YOUR WEEKLY GUIDE TO AREA EVENTS

To submit events, the absolute deadline is Friday before publication. However, it is best to send items at least 2 weeks before your event date by email to lexingtonchronicle@gmail.com. You may also fax your event to 803-359-2936. Please also send events that have been cancelled or rescheduled due to covid-19.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

BURNING DEBRIS: Burn permit required for burning debris in unincorporated areas of Lexington County. Call the SC Forestry Commission at 1-800- 705-8613.

LEXINGTON CO. COLLECTION/RECYCLING STATION HOURS: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 7 am until 7 pm; Sundays 3 pm until 7 pm; Tuesday and Thursday closed. Closed New Year’s Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Inclement weather or other emergency situations may result in temporary closings of some or all collection and recycling centers on a per incident basis. Every effort will be made to notify the public if such closings are required.

E-lEARNING & TOURS

AMERICA’S BATTLEFIELDS: Get lots of information and see great videos at American Battlefield Trusts website: www.battlefields.org/

CARLSBAD CAVERNS: You can visit places most tourists never get to see when you visit www.360parks.com/carlsbad_caverns_virtual_tour.shtml .

E-LEARNING AT THE MUSEUM: The SC State Museum offers opportunities for learning online with virtual programs for the whole family. To learn more, visit www.scstatemuseum.org

GARDEN TOURS: Take a tour of the world’s most beautiful gardens right from your own computer. Visit www.bing.com/search?q=garden%20virtual%20 form

GRANd CANYON: Hike the trails virtually when you visit www.nps.gov/grca/learn/photosmultimedia/virtualtour.htm

Historic Columbia Online Tours: Tour Columbia and Richland County neighborhoods and districts from the comfort of home. Visit https://www.historiccolumbia.org/tours/online-tours .

LEXINGTON COUNTY STORY MAPS: Story maps tell a narrative story related to features, places and landmarks including historic tours, a tour of the Lexington County Museum, and Lexington County Heritage. See all available tours any time at https://maps-lexco-gis.hub.arcgis.com/.

LONDON TOURS: See some of the most famous places in the world when you tour London at www.standard.co.uk/go/london/attractions/london-virtualtours-attractions-landmarkscoronavirus-lockdowna4401481.html

USC TOURS: Virtual tours at www.sc.edu/visit/virtual_tour/index.php

WASHINGTON DC: Explore the nation’s capital while you self-isolate. Online tours are found here: www.scholasticatravel.com/2014/02/24/washington-dc-virtual-tour/

EVENTS

HOLIDAY GREETINGS FOR OUR TROOPS: You can record a short holiday greeting for our troops around the world by calling (833) 369-1351. Messages will be aired on Wreaths Across America Radio through Dec. 31 at www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/radio

MEETING STREET ARTISAN MARKET: Now open every Saturday 9 am-1 pm, 425 Meeting St., West Columbia. Artisans under the pavilion selling original art, crafts, foods and produce. Social distancing guidelines in effect. Handwashing station and hand sanitizer available.

STATE MUSEUM VIRTUAL AT-HOME CAMPS: Registration now open for SC State Museum winter camps to be held Dec. 28-31, 10:30 a.m.-noon, for ages 6-11. Camps will focus natural history, astronomy, art, S.T.E.A.M. and more. Material kits available for each day and can be picked up at the museum prior to the camp. Camps are $25 for the general public, $20 for museum members per day. Campers can sign up for just one day or for all 7 days. Visit scmuseum.org for more info.

LESSONS/SEMINARS

GAL TRAINING: Free 30-hour volunteer training teaches about the Family Court system, how to recognize abuse and neglect and how to communicate with children and foster parents. For more info visit http://gal.sc.gov or call 803-957-6484

MEETINGS

ADHD SUPPORT GROUP OF LEXINGTON: Meets 2nd & 4th Mondays, 6:30 pm by Zoom. Open to anyone with ADHD or who want to support and assist ADHD individuals. For login information email attention deficithelp@gmail.com

COMMUNICATIONS & LEADERSHIP:The Lexington County Toastmasters communications and leadership club meets online at 7:15 am each Thursday. For details, email Mary Thompson at maryemyers95@gmail.com

FAMILY/CAREGIVER SUPPORT GROUP: for those who have loved ones diagnosed with Alzheimers/Dementia. First Thursday of each month 6–7 pm. Sponsored by Oakleaf Village of Lexington. Currently using a “Virtual” format. Call 803-808-3477 for connection information.

MUSEUMS & ZOO

12,000 YEAR HISTORY PARK: 1120 Fort Congaree Trail, Cayce. Accessible 24/7. Police monitored from Sunrise-8 pm. Virtual history tours available. Get schedule at www.cayce12000years.com or call John Jameson at 850-322-5636.

LEXINGTON COUNTY MUSEUM: Now open with precautions. Tours by appointment only with face masks and social distancing. Call 803-359- 8369 for tours 10 am to 4 pm Tuesday through Saturday and 1 pm to 4 pm on Sundays at 231 Fox Street, Lexington.

RIVERBANKS ZOO & GARDENS: Timed tickets required. Face masks also required. Visit www.Riverbanks.org for information, times and tickets.

SC STATE MUSEUM: 301 Gervais St, Columbia. Closed Monday. Tues.–Sat: 10 am to 5 pm, Sun: 12–5 pm. Ages 3 and up must wear masks and adhere to social distancing. Adult $8.95, Senior (Ages 62 +) $7.95, Children (ages 3-12) $6.95. Buy advance tickets online at www.scmuseum.org

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

1515: Thomas Wolsey appointed Lord Chancellor of England

1777: Kiritimati, also called Christmas Island, is discovered by James Cook

1799: Jacobin plot against Napoleon uncovered

1814: Treaty of Ghent signed, ending the War of 1812 between the United States, the United Kingdom and their allies

1818: Christmas carol “Silent Night” composed by Franz Xaver Gruber is first sung at St Nicholas parish church in Oberndorf, Austria

1849: First great fire of early San Francisco starts east side of the Plaza, first of great seven fires in 2 years

1851: Fire devastates US Library of Congress in Washington, destroys 35,000 volumes

1865: Several Confederate veterans form Ku Klux Klan in Pulaski, Tennessee

1871: Giusseppi Verdi’s “Aida” opera premieres in Cairo

1877: Thomas Edison files a patents for the phonograph

1889: Daniel Stover & William Hance patent bicycle with back pedal brake

1893: Henry Ford completes his first useful petrol / gasoline fuelled engine

1895: George Vanderbilt opens Biltmore estate, the largest privately owned house in America at 178,926 square feet in Asheville, NC

1900: The French Chamber of Deputies and Senate pass a bill calling for an end to agitation or prosecutions against those involved in the Dreyfus affair, which has divided France since 1894

1901: Private companies allowed to use the word “postcard” in the US. Previously they were labelled “Private Mailing Cards” and known as “souvenir cards”.

1904: German SW Africa abolishes slavery of young children

1914: German plane drops bombs on Dover, England

1920: Enrico Caruso gives his last public performance (NYC)

1936: 1st radioactive isotope medicine administered in Berkeley, California

1941: First ships of admiral Nagumo’s Pearl Harbor fleet return to Japan

1942: First powered flight of V-1 ‘buzz bomb’, Peenemunde, Germany

1943: US President FDR appoints General Eisenhower Supreme Commander of the Allied forces

1946: US General MacNarney gives 800,000 “minor nazis” amnesty

1948: First US completely solar heated house is occupied (Dover, Mass)

1955: Author Aldous Huxley takes LSD for the first time

1966: Soviet spacecraft Luna 13 lands on Moon

1968: Apollo 8 astronauts read passages from Book of Genesis

1974: Former US astronaut John Glenn joins the Senate for Ohio

1989: Panama’s dictator, Manual Noriega, seeks asylum at Vatican embassy

1990: Saddam Hussein says Israel will be Iraq’s 1st target

1992: US President George H. W. Bush pardons Caspar Weinberger for Iran-contra affair

2001: “Time Magazine” names New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani ‘Person of the Year’, for leadership after 9/11 attacks

2003: Spanish police thwart an attempt by ETA to detonate 50 kg of explosives at 3:55 p.m. inside Madrid’s busy Chamartín Station.