By Chip Chandler — Digital Content Producer
In the next few days, you can chow down on mac & cheese; enjoy several major new art, history and science exhibitions; and enjoy a Kwahadi tradition. Check out our easy-to-read guide to all the fun!
- Amarillo Little Theatre's revival of Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs concludes its run with performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. It's a warm comedy with some serious drama tossed in. I caught the show on its preview night and came away impressed by the full cast, in particular young Ethan Worsham as the narrator and central character, Eugene Morris (a stand-in for Simon himself). He shoulders the weight of the full show — he's in virtually every scene and the entire play revolves around his coming of age — and handles it quite well. Jayme McBride turns in a powerful performance as Eugene's mother, and Patrick Burns gives his best performance yet as Eugene's father. Ticket prices vary. Call 806-355-9991.
- Nacidos Charro: Born Charro: American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame & Museum celebrates Mexican horsemen and their longstanding roping and handling traditions with this new exhibition, on view through July 29 at the museum, 2601 E. Interstate 40. Check out my preview for more information.
- The Great War and the Panhandle-Plains Region and A Picture from Home: Snapshots of the Great War on the Plains: A pair of exhibitions — the former focusing on artifacts, the latter on photography — will continue Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum's year-long examination of World War I. The exhibitions will be on view through Dec. 30. Don't miss my preview for more information.
- The Big Cheese Macaroni & Cheese Smackdown: This annual fundraiser for The Hope and Healing Place allows guests to vote on their favorite mac & cheese offerings from about 30 restaurants. Admission is $20 in advance, and tickets are close to selling out. Call 806-371-8998, ext. 5.
- Rabbie Burns Supper: Celebrate the Scottish life with this dinner inspired by poet Robert Burns and featuring a dinner of haggis, bashed neeps, champit tatties, cock-a-leekie soup, shortbread and more, plus beer, wine and Scottish whisky. The dinner — set for 6:30 p.m. Friday at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 1601 S. Georgia St.— benefits Wildcat Bluff Nature Center. Admission is $50 or $400 for table of eight. Call 806-352-6007.
- The Kwahadi Dancers will open its 52nd season of Winter Night shows at 7 p.m. Friday at the Kwahadi Kiva Museum of the American Indian, 9151 E. Interstate 40. The show, presented in the adobe-style museum amphitheater, will be presented each Friday and Saturday through Feb. 17. A matinee performance is set for 3 p.m. Feb. 5. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, $6 for students and free for children 14 and younger. Call 806-654-4890.
- Faculty Grand Recital: WTAMU music professors show off their skills at this group concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Mary Moody Northen Recital Hall in Canyon. Admission is free. Call 806-651-2840.
- Comedian Alfred Kainga, a Dallas-area performer originally from Zimbabwe, will give a free show Friday at Bodegas, 709 S. Polk St. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Call 806-378-5790.
- Get Fit's annual Cold As Ice Run kicks off at 8:30 a.m. at the store, 1911 S. Georgia St. The event, which raises funds for The Bridge Children's Advocacy Center, includes timed 10K and 5K runs and a one-mile walk/run. Entry fee is $25, and entries are due Friday. Call 806-350-4262.
- Little Builders, Brain Teasers 2 and Strange Matter: The Discovery Center's latest exhibitions, opening Saturday, will challenge the mind and the hands. Check out my preview for more about the three exhibitions, on view through May 14 at the center, 1200 Streit Drive. Call 806-355-9547.
- Epiphany: What Light Does on Edge: This art exhibition by Steven Schroeder — on view through March 11 at Chalice Abbey, 2717 Stanley St. — will open with a reception featuring poetry readings by Brownsville author Chip Dameron and Amarillo poet Chera Hammons-Miller. Call 806-576-2480.
- Mary Shelley's World: For the Amarillo Reads program, WT's Monica Smith Hart will discuss Shelley's work, peers and family at 10 a.m. Saturday in the Amarillo Public Library downtown branch. Admission is free. Call 806-378-3051.
- Achievement in Art: The Collection of Montgomery Ritchie: Amarillo Museum of Art's latest exhibition will honor the Impressionist collection of Montgomery H.W. Ritchie, on view Sunday through March 26. Here's my preview of the showing of the area pioneer's extensive collection. Call 806-371-5050.
- First Thursday Art Show: Celebrate the human body at the annual nude show at The 806 coffee shop & bar, 2812 S.W. Sixth Ave. The show will hang through Feb. 27. Call 806-322-1806.
Chip Chandler is a digital content producer for Panhandle PBS. He can be contacted at Chip.Chandler@actx.edu, at @chipchandler1 on Twitter and at www.facebook.com/chipchandlerwriter on Facebook.
