Set construction for Piedmont Players’ Theatre’s next production, “Hot Mikado” will take place at the Meroney Theater, 213 S. Main St., Saturday, March 1, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., with lunch provided, and Sunday, March 2, 1-5 p.m.
Set construction will continue Saturday, March 8, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. with lunch again provided.
Everyone is invited to help, and all skill levels are welcome.
The musical “Hot Mikado” is an adaptation by David H. Bell based on the Gilbert and Sullivan original.
Performances are set for April 3-6 and 9-12.
For information call 704-633-5471.
WASP talk in Spencer
Imagine flying planes towing targets for other pilots to practice shooting down. The Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) in World War II, based at Camp Davis, near Wilmington, did just that, and were among the country’s first female military pilots.
In a free talk at the N.C. Transportation Museum at 1 p.m. Saturday , David Stallman will discuss their feats and little-known role in history.
For additional information about the program and the N.C. Transportation Museum call 704-636-2889
Free train rides
Saturday, “Rowan Rides Free” at the N.C. Transportation Museum in Spencer. All Rowan County residents can ride the train free with proof of residence (drivers license, utility bill, etc.). Call 704-636-2889.
OCT Auditions
Auditions for Cotton Patch Gospel will be at 7 p.m. Sunday and Monday at the Old Courthouse Theatre, 49 Spring Street in Concord.
The cast requires adult males and females.   Auditions will consist of cold readings from the script and one prepared song, country, gospel, or bluegrass in style. Typical Broadway show pieces are not appropriate.
Performances are May 1-4 and 8-11. The director is John Stafford; Laura Layton is music director. Call 704-788-2405.
Gallery crawl
The March Downtown Mooresville Gallery Crawl and the Mooresville Artists Guild’s 2008 Student Art Show will both take place Saturday 6 to 8 p.m.
Music will be provided by the Coffee Shop Gang. Original art will be displayed and available for purchase at Depot Fine Arts Gallery, The Garden Party, 202 North Main Wine Shop, “Cotton” Ketchie’s Landmark Galleries, Tropical Connections, Old World Arts, Ye Olde Mantel, Soirée, and The Prickly Pear.
There is no charge for this event, and many other local businesses also remain open for the Gallery Crawl.
The Depot at 103 N. Center Ave. will be hosting an exhibit of works by area students. Award categories are grades K-3, 4 and 5, 6-8 and 9-12. Awards to be given at the student show reception 2-4 p.m. Sunday. Artwork will be displayed until March 28.
For more information call 704-987-5117 or visit the Web site at www.mooresvilleartist guild.com.
N.C.playwrights
WINSTON-SALEM ó The Little Theatre will present four evenings of staged readings featuring works by North Carolina playwrights at the Arts Council Theatre rehearsal hall, 610 Coliseum Dr., Winston-Salem.
Performances are Feb. 29 at 8 p.m. (An Evening of Short Plays), March 1 at 8 p.m. (The Battle of Shallowford), March 7 at 8 p.m. (Raney), March 8 at 8 p.m. (Green).
There is also a children’s show 6 p.m. March 7 and 2 p.m. March 8 (The Velveteen Rabbit) at the main branch of the public library.
Tickets are $10 per event for the general public, and free for Little Theatre season ticket holders. The festival is open seating, so it is suggested theater-goers arrive early.
For more information, call
704-748-0857, ext. 209.
RAC ribbon-cutting
The Rowan Arts Council will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony 4 p.m., March 7 to officially open its new office in downtown Salisbury inside the Rail Walk Studios and Gallery Building, 413 N. Lee St.
Mayor Susan Kluttz will officiate after remarks from Lou Murphy, artist and founder of the Arts Council, Joan Zimmerman and Anne Cave, co-presidents of the Arts Council and Marietta Smith, executive director. Music will be provided by The Polka Dots. 
The event is sponsored by Bank of North Carolina and John S. Cave, M.D. A reception and tour of the office will follow. The event is free and open to the public.
The Rowan Arts Council moved to the arts district in downtown Salisbury on Feb. 1 in order to be more centrally located in the county seat and to be more accessible to the public.
There will also be a grand re-opening of the newly renovated Rail Walk Studios and Gallery on the same date, 5-8 p.m. Refreshments will be served, and jazz music will be provided by Jimmy Alston and Company.
The Arts Council can be reached at 704-638-9887 or at rac@rowanarts.org.
More information about Rail Walk is available at www.railwalkgallery.com or by calling 704-431-8964.
El Greco Exhibit
DURHAM ó Durham will be one of only two locations in the United States to host the exhibit “El Greco to Velázquez: Art During the Reign of Phillip III.” 
The Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University will host the exhibit Aug. 21-Nov. 9, with tickets going on sale May 1.
Major figures in Golden Age Spain, El Greco (1541-1614) and Diego Velázquez (1599-1660) are two of the best-known artists in the western world and continue to be hugely popular today.  During the past decade, both have been the subject of monographic exhibitions with record attendance in Washington, D.C., Dallas, New York, and Los Angeles.
An El Greco show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York was the second-best-attended art exhibition in the world in 2004 with 574,000 visitors, according to The Art Newspaper.
The Nasher Museum is collaborating with the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston to present this exhibition. It will include 70 paintings and sculptures representing 20 artists of the period, along with 50-60 decorative arts pieces pulled together from scores of museums around the world, many of which rarely travel outside of their countries, thus creating a unique opportunity for audiences.
For information call 919-684-5135 or contact nasherinfo@ duke.edu.
Moses-Allen
Salisbury native Moses-Allen has secured a motion picture deal. He works as a writer for his company “Eyes To The SoulProduction House” and the new cable television/Internet network Simply Me TV.
“This is his first major film project but is projected to be one of the top rated sports films produced in many years, says Anthony Andre Jones, CEO/ President, The Senoj Film Group Inc.
Jones has a motion picture movie deal in Hollywood and has chosen Moses-Allen’s piece to produce under his deal.
Moses-Allen, aka Curtis A. Miller Jr., son of Curtis A. Miller Sr. and Norma H. Brooks, both Salisbury natives, attended North Rowan High in Spencer, graduating in 1989. He played basketball for the North Rowan Cavaliers and later attended Johnson C. Smith and Winston-Salem State universities.