The reception for the Carolina Artists Student Art Expo for grades K-12, is tonight, March 20, at 5:30 p.m. at the Salisbury Civic Center, 315 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave.
This year’s theme is “The Circus.” The winners will be announced at the reception.
The opening reception for the spring exhibition “Relationships – The Art of the Human Condition and its Effects on the Environment,” is Friday, March 21, having been rescheduled from an earlier date due to weather. Guests are invited to come early and enjoy informal gallery talks with the exhibiting artists beginning at 5 p.m. The reception is from 6-8 p.m. Light refreshments will be served.
Waterworks Visual Arts Center is located at 123 E. Liberty Street, www.waterworks.org, 704-636-1882.
Capture the beauty of painting outside scenes in creative workshops being offered at Waterworks Visual Arts Center. Learn the basic principles of light, how to apply color, develop strong compositions, and use perspective in your paintings. Learn to fine tune your powers of observation and develop your own artistic style. There will be lots of individual attention and personal critique by instructor Phyllis Steimel.
The workshops are for ages 12 to adult and will be offered these Saturdays from 10 a.m.-1 p.m.:
Session 1: March 29
Session 2: April 5
Session 3: April 26
Each workshop is designed to be independent of the others. Take one class or all three for skill-building opportunities.
Register online at www.waterworks.org or call 704-636-1882. Tuition is$35/session for members and $45 for nonmembers. A discount is offered for those who would like to bundle all three sessions.
MOCKSVILLE — Broadway’s Best Theatre Company presents their second production of 2014, “Funny Stuff From Broadway” with a preview on Thursday, March 27. Opening night is on March 28 and additional performances are scheduled through April 6.
The show features songs from some of Broadway’s funniest musicals. This will be the theatre company’s first performance on their expanded and enlarged stage. Reservations are suggested.
Preview tickets are $15 for adults and seniors and $10 for students. Opening night tickets are 10% off regular prices, plus patrons are treated to a reception. Regular ticket prices are $20 for adults, $16 for seniors and $12 for students.
All evening performances are at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday performances are 2 p.m. matinees. Visit www.broadwaysbest.biz or call 336-575-4446.
It might feel like winter outside, but spring is on the way and so is the April 3 Spring Taste of Home Cooking School. There are still plenty of general admission seats available, so get them before March 31 when the price goes from $10 to $12.
Doors open from 4-5 p.m. for VIP ticket holders who will be treated to light hors d’oeuvres and a book signing with Culinary Specialist Michelle Roberts, then at 5 p.m. the doors open to the general public. Vendors will be displaying various products from 5-6:30 p.m., and the cooking school begins at 6:30 p.m..
A returning favorite, Michael Thomas, will be emcee and perform as ‘Melvis’ during pre-show activities.
Tickets may be purchased online at EventBrite.com, at salisburypost.com/tasteofhome, over the phone by calling 704-797-4220 between 8 a.m.-5 p.m., or in person at the Salisbury Post, 131 West Innes St.
Once again, Trinity Living Center is opening its doors to area artists by providing models for portraits. Biographies of participants are available to the artist, providing a sense of connection with the subject. Portraits may be started at any time and will need to be turned in by Aug. 8, 2014.
The intent of the project is to literally put a face on Trinity Living Center’s ministry of care to frail elderly and disabled adults, where the talent of the artist will portray the participants’ faces, etched with years of working, loving and living.
Artists may work in their medium of choice and may photograph the model to complete the work at home, or a photograph of the model will be provided to work from.
Once completed, the portraits will on exhibit at Waterworks Visual Arts Center beginning Sept. 17, with an opening reception on Sept. 25. The artist’s biography will be displayed beside their art. In early November of 2014 the portraits will be presented to family members to keep and cherish.
To participate, call Trinity Living Center at 704-637-3940 or email cjoyce@trinitylivingcenter.net or bgarwood@aladc.net
The Salisbury Ghost Walks 2014 walking tours continue this Friday and Saturday evenings, March 21 and 22 at 7 p.m. Join “Boo” and the gang for a walk around down town Salisbury to hear tales of how in the 1800’s Salisbury earned the reputation as the “wettest and wickedest” town in the state.
Bring a camera, smart phone and flashlight as some of the tales will come to life via present day hauntings. In 2010 this walk received a tourism award from the Governor’s Office.
The cost is $5 for students and $10 for adults. Reservations are recomended at boo@salisburyghostwalk.com or 704-798-3102 to reserve your spot. Walks are also scheduled for the monthly Friday Night Out On The Town.
Join Scrabble Scramble 11 from 5:30-9 p.m. on Tuesday April 8 at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 200 West Innes St. for a buffet dinner and three rounds of team Scrabble.
The rate is $30 per person or $300 for a table of 10. Sponsored by the Rowan County Literacy Council to promote awareness of the illiteracy problem in Rowan County and to raise funds to provide program materials for our clients. Call 704-216-8266 by April 3 for reservations.

The importance of art integrated into your life is a form of therapy you give yourself by getting out of the fast lane and listening to what Art is telling you. The fast lane may get you to your destination quicker, but think of all the things you lost while you were busy getting ahead. Contact Rufty-Holmes Center and ask about the Mind Aerobics Art Class every Monday from 2 to 4 p.m. The cost is $10 for a two hour class. For more information visit www.RobertToth.com or call 704-279-9301.
MT. ULLA — There are still vendor spots available for the 2014 Community Spring Festival on Saturday, March 29 at the 85-year-old feed store in Mt. Ulla, for local crafters, artists, antique vendors, and other locally made or locally grown goods. Spots are $20. Call Elsie Bennett at 704-278-2800.
WINSTON-SALEM — The Winston-Salem Symphony has announced its 2014-2015 season, which includes a memorable selection of classics concerts, plugged-in pops concerts, discovery concerts for kids and a special not-to-be-missed event “An Evening with Yo-Yo Ma” coming on Sunday, Oct. 5. Subscriptions are available now and can be purchased by calling the symphony box office at 336-464-0145. Tickets to individual concerts will go on sale in the early summer. For more information visit WSsymphony.org
DOBSON — Although the genre is old time music, organizers of the Surry Old Time Fiddlers Convention understand the importance of reaching younger generations. With that in mind, youth involvement is a focus at this year’s convention, which takes place Friday and Saturday, March 28-29, at Surry Community College in Dobson.
The Surry Old Time Fiddlers Convention, now in its fifth year, includes a Friday night dance with three bands, a Saturday full of jam sessions and music competitions, and multiple Saturday workshops led by expert artists. This year’s Friday evening bands are: Mountain Park Old Time Band, Slate Mountain Ramblers and Back-Step.
Saturday’s activities are highlighted by day-long competitions in fiddle, banjo, guitar, twin fiddle, folk song and dance. There are also band competitions beginning at 6 p.m. Prizes are awarded in youth and adult divisions in all competitions.
Also on Saturday are four workshops: Noted fiddler Eddie Bond of Virginia hosts the fiddle workshop, award-winning musician and NRP personality Paul Brown holds a banjo workshop, guitar virtuoso Chester McMillan of Surry County oversees the guitar workshop, and well-known dancer Dr. Mark Handy presenting the dance workshop.
Hours are 7 to 11 p.m. Friday night; and 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Saturday. Admission is $5 daily, children 12 and under free. Saturday’s contestants also get in free.
For details, call 877-99-8390 or go to www.surryoldtime.com
WINSTON-SALEM — RJ Reynolds Memorial Auditorium will host “8 Track Saturday Night” On Saturday, April 19 at 8 p.m. The Emotions, The Main Ingredient with Cuba Gooding (remember “Everybody Plays the Fool”?) and The Delfonics with original member William “Poogie” Hart will be performing.
No-fee tickets for the concert are available at rjreynoldsauditorium.com
MORGANTON — What about those mysterious brown mountain lights in Burke County? The lights, a natural phenomenon seen for centuries near their namesake mountain, play an integral role in “Alien Abduction,” a highly-anticipated sci-fi thriller hitting the big screens April 4. The independent movie was filmed in Burke, Avery and Watauga counties, and will hold its world premiere Tuesday, April 1 in Morganton, just over an hour’s drive from Salisbury.
Director Matty Beckerman and producer Cathy Beckerman, both of Los Angeles, will be on hand for the premiere, and will host a Q-and-A following the 7 p.m. screening.
Beckerman grew up on the East Coast and learned about the Brown Mountain Lights as a kid visiting his grandparents’ house in Blowing Rock. During those visits he also experienced the remoteness of North Carolina’s mountains, and combined those two ideas into a fictitious story that involves the lights and the disappearance of people.
The movie uses the found-footage format to tell the story from the viewpoint of a family on a camping trip to Brown Mountain. Beckerman describes it as a “psychological thriller” that does not rely on blood and gore to stir emotion.
For more info, see www.AlienAbductionFilm.com
KANNAPOLIS — Kaleidoscope Arts Celebration is taking artist submissions to be displayed in the store windows in Downtown Kannapolis, showcasing local artists and their work.
Submissions are open to all artistic formats, including drawings, paintings, pottery and jewelry. Exhibits must be family friendly and Kaleidoscope Arts Celebration staff have the right to refuse to display a piece of artwork.
Art submissions can be delivered to the Independent Tribune, 363 Church St. N. from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday from April 15 through June 30.
Each submission should include name, contact information, sellingp price if applicable, and a brief bio of 100 words or less, all printed out on one sheet of paper that can be displayed with the artwork. Pieces should be small enough to be easily transported. The event is limited to the first 75 pieces selected.
The artwork will then be taken to stores in Downtown Kannapolis and displayed in area store windows. Art work should be in place at the locations from mid July through early October, after which the artwork will be moved to the old Cannon Towel building for an artist’s reception. Artists should plan to attend the public reception at 5 p.m. Oct. 25 to greet the public as well as collect their artwork. The reception is free to the public and is scheduled to have live entertainment.
The reception is also an end of the year celebration for the Last Kaleidoscope Cultural Arts Festival of the year, which will be held from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. that day. All the artists and performers from Kaleidoscope Cultural Arts Festival are invited to participate in the Kaleidoscope Arts Celebration.
For details, visit www.kannapolisarts.com or e-mail info@kannapolisarts.com or call 828-231-5037.