'Gold' rush almost over
If you haven't caught the traveling "Gold" exhibit at the Anchorage Museum yet, you still have a couple of weekends. The show will end on Aug. 2. In addition to displays of fabulous nuggets, coins, bullion, Walter Cronkite's Emmy Award, heck -- an entire room lined with gold! -- there are two related plays. "Wheelman," by Fairbanks playwright Thomas Moran, is a fictionalized account of the sturdy sourdoughs who headed for Nome on bicycles. "The Gilded Tusk," by Joan Kane of Anchorage, is about a woman who leaves Oregon to find her gold-seeking husband in Nome. There are four showings each day, 11 a.m., noon, 1 and 2 p.m. They're free with admission to the museum, $8 general, plus the special ticket needed for "Gold," $12 for adults, $7 for members.
art
Plein Air fair
A outdoor art fair featuring Plein Air Painters of Alaska -- devotees of outdoor painting -- takes place starting at 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. Besides displays of artwork and the opportunity to purchase directly from the artist, there'll be games and art activities for kids, silent auction, door prizes, music, food and live art demonstrations. All proceeds of the auction and a portion of all artist's sales will be donated to the Clare House shelter for women and children. Find the fun at 5801 Barry Ave. Take Abbott toward the mountains, turn right on Birch just past Service High School and left on Barry to the log chateau.
music
Calm down downtown
Anchorage Opera's Big Wild Mid-Week Musical Mediation series provides a brief escape from the regular day for downtown office workers, tourists and music lovers, with mellow half hour performances by superb local musicians, like Miss Alaska, Sydnee Waggoner, scheduled for this Wednesday. Programs start at 12:15 p.m. Wednesdays through Aug. 5 at the First United Methodist Church, 725 West 9th Ave. (Use the rear door off the alley.) Admission is free, but donations are accepted to defray costs.
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