Entertainment shorts

Rhythm of the Rails will perform the third annual Old Tyme Radio Show 7 p.m. Saturday in the Franklin Junior High School auditorium.

Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for students. Proceeds will be used to plan for the new Rhythm of the Rails site across Washington Street from Franklin Junior High School.

The show will feature re-enactments of old-time favorite radio shows with area performers cast in the roles of Baby Snooks and Daddy in "Halloween as the Higgins" and Fibber McGee and Molly in "The White Christmas Tree." There will be an Abbott and Costello routine, "Kurt's Dry Cleaning Plant," as well as a tribute to George and Gracie Allen.

Throughout the show, news breaks will tell the story of the Lindbergh baby kidnapping. Portions of the show will be patterned after early radio local programming, with a radio performer from early radio singing one of her songs from years gone by. Other area performers will sing songs from the 1930s and '40s. The audience will be able to participate in old-time trivia of Brainerd area and national history.

Katie Nelson will sing favorite Christmas songs, such as "I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus."

Peter Johnson and Jody Allen Crowe will host the show.

Performers include Peter Johnson, Mary Barthel, Stephanie White, Blenda Hagberg, Arielle Schnur, Dave Anderson, Dave Uhrich, Chelsie Skorich, Dusty Skorich, Katie Nelson, Jill Evans, Rick Cole, Jody Allen Crowe and Jim Mason on piano.

Zambia is CLC Cultural Thursday topic

Margaret Mukula of Zambia will present a free program about the people and places in the African nation of her origin Dec. 2 at Central Lakes College.

Mukula, a practical nursing student at CLC, will show images and provide commentary for the monthly Cultural Thursday series at noon in the Chalberg Theatre. The event is sponsored by the Resource Center for Cultures and Languages of the Americas.

Zambia, which gained freedom from Great Britain in 1964, is the land of the legendary African walking safari, planet Earth's biggest waterfall, the wild Zambezi River, breath-taking lakes and wetlands, a profusion of birds, abundant wildlife and raw, pulsating wilderness.

Zambia has one of the lowest population-to-land ratios in Africa. Only 10 million people live in a country half the size of Europe.

Employment offered in the post-independence era is mainly in copper mines and associated industries. As a result, many people have left rural life to live in urban centers.

Many of the rural inhabitants, however, have retained their indigenous and traditional customs and values.

Zambia is a beautiful country, said Mukula. "The greatest known curtain of falling water, Victoria Falls, are a spectacular sight," she said of the awe-inspiring beauty and grandeur on the Zambezi River, bordering Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Safaris in Zambia are able to view animals such as the cheetah, leopard, elephant, hippo, zebra, giraffe, warthog, lion, antelope, water buffalo and spotted hyena.

For information on Cultural Thursdays, contact Jan Kurtz at CLC at jkurtz@clcmn.edu or 855-8183.

Historical Society open house set

A Victorian Christmas is the theme of the Crow Wing County Historical Society's annual holiday open house set noon to 4 p.m. Dec. 5.

The sheriff's residence and museum will be decorated like an old-fashioned Christmas Dec. 5-31.

Museum exhibits will include the Magoffin Doll Collection of 180 dolls collected by Charlotte (Mrs. Beriah) Magoffin of Deerwood, which opened Tuesday. The dolls are dressed in ethnic costumes gathered during Magoffin's world travels from the 1920s to 1950s.

Called to Duty, an exhibit of military artifacts from the Civil War to contemporary times, will open Dec. 5. It will consist of military uniforms of men and women who served in the armed forces in both war and peace time. The exhibit also will include firearms, sabers, medals and other artifacts.

Refreshments will be served and Cliff and Cleo will provide holiday music at the open house. Children will be able to make an ornament to take home. Mrs. Santa Claus will make an appearance.

Donations are needed for the day's craft and bake sale. Drop them off Dec. 4 and 5 at the museum.

The museum will be closed today through Saturday for Thanksgiving, Dec. 4 for decorating, Dec. 23-25 and Jan. 1.

Nominations for Sexton Award being accepted

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Humanities Commission is accepting nominations for the Kay Sexton Award, given annually to an individual or organization involved in fostering reading and literacy in the state.

Nominations will be accepted through Feb. 1. Applications can be found at www.minnesotahumanities.org.