More than 70 vendors will display a variety of merchandise during the third annual Octoberfest Craft Show, to be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 21 and 22 in Alumni Arena on UB's North Campus. Hosted by the Division of Athletics, the show benefits the Athletic Scholarship Fund.

Admission is $1.50 and children ages 16 and under are admitted free. In addition to crafts, the show will feature face painting, the UB Skills area with basketball rims and a football "Bulls-eye," live music and refreshments.

Booth space for the craft show is still available; for more information, call Tom Koller at 645-3178 by 9 a.m. Friday.

PHARMACY STUDENTS TO HOLD HEALTH FAIR

Mall walkers and shoppers alike will have a chance to do something good for their health at a pharmacy health fair to be held in the Walden Galleria on Sunday, Oct. 22, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The fair will take place in front of the Bon Ton store, lower level.

Free consultations will be provided at the fair, being held in recognition of National Pharmacy Week, by students in the UB School of Pharmacy and pharmacists from community drugstores and area hospitals.

The pharmacists and students will be available to discuss heart, blood-pressure, diabetes and pain medications; cough, cold and allergy medications; antacids; laxatives, and antidiarrheals.

They will discuss what foods and other drugs may interfere with a medication's effectiveness and the best place to store medicines (it's not in the medicine chest), as well as answers to questions about specific pharmaceuticals.

"Americans pay a high price for not complying with a physician's or pharmacist's directions about taking their medications," said Rose Mary Madejski, clinical assistant professor of pharmacy practice at UB.

She said that an estimated 125,000 Americans die each year because they do not take their medication properly.

Ten percent of all hospital admissions, 25 percent of hospital admissions among the elderly and 23 percent of nursing-home admissions result from drug noncompliance. Improper use of prescription medicines due to lack of knowledge is estimated to cost the U.S. economy between $10 billion and $15 billion a year.

In addition to the UB School of Pharmacy, fair organizers and sponsors include the Pharmacists Association of Western New York, the Western New York Society of Hospital Pharmacists, the UB Pharmacy Alumni Association and the National Association of Retail Druggists.

For more information, contact Rose Mary Madejski at 645-2826, ext. 241.

WORKSHOP ON STUTTERING TO BE HELD AT UB

The Buffalo chapter of the National Stuttering Project will hold a workshop entitled "Stuttering: Can We Talk?" from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 28, in The Kiva (Room 101) of Baldy Hall on the UB North Campus.

The workshop, open to the public, will be facilitated by Lee Reeves, a co-founder of the Dallas, Texas, chapter of the National Stuttering Project.

Participants will discuss stuttering openly and frankly in a caring and understanding environment, confront issues about stuttering that are obstacles in life, learn that they are not alone and be empowered to take control.

The registration fee is $35 for chapter members who pay in advance, $40 for those who pay at the door, and $40 for non-members who pay in advance, $45 for those who pay at the door. The fee for students is $10 paid in advance, $15 at the door.

Information about the workshop and registration may be obtained from Bonnie Weiss at 838-3999, or Gary Rentschler at 645-3400, extension 132.

RESEARCHERS FORM GROUP FOR VISION RESEARCH

Organizers of a Group for Advanced Vision Research, including researchers and clinicians from several UB departments are bringing together people working in the field to collaborate on research, coordinate funding efforts, share resources and enhance teaching.

William Coles, professor and chair of the UB Department of Ophthalmology, has been named executive director of the group, with Malcolm Slaughter, associate professor of biophysical sciences and ophthalmology, director of basic research, and James Reidy, assistant professor of ophthalmology, director of clinical research.

"We encourage any scientist in Western New York working in the field of basic or clinical vision research to join this collaborative effort," said Coles. "All of our work can benefit from sharing knowledge and resources."

Researchers from the UB departments of clinical laboratory science, anatomy, pediatrics, biochemistry and social and preventive medicine have affiliated with the group. Members are conducting funded research in diabetic retinopathy, retinopathy of prematurity, age-related macular degeneration, corneal inflammation, neuro-ophthalmology, and outcomes of surgical procedures in the developmentally disabled.

The group is organizing a research conference to be held in 1996. Periodic grand rounds where researchers can discuss their work, and continuing education seminars for clinicians also are planned.

WAL-MART AWARDS $5,000 SCHOLARSHIPS

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has selected Lisa Reaves, a UB freshman planning to major in chemistry, as this year's recipient of its annual Wal-Mart Competitive Edge Scholarship, awarded to an outstanding freshman in a technology-related program.

The scholarship, totaling $20,000 over four years, was created by Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton to honor students pursuing careers in technological fields, including aerospace, computers, biotechnology, electronics and telecommunications.

Wal-Mart also has presented a second-year scholarship award to last year's winner, Ethan Sasiela, a sophomore who intends to major in computer science.

Chosen by the University Honors Program, Competitive Edge Scholarship recipients are selected based on outstanding academic performance and financial need, explained Clyde Herreid, academic director of the honors program. "We look at their background in science and engineering and choose the very best," he added.

Herreid said Reaves and Sasiela have shown promise as exceptional contributors to the highly competitive, technology-related American marketplace of the 21st century.

THEATRE & DANCE TAKES ITS ACT TO ARGENTINE THEATER FESTIVAL

The UB Department of Theatre and Dance is one of 20 theater groups from throughout the Western Hemisphere invited to participate in the First International Theatre Festival for Young Audiences, taking place Oct. 13-22 in San Luis, Argentina. The festival was organized by the International Theatre Association for Children and Young Audiences (ASSITEJ) and is sponsored by the Argentine state of San Luis and the National University of San Luis.

Maria Horne, UB assistant professor of theatre and dance, will be presented with a special award by the ASSITEJ in recognition of her contributions to international theater. It will be presented at the Award Gala, which will be attended by the dean of the National University of San Luis and the governor of the state of San Luis.

The UB faculty delegation represents the International Artistic and Cultural Exchange Program of the Department of Theatre and Dance. It includes Horne, who will produce two theater events; Jerry Finnegan, and William Thomas, assistant professors of theatre and dance; Tressa Gorman Crehan, lecturer in theatre and dance, who will serve as artistic consultant, and Ken Szczepanski, technical director of the UB Center for the Arts.

The UB group presented a two-part program Oct. 16 and 17 co-sponsored by Buffalo's Irish Classical Theatre and The Inter-American Art Theatre, Inc.

The program included "Not Finding," a solo dance choreographed and performed by Thomas with music by John Williams, and the festival's only English-language production, Samuel Beckett's "Krapp's Last Tape," starring Finnegan and directed by adjunct professor Vincent O'Neill, director of the Irish Classical Theatre.

The UB delegation conducted workshops in acting, directing, jazz dance, musical comedy, computerized lighting for the stage and expressive movement techniques.

The festival emphasizes the integration of the cultures of North and South America and featured performing groups from Venezuela, Costa Rica, Mexico, the U.S., Argentina and many other nations.

ASSITEJ was founded in Paris in 1962 with the goal of furthering a better understanding of theater for youth among the nations of the world. The organization is headquartered in Denmark, with branches in most nations of the world.