Family Outings: Native American Festival offers lots to do

Take some time today to learn about the oldest cultures in America.

The annual Native American Festival is taking place at the Hastings Museum of Natural and Cultural History, with a wealth of activities, games, music and dance.

One of the highlights of the festival is the appearance of the Many Moccasins Dance Troupe, an American Indian company based in Winnebago, Neb. The group specializes in educational and entertaining performances incorporating traditional dance styles, costumes and music. Indian games, crafts — including making totem poles, shields and dream catchers — and exploring a full-size tepee will also be a part of the event.

The Native American Festival will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Tickets are $7 for adults, $6 for senior citizens and $5 for children age 3 to 12. For museum members, admission is $2 for adults and $1 for children.

The museum is at 1330 N. Burlington Ave. in Hastings. For more information call 402-461-4629 or visit www.hastingsmuseum.org.

COUNCIL BLUFFS

Best-selling author tells exciting tales

It's an evening with a man who has seen the world in a unique way.

The Council Bluffs Public Library is inviting the public to an evening with Rory Stewart, author of the acclaimed book “The Places in Between.”

Stewart's book, a New York Times best-seller hailed as a “flat-out masterpiece,” tells the story of Stewart's journey by foot through Afghanistan shortly after the U.S. invasion, part of a longer 6,000-mile journey from Turkey to Bangladesh.

The free event begins at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs.

Stewart has previously appeared on PBS's “Bill Moyers Journal” and has testified before the U.S. Senate. He will participate in a question-and-answer session and sign copies of his book.

For more information, visit www.cbpl.lib.ia.us or www.midamericacenter.com.

COUNCIL BLUFFS

Speaker's job was protecting the trains

With so much recent train-related news, maybe it's time to catch up on some railway history.

Sunday marks the end of the Historical Society of Pottawattamie County's 2009 lecture series, wrapping up with a lecture by Sam Irwin, a former railroad special agent.

After seven years as a mechanic on boxcars, Irwin became an agent, taking on the role of protecting the people, property and cargo on trains.

Though the Old West aspect of jumping on horses and chasing down bandits is no longer part of the job, Irwin will talk about how the job works in the modern day and his experiences over three decades of service to Union Pacific.

The lecture will take place at 2 p.m. at the RailsWest Museum at 16th Avenue and South Main Street in Council Bluffs.

Irwin's lecture is free and open to the public.

For more information call 712-323-5182 or visit www.thehistoricalsociety.org.

LINCOLN

Quilting expert will cover all the bases

If you love to quilt, then you'll want to be in Lincoln on Saturday.

Marianne Fons is a celebrity quilter extraordinaire, editor-in-chief of Fons and Porter's Love of Quilting magazine and co-host of the television series of the same name. She will speak Saturday at the International Quilt Study Center and Museum at 1523 N. 33rd St. in Lincoln.

Fons, who started quilting in a 1976 beginner class with her friend Liz Porter, reached the top of the quilting world through the popularity of her books and other media.

She will talk about her life as a quilter and quilting teacher as well as her research into the phenomenon of quilting, past and present, all accompanied by images of quilts.

Her talk will be followed by a book signing.

Admission to the lecture, which will begin at 3 p.m., is $22 for museum members and $25 for nonmembers.

For more information or to reserve a seat, call 402-472-6549.