the way we eat, especially in relation to the intimate connection between sustainable, local agriculture and healthy, quality culinary culture. In order to explore these ideas in the context of our community, this fall, Signs of Life is offering a free, weekly lecture series that showcases some of our community’s foremost authorities on excellence in culinary culture.”

Speakers and topics will include:

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