NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS - Area 6- to 12-year-olds may register for a puppet-making class offered by the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Art from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5, at The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House as part of the Creative Art Saturday program.

Under the guidance of SFA Instructor of art Matthew Sutherlin and art education majors, participants will discuss the art of puppetry and engage in the creation and performance of puppets.

NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS - The Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band of Stephen F. Austin State University will present a joint concert celebrating the music of Australian-born composer Percy Grainger at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 1, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the SFA campus.

Grainger was a prolific composer, and many of his compositions are considered as standard repertoire for the wind band, explained David W. Campo, SFA associate director of bands and the Wind Symphony's conductor. "Our joint program will include some of his best known and beloved works."

Less than 24 hours after defeating Northwestern State to lock up a share of their first Southland Conference title since 1999, the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjack football learned its fate in the NCAA FCS Playoffs. The 'Jacks will host Eastern Washington Saturday at 2 p.m. from Homer Bryce Stadium.

NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS - The Stephen F. Austin State University College of Fine Arts and School of Music will present "Percussion in the Pines," a joint concert of the SFA Percussion Ensemble and Steel Band, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 3, in Cole Concert Hall.

NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS - Five Stephen F. Austin State University musicians who make up the SFA Faculty Brass Quintet will present a concert at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 2, in Cole Concert Hall.

Faculty members Charles Gavin, horn; J.D. Salas, tuba; Deb Scott, trombone; Gary Wurtz, trumpet; and graduate student Jarrod Beard, trumpet; will perform a varied program of chamber music that includes American composer Arthur Franckenpohl's "Brass Quintet" and Elgar Howarth's arrangement of Giles Farnaby's "Fancies, Toyes and Dreams," featuring Renaissance dance styles.

NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS - The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Art invites the public to two exciting events on Friday, Dec. 4, at The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches, said Christian Cutler, director of SFA galleries.

At 6 p.m., there will be a closing reception for the "Burnley-Schol Studios" exhibition that has been on display in the Reavley Gallery since Oct. 9. Collaborative artists Don R. Schol and Pam Burnley-Schol, both members of the University of North Texas art faculty, will be present to discuss their work.

NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS - Recent works of art by Stephen F. Austin State University graduate students will be exhibited in SFA's Griffith Gallery Tuesday, Dec. 1, through Friday, Dec. 18. An opening reception for "Attack of the Grad Show" will be held at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4.

"This is an impromptu exhibition that will give the public a chance to view the breadth of talent we have among our graduate students," said Christian Cutler, director of SFA galleries.

Dr. David Creech, professor of horticulture at Stephen F. Austin State University, was awarded the Sidney B. Meadows Award of Merit, the highest honor of the International Plant Propagators' Society Southern Region, at its annual meeting in Biloxi, Miss.

Creech received the prestigious award based on his numerous contributions to the nursery industry, his students and the public, said Dr. Fred Davies, Southern Region IPPS editor.

The Orientation and Mobility Training Program at Stephen F. Austin State University was re-awarded a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education to continue its unique training for the blind and visually impaired through 2014.