Features

After her daughter’s suicide, Mary Lou Wallner examined her faith-based views of homosexuality. She will share her understanding on Friday at Missouri United Methodist Church.

The festival’s artistic director will also play alongside St. Louis musician Erin Bode on Thursday.

Youth Empowerment Zone gives teens a chance to start a new chapter in their lives.

After 140 hours of rehearsal with 41 kids and 29 orchestra members, performances of “The King and I” will begin Thursday.

Shipman has compiled more than 4,000 hours piloting helicopters and 4,700 hours piloting airplanes over 50 years.

Offering an array of exotic animals for petting along with pony and camel rides, Hedrick’s Educational Petting Zoo opened at the Boone County Fair on Wednesday afternoon. It is the second time the zoo is participating in the fair.

Bird watching is more than just a leisure activity; it's also a means of keeping track of local birds and their special habitat needs.

Matt Haimovitz wants to let people know that classical music is still relevant by putting a modern twist on the genre of music that’s been around for hundreds of years.

For summer camp staff, dealing with "kid-sick" parents has become as common as tending to homesick kids. But experts say camp is good for both children and their parents.

“The peace accompanying the beginning of evening happens to me with this print,” said Mary Pixley, associate curator at the MU Museum of Art and Archaeology. She was gazing at a woodblock print of an evening water scene by Tsuichiya Koitsu (1879–1949) and was lost in it for a moment. Her face and eyes softened as she described the effect the image has on her, “And then you feel night falling with the last light of the sun touching the edge of the clouds.”

Saturday was a night of reminiscing and farewells for the patrons and staff of Grill One 5. The restaurant and bar’s owner, Mike Reilly, has reluctantly decided to close its doors after nine years of business.

Sarah Phillips graduated from MU with a degree in journalism. At the end of this summer she is moving to Los Angeles to attend acting school. But before that, she’s filming “Memory, Loss” — a no-budget film home-grown in Columbia.

Minutes after the final bell rang at Ridgeway Elementary School a few weeks ago, fourth-grader Cole Nelson was pressing dirt around the delicate stem of a newly planted flower, a rose turtle head.

Little green thumbs like Cole’s are sprouting up all over Columbia, thanks to students, teachers, volunteers and parents tending elementary school gardens. The idea is to give kids a hands-on learning experience and encourage them to play outside, away from TV and video games.

Before newborns can be adopted, birth parents must legally end their parental rights. The Watson family provides foster care for newborns in their transition from the hospital to their adoptive home.

People in Columbia post their photos on Flickr as a way to connect with other photographers about shared interests.

Former Columbian Jessica Bender will return to her hometown Saturday to show a documentary at the Ragtag Cinema that has been six and a half years in the making.

Some people go to Columbia’s annual Art in the Park for the handmade arts and crafts. Some people go to hear live music. This year, in celebration of the event’s 50th anniversary, organizers want to help the two groups circulate more.

When Kate and Christian Basi’s daughter, Julianna, was born, they said they were in a state of denial that she had Down syndrome. Now, Kate Basi says she would not change her daughter’s condition; Julianna is perfect the way she is.