Opening Night for Theatre, Art & Music in Polk

You don’t have to celebrate Mardi Gras or the Chinese New Year to take advantage of all that is new and alive in the art world this weekend around the county. The reprieve from the cold this week is enough to get out of the house and celebrate by enjoying the colorful theatre, music, and art that has been created in the dark of winter.

Tonight is opening night for The Odd Couple by Neil Simon at the Tryon Little Theatre Workshop at 519 South Trade Street in Tryon. Tickets are still available for the 8p.m. performance and to celebrate the opening there will be a special “meet the actors” reception after the show this evening. Tickets are selling quickly so be sure to get your tickets in advance for the 8p.m. performances Friday-Saturday or the 3p.m. matinee Sunday.

Friday, Moonflower Gallery hosts an opening reception from 4-7p.m. for Kimberly Webber Young’s “Let There Be Light.” An “outsider artist” living in Hendersonville Kimberly, or “Maw Bear,” is a porch painter who uses both canvas and found items to apply her technique of acrylic and tar to create lively colorful paintings of life, love, and loss. Moonflower is located at Melrose Station on US 176 halfway between Saluda and Tryon open 10a.m. to 4p.m. Tues-Sat. Call 828-749-2272 for more information.

Be sure to get there early so you can head back down the hill to catch the Tryon Painters and Sculptors’ reception for self-taught watercolor artist Larry Mauldin at Gallery 1 of Tryon Fine Arts Center from 5-7p.m. This South Carolina native’s work has been recognized with awards at the regional and state level. For more information call 828-859-8322.

But don’t stop there! Take the trip to Landrum for Red Clover Gallery’s opening reception from 6-8p.m. of Joan Elford Stone’s “A Well Traveled Life.” This highly skilled watercolor artist is indeed well traveled having discovered her passion for art as WWII was descending upon Great Britain and later immigrating to America. Her paintings full of color, depth, and light are a tribute to the beauty of her own personality and surroundings. Visit www.redclovergallery.com or call 864-457-3311 for more information.

Sunday at 7p.m., the Purple Onion kicks off the first Sunday Night Concert Series for 2008 with the folk singer/songwriter Greg Trooper. This special series is a ticketed event focused on a high quality listening experience with limited seating. Call 828-749-1179 to make your reservation for this talented “trooper” of a performer who claims Otis Redding, Bob Dylan, and Hank Williams as his “holy musical trinity.”