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Following is a sampling of August events at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Please use this information for calendar listings and postings and in planning your event-oriented coverage. Events are free to the public unless otherwise noted.

Aug. 4, 11, 18, 25
Botany
9:15 a.m.–1:15 p.m. Saturdays
N.C. Botanical Garden
This course is introductory in nature and designed for a broad audience. Basic principles of botany including taxonomy, anatomy, morphology and physiology are covered. Class time is divided between lectures and examining/dissecting samples. The fee is $150 ($135 for members). To register, visit http://ncbg.unc.edu/classes-workshops or call (919) 962-0522.

Soil Ecology
1:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m.
N.C. Botanical Garden
This course is intended for a broad audience. Students are introduced to the complex world of soils including information on how they are formed, characterized, and populated by a wide array of organisms. The various roles that soils play in both human society and ecological systems are discussed. The fee is $125 ($115 for members.) To register, visit   http://ncbg.unc.edu/classes-workshops or call (919) 962-0522.

Aug. 5
‘Last Look’ tour: Lithographs by Thomas Hart Benton
2 p.m.
Ackland Art Museum
On the final day of the exhibition, curator Laura Fravel gives a guided tour of “Chords of Memory: Lithographs by Thomas Hart Benton.”Among other topics, she will discuss Benton’s attempts to visually “record” early 20th-century songs of the rural South and Midwest and the rapidly disappearing way of life that they represented. For more information, contact Allison Portnow, (919) 843-3687, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Aug. 7, 21
Yoga in the Galleries
Noon-1 p.m. Tuesdays
Ackland Art Museum
Explore the world of yoga at the Ackland. The hour-long session offered by registered yoga teacher Joanne Marshall will provide an opportunity to practice a series of gentle yoga poses inspired by the art in the gallery. Beginners are welcome. Yoga mats are provided. Wear comfortable clothing that will allow you to stretch. Free to members, $5 for nonmembers. Registration is limited. Register by email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Aug. 11
Drawing in the Galleries
10 a.m.-noon
Ackland Art Museum
On the second Saturday of every month, Amanda Hughes, the Ackland’s director of external affairs, leads participants in a creative exploration of a particular object in the Ackland’s collection. Bring paper and dry media (crayon, pencils). All levels are welcome. For more information, contact Allison Portnow, (919) 843-3687, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Drawing for Tweens
10:30 a.m.-noon
Ackland Art Museum
This program invites 10- to 13-year-olds to look at artists’ techniques in the Ackland’s permanent collections and special exhibitions. Participants explore selected works and identify skills that the artist used to make them. Materials are provided. Registration is free for museum members and $5 for nonmembers. To register, contact Caroline Culbert at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or (919) 962-3342. For more information, visit http://www.ackland.org.

Aug. 16
Chinese Brush Painting:  Four Gentlemen
1 p.m.-4 p.m.
N.C. Botanical Garden
The Four Gentlemen – bamboo, orchid, plum blossom and chrysanthemum – are famous in Chinese brush painting. In this workshop, intended for any experienced artist, students paint the various Four Gentlemen and birds. Bring your supplies, including watercolors. The fee is $35 ($30 for members). To register, visit http://ncbg.unc.edu/classes-workshops or call (919) 962-0522.

Aug. 18
Short Course: Drawing for People Who Think They Can’t Draw
1p.m.-4:30 p.m.
N.C. Botanical Garden
This workshop shows students that drawing is a skill anyone can learn. Students progress from a blank sheet of paper to a beautiful, finished drawing. Come try, and discover that yes, you can draw. The fee is $40 ($35 for members). To register, visit http://ncbg.unc.edu/classes-workshops or call (919) 962-0522.

Aug. 25
The Banjo: Southern Roots, American Branches symposium
10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Pleasants Family Assembly Room, Wilson Library
This opportunity to learn more about the music, history and culture of the American South is a symposium of lectures and panel discussions about the banjo. An exhibit of banjo instruments, photographs and other items also will go on display Aug. 25 on the 4th floor of the library. The banjo event is the first of the three-part Southern Folklife Collection Instrument Series. Panels, exhibits, and concerts in 2013 will feature the pedal steel guitar and the fiddle.

Short Course: Introduction to Botanical Illustration
1p.m.-4:30 p.m.
N.C. Botanical Garden
This half-day class explores the history of botanical illustration, shows examples of various types of botanical illustrations and botanical art, describes the coursework for the garden’s certificate in botanical illustration, and introduces the instructors for that certificate program. The fee is $40 ($35 for members). To register, visit http://ncbg.unc.edu/classes-workshops or call (919) 962-0522.

The Banjo: Southern Roots, American Branches concert
7:30 p.m.
Memorial Hall
At this concert showcasing the banjo, the featured performers are Tony Trischka, award-winning bluegrass banjoist and member of the 1990s group Psychograss; Riley Baugus and Kirk Sutphin, old-time multi-instrumentalists from Surry County; and Dom Flemons, co-founder of the Grammy-award winning string band, the Carolina Chocolate Drops. The concert requires free tickets, available beginning 10 a.m. July 23 through the Memorial Hall Box Office and online at http://memorialhall.unc.edu/. The event is a follow-up to a daytime symposium on the banjo by the Southern Folklife Collection. For more information, visit http://www.lib.unc.edu/blogs/news/index.php/2012/07/lectures-concert-to-celebrate-banjo-aug-25/

Aug. 30
Return to Manassas: The Second Battle of Bull Run
7 p.m.-9 p.m.
Royall Room, Hill Alumni Center
Fred W. Kiger, creator of the field guide “The Civil War: A History of the War Between the States,” leads this discussion of the battle that marked the Confederate invasion into the North, in commemoration of its 150th anniversary. The fee for the class is $30 ($25 for GAA members). To register, visit
https://secure.www.alumniconnections.com/olc/pub/UNO/event/showEventForm.jsp?form_id=118538

ONGOING EVENTS

Aug. 11, 2011- Dec. 31, 2013
Highlights from the Permanent Collection
10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday, Friday and Saturday
10 a.m.-8p.m. Thursday
1 p.m.-5 p.m. Sunday
Ackland Art Museum
The Ackland Art Museum presents a major reinstallation of highlights from its diverse permanent collection of over 16,000 works of art. The first presentations include “The Western Tradition,” from ancient to 20th-century art, and “Art from China and Japan.” A gallery of South Asian Art was added June 8, 2012. For more information, visit http://www.ackland.org/OnView/current-exhibitions/CCM3_031905 or call (919) 966-5736.

Feb. 27 – Aug. 26, 2012
Nature and the Unnatural in Shakespeare’s Age
9 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday – Friday
9 a.m.–1 p.m. Saturday
1 p.m.–5 p.m. Sunday
(Closed on University holidays)
Wilson Library, Melba Remig Saltarelli Exhibit Room
A selection of 16th- and 17th-century English and Continental books from the Rare Book Collection explores early modern understandings of nature and the unnatural in Shakespeare’s time. The exhibition includes herbals, natural histories, travel accounts, agricultural works, cosmetics manuals, books on magic and witchcraft and Shakespeare folios. For more information, visit http://www.lib.unc.edu/blogs/news/index.php/2012/03/shakespeare-folios-on-view-in-rare-book-collection-exhibition/.

March 9 – Aug. 5, 2012
Chords of Memory: Lithographs by Thomas Hart Benton
10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday, Friday and Saturday
10 a.m.-8p.m. Thursday
1 p.m.-5 p.m. Sunday
Ackland Art Museum
Associated with the Regionalist movement, Thomas Hart Benton wanted to create a “living art” that presented American subjects in a way that was easily accessible to everyday people. He traveled on sketching trips around America’s heartland during the Depression, often playing his harmonica in exchange for room and board. His lithographs record his travels, paying homage to the people and places that he encountered. For more information, visit http://www.ackland.org/OnView/current-exhibitions/CCM3_035000 or call (919) 966-5736.

June 1 – Aug. 12, 2012
Adding to the Mix 4: Johann Joachim Kändler’s Apollo (c. 1748)
10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday, Friday and Saturday
10 a.m.-8p.m. Thursday
1 p.m.-5 p.m. Sunday
Ackland Art Museum
This exhibition focuses on the Ackland’s recent acquisition of a major example of 18th-century Meissen porcelain, a figure of Apollo by Johann Joachim Kändler. Porcelain, long made in China, was first achieved in Europe around 1710 at the Meissen factory near Dresden, and Kändler was recognized as the foremost European sculptor in this medium. In the exhibition the figure will be contrasted with other figures from the collection in a variety of media, to show the distinctive qualities of porcelain as a medium for sculpture. In addition, a selection of prints and drawings will show various aspects of Apollo as visualized by artists from the 16th to the 19th century: sun-god, lover, slayer of the monstrous python, and patron of poetry. For more information, visit http://www.ackland.org/OnView/upcoming/CCM3_036337 or call (919) 966-5736.

June 21 – Sept. 30, 2012
The Carolina Parakeet in Art: Images from the Powell Collection
9 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday – Friday
9 a.m.–1 p.m. Saturday
1 p.m.–5 p.m. Sunday
(Closed on University holidays)
Wilson Library, North Carolina Collection Gallery
Images of the exotic but now-extinct Carolina parakeet will be on display in this exhibit. Few people alive today would have seen the colorful bird before it disappeared for good in 1918. The exhibit will feature the bird in vivid detail. http://www.lib.unc.edu/blogs/news/index.php/2012/06/the-carolina-parakeet-returns-in-wilson-library-exhibit/

Aug. 25 – Dec. 31, 2012
The Banjo: Southern Roots, American Branches
9 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday – Friday
9 a.m.–1 p.m. Saturday
1 p.m.–5 p.m. Sunday
(Closed on University holidays)
Wilson Library, 4th floor gallery
This exhibit traces the history and development of the banjo, featuring instruments loaned from private collectors, and photographs, recordings and ephemera from the Southern Folklife Collection in the Wilson Special Collections Library. For more information, visit http://www.lib.unc.edu/.

UNC-Chapel Hill calendars: http://www.unc.edu/events/