Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), NIU chapter, will host a “Renewal Gathering” at 8:30 p.m., tonight. The meeting will be at J.P. Hannagan’s, 1215 Blackhawk Drive.

Jerry Dostal, public affars director of Contel, will speak on public relation’s and communication’s challenges in today’s corporate environment.

Inventors’ seminar

NIU will have a seminar for Elgin area inventors and small-business operators who want to move an invention or idea from the mind to the market.

The program is sponsored by NIU’s Technology Commercialization Center from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Thursday at Elgin’s Holiday Inn, 345 River Road.

Festival to help orphans

The DeKalb area Interfaith Network is sponsoring an October festival, flea market and garage sale from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. The festival is a benefit for children orphaned in the fighting in Nicaragua.

Food, music, art, ethnic crafts, entertainment, children’s concert, storytelling and face painting are the planned activities at the Finnish Opera House, 1021 State St.

Senator to visit NIU

Senator Doris Karpiel will visit NIU from noon to 3:15 p.m. Oct. 24. She will guest lecture in Clark Neher’s 2 p.m. “Women in Politics” political science class.

Karpiel is a republican from Bloomingdale, representing the 25th district. She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from NIU in 1976.

Racial discrimination

“Racial Discrimination on Campus: Promoting Peer Initiatives and Student Action” is a workshop to bring together students to plan ways to combat discrimination and promote racial and cultural diversity.

Sessions are from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 28 at NIU’s Holmes Student Center. A fee of $60 includes lunch and a social gathering on Oct. 27. A reduced fee of $25 is available to NIU students, faculty and staff. For more information, call 753-6100.

Poems needed for book

The American Arts Association is accepting poems, no more than 30 lines in length, for a book that will be distributed to selected hospitals, day care centers and nursing homes.

The deadline for submitting poems is Nov. 15. Send poems to the American Arts Association, 102 Estes Drive, Gulfport, MS 39503.

Poetry reading

Prize-winning poet Joe Gastiger, from NIU’s Honors Program, will read poems by Richard Howland, NIU professor of marketing, at 8 p.m. Thursday at the Wesley Foundation, 633 W. Locust.