Community Calendar

Experience Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s celebrated musical from June 17 - 28 at Duke Family Performance Hall in Davidson, NC. Set in mid-century Argentina, Evita follows the unforgettable story of Eva Perón, Argentina’s remarkable First Lady, and her journey from poverty to fame. Audiences will be blown away by a powerhouse cast of local actors, dancers, and singers, along with dazzling visuals and choreography, and a Tony Award-winning musical score that features timeless classics like “Buenos Aires” and “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina.” This is one event you don’t want to miss this summer.

Artist Talk: April 25, 2-3 pm
Workshop: April 30, 6-8 pm

Through the Ether is a group of mixed media works deeply influenced by and connected to film editing. April collects and stores unrelated images from different modalities and mediums—3D modeling, photographs, paintings, advertisements. She removes the color, texture, and context from which they originate. These elements form a visual depository or footage bin, from which she uses the montage process to construct a new landscape independent of their source. This reconstruction process resembles building a scene in a film. However, it creates an emotional landscape unto itself, devoid of the requirements of narrative and story—nullifying the necessity of a beginning, a middle, and an end.

About April Simmons: April received her BFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design and her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in film. She worked as an experimental non-narrative filmmaker and as a film editor for both nonfiction and fiction films. Her films have screened at the New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center (Views), Anthology Film Archives in New York, the Rotterdam Film Festival, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and the Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP) in Chicago, among others. April taught film production, theory, and history at the university level for nearly two decades. She began working in digital photo collage and mixed media in 2022. Her work has been shown at The Galleries at Cabarrus Arts Council (“Liminal”) and at The Mint Museum (“Coined in the South”) in Uptown Charlotte.

DINOSAUR! has made their way back to CSC! Get ready to come face-to-face with jaw-dropping fossils, thrilling prehistoric discoveries, and hands-on Jurassic fun for explorers of all ages.

The ROAR of prehistoric fun is her, don’t miss it!

Step back 66 million years and journey through the final chapter of the age of dinosaurs in Dinosaur Evolution—a thrilling immersive experience that brings the Cretaceous world to life. Witness feathered raptors on the hunt, armored giants defending their turf, and the mighty T. rex at the top of the food chain. But even these perfectly evolved creatures couldn’t escape Earth’s most devastating extinction event. Stunning visuals and cutting-edge science reveal how evolution shaped the dinosaurs—and how birds, their modern-day descendants, continue their legacy. It's a prehistoric adventure that will inspire the next generation of paleontologists and conservationists alike.

Experience Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s celebrated musical from June 17 - 28 at Duke Family Performance Hall in Davidson, NC. Set in mid-century Argentina, Evita follows the unforgettable story of Eva Perón, Argentina’s remarkable First Lady, and her journey from poverty to fame. Audiences will be blown away by a powerhouse cast of local actors, dancers, and singers, along with dazzling visuals and choreography, and a Tony Award-winning musical score that features timeless classics like “Buenos Aires” and “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina.” This is one event you don’t want to miss this summer.

Explore the mountain after hours with your own personal guides during our Grandfather by Night series! You’ll discover some of the park’s nighttime wonders, watch a stunning sunset (weather permitting) and experience the mountain as never before! The Naturalist Program version of Grandfather by Night includes an outdoor interpretive program about flora, fauna, folklore and other topics after sunset. This edition of the event series is accessible for those in a wheelchair or with limited mobility. Advance registration required.

A wide selection of native perennials, ferns, sedges, grasses, trees, and shrubs will be available. All proceeds benefit Daniel Boone Native Gardens and the NC Native Plant Society.
This is an outdoor event and will take place rain or shine in the parking lot outside the main entrance to Daniel Boone Native Gardens.
Quantities are limited, so come early for the best selection!
Check, cash, and credit card will be accepted.

Shop for original works by local Native American artists and hear more from the artists themselves at USC Lancaster's Native American Studies Center, beginning Saturday, July 19!

These mini pop-up art sales offer original works by Native American artists, perfect for gifts or your personal art collection! Meet the artists and shop their creations from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. on the following Saturdays this year:

· July 19
· Aug. 16
· Sept. 20
· Oct. 18
· Nov. 15
· Jan. 17
· Feb. 21
· March 21
· April 18

Admission is free and open to the public.

Artist Talk: April 25, 2-3 pm
Workshop: April 30, 6-8 pm

Through the Ether is a group of mixed media works deeply influenced by and connected to film editing. April collects and stores unrelated images from different modalities and mediums—3D modeling, photographs, paintings, advertisements. She removes the color, texture, and context from which they originate. These elements form a visual depository or footage bin, from which she uses the montage process to construct a new landscape independent of their source. This reconstruction process resembles building a scene in a film. However, it creates an emotional landscape unto itself, devoid of the requirements of narrative and story—nullifying the necessity of a beginning, a middle, and an end.

About April Simmons: April received her BFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design and her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in film. She worked as an experimental non-narrative filmmaker and as a film editor for both nonfiction and fiction films. Her films have screened at the New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center (Views), Anthology Film Archives in New York, the Rotterdam Film Festival, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and the Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP) in Chicago, among others. April taught film production, theory, and history at the university level for nearly two decades. She began working in digital photo collage and mixed media in 2022. Her work has been shown at The Galleries at Cabarrus Arts Council (“Liminal”) and at The Mint Museum (“Coined in the South”) in Uptown Charlotte.

Join Shannon Burbridge, an experienced movement instructor and educator with over 37 years of experience in the fitness and wellness field, to immerse yourself in a full day of yoga and grounding techniques to help you ground deeper into yourself and the nature around you. Along with a warmup flow, peaceful hike and longer, more in-depth, yoga practice, you will gain a basic understanding of foot reflexology, spinal connection, self-myofascial techniques and grounding rituals to connect yourself to the natural world around you. Tickets for this event go on sale online on Grandfather Mountain’s website April 20 at 10 a.m. Advance registration required.