Albany Beat

Rock, Roll and Run
Problem solved: Downtown Albany ’s signature weekend finally has an all-encompassing moniker: “Rock, Roll and Run.” The Mardi Gras events begin at noon Saturday, March 1 with live music, food, arts and crafts vendors, a car show and a BBQ cook-off sponsored by the Shriners. Kids’ activities including face painting, jumpy houses, a petting zoo, train rides, rock climbing, and games with prizes. Live bands will continue rocking the stage until midnight. Info: 434-8700.

Wanted, You
Speaking of Rock, Roll and Run, Albany needs you to be a member of the Support Team during the second annual SNICKERS® MARATHON® Energy Bar marathon, half marathon and Fun run; the Regions Bank Bike Race Weekend, and all the festivities taking place downtown on Saturday, March 1. Volunteers will receive a free T-shirt and a ticket for the Mardi Gras Street festival. Road marshals, in particular, are needed, and Central Monitoring will honor volunteers with a thank-you shindig March 18 at the Flint RiverQuarium. To volunteer, sign up at the Albany Chamber of Commerce or at www. albanymarathon.com.

UGA Library support
Harold R. Hudgens Jr., an Albany resident and University of Georgia alumnus, and an Albany couple have teamed up to support the school’s Map Library. A regular user of the Map Library, Hudgens is raising awareness of the library’s important role. Meanwhile, wildlife watercolor artist Rena Divine and her husband, William T. Divine Jr., a former University System of Georgia Board of Regents member, donated four artist's proofs from Rena's series, “Plantations of Southwest Georgia.” In the early 1980s, former Georgia Gov. George Busbee presented Rena's print of brown thrashers, Georgia 's state bird, to dignitaries.