Youth Orchestra

The Salisbury Youth Orchestra will begin its spring season at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Williams Music Building on the Catawba College campus. Young musicians, ages 10 to 18, are cordially invited to attend this first rehearsal. No formal auditions will be held at this time.

There is a particular need for strings and brass musicians. If you are interested in becoming a part of this group, contact Randy Overcash, the symphony education director, at 704-637-4730 or dovercas@ catawba.edu.

The Youth Orchestra rehearses 3-5 p.m. Sundays. Concerts are presented twice each year, and they will be performing with the Salisbury Symphony in its Pops Concert on May 4.

The Salisbury Youth Orchestra is an education program of the Salisbury-Rowan Symphony Society and is made possible by a grant from the Blanche and Julian Robertson Family Foundation Inc.

NCSF season begins

HIGH POINT — The North Carolina Shakespeare Festival (NCSF) will kick off its 2007 season with its new “The Twin City Season,” a series of two plays. Performances will be held in Winston-Salem at The Mountcastle Forum in the Sawtooth Building at 226 N. Marshall St.

The season will feature productions of “TRU” Jan. 27-Feb. 11, and “Faith Healer” March 10-25. The festival has transformed The Mountcastle Forum into an intimate theatre space with 99 theatre seats purchased from an old movie house in Bakersfield, Calif.

To purchase tickets, call 336-887-3001, noon-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, or go to www. highpointtheatre.com.

Oyster Roast

Waterworks Visual Arts Center announces that tickets are now available for the 2007 Oyster Roast to be held Jan. 27 in the F&M Trolley Barn.

Tickets are $50 per person. Funds raised help to support Waterworks’ education, exhibition and outreach programs. Catering for the event will be provided by Big Daddy’s Seafood and Gary’s Barbecue. The menu includes steamed oysters, peel-and-eat shrimp and Brunswick stew. Childress Vineyards will be providing a selection of fine wines and Silver Eagle Distributors will provide beer. Soft drinks will be available.

The event also features raffle prizes with $25 tickets available in advance and at the door.

For event tickets, call 704-636-1882 or visit the Waterworks’ Web site using the special events tab at www. waterworks.org.

‘Man of La Mancha’

MISENHEIMER — Pfeiffer University will hold auditions for Dale Wasserman’s musical production “Man of La Mancha” at 7 p.m. Jan. 30-31, in the Campus Theatre (third floor of the Administration Building) on Pfeiffer’s Misenheimer campus.

Those who plan to audition are asked to select and prepare a song and bring music. An accompanist will be provided. There also will be cold readings from the script.

Production dates are April 13-15 and 19-21.

For additional information, contact Doug Stauter, Pfeiffer’s director of theatre, at 704-463-1360 ext. 2084 or dstauter@pfeiffer.edu.

Petty benefit event

The Rowan County Chapters of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans are working together to host a black tie-optional dinner/dance to benefit the Victory Junction Gang Camp.

The event is 6:30-10:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2, at the Civic Center, and will include a catered meal by Sweet Meadow Café, entertainment by Mid-Life Crisis, a silent auction of baskets and racing memorabilia and testimonies by camper families. Motivational speaker Kenny Crosswhite will speak, as will Pattie Petty.

The mission of the Victory Junction Gang Camp is to enrich the lives of children with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses by providing life-changing camping experiences that are exciting, fun and empowering, in a safe and medically sound environment.

Founded by NASCAR driver Kyle Petty and his wife Pattie in honor of their late son Adam, the Victory Junction Gang Camp is a year-round facility serving children 7-15. Each summer, children suffering from similar medical conditions including heart, lung and kidney disease, spina bifida, HIV, cancer, burn survivors, neurological disorders, and a host of others, gather to kick back, relax and have some fun — all free of charge to the camper.

The camp offers traditional activities, including horseback riding, boating and fishing, arts and crafts and others, as well as NASCAR-related program areas.

Ticket price is $50 per person and business and individual sponsorships are available. For more information, call Thrivent’s Piedmont Regional Team at 704-633-0722.

Timberlake honor

LITTLE ROCK, ARK. — Bob Timberlake’s painting featuring a brightly lit Christmas Tree at the White House will be on exhibit at the Clinton Library in Little Rock, Arkansas, for four months beginning Feb. 3.

The painting is part of the “President’s House Through the Eye of the Artist” exhibit which has been shown three times at the White House Visitor Center, in addition to stints at the presidential libraries of Gerald R. Ford, Richard M. Nixon, Rutherford B. Hayes, Lyndon Johnson and George H. W. Bush.

The Clinton Library plans to complement the exhibit with other events including an art competition for middle and high school students whose winning entries will be displayed along with the professional paintings.

The “Eye of the Artist” exhibit was commissioned during the Clinton administration for the 200th anniversary of the White House.

Timberlake, a native and lifelong resident of Lexington, has been honored by presidents Reagan and Carter and Prince Charles in Buckingham Palace. His original paintings have been exhibited in many museums, including the Corcoran Gallery, the N.C. Museum of History, Isetan Gallery in Tokyo and the Hubbard Museum in Ruidoso Downs, N.M.

Black Box theater

CHARLOTTE — Hart Witzen announces the opening of the Black Box theater, a multi-purpose space with seating up to 40, equipped with stage, professional theater lighting and sound equipment.

The Black Box is perfect for small productions, staged readings, workshops, seminars, film screenings, performance art and musical performances. The room is 30 feet by 20 feet with an adjoining lobby for concessions and a small gallery. The new performance space will be ready in February and is available for weekly, monthly or long-term rental.

Hart Witzen, 136 E. 36th St. in NoDa, is a privately owned, self sustaining arts venue supported through rental of the gallery and 17 artist studios, functioning as an alternative space not dependent on government grants nor subject to the artistic opinions of others.

In business since 1996, it is their mission to provide an atmosphere conducive to creativity, a venue for visual and performance artists to create, exhibit and market their art form as well as an unpretentious forum for the public to experience the arts.

For information, call 704-334-1177 or visit www. hartwitzengallery.com.