• Live Jazz (“Sweet Thursday”) is held every 2nd & 4th Thursday of the month at Coal Yard Coffee, 5547 Bonna Ave. This Thursday, January 11, jazz starts at 7 p.m. – there’s no cover!
• All Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicle branches will be closed Jan. 13 through Jan. 15 in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday. Regular hours will resume Jan. 16.
• All Indianapolis Public Library locations will be closed on Monday, January 15 in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, except the InfoZone, located within The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis at 3000 N. Meridian St., which will be open from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
• It looks like a couple of great new businesses will be opening on the Near Eastside soon! The Mayfair Taproom, 2032 E. 10th St., will be opening in a couple of months with a neighborhood pub vibe, serving contemporary comfort foods. The Beholder, 1844 E. 10th St., is the highly anticipated brainchild of Jonathan Brooks, the chef at acclaimed Milktooth — in the space that used to be the Woodruff Place Service Center. They are aiming for a spring 2018 opening.
• Save the Date: Beech Grove will hold a Town Hall meeting Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. at Hornet Park Community Center, 5245 Hornet Ave. Issues that will be discussed include the dismantling of the old St. Francis site, paving and sanitary sewer rehabilitation schedules, and much more.
• The Lawrence Common Council elected Lisa Chavis president and Elizabeth Wheeler vice president for 2018 during the regularly scheduled Common Council meeting Jan. 2.
• Author Ann M. Martin will be at the Glendale branch library, 6101 N. Keystone Ave., on Jan. 13 at 2 p.m. Families and school-age children are invited as bestselling children’s author Ann M. Martin discusses her latest children’s book, “Rain Reign.” Free tickets are available on the day of the program beginning at 1 p.m. Book sales and autographing will follow the presentation. Autographing for any of the author’s books will be limited to three books per person, based on crowd size. Seating for this program is limited. Doors will open to the community room at 1:30 p.m.
• Help out a great cause at Souper Bowls 2018, a battle of culinary stars to see whose soup reigns supreme, on Jan. 27 from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at Second Helpings, 1121 Southeastern Ave. Tickets are just $10, which entitles you to a taste of all the soups, created by top local chefs, and then you vote for your favorite. ArtMix handcrafted ceramic bowls will also be for sale at the event. Tickets are available online at www.secondhelpings.org. Get tickets early for this popular event.
• The eastside’s Pogue’s Run Grocer will be offering a free community meal on the second Saturday of each month. The upcoming free meal will be on Jan. 13 from 5:30-7:00 p.m. Pogue’s Rn Grocer is located at 2828 E. 10th St.
• Indy Parks Day Camp Registration will begin Jan. 22. The 2018 day camp program offers a wide variety of opportunities including swimming, arts, nature, science , sports and recreation. Take advantage of the early bird rates for the traditional, GATHER and Garfield Parks Arts Center camps until 3/31/2018. Call 317-327-7275 for more information and registration.