I hate to tell those of you who don't celebrate Christmas or are just general Scrooges, but there's not a whole lot of special events this weekend that aren't holiday related.

This is the big "holiday" kickoff weekend in Little Rock.  Our big parade is Saturday and the capital lighting ceremony is that night.  Most of the light displays around the state are switched on, and everyone is hitting the malls.  The holidays are happening whether you like it or not.

Here's a holiday tip, the radio station 106.3 FM is playing Christmas music throughout the Christmas season.  Tune in if you want to hear some old gems (and they've been playing some newer stuff too), or tune out if you can't stand the stuff!

• December 2 is a a regular event, Hillcrest Shop & Sip it's 5-9 p.m. in Hillcrest.
• This weekend Carti has their Festival of Trees and all the ceremony surrounding it from Tux and Trees (Dec 4), to Breakfast with Santa (Dec 4), to the strolls through the forest (2-4), you can help support CARTI and get some Christmas cheer.  The Sugar Plum Ball is sold out.
• Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey: Illuscination will be at Verizon December 2 - 5.  Tickets via ticketmaster.
• December 3-5 is Toys for Tots "Toy Hill." The motorcycle parade is Saturday at the Corner of Monroe Street and Little Rock Zoo Drive.
• Heifer Village is hosting  A Celebration of Living Gifts on December 4.  You can learn about sustainable gifting from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• While you're on Zoo Drive for Toys for Toys (or even if you're not) drop off a coat for the CASA Coat Drive.  It's 9 a.m. to noon at the Little Rock Zoo.  A cout will get you a free child's admission.

Depending on your outlook on the oil spill, you'll either want to celebrate gulf seafood or you'll want to avoid it.  You can't deny that the Gulf Coast has been greatly affected by the spill.  Their holidays won't be as good because of it, probably for many years.  No check from BP is going to fix that.

The good news is that some of the fisherman and shrimpers are still working.  If you believe the food is safe,  a few Arkansas restaurants are celebrating it.

"AMERICA'S NIGHT OUT FOR GULF SEAFOOD" shows seafood from the Gulf of Mexico is safe to eat, and honors the thousands of Americans in the Gulf seafood industry who are now back to work."

Find out more about the initiative, fishing and the safety of seafood in the Gulf.

The restaurants below are featuring dishes that include either fish, oysters, shrimp or crabs from the Gulf of Mexico.  Who couldn't use a little seafood after all those turkey leftovers?

• Markham Street Grill & Pub is serving shrimp and scallops wrapped in bacon (11321 W. Markham St.  501-224-2010)
• Cajun's Wharf is serving oysters on the halfshell and fried green  tomatoes topped with crawfish tails (2400 Cantrell Rd. 501-375-535)
• Dugan's Pub is offering a seafood platter with shrimp, scallops and cod (401 E. 3rd St.  501-244-0542)
• Ciao Baci is offering gulf shrimp over asparagus mushroom risotto (605 N Beechwood 501-603-0238)
• Local Luna has jumbo garlic shrimp with ravioli (3509 Cantrell Rd.   501-663-4666)
• Red Door has fried gulf oysters with cheese grits (Cantrell Rd.   501-666-8482)

This is one of my favorite times of the year in Arkansas, because it's the time when we're visited by lots of migratory birds. The trumpeter swans, snow geese and lots of bald eagles are migrating in right now.

Lynn, a bald eagle from the Little Rock Zoo

Eagles are a great conservation success story.   Humans took action and brought them back from the brink of extinction. In Arkansas, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission initiated a reintroduction program in 1982 with eagles from Minnesota and Wisconsin. The population increased from one pair in 1982 to 80 pairs in 2007.  Today, Arkansas ranks in the top 10 states in the number of winter bald eagle sightings. Over 1,000 bald eagles are counted each winter.

Dee Godsey helps Rodney Paul release a red tailed hawk.

With so many eagles hanging out around Arkansas, some are bound to be injured.  Eagles and other birds of prey can be injured by many things including vehicles, man-made structures, shooting or poisoning.  When an eagle is injured, a raptor rehabilitator steps in to take care of it and help nurse it back to health.

Since rehabbers hope to be able to release injured birds back into the wild, the less human interaction they have, the better.  Eagles need an extremely large pen in order to recuperate successfully.   That creates a lot of problems for injured eagles.  It's difficult to find a place for them.  Rodney Paul, a bird of prey rehabilitator in El Paso, AR teamed up with Entergy to provide a solution.  He dedicated his new eagle flight pen, the only eagle flight pen in central Arkansas, today (November 30, 2010).

Entergy donated 26 utilities poles and $13,000 worth of supplies to help him build a 20 feet high, 20 feet wide and 120 foot long eagle pen on his property.  It's already served as a temporary home to a bald eagle who was released in October, and can hold other birds, like red-tailed Hawks.

There are now three eagle flight pens in Arkansas, one in El Paso and two in extreme Western Arkansas.

Red tailed hawk under Raptor Rehab of Central Arkansas' care.

Rodney Paul is the full-time proprietor of Raptor Rehab of Central Arkansas and will be responsible for future maintenance and operational costs for the facility.   He is a truly dedicated individual and does this for the love of the birds.   Raptors are a lot of hard work, but seeing one fly off into the sunset makes it all worth it.

Besides the flight pen, Paul's property has nine small flight pens.  If a bird cannot be released, it can often be used in education.  Some of Paul's past rehabs are at the Little Rock Zoo, and he uses a few for outreach programs of his own.  People who rehabilitate birds of prey must go through special training and receive certification, as Paul has.

Kenley Money and a barn owl Raptor Rehab of Central Arkansas uses for education.

If you find an injured bird or want to find more about his operation, check out the Arkansas Game and Fish Migratory Bird Rehabilitator list.  Rodney Paul can also do educational programs for your group or organization, on request.

Photos copyright Amanda Galiano, 2010, you can get a slightly larger view by clicking on them or visit Flickr.

Sarah Palin will be in Little Rock at Sam's Club on West Bowman to promote her newest book, America By Heart, on Tuesday November 30th.  Little Rock is one stop on her book signing tour and the signing is limited to only 1,000 people.

The signing is for Sam's Clubs members only, and you have to obtain a wristband prior to the signing.  Non-members will be allowed to purchase a membership.

To get a wristband, you must show up at the store on West Bowman starting at 10:00 a.m.  One thousand wristbands will be given out on a first come, first serve basis.  It's suggested you be back at the store and in line no later than 5:00 p.m. for the 5:30 p.m. signing.

Books are available for purchase at Sam's.