"Pioneere and Aero," a photograph by Phil Schaefer, will be on display at the Harrison Center's "Road Trip" exhibit.

Fiction writer Jayne Anne Phillips. (Submitted photo)

A painting by Tom Butters. Butters' work will be on display at the Art Bank this month.

1. 'Road Trip' Reception

*6 to 10 p.m. March 7, free, Harrison Center for the Arts, (317) 396-3886, www.harrisoncenter.org.*

Twenty-five years ago, Clark Griswold packed his wife and kids into the family station wagon for a cross-country jaunt to Wally World in "Vacation." The movie was a smashing success, largely because everyone who saw it could identify with the experiences of the lovably mistake-prone Griswold family. In 2008, the cross-country vacation continues to be a universal cultural touchstone. "Road Trip" pays homage to the tradition with these works, all inspired by the American driving vacation. The exhibit includes pieces by Tre Reising, Matthew Eickhoff, Mary Beth Jackson, Brandon Bush and others. The night will also feature camping in the courtyard, old-fashioned vacation slideshows and park ranger-led talks.

2. Jayne Anne Phillips

7:30 p.m. March 6, free, Good Hall, Recital Hall, University of Indianapolis, 1400 E. Hanna Ave., (317) 788-2183.

"These stories of America's disenfranchised -- men and women light years away from the American dream -- are unlike any in our literature. She's an original, and this book of hers is a crooked beauty." Those are the words of the late Raymond Carver, who was speaking about Jayne Anne Phillips and her short story collection "Black Tickets." The book, published in 1979, established Phillips as a literary force. Phillips then published several other works of fiction, most recently "Motherkind," a novel about a young woman whose mother is dying of cancer. This week, Phillips visits the University of Indianapolis as part of its Kellogg Writers Series.

3.Tom Butters Showcase Reception

6 p.m. March 7, free, Art Bank studios and gallery, 811 Massachusetts Ave., (317) 507-3127.

Hoosier painter Tom Butters' relationship with motor sports goes way back. Butters has held a competition license for the Sports Car Club of America, has worked as the public-relations director for Indianapolis Raceway Park and has contributed to advertising campaigns for Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Ford and others while working in New York and St. Louis. This week, the Art Bank will host a show by Butters, including motor-sports art, comic-book-influenced pop paintings and surreal meditations.

4. 'Clop S--- Clop: Paintings of Paintings' Reception

6 p.m. to midnight March 7, free, Big Car Gallery, 1043 Virginia Ave., Suite 215, (317) 450-6630, www.bigcar.org.

Big Car Gallery's Web site doesn't make clear what the exhibit title has to do with the art of Tom Morrill and Julia Bland. Neither artist paints pictures of feces. Morrill meditates on the significance of abandoned beer boxes and toilet-papered trees. Bland's multimedia work is concerned with the effect of contemporary space on the human psyche. So you probably won't see pictures of crap. And that, we think, is a good thing. Submitted Photo

5. Third Annual Darwin Day Conference

8 a.m. March 8, $20 ($10 for teachers, free for students), IUPUI Campus Center, 420 University Blvd., (317) 797-5892.

You might say that the Darwin Day Conference is rife with opportunities for debate. Take the topic of featured speaker Richard Carrier's speech: "Ancient Creationism: Scientific Pagans vs. Armchair Christians." Rowr! Carrier, a historian and philosopher who writes regularly for the skeptics Web site www.infidels.org will be joined by Dr. John Langdon of the University of Indianapolis and Dr. 8Irwin Tessman of Purdue University as speakers at this daylong inquiry into the very origins of you, dear reader.