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LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania’s Haupt Circle parking lot spaces will be transformed into miniature parks on Friday, September 21, from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in support of international PARK(ing) Day. The movement, which began in 2005, challenges people to re-think our use of urban spaces and to question the use of public urban lots and empower citizens to redefine public space to suit community needs.  Students, faculty and staff have been invited to get a group together and reserve a parking space to convert to a park. The event is organized by Transylvania’s office of sustainability and Louis Johnson of Urban Collage, coordinator of Lexington’s PARK(ing) Day events. Sustainability is one of the five core values that Transylvania  incorporates into all aspects of campus life. Watch a video of Transylvania’s PARK(ing) Day. Lexington Herald-Leader photo gallery.

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Lexington’s own Liz Knowles, Celtic fiddler, will play at Transylvania University on Thursday, Sept. 20, at 7:30 p.m. in Haggin Auditorium in the Mitchell Fine Arts Center. Tickets are $10 and are available weekdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in MFA 113 (cash only) and can also be purchased at the door. Knowles rose to popularity when she was fiddler for Riverdance and soloist on the soundtrack for the film Michael Collins. She is a respected musician, composer and teacher who has traveled the world, performing with renowned orchestras such as the Celtic Legends, New York Pops and Cincinnati Pops. In New York City she has performed at Carnegie Hall and on Broadway with fellow artists Marcus Roberts, the Bang-on-a-Can Orchestra, and Bobby McFerrin. She has also appeared in the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Her latest work, “Making Time,” explores “both familiar and obscure” Irish music from Irish, Scottish, and Medieval collections while combining Knowles’ unique harmonies (lizknowles.com). Knowles has also established herself as an admired teacher of Irish music. She has taught at the Swannanoa Gathering for their Celtic and Fiddle weeks, the Catskills Irish Art Week, and at many Irish piping festivals with her husband. The event is sponsored by the Transylvania music department.

LEXINGTON, Ky.—The Kentucky Women Writers Conference comes to Transylvania University for a poetry slam featuring author Tara Betts. Bianca Spriggs, a 2003 Transylvania graduate and the founder and artistic director of the slam, will emcee the Gypsy Poetry Slam at 7 p.m., Friday, Sept. 21 in Carrick Theater of the Mitchell Fine Arts Center. The event is free and open to the public. With Tara Betts, author of Arc and Hue, as slam headliner and celebrity judge, poets will compete for a top prize of $500 in a live, multi-round competition with audience judging. The evening will showcase work by eleven national and local women poets. Prior to the competition will be an open mic at 6:30 p.m. Contact Spriggs at bianncaspriggs@gmail.com to sign up for the open mic. Betts, a Ph.D. candidate at Binghamton University, is a lecturer in creative writing at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, was featured on HBO’s “Def Poetry Jam,” performed at The New School in New York City, and has been published in various journals and anthologies including XXL, The Source, BIBR, Mosaic Magazine and Black Radio Exclusive. The Kentucky Women Writers Conference is founded by the University of Kentucky and is the longest standing conferences for women writers in the nation and is celebrating its 34th year. For a full list of events or to register for the conference visit their website.