A few notes from hither and yon:

---

Chip Walters, director of public relations for The Celebration, told me on Monday that officials from the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus were pleased with the turnout for their Gold Unit production over the weekend. Total attendance was more than 7,000, for the five performances, up several hundred from the circus's first visit here three years ago.

I attended Saturday morning's performance with my parents, sister-in-law and nephews, and we had a blast. It was a great show, well-presented.

When Calsonic (now CalsonicKansei) donated the money to build Calsonic Arena in the late 1980s, one of the goals was to improve the local quality of life by allowing new entertainment options which other towns our size don't have. Along those lines, I've been active over the years on the steering committee for The Nashville Symphony's annual performance at the arena. The circus's successful run is another good sign for local entertainment. Walters notes that Feld Entertainment, the circus's parent company, has other productions which might be suited for the venue. Here's hoping for more along those lines in the future.

---

Here's a follow-up on my column from last week about missing not one but two talk show tapings during my recent visit to Southern California. I was surprised and delighted on Friday to get a package from Jill Leiderman, the executive producer of ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"

Ms. Leiderman, who I'm guessing found my column through a Google News Alert or some similar program, sent me a gracious note along with several "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" ball caps and promised that I'd have reserved seats for the show the next time I'm in Hollywood. I'd love to take her up on that offer, but my brother and sister-in-law may end up moving east in the near future, and if that happens it may be a while before my next visit.

I immediately sent one of the caps to my brother, who stood in line with me for two hours on Hollywood Boulevard.

---

For those of you who have been kind enough to ask about my upcoming mission trip, I now have more specific details. I will be working in a rural area near Cochabamba, Bolivia, from June 28 through July 11. Cochabamba is at 8,000 feet of altitude -- higher than Denver, to be sure, but not nearly as high as La Paz, which, at 11,000 feet, is the highest capital city in the world.

Everyone, including me, is tentatively assuming that I will again teach soap-making as a cottage industry, although that could change depending on what cottage industry workshops our host church thinks will be successful.

We have a number of churches here in Bedford County that have taken or are planning mission trips, and I'm delighted about that. If your church is looking at such a trip and doesn't exactly know where to start, you might want to consult Debra Snellen and Gail Drake, the founders of LEAMIS International Ministries, the organization with which I've taken all my foreign trips. Gail and Debra, who are based in Sewanee, are available to train mission team leaders or consult with churches about how to start a short-term mission project. LEAMIS is non-denominational and can be reached at (423) 837-4426.

If you can't get anyone else from your church interested, you could just come with us to Bolivia; I understand that Gail and Debra are still looking for team members.

John I. Carney is city editor of the Times-Gazette and covers county government and other topics. His home page is lakeneuron.com.