'Family Bingo Night'
The Other Barn in the Oakland Mills Village Center offers an evening of bingo from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday, May 4, at 5851 Robert Oliver Place. Admission is free and cards will be sold, five for $1 (cash only). Light refreshments will be served. Registration and information: 410-730-4610 or email omcaadmin@columbiavillages.org.
Community carnival
The Owen Brown Community Carnival will take place from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 19, at Cradlerock Elementary School, 6700 Cradlerock Way. The event will feature craft vendors, children's games and entertainment, food and more. Tickets go on sale Tuesday, May 1. Information: 410-381-0202.
Plant swap
The Long Village Community Association sponsors a perennial-plant swap from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 5, at the Jeffers Hill Neighborhood Center on Tamar Road. Visitors can bring a perennial plant and take another one home, or just bring a plant to share. Plants must be in a small pots or plastic bags and labeled. Information: 410-730-8113.
'Company' is coming
Silhouette Stages presents its production of Stephen Sondheim's "Company" May 10-20 at Slayton House, 10400 Cross Fox Lane in Columbia. The play is a meditation on modern couples seen through the story of Bobby, a single man seeking love, his three female friends, and the good and crazy married couples who are his best friends. Tickets are $18, $15 for seniors and students. Purchases can be made online at seatyourself.biz or at the door. For information, go to silhouettestages.com.
Dance classes
The Long Reach Community Association offers "Chicago-style stepping" classes for adults from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tuesdays. Stepping offers fellowship opportunities while burning calories to smooth music. Information: 410-730-8113.
Lecture series
Columbia Jewish Congregation and St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church presents a lecture on the meaning of the Ten Commandments at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 2, at the Meeting House in Oakland Mills, 5885 Robert Oliver Place, Columbia. Martin Siegel, rabbi emeritus of Columbia Jewish Congregation, will present the lecture. The final lecture of the series will be Wednesday, May 9. The lectures are free and open to the public.
Art exhibits
•"Nature Interpreted," an exhibition of works by Maureen Bannon, Carol Carey, Gerry Czajkowski, David Pumplin, Coriolana Simon and Doug Wolters, runs through Sunday, May 20, at the Meeting House Gallery, 5885 Robert Oliver Place. Hours and information: 410-730-4090.
•"Color Vibration," a solo exhibition of oil paintings by Nancy Davis opens Monday, April 30, and runs through May 25, at Artists' Gallery, American City Building, 10227 Wincopin Circle in Columbia. A reception will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, May 4. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays-Fridays and 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturdays. Closed Sundays. The gallery is also open by appointment. Information: 410-740-8249 or http://www.artistsgallerycolumbia.com.
Stand-up comedy
The "ER" show, hosted by Sean Savoy, takes place at 8 p.m. Tuesdays at Nottingham's Tavern, 8850 Stanford Blvd., Suite 1100. Tickets are $10. Reservations and information: 410-290-0077.
Singles social group
The Phoenix Cultural Singles Group, a Columbia social group for those 50 and older, meets from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Sundays at the Oakland Mills Interfaith Center, 5885 Robert Oliver Place in the Oakland Mills Village Center. Coffee, tea and a light snack are served. The group plans events and trips. Information: 410-997-0739.
Around town
English conversation The Howard County Public Library, 10375 Little Patuxent Parkway, offers Let's Get Together: English Conversation Club. The club offers an opportunity for those for whom English is a second language to practice speaking and understanding English in a group setting. The club meets at 9:30 a.m. Mondays and 7:30 p.m. Thursdays. Register with the library before your first meeting. Information: 410-313-7850.
Wii Club Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks offers a Wii Club for those 55 and older from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Tuesdays at the Bain Center, 5470 Ruth Keeton Way. The first game is free. Information: 410-313-7213.
Single Again Changing Focus' Single Again, a nonprofit program for adults who are separated, widowed or in the process of divorce, provides weekly presentations and small-group discussions in a confidential, comfortable atmosphere. The group meets at 7 p.m. Mondays at First Presbyterian Church, 9325 Presbyterian Circle. An orientation for new members is offered at 6:30 p.m. Information: changingfocus.org.
Chair yoga The East Columbia 50 Plus Center at the East Columbia branch of the Howard County Public Library, 6600 Cradlerock Way, offers chair yoga, an easy introduction to yoga that eases the pain of arthritis, reduces fatigue and improves circulation and breathing, at 9:30 a.m. Tuesdays. Reservations: 410-313-7680.
Also at the 50 Plus Center:
•Line dancing with Mary McCormick will be held at 3:30 p.m. Mondays for advanced dancers, 4:30 p.m. for beginners. Cost is $43.
•Age Well Exercise with Joyce Diatoms will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Cost for a 12-week session is $48.
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•A class to reduce the fear of falling and increase the activity levels of older adults will be held from 10 a.m. to noon Tuesdays. Cost is $24.
•A belly dance class will be held from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays. Camilla Karma will teach hip movements, stretches, arm and hand techniques, and veil dancing. Cost is $25 per month.
•A yoga class with Smite Javari is offered from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays. The cost is $24 per month.
•Beginner Tai chi classes are offered from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays. The cost is $24 per month.
•Ryan Shimabukuro leads a hula class from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Thursdays that helps tone and strengthen the body. Cost for a six-week session is $28.
•A chess club for novice and veteran players meets at 1 p.m. Thursdays. Free.
•View newly released DVD movies on a large screen at 7 p.m. Thursdays. Free.