Steep Canyon Rangers are among the bands at the N.C. Brewers & Music Festival Saturday at Rural Hill.

Your possibilities this weekend include running races, beer and live music, comedy, and a power lunch with Rep. Sue Myrick. Saturday’s athletic events include the Jetton Park Triathlon in Cornelius and the Run Wild 5K at Birkdale. Meanwhile, the N.C. Brewers and Music Festival offers a day of craft beers and live music outdoors at historic Rural Hill. In Davidson, the Davidson Farmer’s Market is Saturday morning, while the Helping Paws Dog Show is on the Village Green Sunday. Boaters can have vessels and safety equipment checked free on the lake Saturday. And Chinese bass baritone singer Sun Yu gives a lecture performance Sunday at Davidson College.

Check out the Our Town Cinemas showtimes at right on this page, where “Dark Shadows” opens with a midnight show Thursday night and “The Avengers” continues its run. Read the full story

Rixey Terry plays Paddington Bear at Armour Street Theatre.

Our calendar this weekend has a lot to choose from, between Mecklenburg County’s Bark in the Park for dog lovers at Rural Hill, “A Bear Called Paddington” and “Mr. Marmalade” on local stages, and Strawberry Shortcake Day at the Davidson Farmer’s Market. Michael Reno Harrell plays an outdoor concert Sunday at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church. And Davidson College basketball players and alumni host BUZZKILL,a fundraising 3-on-3 tourney and other events to fight malaria in Africa.

Also, two rescheduling announcements: The Jazz Combo and Sax Quartet concert originally scheduled at Davidson College Thursday night has been rescheduled to Sunday, May 6, because of a conflict at the college. And the Young Life Mini-Golf Mania tournament at Lake Norman Mini-Golf that was rained out last weekend is back on – this Sunday. Read on for the details, or see our day-by-day calendar at right on this page.

See also the latest movie listings at Our Town Cinemas, on this page at right. On the schedule there: “The Lucky One,” a tale about a soldier returning from Iraq; “The Hunger Games” is still on view, along with “Three Stooges,” “American Reunion” and “Mirror Mirror.” Read the full story

Michael Reno Harrell plays outdoors at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church Sunday afternoon.

Lectures, fundraising road races, a dog-lovers’ Bark in the Park at Rural Hill, and an outdoor concert at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church are on the calendar across the area this week. Davidson College’s basketball players and alumni host their annual BUZZKILL fundraising 3-on-3 tourney, plus an evening party and other events, to fight malaria in Africa. On stage, Davidson College theater students continue their one-act play productions this weekend, and Davidson Community Players’ Connie Co. wraps up the run of “A Bear Called Paddington.” Read on for the details, or see our day-by-day calendar at right on this page.

See also the latest movie listings at Our Town Cinemas, on this page at right. On the schedule there: “The Lucky One,” a tale about a soldier returning from Iraq; “The Hunger Games” is still on view, along with “Three Stooges,” “American Reunion” and “Mirror Mirror.” Read the full story

By BILL KISER
DavidsonNews.net

An advance screening of the documentary “Bully” is among a series of events around the area area this weekend devoted to the growing problem of bullying — both the physical kind and the growing trend of “cyber-bullying.” Other events on tap this weekend include the April Is for Arts Gallery Crawl in Davidson, performances of “Alice in Wonderland,” and the Lake Norman YMCA’s Family Fun Day. Read the full story

The Cornelius-based nonprofit Foundation for Respect Ability on April 12 at the movie theater in Concord Mills Mall will host a pre-screening of the controversial movie Bully, set to debut in Charlotte the following day. Community members are invited to attend the preview, that will be followed by a panel discussion and question-and-answer session.

Directed by Sundance and Emmy-award winning filmmaker Lee Hirsch, Bully is a character-driven documentary that follows five children and their families as they with the effects of bullying over the course of a school year. Read the full story

A ceremony at Davidson College's sculpture garden Thursday will dedicate "Group of Ten" by Magdelena Abakanowicz. (Cathryn Westra photo)

By BILL KISER
DavidsonNews.net

The unveiling of a new work of art on the Davidson College campus, a day of fine Italian dining for a good cause, a day of painting (followed with an evening of dinner) and performances of “In The Blood” at Davidson College highlight the weekend’s events around the area. Lake Norman YMCA has middle-schoolers night out Friday. And a variety of pre-Easter events also are on tap, including an egg-dyeing workshop at Rural Hill, the annual Hop into Spring festival at Bailey Road Park in Cornelius, and a visit from the Easter Bunny in Mooresville.

Davidson College will dedicate an outdoor sculpture — “Group of Ten,” created by renowned Polish artist Magdelena Abakanowicz — on Thursday afternoon in front of the college’s E.H. Little Library. And all day Thursday, Campania Cafe and Trattoria in downtown Davidson will donate a portion of its proceeds to the Jimmy V Foundation — a cancer research foundation named after the late N.C. State men’s basketball coach Jim Valvano. Read the full story