Deb’s Notes

A Lunch & Learn recognizing National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 9 at the Delta Kappa Omega Providence Community Service Center, 1908 Highland Street in Tallahassee. Guest of Honor will be Precshard Williams, Zero Pinellas Outreach and Engagement Specialist. This is a free event. For more information call (850) 404-6219.
The Florida Museum of Natural History will hold several special events for the 18-and-older crowd this spring. The first adult event of the season, titled 'An Epoch Night at the Museum,' will be held Feb. 9 from 7:30 to 11 p.m. All guests are invited to explore the museum and enjoy a night of live music and dancing. Tickets start at $100 and other sponsorship opportunities are available. The Florida Museum will host 'A Valentine’s Night at the Museum' on Feb. 14 from 7 to 10 p.m. Throughout the evening museum visitors will have the opportunity to participate in trivia centered on romance, monsters and science. Admission is $30 per person or $50 per couple. Pre-registration is required. Back by popular demand, 'Fieldwork Fails: A Live Storytelling Event' will be held March 21 from 6 to 9 p.m. Visitors can enjoy the museum as well as listen to live first-person storytelling from Guts & Glory GNV. Admission is $15, or $10 for University of Florida students with a valid Gator 1 card. Pre-registration is suggested. People really love storytelling and this event is a great introduction to Gainesville scientists. To celebrate the 500th anniversary of Leonardo Da Vinci’s death, a new adults-only program, 'Da Vinci After Dark' will be held March 28 from 7 to 10 p.m. Participants can try their hand in trivia as well as try to re-create and improve some of Da Vinci’s famous designs. Admission is $35 or $30 for museum members. Pre-registration is required. Visitors will get the chance to express their inner inventor. Da Vinci was commissioned by multiple families and governments to invent bigger and better inventions, and some were not feasible then but are now. Visitors can use their modern knowledge to improve these inventions in the Da Vinci Dares event. SciArt meetups, offered in partnership with Santa Fe Art Gallery and Wayfaring Painter, will be held monthly this spring. Each meetup includes brief presentations by a guest artist or scientist on the featured topic. The first meetup is scheduled for March 24 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information on 'An Epoch Night at the Museum' visit floridamuseum.ufl.edu/event/epochparty or call (352) 273-2047. For more information on 'A Valentine’s Night at the Museum' visit floridamuseum.ufl.edu/event/a-valentines-night-at-the-museum or call (352) 273-2061. For more information on 'Fieldwork Fails: A Live Storytelling Event' visit floridamuseum.ufl.edu/ event/storytelling or call (352) 273-2062. For more information on 'Da Vinci After Dark' visit floridamuseum.ufl.edu/event/science-after-dark or call (352) 273-2061.
American Legion Post 49 and Sons of the American Legion meet at 6:30 p.m. on the second Tuesday, Feb. 12 at the Otto Walker Post Home, 1065 S. Water Street, for dinner and a meeting. Contact Post Commander Ken Faircloth at (850) 509-2628 for more information.
Do you have high blood pressure? UF/IFAS Extension would like to invite you to attend the upcoming Blood Pressure Self Monitoring Class Series - Keeping the Pressure Down. Keeping the Pressure Down is an eight-week class series taking place from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday evenings at the Jefferson County Extension Office, starting on February 12. A healthy snack sample will be provided at each class. The classes are sponsored by the Jefferson County Health Department and there is no fee to attend, but registration is required. Call the Health Department at (850) 342-0170X1230 as soon as possible to register.
American Legion Unit 49 Auxiliary meets at 6:30 p.m. on second Tuesday, Feb. 12 at the Otto Walker Post Home, 1065 S. Water Street, for dinner and a meeting. Contact President Debbie Mitchem at (850) 997-5456 for more information.
The Tallahassee Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, in partnership with the Tallahassee Bach Parley, will present organist Iain Quinn in concert on Sunday, February 17 at 3 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church, 110 N. Adams Street in downtown Tallahassee. Dr. Quinn will perform three concerti for organ and strings by Joseph Haydn, assisted by members of the Bach Parley. A reception will follow the performance. Experiencing these concerti played on the wonderful Baroque Taylor and Boody organ, accompanied by a small chamber ensemble, is a rare musical treat not to be missed. The suggested donation for this event is $10; all proceeds will benefit the FSU Organ Scholarship Fund. Free childcare is available.
Capital City Cyber Defense Network, a 501c3, invites all North Florida and South Georgia neighbors to join on March 2 at the FSU Alumni Association for a free cybersecurity conference, BSides Tallahassee. BSides Tallahassee is a part of the Security BSides international conference series and is the first offensive security focused conference in the Capital Region. This free event will feature a keynote by Thomas Vaughn, the CISO for the Florida Agency for State Technology, a lockpick village, a cyber range and a silent auction. There will be two talk tracks available for attendees. Community Track is for anyone who’s new to cybersecurity or just wants to start learning the basics. This track features high-level, easy to digest talks with live demonstrations of such topics as WiFi hacking, social engineering and USB-based computer attacks. Professional Track features in-depth talks from industry pros from around the South East covering such topics as offensive hacking techniques, security in the Cloud and stopping APTs. All day events such as the lockpick village will feature prizes for the first person to crack the safe. Anyone can join at the door on the date of the event, but commemorative printed name badges and door prize entries will only be available to those who register at bsidestlh.org now. For more information go to https://bsidestlh.org.