Maia: Hey Ben, do you have any idea what season it's supposed to be out there? One day I'm thinking it's time to start planting my deck boxes and the next I'm losing the dog in a fresh snowdrift in the yard. I keep thinking about getting my tires changed, but every time it crosses my mind I wake up to another inch of new snow. I can't imagine trying to plan an outdoor activity this weekend.
Fortunately, the Anchorage Museum's Earth Family Day event on Sunday looks like it's going to be 100 percent indoors. There are going to be some cool activities for kids -- minature windmill building, recycled magnets and flowers made from comic books -- and marine life demonstrations by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They're also going to have community resources for things like edible gardens and permaculture. (My deck boxes definitely don't fall into the latter category, but an edible garden could translate small...) Earth Family Day takes place Sunday, April 10 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Anchorage Museum, 625 C St., and it's free and open to the public.
Ben: I know what you mean about the weather. I -- and probably every other Alaskan -- do this thing every year, where we get a little teasing snow one week and see it warm up soon after, and think maybe, just maybe, we won't get any more snow. Self-delusion at its finest. Although speaking of dogs, I'm a little scared to see what might be hidden under those final layers of snow in my backyard.
It's definitely that weird time of year when it's getting warm enough to be outside, but the snow, slush, and ice -- not to mention the occasional windstorm -- still hinders most outdoor activities. In the meantime, those of us looking to keep our feet dry will have to settle for entertainments like Thursday's First Tap at the Bear Tooth featuring Rose Hill Drive. This is a pretty rocking act for a First Tap, and the band is coming with a fresh new bassist and playing AK before they start touring with Stone Temple Pilots later this month. And for those who look forward to the beer just as much as the music -- or perhaps even more so -- this month's brew is a mouth-watering honey wheat.
As long as I'm on the note of the Bear Tooth, a second show for Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros at that venue was announced Wednesday, with tickets to that June 8 show going on sale Friday, April 8. The first show sold out, so if you want tickets, it's probably a good idea to get them early. Opening for both of Edward Sharpe's June shows is Wolf Electric, who just happens to figure into the growing indie scene in Anchorage and is playing a gig Saturday with two other prominent Anchorage indie (or at least indie-ish) acts, LaVoy and Saturday Sleeper. That's an all-ages show at The Club in Eagle River, beginning at 7 p.m.
Maia: I can't believe Stone Temple Pilots are still together. More importantly, I can't believe you mentioned them in the same sentence with the word "Alaska." There are people out there still burning from STP's multiple Anchorage concert cancellations back around the turn of the century. Those wounds take a long time to heal.
I've made one family-friendly suggestion for the weekend, so here's one from the opposite end of the spectrum -- VivaVoom Brr-Lesque, our friendly neighborhood burlesque troupe, is launching its second Burlesque Idol competition this Friday, 8 p.m. at Chilkoot Charlie's. The ladies of VivaVoom hosted their first Burlesque Idol competition back in September, and apparently it was a success, because they're doing it again. Any secret Gypsy Rose Lee wannabes out there are invited to put together a three-minute routine and take the stage. And if you're not ready to shake what your mama gave you, you're invited to come down and watch the fun (including a performance each week by a VivaVoom regular). The competition continues every Friday in April. At the end, the winning dancer goes home with the Burlesque Idol title, $500 cash and a chance to perform with VivaVoom in the troupe's seventh season. If you think you're ready to take the stage, email vivavoomburlesque(at)yahoo.com to arrange music and a time slot.
Ben: I'm sure you're probably avoiding mentioning it to avoid bias, so I'll do it for you. Friday at Snow City Cafe is the Raven Write-a-thon, a fundraiser for the Alaska authors' coalition 49 Alaska Writing Center. The event is exactly what it sounds like, and it's not exactly spectator-friendly, since it features writers sitting down for 4.9 hours, but it's still for a good cause and anyone can donate and support the local writing scene here in town -- they've already admirably beaten their fundraising goal, so everything else is just icing on the cake. It starts at 5 p.m. Friday.
Our own humble Ms. Maia is a celebrity judge for the free-writing event. So Maia, what tier of celebrity would you say you are?
Maia: Hm... Is there an A-plus list? I'd like to be on that one, please. And if anyone's interested in witnessing my A-plus judging prowess, do stop by the afterparty for the Write-A-Thon, starting around 10 p.m. at Snow City, when I'll be one of the (pick your own letter) celebrity judges weighing in on celebrity contestants like Mark Muro and Ethan Berkowitz.
Speaking of ravens and writing, Fairbanksans this weekend have the opportunity to see "Time Immemorial," a play about Alaska Native history written and performed by the very talented Jack Dalton and Allison Warden. Anchorage audiences will remember "Time Immemorial" from its 2009 run at Cyrano's; it'll be back later this spring after stops in Nome, Valdez, and possibly Kotzebue. This weekend you can catch it at Fairbanks' Empress Theater, downtown on the second floor of the Co-Op Building (enter from Third Avenue). "Time Immemorial" runs Thursday through Saturday, April 7 through 9, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, April 10 at 1 p.m.; tickets, $20, at FSTAlaska.org.
Ben: That's a lot going on, so I'll just wrap it up really quick. We've been pushing the musical theater scene in Anchorage for several weeks now, and two of the shows that have been running end this weekend, including "Cabaret" at the Alaska Wild Berry Theater and Anchorage Opera's interpretation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "South Pacific."
"Cabaret" has its curtain call on Saturday at 8 p.m., with the final showing of "South Pacific" Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Discovery Theater.
Contact Maia Nolan at maia(at)alaskadispatch.com and Ben Anderson at ben(at)alaskadispatch.com.