Lipstick and Lashes: A Girl's Best Friend

(Some content courtesy: Globe Gazette)

Catch the farewell tour of Lucinda Holliday

Larry Moore stars in "Lipstick and Lashes," a One Wo"MAN" comedy show, on Saturday, April 15, at the Iowa River Players Theater, 901 Broadway St, in Rowan.

Moore, a Rowan native, is Lucinda Holliday, "a small-town boy with a city flair."

A reception will be at 5:30 p.m., featuring hors d'oeuvres and pictures with the actor. Tickets are $15.

The show begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are also $15.

For information, and to purchase tickets, visit iowariverplayerstheater.org.

Congratulations, Central Park Dentistry!

Meet artist and educator Diane Blair Kunzler at NIACC

(Some content courtesy: Globe Gazette)
Oil paintings and pastels by Iowa artist and educator Diane Blair Kunzler are on display in the Auditorium Gallery at North Iowa Area Community College until May 5.

Meet the artist and enjoy refreshments and lively discussion during an Artist's Talk and Reception at 2 p.m. today, April 13, in the gallery. All are invited.

Blair Kunzler's work has been recognized and displayed in numerous galleries across America. Her work is also on exhibit at the Des Moines Art Center in its annual juried show.

"I have spent the majority of my adult life living in small, rural Iowa towns," she said in an artist's statement, "yet my artistic connection to the surrounding land and water was initially surprising to me. ...Over time and repeated exposure, the land and water of Iowa and the Midwest has gradually invaded my consciousness and shaped my imagery."

Here's The Plan!

April 8, 2017

Horsemen of Iowa Clinic - Jim Barkema Bar, 12489 285 St., Mason City. HII is pleased to again be hosting Top Notch Equine Therapy for chiropractic and magna wave care and Carrie Brown DVM for dental services. In addition to this, Jodi Distad of Broadway Farms will be putting on a showmanship clinic in the morning followed by a horsemanship clinic in the afternoon. The day will start at 9am. Auditors are welcome to come watch free of charge. Lunch will be provided. Contact Donna Lubahn at 641-430-8252 to get signed up for the clinic or a time slot reserved for your chiropractic or dental care. 

Feeder Pig Show- North Iowa Events Center(Olson Building), Hwy 122 W, 3700 4^th St. SW (641-435-4482). Event time: 9am-3pm. Feeder pig sale. For more information, contact Kody Trampel at 515-341-0166.

Landscape Designs (ages 6+) - Charles H. MacNider Art Museum, 303 2^nd St. SE (641-421-3666). Event time: 10am-12pm. Explore the techniques of space, depth, and concepts of foreground, middle and background landscapes. Land, city, and seascapes will be the focus of this class. Fee $18/ members $16.

Roller Skating - Roller City, 600 2^nd NW (641-423-2000). Morning Skate: 10am-12pm - A slower pace geared towards younger families, $10 per family. Afternoon Skate: 1pm-4pm - The most popular session for parties and larger groups, $6 per skater. Night Skate: 7pm-10pm - Most popular skating session with Jackpot Dice Game and much more, $7 per skater.

Meet the Artist Reception and Awards - Clear Lake Arts Center, 17 South 4^th St.(Stanton Gallery), Clear Lake (641-357-1998).  The public is invited to the 4^th Annual Re-Purpose Exhibit's Meet the Artists Reception & Awards Ceremony. This exhibit demonstrates that everyone can be an artist. Showcasing the work of area artist who have applied creativity in his/her area of interest and changed the reason for which something exhibits. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional works made from a wide array of unusual found and recycled materials will be on display.  Event time: 11:00am-1:00pm.

Second Hand Cafe - Clear Lake Arts Center, 17 South 4^th St.(Sukup Performing Arts Wing), Clear Lake (641-357-1998). Event time: 11am-1pm. Volunteers at the Clear Lake Arts Center will open the Second Hand Café in the Sukup Performing Arts Wing serving 'small plates' for a small price. The Second Hand Café provides a delicious and affordable dining destination for the community, with all proceeds going to the Clear Lake Arts Center. Combine lunch with a stroll through the gallery, a peek into the Art Studios and browse through the gift shop. All are welcome.

Spring, Easter & Summer Show - Willowbrook Mall, 1631 4^th St. SW. (641-424-4002). Show presented by Browns Shoe Fit, Emerson's at the Willow, Phoenix, and Saxony's Tried & True. Show starts at 1pm.

Free Women’s Self-Defense Seminar - Willowbrook Mall, 1631 4^th St. SW. The Mason City Community Policing Advisory Board has announced plans for a free Women's Self-Defense Seminar event from 2-4pm. Jessica Tierney, Executive Director of American Women's Self Defense Association will present an educational seminar. This seminar will include tips and techniques to employ if you get into harm's way. The Community Policing Advisory Board's goal is to help promote a safer community. Education is one of the keys for keeping citizens safe. All ages welcome. There will be refreshments and door prizes. The event is co-sponsored with the Mason City Police Department. Contact cpab.1997@yahoo.com for more information.

Blues guitarist Matt Woods - Fat Hill Brewing, 17 N. Federal Ave.(641-423-0737). Please join us for an afternoon with roots and blues musician Matt Woods. Matt is a seasoned performer who is excited to share the diversity of roots and blues (traditional delta, hill country and urban electric blues, to gospel, country, and folk music) with Mason City! No cover charge. Event time: 2pm-5pm.

River City Chorus Spring Show — North Iowa Auditorium, NIACC, 500 College Drive (641-380-0406). 58th annual showcase of chorus and quartets presents an evening of barbershop. 2pm & 7pm. Admission: $12 advance or $15 at the door for 2pm show, $12 advance or $15 at the door for 7:30pm show. Children 12 and under $3 both shows. Group rates available.

Bruce's Column For April

Three months done, 1/4th of the year gone by just like that. I like this time for a number of reasons, those houses hidden away behind bushes and trees gradually fade from view. Our backyard looks down over a wooded area and stream, as the foliage thickens and disguises the fact that the woods aren't really all that deep and the road and houses are closer than I think.
April Fool's day, I was never much for anything too elaborate just the typical waking everybody up with "you should see all this snow" type of thing.
When I was in the Navy I fooled my folks by coming home a day earlier than they thought.
My favorite gag was one I played on the guys I roomed with in the barracks. I was going home on leave a different time and had to get up and gone by midnight but before I left I set my wind up alarm clock for 3 am and locked the locker...everybody got up and couldn't stop it until it unwound.
Getting to be music tours time again, I'm excited about the bands coming to our area this summer, it seems as though there is another announcement every other day.
Major League baseball resumes and getting to be the time for being out in the yard more, and golf, things that seem so far away in December.
After 18 weeks of spending four hours a week on the air I'm still pleased that it's just all that it is, although I prefer the months with five weekends.
I hope your month goes by without troubles and full of happiness.

Your Dayplanner Needs This

(Courtesy: Globe-Gazette)

 Some music, some comedy - sometimes mixed - along with a little bit of art, and visiting with your friends and neighbors is just around the corner.

Take a look at some of the best entertainment North Iowa has to offer this weekend - and beyond.

Visit MacNider: Off the Clock on Friday

Another session of MacNider: Off the Clock is set for Friday, March 31, at the Charles H. MacNider Art Museum, 303 Second St. S.E., Mason City.

From 5 to 7 p.m., visitors can mingle, view the exhibits, enjoy complimentary wine and appetizers, and listen to music by North Iowa blues guitarist Melvin Lavert.

Currently on display are the exhibits “Mini Masters” 33rd Annual School Art Exhibition in the Center Space Gallery and “The Light Fantastic: Paintings on Glass by John Lyon Paul” exhibition in the Kinney Lindstrom Gallery.

The event is free and open to the public.

Museum hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.

The Commodores bring Rhythm & Blues, Pop and Funk to the Surf

The Commodores, known for their hits "Just to Be Close to You," "Easy," and "Brickhouse," bring their powerful music to the Surf Ballroom & Museum in Clear Lake on Friday, March 31. Doors open at 8 p.m.

Founded in 1968 when they were students at Tuskeegee University, the Commodores were discovered by Berry Gordy. They went on to sell more than 60 million records for Motown, with hits like “Machine Gun” and “Sail On.” In 1986, minus Lionel Richie, they found Grammy recognition with “Nightshift.”

The group continues to record on their own label, "the Commodores," including “Commodores Live,” made during the group's 1997 U.S. tour and released in 1998 along with a TV special.

Tickets are $38 in advance, $43 at the door, available at the Surf Ballroom box office, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, by calling 641-357-6151 or on-line at www.surfballroom.com.

"Sacrificial Landscapes”

Learn about a vanished city near Osage and how it plays into art when Colin Lyons presents "Sacrificial Landscapes” at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 1, in the Salsbury Room at the Charles H. MacNider Art Museum, 303 Second St. S.E., Mason City.

Admission is free, and seating is on a first come, first served basis.

Lyons' talk will include a brief history of Lithograph City, a town that was once located six miles south of Osage, and a discussion on how this enters into his projects.

His recent work fuses printmaking, sculpture, and chemical experiments, pushing the role of the etching plate beyond its traditional boundaries as a re-enactment of the rise and fall of industrial economies. He explores industry through the lens of fragility and impermanence, considering planned obsolescence and the nature of what we choose to preserve.

Lyons lives in Iowa City, where he holds the Grant Wood Fellowship at The University of Iowa. For more information, visit www.macniderart.org or call 641-421-3666.

Comedy opens April Fool's Day in Rowan

Catch a "Southern fried trailer park comedy" beginning April Fool's Day at the Iowa River Players Theater in Rowan.

“Doublewide, Texas,” by Jones, Hope and Wooten, opens at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 1, and runs for two weekends. The cast includes actors from Belmond, Clarion, Hampton Latimer and Rowan.

In this fast-paced comedy, the inhabitants of one of the smallest trailer parks in Texas — four doublewides and a shed — are thrown for a loop when they realize the nearby town of Tugaloo is determined to annex them. The mayhem escalates as the residents attempt to secede from Texas and discover a traitor in their midst.

Performances are 7 p.m. Saturday, April 1; 2:30 p.m. Sunday, April 2; 7 p.m. Friday, April 7; 2:30 and 7 p.m. Saturday, April 8; 2:30 p.m. Sunday, April 9. Individual and season tickets are on sale online at www.iowariverplayerstheater.org, the Facebook page, and at the door.

Ah, oui! Springtime in Paris  

Be transported to Springtime in Paris with the Charles City Community Chamber Orchestra on Sunday, April 2.

The concert is set for 2 p.m. at the 500 North Grand Auditorium in Charles City. Admission is free.

Conductor John Chiles (Cedar Falls) will lead the ensemble through a repertoire of music from French composers. Megan Grey, mezzo soprano from Cedar Falls, will perform two pieces from the opera, "Carmen," accompanied by the orchestra, as well as two solo pieces accompanied by pianist Elisabed Imerlishvili, a University of Northern Iowa graduate piano performance student.

Grey, in the Masters of Music program in voice performance at UNI, has had several roles with UNI Opera. She performed with the Chautauqua Opera Company last summer, and will return this summer as a studio artist, as well as playing the role of Proserpina in a Respighi orchestration of Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, a U.S. stage premier of this historic work. She holds an undergraduate degree in voice performance from UNI.

A reception will follow in the lobby with a variety of French pastries for sale. All proceeds will benefit the Charles City Community Chamber Orchestra (CCCCO).