Archibald Angus Charles Kennedy, Chief of Clan Kennedy, and Christopher Kennedy, North American Chief of the Kennedy Society, will be honored guests at this weekend's Rural Hill Scottish Festival.

Get ready for another busy week throughout the area, with a long list of local and regional events – from the 19th annual Rural Hill Scottish Festival and Loch Norman Highland Games to Davidson’s Art on the Green and the season opening Concert on the Green. Also on the schedule: Davidson Community Players’ Connie Company presents “A Bear Named Paddington” while Davidson College students perform a series of one-act plays. Monday brings a Cornelius Town Board meeting and there’s a public hearing in Huntersville Wednesday on the widening of I-77. The region’s Jewish community gathers at Davidson College Thursday for Yom HaShoah, a Holocaust Remembrance ceremony. Several organizations host fund-raising golf tournaments this week, and The Lake Norman Chamber hosts its annual Champions of Diversity Breakfast Wednesday. Read on for the details, or see our day-by-day calendar at right on this page. 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

Mike Strauss Band plays Friday at Birdsnest in fundraisers for Habitat for Humanity.

By BILL KISER
DavidsonNews.net

The return of the weekly run of the Davidson Farmer’s Market, a musical fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity, the annual egg hunt at Historic Rural Hill and a fishing tournament on Lake Norman are among the  activities around the area this Easter Weekend.

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Local  churches are offering a variety of events during Holy Week, from prayer vigils to Easter Sunday services. Below is a list of services we have received. Check with other churches in our directory for services elsewhere.

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By BILL KISER
DavidsonNews.net

Easter-related activities fill the schedule this week around the area, from egg-decorating and egg hunts to Easter week and Easter Sunday services.  Our calendar also includes a wide range of activities from bass fishing to theater. Playwright Suzan-Lori Parks speaks at Davidson College Tuesday night. And some of the world’s top professional bass anglers will hit Lake Norman this weekend for the three-day Bassmasters Southern Open, with boats leaving from Blythe Landing. Weigh-ins will be held the first two days at Blythe Landing, the final day at Concord’s Bass Pro Shops. Read the full story

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. Read the full story