Mother’s Day is around the corner. For her third “letter” book, Lisa Erspamer has

Mother’s Day is around the corner. For her third “letter” book, Lisa Erspamer has compiled 64 letters from everyday sons and daughters and celebrities, saying thanks to their mothers. Here are five excerpts from “A Letter to My Mom”:

v Will.I.Am, to his mother, Debra Cain: Thank you for designing me ... Thank you for programming me ... Thank you for developing me ...Thank you for installing morals in my system ...

v Monica Lewinsky, to her mother Marcia Straus: Without your love and support during the maelstrom of 1998, I don’t think I would have made it through the Starr investigation and the long shadow of the debilitating aftermath.

v Dr. Phil McGraw, to his late mother, Geraldine McGraw: In my entire life, there was never a single day that my dad told me he was proud of me and not a single day that you didn’t tell me . ... I still do my best to not disappoint you.

v Cat Cora, to her mother, Virginia Lee Cora: You dragged us to church every single Sunday when I know we obnoxiously whined, you dyed red Greek Orthodox eggs on Easter when all the other kids had pastels, and you always told us the truth even when it meant you had to deal with our backlash. And you never let us quit.

v Josh Groban, to his mother, Lindy Groban: Raising me wasn’t easy. I was odd, I was hyper, and sometimes I spoke in my native Martian tongue. But you were ever-patient, ever-loving and emotionally connected to me in that way that was telekinetic.

“The Casual Vacancy” (8 p.m., HBO): We’re definitely not in Hogwarts anymore. “The Casual Vacancy” is a three-part miniseries based on the first adult novel by “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling. The setting is Pagford, a seemingly idyllic village that becomes torn by strife after the sudden death of a local leader.

“White Collar Convicts” (10 p.m., CNBC): TV news cameras are rarely allowed inside federal prisons, but the new documentary “White Collar Convicts: Life on the Inside” goes behind the walls to capture the experience of crooked CEOs, inside traders and embezzlers.

“Ripper Street” (10 p.m., BBC America): Season 3 hits the tracks running with a train robbery.

TV listings, B6

ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

Beaver Creek park opening activities

NEGLEY

The Pioneer Village at Beaver Creek State Park will have opening-day activities Saturday.

The inaugural Doug Fodrey Memorial Fishing experience (15 and under) will be at the mill pond, with poles and bait provided. It is free.

For a $10 donation at the Pioneer Village trading post, teens and adults may take a short kayak ride on Beaver Creek. Signed permission forms are required.

Pioneer Village will be open for tours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with the first running of the new Gaston’s Mill water wheel. Wheat flour will be ground and offered for sale at the trading post.

The wheel cost $30,000, and funds still are being accepted to pay for it. Send donations to Friends of Beaver Creek State Park, PO Box 2063, East Liverpool, OH 43920.