This is no time for spring break! There's art happening!

Yes, it IS almost April, so get out your calendar and a big red pen, and start scribbling in the plethora of fabulous arts events:

Thursday, April 3, 8 p.m., Fractal plays at Fire, 1249 Portage Road in Kalamazoo, $7. Also on the bill: When Sanity Fails and Afternoon Round.

Friday, April 11, 5 - 9 p.m., opening reception for the "Colors of Life" show of glass art at Blue Water Gallery, 8860 North 32nd Street in Richland. In honor of Michigan Glass Month, the show will feature new work by Kathy Kreager, Gloria Badiner, Jarry Catania, Jerry Harty, Judy Koneski, Becky Stewart, and Barb Yerace.

Friday, April 11, 9 p.m., another chance to hear Fractal, this time at Dino's, corner of Academy and Stadium in Kalamazoo, $2.

Tuesday, April 15, 3 p.m., Tiffany Tea at the Kellogg Manor House. Enjoy an elegant tea and a tour of the historic mansion. Prepaid reservations required; adults $20, children 5 - 12 $12. Call 269-671-2400. (By the way, with the same call you could reserve spots for the Mother's Day brunch on May 11. Seatings are at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.; adults $18.95, seniors $17.95, children 5 - 12 $9.95.)

Tuesday, April 15, 4 p.m., first session of the Ballet class for 7- to 9-year-olds at the Gull Lake Middle School Cafeteria. Classes run 6 weeks, through May 20, and cost $35. Register through Gull Lake Community Education; call 269-488-5018 for more information.

Tuesday, April 15, 5 p.m., first session of the Creative Movement class for 3- to 4-year-olds at the Gull Lake Middle School Cafeteria. Classes run 6 weeks, through May 20, and cost $35. Register through Gull Lake Community Education; call 269-488-5018 for more information.

Thursday, April 17, 4 p.m., first session of the Ballet class for 10- to 12-year-olds at the Ryan Intermediate Band Room. Classes run 6 weeks, through May 22, and cost $35. Register through Gull Lake Community Education; call 269-488-5018 for more information.

Thursday, April 17, 5 p.m., first session of the Creative Movement class for 5- to 6-year-olds at the Ryan Intermediate Band Room. Classes run 6 weeks, through May 22, and cost $35. Register through Gull Lake Community Education; call 269-488-5018 for more information.

And bon voyage to the great Gull Lake High School Band! They're off to Florida for spring break, where they'll be playing to the big crowds at Disney World--and, we hope, having a fantastic time.

Choral music and other talents

Quickly dig out from the snow and get ready for a fantastic week of arts treats!

This Tuesday, March 25, at 7 p.m., the Stoughton, Wisconsin, High School Concert Choir gives a preview of their upcoming Carnegie Hall concert right here at Gull Lake High School. They're one of the finest high school choirs in the country, and we're privileged to be one of two stops on their way to New York--the only other stop being at the Western Michigan University choral department earlier in the day. The Choir’s director, Ryan Casey, is a graduate of Western Michigan University’s music school. In addition to teaching several choirs at Stoughton High School, he regularly performs solo and ensemble music in the Madison, Wisconsin area and in Chicago. Don't miss this unique opportunity to hear a great choir right here in Richland. And did I mention that the concert is free? It's a wonderful gift to the community.

Then save next Saturday night--and maybe get a ticket in advance--for the always fabulous annual Glitter variety show, presented by the Gull Lake High School PTO. The 18th (yes, 18th!) annual edition starts at 7 p.m., Saturday, March 29, at Comstock Auditorium. Reserved seats are available for $10; general admission is $8. For more information call Rona Evarts, 665-6521. Come one, come all to enjoy a great evening of entertainment by our most wildly talented neighbors and friends.

Juggling the PAF meeting

Alert! Alert! As it seems we must from time to time--more often than we'd like--we need to change the monthly Performing Arts Foundation meeting for March from March 13 to March 20. It's still a Thursday, it's still at the Richland Area Community Center, but we're also going to meet earlier, at 5 p.m. So, to review: We will NOT meet on March 13; we WILL meet on Thursday, March 20, at 5 p.m. at RACC. To look on the plus side, perhaps some folks who can't make it to our usual time will be able to join us this month.

Meanwhile, do not forget the following upcoming events featuring local friends:

Friday, March 14 at 8 p.m.: Improv comedy troupe Crawlspace Eviction gives a benefit performance for KNOW, the Kalamazoo Non-Violent Opponents of War, and the Department of Peace and Nonviolence campaign at the Fetzer Center Auditorium at Western Michigan University. Admission is $15, $7 for students.

Saturday, March 22, 5 to 11 p.m.: Ten bands perform at the Richland Area Community Center, 9400 East CD Avenue. Admission is $8.

Hope to see you at one or more of these three events!

Poetry opportunities

John Rybicki is a wonderful writer from our very own neighborhood--and, as so often happens, probably finds greater fame and recognition outside of it. So we locals should not miss the opportunity to hear him read from his new book, We Bed Down Into Water, published by Northwestern University Press. Convenient opportunities to do so include:

Monday, March 10, 6:30 p.m. at the Portage Public Library.

Thursday, April 17, 8 p.m. with novelist Paula Nangle at the Little Theatre, Oakland Drive, Western Michigan University, part of the Gwen Frostic Reading Series.

If you haven't read Rybicki's poetry and prose before, Northwestern University Press offers this description of Rybicki's new collection: "John Rybicki offers up an unafraid set of poems in this charged book of verse. We Bed Down Into Water is rich with imagery of family, love, illness, death, and, indeed, water, which seeps in throughout the pages: rivers, pools, rain, and tears. His moving stories, in both prose and verse, struggle to hang on to a vision of the world that can still allow benevolence, luck, and laughter. In this, the collection embodies a contradiction: it is a tender book of fury, a book of bleak hopefulness."

March! You heard me!

You go out of town for one second and things start happening and then it's March already. There will be more to follow, but for now, please put the following on your calendar and MARCH yourself over there at the appropriate times.

First of all, on Friday, March 14 at 8 p.m., our favorite improv comedy troupe Crawlspace Eviction is giving a benefit performance for KNOW, the Kalamazoo Non-Violent Opponents of War, and the Department of Peace and Nonviolence campaign at the Fetzer Center Auditorium at Western Michigan University. Admission is $15, $7 for students.

Then, on Saturday, March 22, from 5 to 11 p.m., ten, count 'em, 10 bands will be performing at the Richland Area Community Center, 9400 East CD Avenue, right here in Richland. That's ten bands for one low admission of $8. You actually can't afford to miss it. Scheduled to play: I See Stars, Rising Vacancy, La Dispute, From A Standpoint, Oshtemo, What Happened In Vegas, Doombringer, With Wings of Lead, The Skies Revolt, and Enormousaurus.

Okay, that's enough for you to be getting on with. Spring into action!