At 2011 Reptile Day, Stephen Hutchinson of Mecklenburg County Parks & Recreation showed a snake to a Reptile Day onlooker. This year's day is April 14. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

Davidson College’s calendar of public events for April offers a wide variety of education and entertainment, from lectures and art exhibits to plays and concerts. The popular annual hands-on Reptile Day is scheduled Saturday, April 14, and the following weekend (April 21) brings an Africana Festival.

Read on for a full schedule.

Sunday, April 1- Wednesday, April 18

Art Exhibit – Davidson College invites the public on Sunday, April 1 through Wednesday, April 18 to an art exhibition by Visiting Assistant Professor of Studio Art Nathaniel Rogers. The exhibition of paintings is titled Secret Things, Tiny Rituals. There is no charge to attend the exhibition, which is is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and from noon to 4 p.m. on weekends in the Van Every Gallery of the Katherine and Tom Belk Visual Arts Center. Forinformation call 704-894-2519.

Sunday, April 1

Senior Recitals – Davidson College invites the public to two senior music recitals by Davidson students on Sunday, April 1. Kelvin Bates will perform works on the piano from Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Debussy, and Gottschalk at 3 p.m., and at 7:30 p.m. Alexis Valauri-Orton and Elizabeth Crowder will perform a joint recital on flute and cello. There is no charge to attend the recitals, both of which will be in Tyler-Tallman Hall of Sloan Music Center. For more information call 704-894-2848.

Monday, April 2

Brass Recital – Davidson College invites the public to an all-brass recital by student musicians on Sunday, April 2. There is no charge to attend the recital, which will begin at 8:30 p.m. in Davidson College Presbyterian Church. For more information call 704-894-2848.

History and Economics Lecture – Davidson College invites the public to a lecture by historian Michele Gillespie on Monday, April 2. Gillespie, the Kahle Associate Professor of History at Wake Forest University, will speak about “R.J. Reynolds: The Modern Man Behind the American Myth.” There is no cost to attend the lecture, which begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Alvarez College Union Sprinkle Room. For more information call 704-894-2935 or email samcmillen@davidson.edu.

Tuesday, April 3

Theatre Lecture – Davidson College invites the public to an appearance by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks on Tuesday, April 3. Parks will present “The Art of Making Art,” a presentation that is part lecture, part reading, part singalong, and part consciousness raising. There is no charge to attend the lecture, which begins at 11 a.m. in the Lilly Family Gallery of Chambers Building. For more information call 704-894-2361 or email leveltri@davidson.edu.

Theatre Presentation – Davidson College invites the public to a presentation by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks on Tuesday, April 3. Parks will discuss challenging contemporary issues and the civic responsibilities of playwrights in relation to challenging contemporary issues raised by her play “In the Blood.” The presentation begins at 7 p.m. in Duke Family Performance Hall. The event isfree, but tickets are required, which are available at the Alvarez College Union ticket office 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, or at the door if still available. They are also available online for a $3 surcharge at www.davidson.edu/tickets. For information call 704-894-2361. Read more in our March 28, 2012, Theater Notes.

Literary Presentation – Davidson College invites the public to a presentation on Tuesday, April 3, by Srikanth Reddy, assistant professor in English language and literature at the University of Chicago. Reddy will read from his works and announce the student winners of the Vereen Bell Memorial Award in Creative Writing. There is no charge to attend. The event begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Alvarez College Union Smith 900 Room. For more information call 704-894-2457 or email narandazzo@davidson.edu

Faculty Recital – Davidson College invites the public to a faculty recital on Tuesday evening, April 3. Professor of Music and trumpeter Bill Lawing and Charlotte Symphony Orchestra trombonist Tom Burge will offer a recital of solo and chamber works accompanied by Artist Associate Cynthia Lawing on piano. There is no charge to attend the recital, which will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Tyler-Tallman Hall of the Sloan Music Center. For more information, call 704-894-2848.

Wednesday, April 4

Health Fair – Davidson College invites the public to a health fair on Wednesday, April 4. Area health and wellness agencies will be on hand to talk about their services and offer free massages, healthy snacks, and blood pressure and diabetes check-ups. There is no charge to attend. The fair will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Alvarez College Union Brown Atrium. For information email geringle@davidson.edu.

Wednesday, April 4

International Trade Lecture – Davidson College invites the public to a lecture on Wednesday, April 4, by Harsha Vardhana Singh, deputy director general of the World Trade Organization. Singh will speak about “The Current Challenges in International Trade.” There is no charge to attend the lecture, which will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Alvarez College Union Smith 900 Room. For more information call 704-894-2440 or email kafrank@davidson.edu.

Thursday, April 5

Tibetan Medicine Lecture – Davidson College invites the public on Thursday, April 5, to a lecture by Tibetan physician Dr. Lusham Gyal and UCLA Health Department physician Dr. Kunchok Gyaltsen. Gyal and Gyaltsen will speak about “Healing from the Roof of the World: An Introduction to Tibetan Medicine.” There is no charge to attend the lecture, which will begin at 4:30 p.m. in the Semans Lecture Hall of the Belk Visual Arts Center. For more information call 704-894-2202 or email krfoley@davidson.edu.

Thursday, April 5

Ethics Discussion – Davidson College invites the public to an ethics discussion on Thursday evening, April 5. by Michael Hyde, Distinguished Professor of Communication at Wake Forest University, will discuss “Biotechnological Progress: Rotten with Perfection?” His talk will address the human impulse to strive for “perfection,” and how both religion and science have inspired this impulse and its attending desire. He will explore how the notion of “progress” in biotechnology is transforming our idea of what it means to be a human being. There is no charge to attend the presentation, which begins in the Alvarez College Union Smith 900 Room at 7 p.m. For more information call 704-894-2095 or email ethics@davidson.edu.

Wednesday, April 11

Biology Lecture – Davidson College invites the public on Wednesday, April 11 to a lecture by Jun-tao Guo, UNC Charlotte assistant professor of bioinformatics. Guo will speak about “Dance to Express, A Story about Transcription Factor-DNA Interactions.” The lecture is free to attend, and begins at 4:30 p.m. in Room 146 of Dana Science Building. For more information call 704-894-2184 or email labarker@davidson.edu.

Wednesday, April 11

Ethics Symposium – Davidson College invites the public to the 25th annual Frederick Womble Speas Symposium on Wednesday, April 11. The symposium will focus on “Clinical Ethics Consultation: The Very Idea.” Guest lecturers are Associate Professor Stephen Wear from SUNY-Buffalo’s Department of Medicine, Bowling Green State University Professor of Philosophy George Agich, and Giles Scofield from McMaster University’s Department of Family and Community Medicine. The symposium is free to attend and begins at 5 p.m. in the Alvarez College Union Smith 900 Room. For more information call704-894-2482 or email medicalhumanities@davidson.edu.

Thursday, April 12

Philosophy Lecture – Davidson College invites the public on Thursday, April 12, to a philosophy lecture by University of California Professor James Van Cleve. Cleve will present a lecture titled “Thomas Reid on Freedom of the Will and Agent Causation.” There is no charge to attend the lecture, which begins at 5 p.m. in Room 2164 of Chambers Building. For more information call 704-894-2218 or email darobb@davidson.edu.

Friday, April 13

Literature Lecture – Davidson College invites the public to a talk on Russian literature by James McGavran of Kenyon College on Friday afternoon, April 13. McGavran will discuss the great Russian revolutionary poet Vladimir Mayakovsky, and explain his approach to translating Mayakovsky’s fascinatingly complex poetry into English. The talk will begin in the Carolina Inn at 4:30 p.m., and there is no charge to attend. Refreshments will be served. For information call 704-894-2397 or email amewington@davidson.edu.

Saturday, April 14

Reptile Day – Davidson College invites the public to the Herpetology Lab’s annual “Reptile Day” on Saturday, April 14. Visitors can spend time with snakes, toads, turtles, salamanders and other creatures. The event is an engaging, informative way for people of all ages to learn about herpetology and conservation. There is nocharge to attend the event, which runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Baker-Watt Science Complex courtyard. For information call 804-536-0680 or email nirao@davidson.edu.

Saturday, April 14

Piano Studio Recital – Davidson College invites the public to a music recital on Saturday, April 14, by students of Artist Associates in piano Ruskin Cooper and Cynthia Lawing. There is no charge to attend the recital, which will begin at 3 p.m. in Tyler-Tallman Hall of the Sloan Music Center. For more information, call 704-894-2848.

Tuesday, April 17

Literary Event – Davidson College invites the public on Tuesday, April 17 to a presentation by award-winning fiction writer Edith Pearlman. Pearlman, who has published more than 250 works in national magazines and anthologies, will discuss her literary experiences. There is no charge to attend the event, which begins at 7:30 p.m. in Tyler-Tallman Hall of the Sloan Music Center. For more information call 704-894-2457 or email narandazzo@davidson.edu

Wednesday, April 18

Biology Lecture – Davidson College invites the public on Wednesday, April 18 to a talk by Dr. Sallie Permar, assistant professor of pediatrics at Duke University. Permar will speak about “Maternal Vaccination to Prevent Vertical Transmissions of Neonatal Viral Pathogens.” The event is free to attend and begins at 4:30 p.m. in Room 146 of Dana Science Building. For more information call 704-894-2184 or email labarker@davidson.edu.

Wednesday, April 18

Symphony Orchestra Performance – Davidson College invites the public to a concert by the Davidson College Symphony Orchestra on Wednesday evening, April 18. The program will include pieces by Debussy, Grieg nougat, De Falla, and Strauss. The concert is free to attend, and will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Duke Family Performance Hall. For more information, call 704-894-2848.

Thursday, April 19

Ethics Lecture – Davidson College invites the public to a lecture on Thursday, April 19, by Walter Sinnott-Armstron, Chauncey Stillman Professor in Practical Ethics in the Department of Philosophy and the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University. Sinnott-Armstrong will discuss ethics and neuroscience. The event is free to attend, and begins at 7 p.m. in Hance Auditorium of Chambers Building. For more information call 704-894-2095 or email ethics@davidson.edu.

Friday, April 20

Jazz Concert – Davidson College invites the public to a jazz performance featuring guitarist Bernardo Hernandez on Friday evening, April 20. Hernandez will join the Davidson College Jazz Ensemble for a concert featuring saxophones, trumpets, trombones and a complete rhythm section. There is no charge to attend the concert, which will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Duke Family Performance Hall. For more information, call 704-894-2848.

Friday, April 20 – Saturday, April 21

One-Act Plays – Davidson College invites the public to performances of two student-directed one-act plays on Friday and Saturday evenings, April 20 and 21. Senior student Ana Rodriguez will direct Freakshow by Carson Krietzer, and junior Elizabeth Schneider will direct A Kind of Alaska by Harold Pinter. The shows begin at 7:30 p.m. in The Barber Theatre of the Cunningham Theatre Center. General admission is $3. For more information, call 704-894-2912 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays or email cavanhallgren@davidson.edu

Saturday, April 21

Book Discussion – Davidson College invites the public on Saturday, April 21, to a tea-time book discussion on The Other Side of Paradise: A Memoir by Stacyann. The discussion will begin at 1 p.m. at Davidson’s Multicultural House, and is part of the college’s Africana Festival that day. Those interested in participating in the reading of the memoir should email takim@davidson.edu.

Saturday, April 21

Africana Festival – Davidson College invites the public to an Africana Festival on Saturday, April 21. The festival will feature the food, films, folktales, art, clothing, music and dance of the African, African-American, Afro-Carribean, Afro-European and Afro-Latin worlds. The event is free to attend and begins at 5 p.m. in various locations throughout the Alvarez College Union. For more information email keedwards@davidson.edu.

Sunday, April 22

History Lecture – Davidson College invites the public to a lecture by Professor Camilla Townsend of Rutgers University on Sunday evening, April 22. Townsend will present this year’s Kelley Lecture in Historical Studies on “Alias Don Luis: The True Tales and Amazing Adventures of a 1560s Algonkian Who Traveled Three Continents.” Her presentation concerns an indigenous man who was captured by Spaniards in 1561. Although the man spent the next decade with the Spanish, converted to Christianity, and won the love and respect of his captors, he would eventually lead a war party to kill Jesuitpriests attempting to establish a mission in his homeland. His motives for doing so, Townsend will argue, are much more complicated than historians have generally allowed.There is no charge to attend the lecture, which will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Alvarez College Union Smith 900 Room. For more information call 704-894-2273 or email miguasco@davidson.edu.

Tuesday, April 24

Chamber Music Recital – Davidson College invites the public to a recital by Davidson College student musicians on Tuesday evening, April 24. Alan Black will direct students in a wide variety of chamber groups and repertoire. There is no charge to attend the recital,which will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Tyler-Tallman Hall of the Sloan Music Center. For more information, call 704-894-2848.

Ethics Lecture – Davidson College invites the public on Tuesday, April 24, to a lecture by David True, associate professor of religious studies at Wilson College. True will present “Barack Obama: The Niebuhrian President?“ There is no charge to attend the lecture, which begins at 7 p.m. in Alvarez College Union Room 302. For moreinformation call 704-894-2095 or email ethics@davidson.edu

Thursday, April 26

Jazz Combo and Sax Quartet Concert – Davidson College invites the public to a jazz concert on Thursday, April 26. There is no charge to attend the event, which begins at 7:30 p.m. in Tyler-Tallman Hall, Sloan Music Center. For more information, call 704-894-2848.

Ethics Discussion – Davidson College invites the public on Thursday, April 26, to a discussion by a panel of noted economists, who will discuss the national and statewide economic outlook and economic inequality. Panel members include John Connoughton from UNC Charlotte, Jay Bryson from Wells Fargo and Douglas Hicks, a 1990 graduate of Davidson from the University of Richmond. The event is free to attend and begins at 7 p.m. in Hance Auditorium of Chambers Building. For more information call 704-894-2095 or email ethics@davidson.edu.

Friday, April 27

Chemistry Colloquium – Davidson College invites the public to attend a chemistry colloquium on Friday, April 27. Two senior chemistry majors will discuss their research. Brian Bouchardwill talk about “Secondary Organic Aerosol Formation from Ozonolysis of Isoprene and Primary Products” and Morgan Brown will present “Teaching Middle School Chemistry: Tools, Expectations, and Explosions.” There is no charge to attend the event, which begins at 2:30 p.m. in Martin Chemistry Building. For more information call 704-894-2307 or email kafilar@davidson.edu.

Friday, April 27 – Saturday, April 28

One-Act Plays – Davidson College invites the public to two student-directed one act plays on Friday and Saturday evenings, April 27 and 28. Senior Lori Pitts will direct MilkMilkLemonade by Joshua Conckel, and senior Kaylin Gess will direct Boom by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb. The shows begin at 7:30 p.m. in The Barber Theatre of the Cunningham Theatre Center. General admission is $3. For more information, call 704-894-2912 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays or email cavanhallgren@davidson.edu.

Monday, April 30

Choral Concert – Davidson College invites the public to a concert on Monday evening, April 30. Music professor and choral director Ray Sprague will lead the Davidson College Concert Choir, the Davidson Pro Arte Orchestra and professional soloists in a performance of Bach’s B-Minor Mass. Soloists include Jacquelyn Culpepper, Diane Thornton, Douglas Renfroe and H. Stephen Smith. The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Duke Family Performance Hall. General admission tickets are $5 to $15, and may be purchased at the door, through the ticket office in the Alvarez College Union weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., or online at www.davidson.edu/tickets. For more information call 704-894-2848.