ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT BRIEFS

Fernley entertainment

The band Halfway to Forever features good music and vocals by Chris Houghton on drums (rear), Tony Giglieri (right) guitar and vocals and Paul Rudolf (left) on bass at the Fernley Farmers Market. Fernley Farmers Market is sponsored by the Fernley Convention and Tourism Authority Grant Funds. It is open Thursdays through Aug. 14 at The Mirage Garden & Gifts, 350 E. Main St.

Rock the Comstock

Do you have what it takes to Rock the Comstock? Red Dog Saloon in historic Virginia City presents a local battle of the bands competition, Rock the Comstock, July 18-20.

Rock the Comstock Silver Challenge is a rock band battle pitting local rock, alternative and roots rock bands against each other for fame and glory, as well as cash prizes.

Bands enter in one of three categories: roots rock, art rock or alternative rock. To enter, bands must submit a video now through May 30 on the Red Dog Saloon Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/redogsaloon. Facebook online voting is open to everyone from June 1-29.

The top three finalists in each category are announced June 30 with live performances scheduled at the Red Dog Saloon July 18-20. The final three bands will battle it out July 20 at the Red Dog Saloon starting at 8 p.m.

For information visit online or call the Red Dog Saloon at 775-847-7474.

Wilbur D. May Museum exhibit

This summer, the Wilbur D. May Museum will highlight one of Nevada’s first marketing campaigns. Rush to Reno: Millionaires in the One Sound State explores the way state leaders targeted millionaires to move to Nevada during the 1930s and 40s.

The unique plan brought dozens of interesting characters to the Reno area, including Wilbur May, E. L. Cord, Max Fleischmann, and others. The exhibit explores the unconventional plan and its lasting impact on the state. It features original artifacts on display for the first time and new stories that will appeal to visitors of all ages.

Rush to Reno is an official NV 150 event, celebrating the 150th anniversary of Nevada’s admission to the Union. The exhibit is June 18-September 14 at the Wilbur D. May Museum in Reno: 775-785-5961.

Stremmel Gallery

Stremmel Gallery, 1400 S. Virginia St., in Reno, presents Wolf Kahn’s “Color and Light,” an exhibition featuring new works opened on June 19 and continuing through Aug. 2.

Stremmel Gallery has represented the well-known New York-based artist for nearly 35 years. The exhibition of Kahn’s oils and pastels will include his latest explorations of color, light, and nature.

Weaving class

The Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe’s Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPO) is sponsoring a Tule Mat Weaving Class on June 28 at 2 p.m. at the Pyramid Lake Museum and Visitors Center, 709 State St. in Nixon.

The class is free and open to the public. The class, however, is restricted in size due to the limited number of tules during this time, so people are encouraged to call 775-574-1088 to reserve space.

The class will be taught by Mike Williams of the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Paiute Tribe, who is well-known for his replicas of the historic canvasback tule ducks decoys found in the Lovelock Caves in 1911. He studied photographs and examples of the 2,000-year-old canvasback tule ducks and taught himself to make replicas.

Williams is well-versed in tule reed artistry and of the historic uses of the marsh plant. He travels throughout the state providing classes and workshops on the resourcefulness of the plant and its uses which included, clothing, shelter, duck gathering baskets, boats and sleeping mats.

Participants in the mat weaving class will learn of the important role tule plants played in the lives of native people thousands of years ago.

This program has been funded, in part, by the Nevada Arts Council, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

For information, contact Tribal Historic Preservation Office at 775-574-1088, extension 1302, or thpo@plpt.nsn.us.

My Fair Lady auditions

The Western Nevada Musical Theatre Company is distributing audition information for the Lerner and Loewe masterwork, My Fair Lady, to play in eight performances this November at the Carson City Community Center.

Auditions will be the second week of August. Specific times, location and information on what to prepare for auditions will be emailed to those who sign up for auditions.

My Fair Lady is often considered the pinnacle of the Golden Age of Musical Theatre. This extraordinary work, which follows phonetics professor Harold Higgins as he transforms a lowly flower girl into a glamorous high society woman, captured multiple Tony and Academy Awards. The score captivates with numbers ranging from comic (“Why Can’t a Woman Be More Like a Man?”) to boisterous (“Get Me to the Church On Time,”) to romantic (“I Could Have Danced All Night”).

Casting calls for several featured performers, a part-singing ensemble and a dance troupe. A few children will be selected to be part of the dance troupe. Only a few highly-trained children, maybe four or five, will be selected.

The show will be produced and directed by Stephanie Arrigotti and choreographed by Gina Kaskie Davis. Kevin Murphy conducts the orchestra. Auditioners should email the director at Stephanie.Arrigotti@wnc.edu to be placed on the audition schedule and sent audition information.

The Western Nevada Musical Theatre Company is a critically acclaimed regional theater company operated through the Performing Arts Program at WNC, drawing audiences from 20 states.

Previous productions have drawn as many as 7,000 people. Shows play in a 750-seat theater and are accompanied by a live orchestra. Everyone accepted in the cast must register to participate in the production. For information, call 775-445-4249.

Wally’s World of art

The city of Fernley presents Wally’s World: The Loneliest Art Collection in Nevada, featuring 35 pieces of art from Wally Cuchine’s collection at City Hall (south entrance), 595 Silver Lace Blvd.

In 1987, Life Magazine described U.S. Highway 50 across the center of Nevada as the “The Loneliest Road in America.” The magazine particularly mentioned the 287-mile stretch between Fernley and Ely as “remote with few points of interest” and it urged travelers to have “survival skills” to make the journey.

Exhibit curator Jim McCormick titled this NTI-Traveling Exhibition, Wally’s World: The Loneliest Art Collection in Nevada because Wally Cuchine’s art collection is located in Eureka on Highway 50’s route.

For more than two decades, residents in this part of rural Nevada have experienced a breadth of quality cultural events thanks to Wally Cuchine’s personal passion for the arts.

As director of the Eureka Opera House for more than 18 years, Cuchine consistently presented first-class entertainment to residents and visitors. Known for his unflagging commitment to and support of artists, and his unswerving faith that the art and artists of Nevada are a valuable resource, he has acquired an unparalleled personal collection of Nevada art.