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By Joe Bradley, Patrick Fallon  ¦   In an effort to promote next week's dance marathon to benefit Children's Miracle Network, students put on a "flash rave" dance party on Wednesday. With DJ Z providing the beats, more than 1,000 students swarmed the Plaza 900 amphitheater to dance their socks off for 20 minutes. The idea came about after the success of a similar party held at Speakers Circle last May during finals week.

By Adam Falk, Evan Bush  ¦   Members of the MU cheerleading squad have to learn to trust one another on the field while doing routines, but it's the trust shown off the field that makes this squad a group of friends.

By Caitlyn Emmett, Carla Jimenez  ¦   Forty-four-year-old Tammy Teel has returned to college after 25 years. Teel, who is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, is attending Moberly Area Community College in Columbia to earn the pre-requisites for a degree in occupational therapy. The community college experienced a 25 percent increase in student enrollment this year and will be moving to a larger facility next fall.

By Lianchen Liu  ¦   On Oct. 31, Columbia residents dress up and ride bikes to Rocheport to celebrate Halloween.

By Erin Stubblefield and Nikki Tekeei  ¦   Jack Hathman travels across the United States selling swords at renaissance fairs; it has been his job for 11 years. Along the way, Hathman has connected with artisans and entertainers, building the foundation for the Columbia Renaissance Fair. Hathman, and his wife, Shanna, asked their loyal cast to participate in this year’s festivities, which included belly dancing, sword fighting, axe throwing and vendors selling handcrafted artwork. Columbia’s fourth annual renaissance fair was held Oct. 17 and 18 at Boone County Fairgrounds. Next year, the couple plans to move the fair into a permanent location, where it can grow in size and number.

By Lee Zucker  ¦   Since the sixth century, Tibetan monks have been creating mandalas, an ancient art form made of finely ground marble. After their opening ceremony on Monday, which included chants and prayers, monks worked hours to create a mandala in Ellis library at MU.

ABC/ESPN announcer Brent Musburger references Columbia Missourian football writer Robert Mays' "10 things that make Texas a bad homecoming opponent" during the Missouri-Texas national broadcast on Oct. 24.

By Daisuke Nakamura  ¦   Kiwamu Tanaka and his wife, Yuki, collect Fire-King wares, which is a division of the brand Anchor Hocking glasswares.

By Matthew Schmertz   ¦   Every organization involved in Homecoming is assigned a storefront in The District to decorate for MU’s Homecoming. Although the game does not take place until Saturday night, students worked throughout the day Wednesday to “Decorate the District.”

By Calin Ilea  ¦   Travis Smith prepares for shoeing the hoof of a quarter horse named Tex. Smith has worked as a farrier for the last eight years, and for him, the job is a way to tend to the animals and "provide a service that is necessary in the fact that there are hoofs with a lot of work and constant use that need care," Smith said.

By Michelle Kanaar  ¦   Denny Donnell is the original founder of Columbia's stamp collecting club, which became an official affiliate of the American Philatelic Society in 1970. Donnell has been collecting stamps since the 1940s and is a member of the stamp club to this day.

The club meets at 7 p.m. every third Tuesday of the month at Boone Landing to talk, buy, sell and trade. There are approximately 45 members, ranging in age from 8 to 80.

By Emily Stewart and David Teeghman  ¦   Professional skateboarder Tony Hawk came to Columbia on Saturday to demonstrate skateboarding tricks and publicize the release of his new video game, “Ride.” Shakespeare’s Pizza sponsored the event and threw in free pizza for the public.

Martin Holman is a Japanese Studies professor at MU. He is the founder of the Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe, a group that performs traditional Japanese puppetry all over the country. The troupe performed Oct. 5 at Jesse Hall with a 300 year-old puppet troupe from Japan.

By Joan Niesen  ¦   Stuart Parnell has been involved with the Columbia Youth Football League for more than 10 years, coaching boys in first through sixth grade. This year, he is the coach of the third-grade Packers team, where he will help the boys transition from flag to tackle football. While working to help the boys learn the fundamentals of the game, he also hopes to teach them about teamwork, perseverance and work ethic.

By Corey Motley, Lindsay Moser  ¦   Jennie McAfee, a Columbia-area writer, has been writing a book for more than 20 years. After unsuccessful attempts to get it published because of high prices, she turned to the Espresso Book Machine at MU’s University Bookstore. With the help of Heather Tearney, Mizzou Media Coordinator, McAfee could print her book quickly and affordably.

By Ilene Davis  ¦   More and more adults are stepping into Columbia’s tattoo parlors. Janice Brothers, 48, is finalizing a memorial tattoo on her arm. She got her first piece of body art 25 years ago when tattoos were not as widely accepted. Adya Crawford, a tattoo artist at Living Canvas Tattoo, has seen the average age of her clientele increase over the past 10 years.

By Patrick Fallon  ¦   Jennifer Shikles, Jamie Knipp, Jason Lampkins and Ayden Lampkins, 4, talk about their experiences at the 2009 Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival Saturday afternoon.

By Kathleen Majorsky, Sarah Midgorden  ¦   The Rock Bridge softball team wore pink uniforms in honor of breast cancer awareness. They held a ceremony at the end of their New Franklin game on September 29th. At the end of that game, the girls presented breast cancer survivors in the stands with carnations to honor them for their courage. Linda Henderson, the wife of the girls coach Joe Henderson, was one of the survivors.