ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT BRIEFS

WNC Fallon opens art show

Western Nevada College Fallon is presenting its student art show on Saturday through May 17.

The Art BBQ is also Saturday from 3-5 p.m.

The public is invited to see the students’ work and enjoy some refreshments.

Dancing with the Stars

It is that time again for 10 Fallon Celebrities to “Out Shine-Out Dance” one another at this year’s annual Dancing With The Stars.

This year’s line up is full of competitive men and women who are taking their skills to the limit in hopes to walk away with the first place trophy.

CCHS Swing Team will present the event on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Churchill County High School gym. Tickets may be purchased @ CCHS, CCMS, Robertson & Koenig Optometry, The Electric Chairs Salon, and Jeff’s Copy Express.

The CCHS Swing teams have been invited to perform at Disneyland in Anaheim from June 12-14. All proceeds will help fund this awe-inspiring opportunity.

WNC presents the musical Oliver!

Lionel Bart’s exuberant musical Oliver! takes the stage in Carson City for two weekends in May.

The Western Nevada Musical Theatre Company’s production of “Oliver! plays in seven performances at the Carson City Community Center. A Tony Award-winning classic, Oliver! is the musical retelling of Charles Dickens’ “Oliver Twist.” The story tells of a child who is sold by a London orphanage because he asked for more food. Oliver eventually escapes to the streets of London, finding adventure and a loving home. The production is animated with high-spirited dance numbers and filled with unforgettable tunes, including “Pick-a-pocket,” “Where is Love,” “Consider Yourself,” and “As Long As He Needs Me.” Performed by a cast of 50 and accompanied by a professional orchestra, Oliver! is family entertainment at its best. Starring Patrick Hardy as Fagin, who returns to play the role after multiple standing-ovation performances in the company’s 1994 production, the show also features Logan Chapman as Oliver and Brynn Garrett as Nancy. Stephanie Arrigotti produces and directs. Gina Kaskie Davis is the choreographer. Performances are on Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. - May 10, 11, 17 and 18 at 7:30 p.m. and May 12, 18 and 19 at 2 p.m.

To purchase tickets, go to www.wnmtc.com and click on “Buy Tickets.” Prices vary from $25 to $28 and there is no service charge. Season tickets are also currently available that include the international sensation, Les Misérables, playing in November.

For information, phone 775-445-4249. The Carson City Community Center is located at 851 E. William St., on the corner of Roop Street and U.S. Highway 50 East. Tickets will also be sold at the venue one hour before showtime.

In the spirit of Aloha

There is a saying, “The papaya doesn’t fall far from the tree,” and the family of featured artists showing selected works at The Rising Sun Gallery and Art Studios, 203 S. Maine St. during the month of May is a testament that sometimes a variety of talent produces beautiful art.

A reception will be held on Saturday from 6-10 p.m.

Terri Woodhams has been fascinated by the beauty and power of the ancient Hawaiian language of Hula. Wanting to express the dynamic energy and strength that hula dancers display, she set about creating artwork with the help of volunteer dancers.

Working from photos, her graphite drawings depend on light, shadows and smooth blending to capture the softness of skin and fabric. To better understand what this ancient art is all about, she began taking hula classes in 2003.

Photographing the indigenous floral of the Hawaiian Islands, Haunani Dudoit-Kary captures both the beauty and fragility of nature.

A fourth generation Hawaiian, she does not believe photography is just a simple “click” of the camera. It is getting up close and personal. It’s seeing the rainbow of colors as they vary from pale to vibrant, the delicate lines or softness of form with a touch of morning dew or cast of shadow. It is being drawn in so you can actually smell the flowers, feel the gentle breeze or warmth of the sun, and to reach out and touch. For Haunani, this is Hawaii.

An instructor at the University of Hawaii, Marshall Leonard Kary, Jr.’s current body of work started in 2002. Earlier in the year he had been thinking of drip paintings. The illness of a friend began him thinking,

“Life is so fragile, like a piece of thread. Time is like a fine line that can be shortened.” Those thoughts, in turn, reminded him of drip paintings.

Continuing this legacy of family artists, 4-year-old Master Kekoa (Brandon) Woodhams will also be showing a few of his special art pieces.

For information on this event call Patricia Sammons, managing director at 775-294-4135 or you may see what’s happening at facebook.com/risingsunartgallery.

Chili and Comstock

Virginia City’s 30th annual Chili on the Comstock returns to the historic town May 11-12 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Taking place along C Street, the historic town’s main drive, the event promises all the favorite flavors and brings a new Fireball Crawl, live music and family friendly activities.

The two-day event hosts around 40 of the best chili cookers in the west competing for a spot in the International Chili Society (ICS) World Finals later this year in Las Vegas.

For information visit www.visitvirginiacitynv.com or call the Virginia City Tourism Commission (VCTC) at 775-847-7500.

Authors inducted into Texas organization

Fernley author Mary Jean Kelso and her daughter, Wendy Whiteman (Brownsville, Ore.), have been inducted into the Daughters of the Republic of Texas.

The Catherine Cynthia Overton Jennings Chapter was chartered at the April 14 meeting in Austin, Texas. The Alamo Defenders Descendents Association membership certificates for each awaited them upon their return.

Kelso was honored to present a brief speech outlining the history of her great-great-grandmother’s life at the DRT meeting. Catherine Cynthia Overton Jennings was the wife of Gordon C. Jennings (Kelso’s great-great-grandfather) who was killed at the Alamo. Their son, Samuel K. Jennings, two other sons of Catherine by previous marriages and a son-in-law, served as Texas Rangers. Samuel Jennings (Kelso’s great-grandfather) was awarded the Texas Medal of Honor posthumously in 2012.

Kelso will be signing books at the 2013 Silverland Art Expo & Gala on May 11 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at Silverland Middle School, 1100 Jasmine Lane, Fernley.

Take mom for a train ride

This Mother’s Day, give mom a window seat back in time with a tour of the Wild West aboard the Virginia and Truckee Railroad on May 12.

This special edition train ride from Nevada’s capital, Carson City, to the 1860s boom-era mining town of Virginia City, will provide Mom with a long stem rose, Old West history, storytelling, shopping and dining in Virginia City to go along with the spectacular scenery.

Tickets are $35 for adults, $31 seniors and $20 for children ages 3-16. Toddlers and infants are free when they sit on a parent’s lap. Tickets can be purchased online at www.vtrailway.com or 877-724-5007.

The ride features scenic vistas of the Carson River and majestic Sierra Nevada with engines passing through two tunnels, abandoned mine shafts, old cemeteries along countryside where sightings of wild mustangs are routine.

The V&T Railroad’s 16 miles of track reopened in August 2009 after 70 years of nonoperation.

The Mother’s Day train features a 1953 ALCO heritage diesel locomotive leading 100 year-old Pullman coaches.