&bsp;Thursday night is opening night for some of the youngest artists in the area. Tryon Youth Center and Tryon Little Theatre present &dquo;The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe&dquo; by C.S. Lewis. I&squo;ll be hiding in the balcony playing the &uot;soundtrack&uot; for an amazing group of kids who have been hard at work this summer transforming the story into their own. Behind these kids are an amazing team of &uot;big kids&uot; who have donated their time to this effort. Sam Lovelace has done an amazing job creating the visual world of Narnia. Hamilton Goodman has staged a wonderful battle scene that these kids have practiced and polished to a thrilling level. Marianne Carruth has guided and shaped these kids into entertaining three dimensional characters. More parents than I can name have spent countless hours painting sets, sewing costumes, painting faces, and whatever else needs to be done to help these kids shine like the stars they are on stage. Make time to stop by to see what a magical experience this community has created. The show runs tonight and Friday at 8 p.m. with matinees Saturday and Sunday at 3 p.m. For more information you can visit www.tltinfo.org or call TFAC for tickets at 828-859-8322 ext. 214.

Friday start off your weekend off with beautiful color at the opening reception for the work of Virginia Pendergrass from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Red Clover Gallery in Landrum. Don&squo;t linger too long though or you&squo;ll miss the beginning of the concert over in Tryon. The Summer Tracks Series at Rogers Park begins at 7 p.m. featuring the Dixie Rhythm Aces and Russ Wilson&squo;s Nouveau-Pass´ Orchestra. I&squo;m particularly excited about this line up because, well not only are some of my favorite musicians from the region going to be on stage playing music, but I&squo;ll be up there singing and playing as well with the Dixie Rhythm Aces. I just wish I didn&squo;t have to dash away to the theatre so I could stick around and dance to Russ Wilson&squo;s fascinating rhythm. So please, pull out those dancing shoes and find a partner to swing, jitterbug, and Charleston in my place.

Saturday Upstairs Artspace welcomes twenty two artists from Lake Lure for a group show with a reception from 5-8 p.m. Meet and mingle with this diverse collection of artists enjoying the color and variety of work. Then get on over to Veteran&squo;s Park in Columbus by 8 p.m. I&squo;m glad we have a matinee at the theatre that day so I can finally find my way over there myself to catch the amazing jazz guitarist Marc Yaxley. I had heard about him and was thrilled to catch the end of his show at the Street Music in Brevard a few weeks ago. His modern jazz guitar work is dazzling. Although after reading about Joseph Hasty & Centerpiece Jazz who are appearing at the Purple Onion I&squo;m very curious about what they sound like and would love to catch that as well. Is it possible yet to be in two places at once?

Sunday Red Clover Gallery and FENCE invite you to join them for a special concert to benefit the Summer Day Camps with Keowee Chamber Music&squo;s Acoustic Dessert at 3 p.m. This dynamic guitar, flute and cello trio of Amy Brucksch, Kate Steinbeck, and Jennifer Alexander Johnson is known for creating &dquo;chamber music out of the box.&dquo; Save me some dessert for after the theatre if you can!