Bluffton University

Bluffton University will host the annual Riley Creek Festival beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 12, in the Sommer Center for Health and Fitness Education.

“Ducks of the Round Table” is the theme of this year’s festival, which includes games, inflatables, live music and other entertainment. The event is free—except for lunch—and open to the public. Lunch, to be served from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., is $8.25 for adults and $4.50 for children.

Speaking to a Bluffton University audience on April 1, self-described “Affrilachian” writer Crystal Wilkinson shared her experiences of growing up black in rural Kentucky and learning to embrace her heritage.

Wilkinson came to Bluffton as guest author for the university’s 30th annual English Festival, an event that gives high school students the opportunity to read and write with working authors. Among Wilkinson’s work is “Blackberries, Blackberries,” which won the 2002 Chaffin Award for Appalachian Literature.

The first Be A Beaver Triathlon is set for Saturday, May 31, in Bluffton.

Beginning at 8 a.m. at the Bluffton Community Swimming Pool, the event will include a 400-meter pool swim, a 20-kilometer bike on nearby country roads and a 5K run through village streets and the Bluffton University Nature Preserve.

Bluffton University will display the art exhibit “Racism Prejudice Tolerance Acceptance” from April 7-13 in the Marbeck Center Kiva. Free public viewing will be available during Marbeck Center hours, from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.

The Lion and Lamb Peace Arts Center at Bluffton and the university’s art department are sponsoring the exhibit, a variation of a multimedia installation at ArtSpace/Lima last November and December.