Briefs: Music, theater and family fun
Theater
CIVIL RIGHTS ERA
INSPIRES ‘VIOLET’
The early days of the civil rights movement provides the dramatic backdrop for the award-winning musical “Violet,” which begins a two-weekend run tonight at the College of Southern Nevada.
With a gospel, rock, country and rhythm-and-blues score by Jeanine Tesori (“Thoroughly Modern Millie,” “Shrek the Musical”), “Violet” follows a bitter young woman, accidentally scarred by her father, who’s traveling by bus from North Carolina to Oklahoma in search of a cure by a televangelist. Along the way, an encounter with two soldiers helps her learn lessons in love and courage.
“Violet” will be staged at 7:30 p.m. today and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday in the Nicholas J. Horn Theatre at the college, 3200 E. Cheyenne Ave., North Las Vegas. Additional performances are 7:30 p.m. April 26-27 and 2 p.m. April 28.
Tickets ($17 for adults, $15 for students and seniors) are available by phone at 651-5483 or online at www.csn.edu/pac.
Family fun
FESTIVALS SALUTE
WORLDS OF FUN
It’s a world of festivals this weekend as the University of Nevada, Las Vegas hosts the Festival of Communities and GreenFest , while the Rio welcomes the 12th annual Pure Aloha Festival. Also, the Las Vegas Celtic Society’s Highland Games settle in at Floyd Lamb Park and the 20th annual Clark County Children’s Festival takes over the Winchester Cultural Center.
Celebrating cultural diversity and Earth Day, the Festival of Communities and GreenFest double up from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway.
More than 130 booths showcase cultural diversity, international refreshments and a variety of earth-friendly (and kid-friendly) activities; for information, visit www.unlv.edu/festivals.
At the Rio, 3700 W. Flamingo Road, the 12th annual Pure Aloha Festival continues from 4 to 11 p.m. today, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday, celebrating all things Hawaiian, including island crafts, music and food. In addition, Katchafire , Common Kings & Maoli perform in concert tonight; Saturday’s concert headliners are Kapena & Mahi.
Concert tickets ($28 to $38) are available online at www.vizzun.com; general admission tickets ($6 for seniors, military and children 5 to 10, $8 general) are available at the gate.
Floyd Lamb Park, meanwhile, becomes a Scottish outpost during the Las Vegas Celtic Society’s annual Celtic Gathering and Highland Games, which take place from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. today and Sunday at 9200 Tule Springs Road.
Athletic, dance and band competitions, plus live Scottish entertainment, highlight the highland fun. Tickets ($10 to $15 for those older than 5) are available at the gate; a $2 discount is available with the donation of a nonperishable food item. For more information, visit www.lasvegascelticsociety.org.
And from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Winchester Cultural Center, 3130 McLeod Drive, the 20th annual Clark County Children’s Festival features music and dance, arts and crafts, exotic animals, clown and percussion workshops, storytelling, carnival games and more. (There’s a small fee for refreshments and such activities as rock climbing and pony rides.) For more information, call 455-7340.
Art
BOULDER CITY, ANTHEM
HOST ART FESTIVALS
Free outdoor arts festivals crop up this weekend in Boulder City and Henderson’s Anthem Highlands.
The 28th Annual Boulder City Fine Arts Festival, which spotlights works by more than 130 artists from the Southwest, takes places Saturday and Sunday in Boulder City’s Bicentennial Park, 999 Colorado St.
Free drawings, a fine art raffle, entertainment and refreshments augment displays of watercolors, oils, acrylics, photography, sculpture, glass jewelry, pottery and other artworks.
The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; for more information, call 293-2138.
In Henderson, the ArtWalk at Anthem Highlands will feature fine art, jewelry, glass, ceramics, photography and other crafts, along with a children’s art area. Sedona, Ariz.-based Kendzia will provide musical entertainment Sunday.
The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Anthem Highlands Shopping Center, 2810 Bicentennial Parkway, Henderson. For more information, visit www.vegasartwalk.com.
Music
UNLV SYMPHONY
SETS CONCERT
Generation X member Scott McAllister’s aptly titled Concerto in X for Clarinet and Strings joins M. Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor and Franz Liszt’s “Rhapsodie Espagnole” on the program for next Wednesday’s UNLV Symphony concert.
Violinist Dmytro Hnedych, pianist Hauen Grace Kim and clarinetist Jennifer Iles will appear as soloists; Taras Krysa , UNLV’s director of orchestras, will conduct.
The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in Artemus Ham Hall on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway. For tickets ($8 to $10), call 895-2787 or visit pac.unlv.edu.
Family fun
DISNEY ON ICE
SKATES INTO LV
Set sail with a host of Disney favorites as Disney on Ice’s “Treasure Trove” anchors Thursday at the Thomas & Mack Center for a four-day stay.
The skating show spotlights a motley crew of beloved animated characters, including various Disney princesses, Peter Pan, Tinkerbell and Captain Hook, “The Lion King’s” Simba, Nala, Pumbaa and Timon and “Alice in Wonderland’s” title character, plus the Mad Hatter and the Queen of Hearts’ Army of Cards.
“Treasure Trove” hits the ice at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Thomas & Mack Center, Tropicana Avenue and Swenson Street. Additional performances are 7:30 p.m. April 26; 11:30 a.m., 3 and 7:30 p.m. April 27; and 1:30 and 5:30 p.m. April 28. Tickets ($13 to $58) are available by calling 739-3267 or online at www.unlvtickets.com.
— By CAROL CLING
