The first “Java Jam,” a battle of the bands, will get under way at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 18, in the 100 block of North Third Street in downtown Smithfield. Voting will cost $3 or four cans of food. The winner will open for Marshall Tucker at the Ham & Yam Festival on May 2. Proceeds will go to the Smithfield Area Ministries Food Closet. Bands, vendors and artists are welcomed. For more information, call Orchard House Booksellers at 938-1511.

Strawberry Festival

The 2009 Strawberry Festival is scheduled from 9 a.m. till 4 p.m. Saturday, April 25, in the Cleveland community.

The festival will feature vendors selling arts, crafts and food, including cotton candy, funnel cakes and hot dogs. For kids, the event will offer a mechanical bull, an inflatable slide and a play space. The young and young at heart can play carnival games. The Cleveland Fire Department will bring a “smoke house” to show children how to get out of a burning house. Finally, classic cars will be on display.

Here’s the entertainment schedule for this year’s strawberry festival:

9 till 11 a.m. — West Johnston High School marching band.

11 a.m. — singers from Showers of Blessing Community Church.

11:30 a.m. — Dance Art dancers.

Noon — gymnasts from Morgan’s Gymnastics.

1 p.m. — Step Ahead dancers.

2 p.m. — gymnasts from The Little Gym.

1:40 p.m. — All About Ballroom dancers.

2:30 p.m. — Washboard Ray.

3:30 p.m. — Jennifer Hudson-Santos vocal group. Hudson-Santos will also sing the National Anthem during the opening ceremony.

Also, radio station WPYB will broadcast throughout the day, and Muddy the Mudcat will be on hand. The festival will take place along Technology Drive between N.C. 42 and Glen Road.

Roadshow in Kenly

The Heritage Center’s “Roadshow” will make a stop in Kenly on Thursday, April 16.

Residents of Kenly and surrounding communities are encouraged to bring photographs, artifacts and other mementos of local history and genealogy for sharing with others — and perhaps giving to the Heritage Center for perpetual safekeeping.

The informal gathering will begin at 7 p.m. in the storefront headquarters of the Kenly Area Historical Society, 105 W. 2nd St. in downtown Kenly.

Among the items sought by the Heritage Center are old high-school yearbooks, church histories and photographs showing how things looked and how folks lived in days gone by.

“We’re especially lacking in yearbooks from the old high schools at Kenly, Glendale and Micro,” said Wingate Lassiter, the Heritage Center’s director. “The Kenly Area Historical Society has some of those, but we’d like to have a duplicate set to add to our already- large collection at the Heritage Center.”

A 1949 copy of “Mi-Hi,” the yearbook of Micro High School, was the first to be received from that school, Lassiter noted. “We also have just one Glendale yearbook, from 1950, but none from Kenly High.”

Film festival

The second annual Short Circuit Traveling Film Festival is coming to Johnston County. Screenings will begin at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 30, at The Clayton Center, 111 E. 2nd St. The festival features recent short films by filmmakers living and working in the Southeastern United States. Admission is free.

Sundown in Benson

The Sundown in Downtown series is returning to Benson. The first show is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 23, in the Singing Grove on Main Street. The Coastline Band will perform after deejay Steve Hardy spins dance tunes. Concessions will be available, and the organizers will hold a 50-50 cash raffle. Those attending are encouraged to bring a lawn chair or blanket and a picnic supper. In case of rain, the concert will take place in the American Legion Building on U.S. 301 north of downtown. For more information, call the Chamber of Commerce at 894-3825.

Music in Smithfield

Mr. Mustard will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 17, at Orchard House Bookseller and Coffee Shop, 117 N. 3rd St., Smithfield. Admission is free. Concessions will be available.

Plant Sale-A-Bration

The Johnston Community College Arboretum will hold its annual Plant Sale-A-Bration from 9 a.m. till 2 p.m. Saturday, April 18, at the greenhouse on East Market Street in Smithfield. The sale will feature herbs, annuals and vegetables. JCC students in massage therapy will offer chair massages, and other JCC students will have artwork, pottery and photography for sale. For more information, call Lin Frye at 209-2052.

‘Hallelujah Girls’

The Towne Players of Garner will present the North Carolina premiere of “The Hallelujah Girls,” a new comedy by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten, who also wrote “Christmas Belles.” Shows are at 8 p.m.

April 18, 6 p.m. April 19, 8 p.m. April 23-25 and 2 p.m. April 25 in the Garner Historic Auditorium, 742 W.

Garner Road, Garner. For more information, call 779-6144.

Shaggin’ at the Vineyard

“Shaggin’ at the Vineyard” is scheduled from noon till 5 p.m. Saturday, April 18, at Hinnant Family Vineyards, 826 Pine Level-Micro Road, Pine Level. Gates open at noon. Mardis Gras with Sammy O’Banion and deejay Luke Vail will provide the music. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the gate. Children 15 and younger get in free. Concessions will be available. Blankets and chairs are allowed, but not outside food or beverages.

Tickets are available at Carroll Pharmacy in Smithfield, at Hewett and Wood in Selma and at the Boys and Girls Club in Selma. Proceeds will go to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Johnston and Wayne counties.

Bead class for seniors

A bead class for older adults will be held Tuesday, May 5, in Selma. The cost is $10, and the deadline to sign up is Friday, May 1. For more information, call 975-1411.

Military vehicles

The Carolina Military Vehicle Preservation Association will hold its April show from 11 a.m. till 5 p.m. Saturday, April 18, at the corner of N.C. 42 and Buffalo Road east of Clayton.

American Music Jubilee

Here’s the April schedule for the American Music Jubilee, the variety show at The Rudy Theatre in Selma: 7:40 p.m. April 25 and 1:40 p.m. April 16 and 18. The Lewis Family will perform at 8 p.m. April 18. For reservations, call 202-9927.

Gospel music

The Throne of Grace will perform at 7 p.m. Friday, April 17, at Inflow Studio, 339 E. Market St., Smithfield. For more information, call Lawrence Davis at 634-2874. The group will perform at 6 p.m. Sunday, April 19, at New Hope Free Will Baptist Church, 700 W. Stallings St., Clayton.

Saturday Stroll

Benson’s first “Saturday Stroll” is scheduled from 10 a.m. till 2 p.m. April 18 on Main Street. The event will feature food, music, shopping, games and other activities. For more information, call Ben Murphrey at 894-1606.

Entries sought

Clayton Visual Arts is calling on artists to enter its annual Poster Contest. The 2009 theme is “Places, Spaces and Faces of Clayton.” The winner will receive $1,000. The entry fee is $20, and an artist may enter up to three pieces at $20 each. The deadline for entry forms and fees is May 8. For an entry form, visit johnstoncountyarts.org or send an e-mail request to ClaytonVisualArts@rocketmail.com.

Guitarist at JCC

English guitarist Colin Grant-Adams will hold a guitar and songwriting workshop at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, April 16, on the campus of Johnston Community College, 245 College Road, Smithfield. He will share techniques for playing Celtic music, including alternate guitar tunings. Grant-Adams will perform in concert at 7 p.m. in the college’s Paul A. Johnston Auditorium. The workshop and concert are free.

Gatlin Brothers

The Gatlin Brothers will perform at 3 and 7 p.m. Saturday, April 18, in the Paul A. Johnston Auditorium at Johnston Community College, 245 College Road, Smithfield. Tickets to the matinee are $22.50 in advance and $25 at the door. The evening show is $27.50 in advance and $30 at the door. For tickets, call 209-2099 or stop by the auditorium box office, which is open from 1:30 till 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

‘Big Bang’ at JCC

Dr. Henry F. Schaefer III will speak at 2 and 7:30 p.m. today (Wednesday, April 15) in the lobby of the Paul A. Johnston Auditorium at Johnston Community College, 245 College Road, Smithfield. He is a professor of chemistry and director of the Center for Computational Chemistry at the University of Georgia.

Schaefer’s presentation, titled “Big Bang, Stephen Hawking and God,” will offer a Christian perspective on scientific theories about the origin of the universe.

Schaefer received his bachelor’s degree in chemical physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his doctorate in chemical physics from Stanford University. He has taught at the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Paris and Australian National University. Schaefer speaks frequently on the relationship between science and religion.