The Southern Crescent Chorale is holding auditions for its second annual performance of “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” a one hour opera sung in English.

Blues Traveler performs at the Fred

This weekend, local audiences will be treated to two concerts by one of the biggest bands of the ‘90s as Blues Traveler takes stage at The Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater. The band, which comes to Peachtree City as part of The Fred’s annual summer concert series, will perform at the outdoor venue on Friday, August 24 and Saturday, August 25 at 9 p.m. each night.

Peachtree City's 18th annual Kidz Fest will be held on Saturday, Aug. 25 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The family event is free and open to the public.

Parking, admission, games and rides are all free. This year’s free rides include: The Great Rock Wall, The Giant Slide, The Iron Man Obstacle Course, Starwalk Moon Walk and back by popular demand "The Money Machine!"

Touted as a film chronicling the romance that inspired some of the greatest love stories of all time, “Becoming Jane” labels itself as a biographical portrait of Jane Austen.

Sorry, I didn’t have time to hit the theaters to review a new movie for this week. I don’t even know what came out and I didn't really care either. There’s some good stuff coming, but I think the summer movie season officially ended with the release of “Superbad.”

With no up-front costs, organizations can easily raise needed funds to meet their goals. A Self-help Assistance Program (ASAP), a Peachtree City based International non profit organization that works in Africa, now offers church groups, schools and civic organizations an exciting new and valuable fund raising service through coffee.

The Grassroots Arts Program (GAP) is funded by the Georgia Council for the Arts through appropriations from the Georgia General Assembly to make sure that all Georgians have access to the arts activities which enrich all of our lives. Arts Clayton has once again been named by the Georgia Council for the Arts as the fiscal year 2008 re-granting agency for GAP in Clayton, Fayette, Henry and Spalding counties and has announced that Coweta County has been added to the re-granting area for 2008.

If you enjoy plants and community service, you may want to consider becoming a Master Gardener. South Metro Master Gardener classes will be held on Mondays and Wednesdays from 2-4:30 p.m. beginning January 7, 2008 through March 19, 2008.

The annual meeting of the Coweta-Fayette Auburn Club will be held at Flat Creek Golf Club on Thursday, Sept. 6 in Peachtree City. A number of special guest speakers are planned for the evening including Dr. James R. Hansen, who has written about aerospace history for the past 26 years. His most recent book, “First Man,” the only authorized biography of Neil Armstong, spent three weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list. Hansen is the director of the honors college at Auburn. Mike Griffin, head coach of men's golf, and Kim Evans, head coach of women's golf will also speak. Both coaches have a long and successful history at Auburn.

Margaret Chu is a busy mom with two children, a husband and two dogs, Ezzy and Gatsby. Meeting all the needs of the family plus the care and feeding of their beloved pets got Chu thinking.

Video excerpts from a recent interview with Roland Haas, author of "Enter the Past Tense: My Secret Life as a CIA Assassin" and local Peachtree City resident. To read the first part of the two part article, click HERE.

Video excerpts from a recent interview with Roland Haas, author of "Enter the Past Tense: My Secret Life as a CIA Assassin" and local Peachtree City resident. To read the first part of the two part article, click HERE.

Sharks and Jets take over the Fox

Theater of the Stars will present a special 50th anniversary production of “West Side Story,” at the fabulous Fox Theatre from Aug. 21-26.

The timeless tragedy within “West Side Story” is as relevant in today’s society as it was when it was written. In 1949 director-choreographer Jerome Robbins started working on the idea for “West Side Story.” Originally he thought maybe Juliet would be Jewish and Romeo would be Catholic, and the feud of the Shakespeare-inspired tale would center on Easter versus Passover. He discussed the idea with Leonard Bernstein, but due to extremely busy schedules, they did not get started on the project until 1955. By that time, they changed the conflict to take place between rival gangs. One gang would be native New Yorkers (The Jets), and the other gang would be Puerto Rican (The Sharks), and the backdrop would be the slums of New York City’s West Side. The original production opened on Broadway in the fall of 1957.

Fayette theater awakens ‘Sleeping Beauty’

Fayette Coweta Family Theatre's musical production of "Disney's Sleeping Beauty, Kids" will take stage this weekend.

Don't miss the opportunity to join your favorite Disney characters for this fairy tale which will be followed by a fun, creative and yummy “Princess Aurora” Birthday Party for all in attendance.

Watching the previews before “Stardust,” I found myself thinking about the fantasy/fairy-tale films I used to love as a kid: “The Never Ending Story,” “Star Wars” and “The Princess Bride” to name a few.

Let me get this out of the way right at the beginning. “Superbad” is full of profanity and adult situations. It is rated R and it is well warranted. It feels like it features an almost “South Park” movie level of profanity and that, if you don’t know, is a lot of profanity.

Canine Assistants, a non-profit organization that raises and trains service dogs for children and adults with physical disabilities, seizure disorders or other special needs, is seeking volunteers from the Peachtree City area to help raise awareness about service dogs and disabilities.

This fall Legacy Too, a Sharpsburg, Ga. based business, will offer workshops featuring ideas for fall decoration of the table or doorway, instruction on coordinating fabrics and paint in the home, flower arranging and the value of appraisal of those special home accessories and antiques. The classes are always combined with a tea which will include small sandwiches, a sweet and a savory (and of course, tea). “To add that special touch we're known for, it's all served on antique china and linen,” said Susan Godfrey, Legacy Too owner.

The Sun City Peachtree Del Webb 2007 Summer Concert Series will continue this weekend when Dionne Warwick performs at the Fayetteville Villages Amphitheater on Saturday, August 11. Warwick has, over an illustrious four-decade career, established herself as an international musical legend. Her reputation as a hit maker has been firmly etched into public consciousness. As a performer, she has charmed and entertained audiences on every continent, amassing a worldwide audience.

Motown artists Rare Earth will take stage this Friday and Saturday as part of the Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater’s ongoing summer concert series.

This weekend a family favorite will complete it’s 10 performance run at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta. Audiences will join Dorthy, Toto, and friends as they travel to the Emerald City in the traveling production of “The Wizard of Oz” this Friday and Saturday.

In the film adaptation of “The Great Gatsby,” Daisy Buchanan, played by Mia Farrow, having just been humiliated by her husband’s apparent tryst, tells her cousin Nick Carraway, “And when I was in the delivery room, waking up from the ether, I asked the nurse whether it was a boy or a girl. She said it was a girl—and I turned my head to the side and cried. And then I said, I hope she grows up to be a pretty little fool. That's about the best a girl can hope for these days, to be a pretty little fool.” Unfortunately for the second sex, that is all the girls in the movie “Bratz” are: pretty little fools.

While the new film “Daddy Day Camp” stems from the characters and basic story of the 2003 film “Daddy Day Care,” the film has a whole new cast and crew, including the switch from Eddie Murphy to Cuba Gooding Jr. in the role of Charlie Hinton, and is directed by Fred Savage of “The Wonder Years” fame.

Alpha Dog (Jason Lee) is perhaps the worst dog on the police force. In a scene at the Capital we find out he is smelling-impaired, which makes him mistake a piece of ham for a bomb. When he wanders off in shame, he is bullied by some German Shepherds, then picked up by Cad (Patrick Warburton), henchman to the evil, the terrible, and the short, Dr. Simon Barsinister, played evilly by Peter Dinklage of Elf.

School’s in session at The Legacy

I’m pleased to report that after the utter disappointment I faced last week with “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry,” this week was a whole different story. “No Reservations,” the new film starring high wattage stars Catherine Zeta-Jones, Abigail Breslin, Aaron Eckhart and Patricia Clarkson, was a delightful trip to the theater, definitely surpassing my hopes for a decent film.

I am a huge fan of “The Simpsons.” I mean, really big, like only missed one first run episode of the show in my life big. Sometimes I find myself slipping into Homer-isms or quoting Ralph Wiggum during awkward silences. It is easily my favorite television show of all time and the time I got to meet creator Matt Groening (who gave me an autograph and drew a picture of Homer) is on my list of top 10 moments in my life.

The Simpsons, donut-loving Homer, stay-at-home mother Marge, annoying brother Bart, environment-caring Lisa, and baby Maggie are finally on the big screen! You know the Simpsons are funny beyond all reason, but this movie was hilarious.

The Peachtree City Parks and Recreation Department, in conjunction with Star 94 radio station, are bringing back the popular Movies Under The Stars event this Saturday, August 4 at the Peachtree City Baseball and Soccer Complex on Ga. Highway 74.

Final weekend to catch must-see show

This weekend, Theater of the Stars in association with the 2007 National Black Arts Festival, will present the final performances of the recently revived musical “Dreamgirls.” Starring Jennifer Holliday in the role she made famous 25 years ago, “Dreamgirls” will play at the Fabulous Fox Theatre in Atlanta through Sunday, July 29. Theater patrons who remember the original or were made aware of the show through the recent film should be sure to snap up tickets to one of the few remaining shows.