It’s an important weekend for Wildcat sports. The Davidson College women’s soccer team plays at home tonight (Friday) in a conference tournament game, while nearby the men’s basketball team opens their much-anticipated season. And the year’s final home football game is Saturday. If sports aren’t your bag, consider events of African dance, a Gilbert & Sullivan operetta, a pottery exhibit reception, or a petting zoo! There’s also contra dancing tonight and volunteer trail-clearing Saturday at Fisher Farm.
Weekend of Nov. 9-11

EVENTS

Contra Dance Carolina will sponsor an evening of high energy contra dancing Friday 7:15 to 10:30 p.m. at Davidson IB Middle School on South Street. Laurie Fisher of “The String Beings” and Cailen Campbell of “The Rocket Boys” will play and Diane Silver will be the caller. Balcony seating is available for non-dancers and lessons will be offered at 7 p.m. Cost is $7 for general admission and $5 for students.

Colorful African masks and costumes will highlight “ArcheDream for Humankind,” a dance performance at the Davidson College Duke Family Performance Hall Friday at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20. The show features African ritual traditions, mythology and Western classical theatre.

The Town of Davidson will host the last in a series of volunteer trail clearing days Saturday starting at 8:30 a.m. at Fisher Farm. Volunteers for the Fisher Farm Work Day should meet at the parking lot, located off of Shearer Road. Bring pruning shears, clippers, and hand saws. Experienced trail builders will guide volunteers. Wear appropriate clothing. Youth are permitted, but parents must sign a waiver on the morning of the work session. Questions: contact Lauren Blackburn, Davidson Town Planner.

Bradford Store will host a petting zoo Saturday from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. featuring llamas, donkeys, goats, rabbits and chickens. The store offers fresh, local produce and is located on Hwy. 73. Saturday also marks the opening of “The Mustard Seed” in one of the barn studios behind the main store. The Mustard Seed will offer antiques, plants, yard art and more.

The Wooden Stone gallery will hold a reception for “Circle of Eight,” a group of Charlotte-area potters, from 2-6 p.m. Saturday. The gallery is located at 445 S. Main St.

The Davidson College music department will hold an Opera Workshop Performance of “HMS Pinafore,” a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta. The student show is free and will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Tyler-Tallman Hall of the Sloan Music Center.SPORTS Wildcats sports this weekend features the Southern Conference Women’s Soccer Championships, which Davidson is hosting this year. The Wildcat women’s team is wrapping up one of its finest seasons to date at 14-4-1 and a spot in the semifinals. Davidson finished the regular-season with a league mark of 8-1-1 to rank second behind UNC Greensboro. The Wildcats also placed five players on the first team of the conference all-league squads. The eight SoCon wins this year matched the 1999 Davidson team for second-most in a single season, while the ‘Cats’ 14 wins match the 1999 and 2005 teams for the most in a single season. Davidson, seeded second, will play in the semifinals on Friday, Nov. 9 against third-seeded Furman at 7 p.m. The championship game will be held Sunday at 1 p.m.Meanwhile, the men’s basketball team will tip off their 100th season Friday evening with an opening game against Emory, starting at 8 p.m. The team is already ranked nationally and recieved a flattering profile in USA Today.The Davidson football team plays its 2007 season finale at home Saturday, which is also Senior Day. The Wildcats will honor 18 seniors prior to the noon kickoff against Valparaiso.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

• MONDAY, NOV. 12 –American Legion Post 86 and Davidson Park & Recreation hold the 14th annual Davidson Veteran’s Day Observance on the village green starts at 11 a.m.
• NOV. 14-18 – Davidson College theater students present “Be Agressive,” a comedy about a pair of girls seeking to become world-class cheerleaders. 7:30 p.m. nightly shows, plus a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday, Nov. 18, all at the college union’s 900 room. Tickets are $6 for genral admission and $4 for students.
• WEDNESDAY, NOV. 14, 7 p.m., Davidson College Belk Visual Art Center, Main and Griffith streets – “Archives and Ambivalence: The Natural and Unnatural Forces Shaping Man Ray’s Legacy,” an art lecture by John P. Jacob, director of the Inge Morath Foundation in New York City and a longtime artist and curator. Free.
• FRIDAY, NOV. 16, 7:30 p.m., Davidson College Presbyterian Church – Andris Rozukalns will peform an organ concert featuring Latvian composers and other works as part of the “Organ at Davidson” series.
• SATURDAY, NOV. 17, 8 p.m., Duke Family Performance Hall – The Davidson College Symphony Orchestra and the college’s Chorale will play together with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra and Oratorio Singers of Charlotte. The concert will feature works by Brahms, Handel, Bach and Mendelssohn. General admission is $18, college faculty and staff $14, student tickets $5.
• SUNDAY, NOV. 18, 4-5 p.m., Town Hall – Ralph Levering, a professor of history at Davidson College, leads a presentation and panel discussion on local mill history. This event, sponsored by Davidson Historical Society, is part of the DavidsonREADS 2007 focus on the novel “The Bridge.” The program is free and open to the public. For more information, please call 704-896-8718.
• SUNDAY, NOV. 18, 3 p.m. – Carolina Voices Festival Singers in the Music at St. Alban’s concert series. The award-winning Charlotte-based Festival Singers form the classic music ensemble of Carolina Voices, directed by Donna Hill. This concert will feature a spiritual adventure with Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem and Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Toward the Unknown Region. St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, 310 Caldwell Lane. Ticket info on the series website.
• THURS. – SAT., NOV 29 – DEC. 1 – The town of Davidson will be hosting its 19th annual Christmas in Davidson celebration. Planned events include Santa and Mrs. Claus, strolling carolers, horse-drawn carriages, hot cider, live music, street magicians and more. The celebration concludes with a parade through town Dec. 1.
• TUESDAY, DEC. 4, 7 – 8:30 p.m., Summit Coffee – Informal discussion of Doug Marlette led by Mark Ethridge, managing editor of the Charlotte Observer during Marlette’s tenure. This will be the final DavidsonREADS event related to “The Bridge.”
• SATURDAY, DEC. 8, 7:30 p.m. and SUNDAY, DEC. 9, 3 p.m., St. Alban’s Church, 310 Caldwell Lane – The Beggar Boys. The Celtic Christmas concert by the Beggar Boys is a popular annual feature of the St. Alban’s series. The group consists of Boston musicians playing with Davidson’s own Henry Lebedinsky and Kate Minogue. In addition, the musicians will be joined by Irish step dancers from Charlotte’s Rince na h’Eireann academy of Irish Dance. A portion of proceeds from this concert will benefit the Ada Jenkins Center. Ticket info on the series website.