Along with being incredibly awesome at finding local places to shop and spend my money and sharing that on-line, I also happen to be passionate about the arts.   Now all across the Tennessee Valley there are local groups that support the arts, but what those groups need are YOUR support.

You may know about The Arts Council and how they put on Panoply, concerts in the park, the SPACES trail and Art on the Square.  Those things don’t just happen.  They take time, money, and volunteers to make these events possible for the public. 

In my neck of the woods, they have the Madison Arts Council.  They are hosting a Love Art Membership Drive.  What/Who is the Madison Arts Council?

The Huntsville Public Library is now offering free WiFi compatible with all Huntsville City Schools laptops.

The network is free and open to anyone at the library.

Ann Marie Martin, the communications director with the library said they have had WiFi available since 2009, but they had some kinks to work out to make the Huntsville City Schools computers compatible with the library WiFi.

She said the internet access is free and users do not need a library card to access it.

The library's hours are Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Huntsville Hospital will hold a grand opening ceremony for its new Simulation Lab on Wednesday.

The ceremony will consist of a ribbon cutting at 1:30 p.m., followed by refreshments and staff-guided tours of the lab.

In 2011, Huntsville Hospital employee donations provided 100 percent of the funding needed to equip the lab. The Simulation Lab replicates actual patient rooms and ICU beds, and is equipped with life-size robotic mannequins programmed to mimic symptoms and simulate real-life scenarios so that employees can practice and master fundamental techniques needed for patient care. All new nurses receive training in the Simulation Lab, as do staff needing recertification and extended training on treatment protocols and procedures.

The event will be April 11, 2012 from 1-3 p.m. at the Dowdle Center located on the Huntsville Hospital main campus.