St. John offers free food Saturday
St. John AME Church, 1117 W. Pullen St., will give away food boxes to those in need from 9-11 a.m. Saturday. The drive-thru session will be held in front of the church on Cherry Street.
For safety reasons, recipients are asked to stay in their vehicles and open their trunks. State ID’s are required to receive one box per family, according to a news release.
The effort is sponsored by St. John’s Soul Food for the Mind, Body, and Spirit Feeding Ministry. Financial donations for the project may be mailed to St. John AME Church-Feeding Ministry, 1117 W Pullen St., Pine Bluff, Ark., 71601, or sent electronically through Givelify St John AME Pine Bluff.
To volunteer, people may email Pearl Matlock at pearl1948@sbcglobal.net. The Rev. James R. Hooper Sr. is St. John’s pastor.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The Delta Network Food Bank will give away food from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 16 at the Pine Bluff Convention Center. To help families facing economic distress, Tyson Foods will donate a truckload of chicken for this Spring Drive-Thru Hunger Relief Distribution.
Chicken will be distributed to each registered household and registration forms will be available on site, according to a news release.
Vehicles will arrive at the convention center and enter “Parking Lot D” from Missouri Street and 10th Avenue. Vehicles will circle around and exit out of the parking lot and follow instructions of the traffic directors. Participants should remain in their vehicles during the process.
The Delta Regional Community Services Outreach Network Inc. and its Delta Network Food Bank participate in the Tyson Foods Community Partner Pantry Program.
Financial donations are also accepted by check to: Delta Network, Inc. P.O. Box 20278, White Hall, AR, 71612, or Cash App: @DeltaNetwork.
Louis Ross is the chief executive officer of the Delta Network and Jacqueline Ross is the director. Details: (870) 536-2424.
UAPB choir to sing Easter weekend
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Department of Music will present the UAPB Vesper Choir in its 68th presentation of Selections from Handel’s “Messiah” at 6 p.m. April 16 at First Presbyterian Church, 717 W. 32nd Ave.
The free public performance will be the Vesper Choir’s first live concert since March 2020, according to a news release.
Student soloists will include Daniel Johnson II, tenor, of McDonough, Ga.; Kevin Crumpton Jr., tenor, Pine Bluff; Pashu’ar Grissom, alto, Pine Bluff; Allison Malone, soprano, Memphis; and Kristian Hicks, baritone, Monticello.
Demarr Woods, assistant professor of high brass and music theory, will be the featured trumpet soloist.
Jerron A. Liddell, director of choral activities, will conduct his third live performance as the choir’s fourth director. Liddell is a UAPB and Vesper Choir alumnus and has served as featured soloist, guest conductor, and music assistant.
Andee Book, voice instructor and assistant director of the Vesper Choir, and Julia Buckingham, accompanist and instructor at the University of Central Arkansas, will assist Liddell.
Founded in 1946 by Professor Ariel M. “Pops” Lovelace, the Vesper Choir is celebrating its 75th anniversary. Details: Jerron A. Liddell at (870) 575-8907.
Choral Society to perform April 22
The Arkansas Choral Society will celebrate Ludwig van Beethoven’s 250th birthday in a concert at 7:30 p.m. April 22 in the worship center of Calvary Baptist Church at Little Rock. The celebration was delayed two years because of the pandemic, according to a news release.
The University of Arkansas at Monticello Concert Choir and soloists Mary Sandell, soprano; Aubrey Odle, alto; David Garst, tenor; and David Farwig, bass, will join the society, members of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and conductor Kent Skinner for Beethoven’s “Mass” in C major.
The chorus will also sing the so-called “Hallelujah” Chorus from Beethoven’s oratorio “Christ on the Mount of Olives.” The orchestra opens the concert with the Overture to “The Creatures of Prometheus,” Beethoven’s only ballet.
The Arkansas Choral Society, made up of amateur singers primarily from central Arkansas, regularly pairs with college and high school choruses and awards scholarships to young choral singers, and has been performing all or part of George Frideric Handel’s “Messiah” — pandemic years excepted — since 1930.
Tickets for the Beethoven concert are $20 general admission and $15 for students. Details: lovetosing.org.