Happenings

For more events, see Community Listings.

Thursday 24

LIVING IN A PORN CULTURE: HOW PORNO­GRAPHY SHAPES OUR POLITICAL & PERSONAL LIVES A presentation from feminist scholars Gail Dines and Rebecca Whisnant. 7pm. Thompson Conference Center, Dean Keeton & Red River, 471-1990. Free. www.thirdcoastactivist.org.

Friday 25

COMMUNITY TAX CENTERS KICK OFF FREE TAX SERVICES Starting today, nine area locations provide free tax-preparation services to income-qualifying households. See www.communitytaxcenters.org for locations, hours, and details on income qualifications. Rep. Lloyd Doggett speaks. 10am. Foundation Communities, 3036 S. First #200. Free.

UT SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS SUMMIT Find out how environmentally-friendly companies are creating economic opportunities at this two-day conference featuring business leaders and faculty from the McCombs School of Business. Jan. 25-26. Fri., 7-11pm: Texas Union, 24th & Guadalupe. Sat., 8am-9pm: UT campus, McCombs School of Business. $10-50. www.utsummit.com.

Saturday 26

BIG BEND LETTER-WRITING PARTIES Write TxDOT and ask it to reconsider its plans to build a truck corridor through Big Bend National Park, or call 800/517-4652 to protest. 1-3pm. Jo's Coffee: 1300 S. Congress, 242 W. Second. www.stopthetrucks.org.

HARRY BELAFONTE delivers the Live the Dream keynote address to conclude the Austin Area Herit­age Council's MLK events, accompanied by a performance from Sweet Honey in the Rock. 6:30-8:30pm. Riverbend Centre, 4214 Capital of TX Hwy. N., 327-9416. $25 ($15, hearing impaired), online and at Mitchie's Gallery, 6406 N. I-35 #2800. www.mlkcelebration.com.

SUPPLEMENTAL EDUCATION SERVICES PROVID­ER FAIR invites parents to learn about free weekend and afterschool tutoring services (at program centers or at home) available to students of Austin schools that have not met the Adequate Yearly Progress requirements under the No Child Left Behind law. Sat., Jan. 26, 9:30am-noon. Delco Center, 4601 Pecan Brook, 414-0012. www.austinisd.org.

Sunday 27

PUBLIC AFFAIRS FORUM: Special guest Leslie McCulloch speaks on past and present efforts to create a cabinet-level U.S. Department of Peace. 11:30am-12:30pm. Free. First Unitarian Universalist Church, 4700 Grover, 452-6168. www.austinuu.org.

Tuesday 29

PHILANTHROPY DAY LUNCHEON The Association of Fundraising Professionals hosts this annual luncheon to honor those who've had the most positive impact over the last year on the quality of life in Central Texas. 11:30am-1pm. Hilton Downtown, 500 E. Fourth. $75 ($60, AFP member). www.afpaustin.org.

TOWN HALL MEETING: CITY WEBSITE REDESIGN The first of six meetings inviting input on the city's websites. 6pm. Austin City Hall, 301 W. Second, 974-2260. www.ci.austin.tx.us/austingo.

Wednesday 30

ARTIST INFO MEETING: BRAZOS STREETSCAPE PROJECT Take a tour of the area, listen to a presentation from the Austin Public Works project manager overseeing the streetscape project, and find out how artists can participate. 7-8pm. International Center of Austin, 201 E. Second, 974-9314. www.cityofaustin.org/aipp.

CENTRAL TEXAS GROWTH SUMMIT Sen. Kirk Wat­son leads a presentation on regional trends likely to affect Central Texans in the future. Register online. 11am-1:30pm. Hilton Hotel Downtown, 500 E. Fourth, 494-2548. $60. www.bizjournals.com/austin.

Thursday 31

Council will decide during its Jan. 31 meeting whether to designate the Henry Colley House at 718 Norwalk in the Deep Eddy neighborhood as a historic landmark. The home, built around 1909, was originally owned by former slave Henry Colley – who reportedly bought it from former Texas Gov. Elisha Pease’s widow, Lucadia Pease. Although city staff concluded there is “insufficient information to justify a designation as a historic landmark” – noting the current owner would like to relocate the home to a parcel of family property in Liberty Hill – a supermajority of the Historic Landmark Commission voted late last year to approve the designation. The Colley House – owned by the family of William and Evie Hays since the 1940s – is arguably the best-known of the neighborhood’s older homes and serves as both a symbol of and link to the neighborhood’s original fabric and feel, which the construction of large custom homes is consuming. – Jordan Smith (Photo by John Ormberget)

COME BACK TO GARRISON UT reopens Garrison Hall with the Institute for Historical Stud­ies. Faculty discuss such topics as: Torture, Past and Present; Rewriting the Vietnam War: New Evidence From the Johnson Library; The Second World War in Global Perspective; and Jesus at the Movies, The Silent Era. 10am-5:30pm, Garrison Hall; 4-7pm reception at the UT Tower; free. 7pm dinner, $65. Full schedule: www.utexas.edu/cola/
depts/history/comeback.

FIGHT PROPOSED NUCLEAR PLANTS IN TEXAS This presentation from Nuclear Free Texas features information about two new plants proposed for Texas. 8pm. MonkeyWrench Books, 110 E. North Loop, 407-6925. www.nukefreetexas.org.

Ongoing

REVEALING CAPITOL TREASURES The Capitol Visitors Center's newest exhibit features artifacts found during archaeological digs on the Capitol grounds, historic artwork, and more. Through Jan. 27. 112 E. 11th, 305-8400. www.texascapitolvisitorscenter.com.

TEXAS GROW HOME DESIGN COMPETITION EXHIBIT showcases the 160 designs submitted by architects, affordable-housing developers, policy leaders, and Hurricane Rita survivors in the Texas Grow competition. Three winning designs will be built and sold with interest-free mortgage loans to Hurricane Rita survivors. Winners will be announced Thu., Jan. 31, noon, in the Capitol ground-floor rotunda. Jan. 25-31. Texas Capitol. www.capitol.state.tx.us.