UNCC honors the Supreme Court's historic 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education decision, which outlawed forced segregation of the races in schools, with a lecture at 7pm in McKnight Hall led by sisters Cheryl Brown Henderson and Linda Brown Thompson, the named plaintiffs in the case. Henderson and Thompson will discuss their experiences leading up to, during, and after this landmark decision was made. The lecture and the reception that follows are free, but reservations are necessary and can be made by calling the Campus Activity Board at 704-687-2450. (Grossman)
Moving Poets Theatre of Dance is bringing us their usual mind-blowing array of dance, theater, music, and video. This time, they're adding to the mix by collaborating with the Alban Elved Dance Company of Winston-Salem. Playing through Sunday evening, 1001 Arabian Nights promises to turn the Booth Playhouse stage into a huge silken tent filled with athletic movement and sensuous imagery. Having been impressed by the aerial work of Elved company founder Karola Luttringhaus at his funky 6/15 festival two years ago, dancer/choreographer Till Schmidt-Rimpler enlisted Luttinghaus to spice up his Araby with more of her mesmerizing mid-air contortions enfolded in colorful silks. The Cirque du Soleil flair will be wedded to the famed Richard Burton translation of the Entertainments, filtered through the Poets' sensibility and flavored with original music by Daveed Korup. Tickets are $10-$24.50. Call 704-372-1000. (Tannenbaum)
APRIL 1 - THURSDAY
The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, the largest fest of its type in the US, will be held starting today and running through this Sunday in Durham. Approximately 100 films will be presented this year, with 67 of them in competition. Elaine Stritch at Liberty, a look at the actress's one-woman Broadway show, will open the festival, while other highlights will include an evening with Harry Shearer (A Mighty Wind, The Simpsons), the 2004 Career Award presentation to Marcel Ophuls (who will be in attendance), and a "sidebar" series devoted to pieces about Southern politicians, including Ken Burns' Huey Long and David Grubin's LBJ. For complete details, go to www.fullframefest.org, or call 919-687-4100. (Brunson)
APRIL 2 - FRIDAY
Sibling loyalty and teamwork are the heroic essence of Hansel & Gretel, but it's the underbelly of the story -- parental cruelty, glucose gluttony, and woodland cannibalism -- that lures us back again and again. Children's Theatre finally gets around to this evergreen folktale, using some of the city's best adult actors to recreate the classic battle of wits at the Morehead Street fantasy palace. I can just see CT artistic director Alan Poindexter salivating at the prospect of staging this kiddy cliffhanger with Mark Sutton, Cody Harding, Jill Bloede, Nicia Carla, and CL's Newcomer of the Year, Derek Gamba, all poised to ham up the horror. Join the feeding frenzy for the remaining $10 general admission tickets for most of the tricky schedule, April 2-4 and April 23-25. Call 704-333-8983. (Tannenbaum)
APRIL 3 - SATURDAY
All that glitters is gold at the Mint Museum of Craft + Design with the debut of The Art of Gold exhibit. Eighty contemporary, handmade objects including jewelry, vessels, sculptures and hollowware, reveal the studio goldsmiths' individual styles and influences. The exhibit runs through August 8. Admission is $6 adults, $5 seniors and $3 students. The museum is located at 220 N. Tryon St. Call 704-337-2000 for details. (Grossman)
Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill just published Dog On The Cross, a short story collection by UNC-Charlotte professor Aaron Gwyn, and so far it's garnering very good early reviews. The book revolves around a small Pentecostal community in Oklahoma and their struggles with God, each other, and reality itself during the week that a 15-year-old faith healer comes to town. Even though smalltown Southerners and religion aren't exactly unmined literary veins, critics have been saying Gwyn has something new, albeit dark, to add to the well-worn theme. A book launch party will take place today at Park Road Books at 1pm, during which time Gwyn will read and sign copies of his book. The event is free. Call 704-525-9239 for more information. (Grooms)
APRIL 5 - MONDAY
One of the city's best events, Taste of the Nation, which raises money for several groups working to end hunger, has turned into a three-day event. It's part of the national Share our Strength effort, one of America's largest non-profit hunger and poverty relief organizations. Today there's a golf tourney at Firethorne Country Club/Waxhaw in which foursomes will play with celebrity chefs, with a 9am tee-off. Tuesday, the Share Our Strength at the Square event, from 11:30am-1:30pm, will feature cooking demonstrations and competitions; it's free but you're asked to bring canned food to feed the hungry. On Wednesday, the big annual Taste of the Nation Gala takes place at the Marriott City Center Hotel downtown, and will feature food from over 30 of the city's best restaurants, including wine and beer samplings, live entertainment, silent and live auctions, and a slew of dressed up swells. The Preview Party is 6-7pm, the Gala begins at 7pm. Tickets are $50 for the Gala and $75 for both events. For more information on any of the Taste of the Nation events, contact info@charlottecentercity.org or 704-332-2227. For tickets to the Taste of the Nation Gala, call Second Harvest Food Bank at 704-376-1785. (Grooms)
The Performing Arts Center's "Monday Night Movies" series will spend the month of April focusing on Director's Cuts, lengthy, restored versions of films that at some point (either before or after its original run) had been shorn of some footage. Movies will be screened at 6:30pm Mondays at Spirit Square. Tonight's feature is Oliver Stone's JFK, followed by Star Trek: The Motion Picture (April 12), Cinema Paradiso (April 19) and Lawrence of Arabia (April 26). Admission to each film is $5, while popcorn, soda and snacks will be available for $1. For more info, call 704-372-1000. (Brunson)
APRIL 6 - TUESDAY
It doesn't seem that long ago that Jewel was living in her van and playing somber acoustic tunes for a handful of followers at San Diego coffee shops. Now Ms. Kilcher is a gold-record machine, delivering million-sellers nearly every time she enters the studio. She's now morphed from proto-folkie (jeans, T-shirts, poetry) into an urban dance queen (mini skirts, "vogue" poses, beaucoup makeup). Well, sort of. Her music's too idiosyncratic to ever fit the Christina Aguilera/Britney Spears mold. And unlike her contemporaries she can actually sing, even if her last record, 0304, took a big step in the dance floor's direction. Her lyrics still read like a sensitive high schooler's journal, but, frankly, the up-beat rhythms and quirky arrangements are a welcome change. With all that said, she'll be doing the acoustic solo thing at Belk Theater Tuesday, beginning at 8pm. Tickets are $26-$46. For more information, call 704-372-1000. (Schacht)