Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

As summer winds down, people are beginning to settle into familiar routines as fall approaches. This weekend, the county is preparing for a return to the classroom. There are a several events on tap this weekend:

ArtSPARK

Children will have an opportunity to turn a pile of trash into a take-home masterpiece this weekend at ArtSPARK.

ArtSPARK will be held form 2-4 p.m. Saturday afternoon at the International Arts Center on the campus of Troy University. The IAC is located at 158 International Blvd.

The event is geared towards children from Pre-K to fifth grade, but all children and their parents are welcomed. Kids will have an opportunity to get a sneak preview of Montgomery artist Janet Nolan’s exhibition at the IAC. Kids will get a first-hand look at Nolan’s art, which is made from everything from bottle tops and scraps of cloth to broken umbrellas.

Carrie Jaxon, the IAC’s curator and director, said children will learn about recycling and then have an opportunity to try their hand at making art from everyday things that people tend to toss aside as trash.

Kristy Drinkwater from Make Art Troy will present the free art class to the children.

Kids will also be able to enjoy part of the afternoon in the Janice Hawkins Cultural Arts Park behind the IAC. Children will be able to get tours of the terracotta warriors, blow bubbles, feed the turtles and fish, go on a scavenger hunt and have a snack and hear a story.

School week prayer walk

The countywide Back to School Prayer Walk will begin at 4 p.m. Sunday at First Baptist Church in Troy. All schools are invited to gather as prayers are lifted for the 2021-2022 school year. 

Following the opening prayer service, those in attendance are encouraged to gather at their individual schools and be in prayer for the administrators, teachers, faculty members, students and support personnel as they walk the school grounds.

“It is important that we make intercession for our children and seek God’s blessings and protection on them and those who interact with them,” said Ginny Hamm, First Baptist Church, “Psalm 127:4 says they are a heritage and a reward.”

Hamm said God hears prayers and He will answer.

Everyone is invited to participate in the Back to School Prayer Walk at First Baptist Church, at the schools in their communities or individually in their own time, Hamm said.

Students return to Troy University

On Saturday, students will begin moving into on-campus residence halls on Troy University’s campus. The “Move-In Weekend” will close out on Sunday with The Odyssey New Student Convocation on Sunday afternoon. A reception for students will be held at 1:30 p.m. at Trojan Arena followed by the convocation at 2:30 p.m.

The convocation’s keynote speaker will be 2017 Troy University graduate Josie Russell Young. Young works with her father’s construction company, Russell Construction, and served as the general contractor along with HGTV’s Ben and Erin Napier on “Home Town Takeover’s” renovation of select sites in Wetumpka.

The first day of classes will be Wednesday.