Flying Free, an exhibit of 130 works of art from the collection of Ellin and Baron Gordon of Williamsburg, Virginia, will be open for viewing May 18-October 26 at Colonial Williamsburg's Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center. The exhibit will showcase the Gordons' extensive collection of contemporary pieces by American self-taught artists. Several of the artists have achieved widespread recognition, such as Jon Serl, Victor Joseph Gatto, and Justin McCarthy. The display will also include relative newcomers who warrant further exposure, such as Tim Lewis, Melissa Polhamus, and Levent Isik. An exhibit catalog will provide up-to-date biographical sketches of the artists, 90 color illustrations, and a checklist of exhibit objects. For program information phone 757-220-7698.

The Alabama Studies Symposium will take place August 1-2, 1997, in Montgomery, Alabama. William Christenberry of the Corcoran School of Art is scheduled to open the symposium with a keynote address. Concurrent sessions will run at the Alabama State Capitol Auditorium and the Alabama Department of Archives and History. Ralph Bogardus of the University of Alabama is one of the moderators of the first session, which includes topics on the New Deal in Alabama and a study of a steel mill town. Later presentations include "Singing Buildings in the Wiregrass Country" by Jerrilyn McGregory. Frances and David Robb will conduct a hands-on workshop, "Dating, Interpreting, and Organizing Your Old Photographs," on July 31. Preconference workshops are free to those who register for the symposium. For more information write Friends of the Alabama Archives, P.O. Box 300100, Montgomery, AL 36130-0100.

The Tallahassee Writers Association announces its third annual short story contest. This year's theme is HOME. Entries should be unpublished stories of 1500-2000 words. Cash prizes will be awarded for first, second, and third places. Winning stories will be published in the 1997 Seven Hills Fiction Review. There is a $5 fee per story submitted. The entry deadline is August 15, 1997. For more information call Verna Safran, Fiction Contest Chair, at 904-877-0840 or e-mail Verna325@aol.com.

The University of West Florida is issuing a call for papers for a collection of essays to be published by Temple University Press. "Queer and Southern" is the subject for the collection of interdisciplinary essays by gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered (queer) Southerners critiquing the South. Possible topics include race/racism and homophobia in the South; queer Southerners and the KKK; the experiences of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons in Southern institutionsÑthe family, education, religion, and politics; the queer heritage in Southern literature and the Southern Gothic; the Southern gentleman and the Southern belle as queer archetypes; northward flight and the displaced queer Southerner. Proposals for other topics in history, sociology, economics, education, the arts, urban/rural studies, and other fields interested in the intersection of queers and Southern experience are also welcome. Submissions that blur the line between conventional scholarship and personal/autobiographical writing are encouraged. Send two copies of completed essays by September 1, 1997, to Carlos L. Dews and Carolyn Leste Law, Department of English, University of West Florida, 11000 University Parkway, Pensacola, FL 32514; telephone 904-474-2923; e-mail: cdews@uwf.edu or claw@niu.edu.

Baylor University will host the Sixth Conference on Rural and Farm Women in Historical Perspective, September 18-21, 1997. The conference offers an informal opportunity for international exchange between rural and farm women, scholars in fields such as history, sociology, and literature, agricultural extension agents, and grass-roots advocates and activists. Features speakers include Valerie Grim, the first female African American Extension Agent in Mississippi, and Maria Elena Rochel, a farm labor activist. Session topics range from "Women and the Environment" to "Social Life" and "Popular Culture." Conference registrants may also attend a Texas barbeque with traditional fiddle music. For a schedule of sessions, registration information, and travel information contact Debra Reid, 1300 Briar Cliff #227, Bryan, TX 77802; telephone 409-846-6173; e-mail DebraReid@aol.com.

The Columbus Historic Foundation announces the sixth Annual Decorative Arts and Preservation Forum and the 26th annual Antiques Show and Sale to be held October 23-26, 1997, in Columbus, Mississippi. The weekend features scholarly lectures, gala entertainments, house tours, and retail sales. For information on free lectures and events, call the Columbus Historic Foundation at 601-329-3533 or the Columbus Convention and Visitors Bureau at 800-327-2686.

The Southern Garden Symposium in St. Francisville, Louisiana, celebrates its 10th anniversary October 3-4, 1997. The symposium seeks to preserve and commemorate gardening of the Deep South through lectures, workshops, and a tour of historic Afton Villa gardens. This year the speakers' party will be held at Oakland Plantation, home of Mr. and Mrs. William H. McClendon III. The symposium funds a scholarship in the School of Landscape Architecture of LSU and is funding a park on Royal and Ferdinand Streets in St. Francisville. For registration information phone 504-775-0970.

The 10th annual Virginia Film Festival, to be held October 30-November 2, 1997, announces its annual call for entries. The Virginia Festival features independent media among a diverse variety of classics and feature premieres, and invites filmmakers to participate in stimulating discussions with academic and general audiences. Special consideration will be given to films relating to the festival's annual theme, "Caged: Images of Imprisonment and Freedom," although a thematic tie is not mandatory. Filmmakers such as Ross McElwee, Christine Choy, Mark Rappaport, and Su Friedrich have participated in past events. The festival is soliciting 16mm and 35mm films as well as videos and CD-ROMs of all genres and lengths, completed after August 1996. Entries, on VHS or CD-ROM, must be received by July 1, 1997. For an entry form, contact Virginia Film Festival, Drama Department, Culbreth Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903; telephone 800-UVA-FEST; e-mail to filmfest@virginia.edu.

Florida in the Civil War is a new exhibit to open at the Museum of Florida History in Tallahassee on December 12, 1997. The exhibit, which will run through May 1998, examines the events and people of the state during one of the nation's most tumultuous periods. For more information call 904-488-1484.

Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia, is proud to host the annual presentation of the Georgia Women of Achievement Award in 1998. An entire weekend of musical, theatrical, and storytelling performances, as well as an art show, is planned in conjunction with the award presentation. The chosen theme is Georgia folk art. The art show Women Folk will focus on approximately ten Georgia women who work in the folk or contemporary folk tradition. These artists include Harriet Powers, Bessie Harvey, Nellie Mae Rowe, Billie Meaders, Grace Hewell, Marie Rogers, Arester Earl, and others. The show is scheduled to run from March 23 through April 6, 1998, with an opening gala on March 26. For more information contact Nyssa Hattaway at 912-477-1110.