Posted: Thursday, April 30, 2009 11:18 am

All events are taken from the Murfreesboro Post Community Calendar, which can be found at www.murfreesboropost.com/mod/comcal.

Jazzfest
Main Street JazzFest organizers are hoping the third time is the charm for its Friday night festivities.

Seven local high school jazz bands are slated to perform on the first night of JazzFest Friday night.

The evening will begin with the Eagleville High School Jazz Band at 6 p.m. and will continue with the Blackman, Smyrna, La Vergne, Siegel, Riverdale and Oakland jazz bands.

Main Street’s JazzFest has become one of Murfreesboro’s popular events in its 13-year history. The two-day free event draws more than 15,000 people to downtown Murfreesboro.

The event features two stages of music, a free Kid’s Alley, a free jazz clinic, garden market and plenty of festival food.

Music will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Tenor saxophonist and composer John Ellis will headline the day of music Saturday. He is slated to take the stage with his quintet at 8:30 p.m.

Other performers at the main stage include Percussion XS, an all percussion group; Jazzmin, a vocal ensemble from Belmont University; the Music City Swing, a big band with a big sound; and the U.S. Army Jazz Guardians.

The All-County band, comprised of some of the best high school jazz musicians, will kick-off the main stage at noon with a tribute to bassist Jaco Pastorius, Glen Miller tunes “Moonlight Serenade” and “American Patrol,” and the tune “Fever”, popularized by Elvis Presley and featuring vocalist Rebecca Andrews of Blackman High School.

For more information, click here for the Post’s complete coverage including an event map or www.mainstreetjazzfest.com.

Chris Young & Friends Tornado Benefit
Murfreesboro native and RCA Nashville recording artist Chris Young and some of his friends want to help victims of the Good Friday Tornado.

“Chris Young & Friends Tornado Relief Benefit” is set for Friday night at Murphy Center on the MTSU campus. The concert is presented by MTSU and The Big 98 WSIX and will be hosted by Newman from The Big 98 WSIX.

Tickets to the event are $15 and can be purchased at www.murfreesborobenefit.com.

The main show featuring Young, Murfreesboro resident Richie McDonald and Emily West begins at 7 p.m. A pre-show featuring gospel and local artists such as the Middle Tennessee Baptist Church Choir and a silent auction begins at 5 p.m.

Items for the silent auction include a four-day pass to the CMA Music Festival, Nashville Zoo passes and many signed items.

Proceeds from the concert will benefit the Heart of Tennessee Chapter of the American Red Cross and Tennessee Emergency Response Fund of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.

14th Annual Bible Reading Marathon
Middle Tennessee's 14th annual bible reading marathon will begin this Sunday at Cannonsburgh Pioneer Village, 312 S. Front St.

The marathon reading begins with a special celebration of music and the Word at 3 p.m. Sunday and concludes at noon Thursday for the National Day of Prayer. More than 238 readers from 10 counties representing 55 churches and 16 denominations will attend. At 7 p.m. each evening, the readings will stop for a half-hour tribute and prayer for the Armed Forces.

The event is sponsored by the International Bible Reading Association. For more information, contact Ken Sharp at 896-4200.

Rutherford County Arthritis Walk
Northfield kindergartener Elli Tracy and Jean Moser are the 2009 honorees for the 5th annual Rutherford County Arthritis Walk, which takes place Saturday at Gateway Park.

Tracy, 6, was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis at the age of 3 and Moser learned late last year she suffers from Crohn’s Disease.

To help fight these and other diseases, the Rutherford County Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation hopes to raise $38,000 from the annual walk.

The funds will be used to support services for those who have the disease and research into possible cures. Services supported by the funds include the Primary Care and Hope Clinic, exercise classes, research grants, educational programs and advocacy.

The local chapter invites everyone who has been affected by arthritis, or knows someone affected, to form a team of eight-10 walkers for the community event.

To sign up a team, call 615-254-6795 ext. 107 or visit www.rutherfordarthritiswalk.kintera.org.

Stones River National Battlefield
On Saturday and Sunday, volunteers portraying the 19th United States Infantry, the Signal Corps, Battery H, and the Fifth U.S. Artillery will present living history programs that will help visitors appreciate a variety of stories from the Civil War.

All programs will be presented near the visitor center. Demonstrations will include infantry and artillery firings as well as programs highlighting how the men of the Signal Corps provided critical communications support to the armies. Visitors will also be welcome to visit with the soldiers and civilians in camp and learn about the daily lives of people during the Civil War.

The programs will give visitors a chance to experience many of the stories as each group of soldiers or civilians tell their tales about the Battle of Stones River.

These programs are a part of a series of interpretive programs offered at the battlefield during the year.

Stones River National Battlefield is located on the Old Nashville Highway, northwest of Murfreesboro.

Additional information is available at the visitor center, by calling (615) 893-9501 or at the park Web site.

QuarterFest: Celebration of Quarter Horse
Gather your friends and load up your horses for the first-ever QuarterFest: A Celebration of the American Quarter Horse.

Come out to this one-of-a-kind event held Friday through Sunday at the Tennessee Miller Coliseum and meet celebrity horse, Blue Steelman who played Hannah Montana’s horse Bluejeans in the major motion picture.

QuarterFest is a tribute to everyone’s favorite animal – the American Quarter Horse.

This year, our breed and membership are turning 68 years old. While that may not sound like a landmark, you might feel otherwise if it was your 68th and no one had thrown you a party on any of the prior 67.

To make up for it, we’re going to throw America’s Horse one heck of a shindig – so big that it will last for three days.

MTSU Women’s Self-Defense Class
MTSU President’s Commission on the Status of Women presents “Safety Awareness, Risk Reduction and Self Defense for Women” from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday at Auxiliary Gym 1 in the Murphy Center.

This session will cover situational awareness and simple actions that can be done in everyday life to reduce the risks of being assaulted and self defense options that can be utilized in the event of an assault.

Don Dennis, Police Officer and Women’s Self Defense Instructor will conduct the course.

Please RSVP to Nancy James at 898-2970 OR e-mail at njames@mtsu.edu. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes for the practice portion.

Cemetery Clean Up
Volunteers for the Society of Paranormal Investigations and Research In Tennessee will be cleaning Watkins Cemetery, one of the many neglected cemeteries in Rutherford County, at 8 a.m. Saturday.

SPIRIT volunteers will cut the grass, pull weeds, clear broken limbs and branches, repair surrounding fences and pressure wash the tombstones at Watkins Cemetery

Watkins Cemetery is located across from Sir Pizza on Memorial Boulevard.

SPIRIT is a professional group of volunteers who are dedicated to finding scientific evidence of paranormal activities. SPIRIT was founded by Terry Mayo in 2005, in Murfreesboro, Tenn. SPIRIT is a member of the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce.

For more information, contact Terry Mayo by e-mail at spukhuntr2003@yahoo.com or by calling 615-971-7774.

Buchanan Elementary Spring Craft Fair & Spaghetti Dinner
Join the students at Buchanan Elementary for goods, crafts & spaghetti from 4:30-8 p.m. Saturday.

Tickets are $7 at the door or $5 in advance.

For more information, call 895-4216 or e-mail buchanan_pto@yahoo.com.

If you have an event you’d like included, contact Michelle Willard at 615-869-0816 or mwillard@murfreesboropost.com.