5 things to do in the Anchorage area this weekend

The weekend has arrived and Anchorage is full of entertainment and activity options over the next few days. There are concerts and fundraisers and concert/fundraisers. Plus a play, a pub crawl and a ball. Here’s a look at a few of the highlights.

Arsenic and Old Lace

7 p.m. Thursday-Friday-Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday, Anchorage Community Theatre, 1133 E. 70th Ave.

Anchorage Community Theatre’s season kicks off with the classic Joseph Kesselring Broadway play. It’s a classic black comedy featuring stage critic Mortimer Brewster and his murderous aunts Abby and Martha Brewster. Tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors, military and student and $15 for kids 12 and under.

Pirate Pub Crawl

7 p.m. Saturday, Town Square Park, 544 W. Fifth Ave.

After a group photo at 7 p.m., the event starts with grabbing a map. Once you complete the map, you can drop it off to be entered in a drawing for 80,000 Alaska Airlines miles. It is free to participate but a portion of proceeds from the night’s festivities go to the Blood Bank of Alaska. In the mood for some swashbuckling action without sipping from a bottle of rum? You might want to give the Pirate’s Cove Market a try. From 2-9 p.m. Saturday at Town Square Park, there will be vendors of all types and food trucks as well.

Fundraiser for Qargi Academy Tribal School

7 p.m. Friday, Discovery Theatre, 621 W. Sixth Ave.

This fundraising event features local music stars Medium Build and Quinn Christopherson in an intimate sit-down show. The money raised will go toward the Qarġi Academy Tribal School, a North Slope institution that provides students with an education grounded in the Iñupiaq culture, language and ways of being. The performance will also feature Ilakus Iñupiaq Dance Group. Tickets for the event start at $54.25.

[Medium Build and Quinn Christopherson to play Anchorage benefit for Wainwright tribal school]

September Nights Fundraiser

6 p.m. Saturday, 49th State Brewing, 717 W. Third Ave.

Presented by the Eagle River Nature Center, this fundraiser is in its 27th year. The online auction is open until Sunday at 5:30 p.m. and there will be a live auction as well. Tickets are $125 and include dinner prepared by 49th State Brewing and two beer/wine tickets. Music will be provided by Highway 9, and Dan Newman from Alaska Premier Auctions & Appraisals will conduct the auction.

Blueberry Ball

2-8 p.m. Saturday, Skeetawk, 13500 N. Skeetawk Circle, Mile 10.6 Palmer-Fishhook Road in Palmer

Sure, it’s a bit north of Anchorage, but Skeetawk’s sixth annual Blueberry Ball is worth the trip. Entertainment includes Past Our Prime, the Tyson James Big Band, Braided River and the Super Saturated Sugar Strings. The ball will also feature food trucks and a beer garden, and the chairlift is open from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. The event is free but there is a $20 suggested donation with proceeds going toward growing Skeetawk Ski Area.