PM Business Connection, business-to-business speed networking program designed for the busy professional and sponsored by the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, is scheduled for Thursday. This event is structured the same as the Chamber's popular AM Business Connection, but will be held 5-8 p.m., Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, 211 Commerce Street, Suite 100. Information: nashvillechamber.com, 743-3115.

Nashville Ride4Cops
A 30-strong law enforcement motorcycle detail to focus attention on the needs of families left behind when police officers are killed in the line of duty. The public is encouraged to join the ride at a cost of $20. 11 a.m., Bicentennial Mall. Information: 313-0323, 313-0308, [email protected].

MAY 27-29
Downtown Puppet Festival
The Nashville Public Library’s 2011 Downtown Puppet Festival is a free, family-friendly event at the main branch of the Nashville Public Library. The festival will feature performances by puppet troupes from across the country, jugglers and puppetry workshops. Information: 888 516-5554, nashvillepuppetfestival.com.

SATURDAY, MAY 28
Purple Cow Moograss Jam
The 8th annual Purple Cow Moograss Jam returns to the Granny White Market with all proceeds benefiting Radnor Lake State Natural Area. Featuring more than a dozen bluegrass performers, including Rivers Rutherford, The Peasalls and Kathy Chiavola, the event takes place from 3-10 p.m. at 5301 Granny White Pike. Tickets can be purchased at the gate for $20 for adults and includes a T-shirt. Children are free. Activities include a waterslide and free Icees. Information: 373-1395.

FRIDAY, JUNE 3
Cheekwood Nights
Cheekwood will be the setting for a series of Friday night events this summer, each taking place on the first Friday of each month through October. Kicking off the series will be alternative country band Lambchop, with front man Kurt Wagner, taking the stage at 9 p.m. Additional performers/activities include:

• Trains! Tennessee in G illuminated for one-of-a-kind nighttime viewing

• Live music and cash bars in several locations throughout the Garden

• Singer/songwriter Rick Orcutt on the Pineapple Room deck

• Jazz on the Rose Terrace with Debbie Cunningham

• Pianist Danny Smith playing from the Museum of Art drawing room to the Wisteria Lounge

• Dinner at the Pineapple Room (reservation required 352-4859)

• Specialty dessert items available for purchase at the Wisteria Lounge

• Museum of Art exhibitions including Fabergé (final weekend) and Modern Masters from the Smithsonian American Art Museum

• Parents’ Night Out for children 5 and older, 6-9 p.m. (reservation required 353-9827)

Admission: $5 for members (member children are free). Non-member adults: $15, seniors $12 and children 6-17 $8. Gates open: 5-10 p.m. Information: 356-8000, cheekwood.org.

THURSDAY, JUNE 9
NBA/NBF Golf Tournament
Nashville Bar Association and Nashville Bar Foundation event is scheduled for the Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin. Cookout at noon, shotgun start at 1:30 p.m. Team prizes and individual contests (longest drive, longest putt, etc.). Information: 242-9272, [email protected].

Business After Hours
An evening of networking and exploring the improved amenities of the Farmer’s Market, hosted by the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. 5:30-7:30 p.m. Information: nashvillechamber.com, 743-3063.

JUNE 17-18
‘The Andersonville Trial’
Lamplighter’s Theatre Company and The Battle of Nashville Preservation Society, Inc. presents “The Andersonville Trial” in the sanctuary at the historic Downtown Presbyterian Church, 154 5th Avenue North, as part of the Sesquicentennial Commemoration of the American Civil War. The play is based on the actual trial of Captain Henry Wirz, commander of the Confederate prison camp at Andersonville, Ga. Friday, 7:30 p.m., Saturday, 3 and 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available in advance at TicketsNashville.com or may be purchased at the door. Group pricing: 969-9273. Information: lamplighterstheatre.com, bonps.org.

SATURDAY, JUNE 18
Genealogy Workshop
J. Mark Lowe will explain DNA fundamentals, INCLUDING how to use DNA to conduct research and how to confirm results, in his class “Understanding the Basics of DNA Testing for Genealogical Research” at the State Library and Archives building, 403 7th Avenue N. Two sessions: 9:30 a.m.-11 a.m., 2 p.m.-3:30 p.m. Information and reservations: 741-2764, [email protected].

June 27
GNAR New Member Orientation
Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, 4540 Trousdale Drive. For GNAR applicants only. Applicants for GNAR membership must attend new member orientation in the GNAR classroom within three months of application. The GNAR orientation program is approved for continuing education credit – three hours of ethics and three hours of risk management. Instructor: Dave Floyd, GRI, ITI. Lunch provided. 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Information, gnar.org, 254-7516.

SATURDAY, JULY 9
Moving Towards a Cure 5K
Miles For Hope, Inc., an organization dedicated to funding cutting-edge brain tumor research, is holding its Moving Towards a Cure 5K Brain Tumor Awareness Walk at Edwin Warner Park at 9 a.m. (on-site registration 8 a.m.). Information: braintumorevents.org/Nashville.

JULY 16-17
Tennessee Antiquarian Book Fair
More than 50 booksellers from more than 12 states are expected to participate in the fair, which will include lectures by authors and scholars. The keynote speaker will be bestselling author Nicholas Basbanes, best known for A Gentle Madness in which he relates stories about book collectors from antiquity to the 1980’s. Children’s literacy, the War Between the States in Tennessee, and book collecting 101 are some of the other scheduled lectures. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Admission: $5 for adults, free for 18 and younger. Information: tennaba.org.

JULY 29-31
Creative Capital Workshop
The Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville presents the Creative Capital Workshop for artists in the Nashville region at Belmont University. Partially subsidized by a grant from the Kresge Foundation, the workshop is an intensive two and one-half day retreat led by nationally renowned arts professionals that has been described as a “crash course in self-management, strategic planning, fundraising and promotion” for artists of all creative genres. Information: ABCnashville.org.

ONGOING

May 20-Aug. 21
Shaker Collection at Frist
Gather Up the Fragments: The Andrews Shaker Collection, an exhibition featuring more than 200 objects, including furniture, drawings, household objects, textiles and baskets from one of the country’s most renowned Shaker collections, will be on view at the Frist Center’s for the Visual Arts. The exhibition is the largest, most comprehensive collection of Shaker material ever assembled. Information: 244-3340, fristcenter.org.