Free plant swap hosted by the Bloomington Organic Gardeners Association (BOGA). Native plants, tree saplings, and seeds are encouraged but all non-invasive plants are welcome.

The Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market is held every Saturday from 8 am until 1 pm, from April through November.

The Farmers’ Market is located at 401 N. Morton St. next to City Hall – Showers Building. Locally grown produce, annual and perennial plants, and a variety of prepared foods are available. Purchase your food directly from farmers and ask them questions about their products. Local entertainment adds to the shopping as well as socializing experience. Tantalizing scents and the inviting atmosphere may cause you to make the Market a weekend tradition.

May is National Preservation Month and this event kicks off month of activities sponsored by the Monroe County Historic Preservation Board of Review and the Bloomington Historic Preservation Commission. The Old-House Expo is designed to raise awareness of historic preservation and to put owners of old houses, as well as those interested in historic preservation in general, in touch with qualified tradespersons and professionals. In celebration of International Museum Month and to highlight the associated history and preservation work of many museums, archives and organizations, several local entities will also exhibit.

The Architectural Cake Contest further raises awareness of historic preservation by fostering an appreciation of historic buildings, structures and sites through the fun and creative medium of cake and icing. The contest is open to all interested bakers in either the Professional or Non-Professional categories. The cakes will be judged and then cut and shared with the public around Noon. This year’s judges will be Gayle Cook, architectural historian, expert on domes, and one of Indiana’s most dedicated preservationists; Tommy Kleckner, Indiana Landmarks Western Regional Office Director; and Erica Sagon, a professional baker based in Bloomington whose creations can often be found at the Farmers’ Market. Erica also writes for and edits Edible Indy magazine.

What: All ages and abilities are welcome for over 16 types of yoga classes as well as demos, live music from Baraka, and community kirtan (yogic singing). Join us for a community celebration of health and peace through the healing practice of yoga.

$20 wristbands (for all YOGAfest classes and activities on May 11) are available for purchase at local yoga studios and retailers.

Additional Information: www.bloomingtonyogafest.com or Ingrid Skoog at (812) 333-1982 or [email protected]

Move your body for a good cause! 100% of proceeds will benefit Pets Alive Nonprofit Spay/Neuter & Vaccination Clinic.

In addition, in honor of Be Kind to Animals Week (May 5-12), area yoga studios will host a series of donation classes also benefiting Pets Alive. See bloomingtonyogafest.com for details.

Join us for a community celebration of health and peace through the healing practice of yoga. All ages and abilities are welcome for over 16 types of yoga classes as well as demos, live music from Baraka, and community kirtan (yogic singing). Move your body for a good cause! 100% of proceeds will benefit Pets Alive Nonprofit Spay/Neuter & Vaccination Clinic. In addition, in honor of Be Kind to Animals Week (May 5-12), area yoga studios will host a series of donation classes also benefiting Pets Alive. See bloomingtonyogafest.com for details.

Several new exhibits can be seen at the Indiana University Art Museum. The galleries are open Tuesday – Saturday, 10 am – 5 pm, and Sunday, 12 pm to 5 pm.

Contemporary Explorations: Reviewing Nature in the 1980s
February 4‒May 19, 2013

Drawn from the museum’s collection of works by graduates of IU’s fine arts department (now the Hope School of Fine Arts), this installation examines the artists’ interpretations of the natural world. Reviewing Nature takes a look at the balance sought between structural composition and the role nature plays in co-defining the space we both share. This installation was organized by Emily Wood, graduate assistant for Western art after 1800 at the IU Art Museum.

New in the Galleries: Breaking the Gilded Ceiling, Women Artists of the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries
March 5-August 25, 2013

This installation will feature women artists—some former artist’s models, some wives and mothers, and some trailblazers—who worked in a variety of media. Included will be work by photographers Anna Atkins, Julia Margaret Cameron, and Laura Adams Armer, as well as prints and drawings by Mary Cassatt, Suzanne Valadon, Gwen John, and Käthe Kollwitz.

Three Remarkable Women: Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun, Margaret Chinnery, and Félicité de Genlis
March 23-September 1, 2013

The IU Art Museum will premiere a focused exhibition featuring Vigée Le Brun’s Portrait of Mrs. Chinnery (1803) and selected materials from the Lilly library. The exhibition presents an unusually rich opportunity to use a single artwork as a lens for an interdisciplinary study of the history, politics, art, literature, and music of its time.

This exhibit of artwork by Jim Halvorson at By Hand Gallery includes Ccut, welded, and forged steel sculpture and stoneware pottery with carved surfaces.

Gallery is open Monday – Saturday, 10 am – 5:30 pm. Exhibit runs until May 18.

An exhibition of garden-inspired fiber art by local artist Martina Celerin hanging at the Monroe County History Center.

Exhibit runs until June 23.

This Spring event is exactly what is says, a 5K run through the Exotic Feline Rescue Center. Online registration is now open for the May 11 race! http://www.active.com/running/center-point-in/run-through-the-jungle-5k-run-walk-2013. Race day registration begins at 9:30 am. A very unique 5K run/walk. The course will take you through the habitats of 200 lions, tigers and other exotic felines. Nothing else like it in Indiana or any place outside of Africa. We have a live band, Craig & the Crawdads. Proceeds to benefit the Exotic Feline Rescue Center. You can find more information at www.junglerun5k.com

Additional Information
In 2012, we had over 500 participants. Admission includes snacks, Craig & The Crawdads, and a cool T-shirt. Registration fee also includes a free pass to tour the center, usually $10.00. We award age group awards in both running and walking. Good time!

Featured Exhibits on display in the Upper Loft Gallery, May 1-31: Oil & Pastel Paintings by Robert Hoffman & Chris Newlund.

Artist’s Reception: Saturday, May 11, 5-8 pm during the Village Art Walk.

Please join us for an evening of light refreshments and to purchase your $10 raffle ticket for an unique opportunity to win a beautiful autumn landscape created by several Guild Member Artists. (Raffle winner will be drawn November 16, 2013; need not be present to win.)

For artists’ biographies and sample images, please visit:
http://www.browncountyartguild.org/featured_artwork.html

Joe Johnson’s landscapes, in the series Local Weather, reveal a world that has been transformed by snow and ice. These compositions, though stark, portray a delicate and simple beauty that is particular to the midwest. The minimal tonal range provides a contemporary counterpoint to the tradition of black and white photography; the result is a collection of mesmerizing still imagery with unexpected grace.

Exhibit runs through May 25, Tuesday – Saturday, 11 am – 7 pm.