There are dozens of things to do across the region this week.

ART

THE Gallery at the Village Bakery, Melmerby, Penrith, is hosting an exhibition by Christina Mingard. The exhibition is entitled Leaving Winter and features her well-known landscapes of Northern England. Leaving Winter opens on Saturday and runs until February 22. For details, call 01768-881811.

KENDAL Museum re-opens for 2004 with a prestigious National Touring Exhibition from the Hayward Gallery entitled Picasso: Histoire Naturelle on Saturday. The exhibition features 31 images of birds and insects commissioned for the classic 18th century text Histoire Naturelle. The exhibition runs until March 13 and is open from 10.30am-4pm (Mon-Sat).

FANS of Manchester music should head for Urbis, Cathedral Gardens, Manchester, for an exhibition of more than 500 images from Peter Saville, the artist whose work featured on the sleeves of bands on the Factory label including Joy Division and New Order. For details call 0161-605-8200.

FARFIELD Mill Arts and Heritage Centre, Sedbergh, is hosting an exhibition of the work of four diverse artists. Maureen Nelson (painter), Sue Lawson (landscapes), Peter John Fellows (landscape photographer) and Jenny Head (textiles) will be exhibiting their work in the Howgill Room until March 28. For details call 015396-21958.

THE Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal, is hosting an exhibition entitled Non Verbal by Ashley Turton, a young Kendal artist. The exhibition offers an insight into the world of an artist who does not know what he is going to draw until a second before he puts pencil to paper. Non Verbal runs until March 7.

COMEDY

PERRIER award-winning comedian and star of Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights Daniel Kitson will be performing at Burnley Mechanics Club on Monday. The show begins at 8pm. For tickets call 01282-664400.

CONCERTS

POPULAR British Tenors Geoffrey Coles, Morgan Lee James and Kame Fitzgerald, collectively known as Tenorissimo, present a spectacular show at The Platform, Morecambe, on Sunday. They will be performing popular classics such as Nessun Dorma and O Sole Mio with a large helping of comedy. The concert begins at 4.30pm. For details call 01524-582803.

TAKE a trip back to a wonderful musical era at The Kings of Swing Concert at Preston Guild Hall on Saturday. The concert celebrates the music of the Rat Pack era with numbers from Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Dean Martin and many more. The concert begins at 7.30pm. For tickets call 01772-258858.

Experience some fantastic opera at the Manchester Opera House next week. The Chisinau National Opera will be performing two of Puccini's masterpieces featuring full orchestra and spectacular stunts. Tosca will be appearing from Monday-Wednesday (with one extra performance on February 21) and Turandot on Thursday and Friday (February 20). For details, call 0870-401-9000.

KENDAL Midday Concert Club's series of concerts continues on Wednesday with a performance from Greek pianist Charalampos Agelopoulos. The programme features pieces from Ravel and Beethoven and takes place at Kendal Town Hall at 1pm.

FANS of Irish country music should be sure not to miss Jimmy Buckley and his Band in concert at Dallam School, Milnthorpe, at 7.30pm on Sunday. Tickets are available on the door or call 01229-869342.

SWING the night away at a concert by The Glenn Miller Orchestra at Coronation Hall, Ulverston, tomorrow (Saturday). The concert will be directed by Ray McVay and features The Uptown Hall Gang and Jan Messeder. It begins at 7.30pm. For tickets call 01229-820698.

ENDURING Manchester Indie band The Fall are appearing at the Dome, Morecambe, for a concert not to be missed next Wednesday. Special guest is poet and comedian John Cooper Clarke. The entertainment begins at 8pm. For tickets, call 01524-582803 or pay on the door.

LANCASTER International Concert Series continues with a performance from the BBC Singers at the Great Hall, Lancaster University, on Thursday. The concert begins at 7.30pm. For tickets call 0800-028-3042.

THE country's finest brass musicians compete in the Action Research Brass Bands competition at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool, on Sunday. For details, call 01253-625 252.

TREAT the love of your life to an intimate Valentine's concert of flute and harp music at Brantwood, Coniston, on Saturday at 7pm. Booking is essential on 015394-41396.

STELLA Chiweshe will be giving a concert of traditional Zimbabwean music at the Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal, on Saturday. She is widely regarded as the world's finest Mbira (thumb piano) player and it should be a good night for world music enthusiasts. Doors open at 8.30pm. For details call 01539-725133.

FAIRS

THERE will be a toy and model collectors fair at The Cumbria Ballroom, Workington, on Sunday with around 12 traders selling model railways, cars, trucks, buses and associated items and accessories. Doors open from 11am-4pm. For details, call 01900-67389.

SPORT

KENDAL Rugby Union Club face one of the familiar names in rugby history with the visit of Waterloo to Mint Bridge - for a National League 3 North match on Saturday at 2.30pm.

KIRKBY Lonsdale are expecting quite a crowd for their match with Upper Eden in the North Lancs/Cumbria League, while Windermere are also at home to Trafford MV on Saturday 2.30pm

KENDAL Town's footballers are out of town with a trip to Guiseley in the UniBond League's first division on Saturday at 3pm.

FELL running's Winter League moves on for the Birkrigg Common Race (off Mountbarrow road, Ulverston) at noon on Sunday.

THE Keswick Buttermere Round 22-mile road race is one of the toughest in the Lakes (from Keswick Cricket Club, 11am on Sunday).

TALKS

EXPERIENCE the mysteries of the Middle East at the Heron Theatre, Beetham, on Friday. Stephen Greenwood will be giving a screen presentation entitled Secretive Syria which will look at the history of this enigmatic land including the Crusades 900 years ago. The presentation begins at 7.30pm. For details, call 015395-62776.

CUMBRIA Wildlife Trust, Kent Estuary Group, is hosting a talk entitled Witherslack Mosses on Monday. Guest speaker will be J. Dunbavin and the meeting takes place at Dallam Community Centre, Haverflatts Lane, Milnthorpe, at 7.45pm.

KENDAL Recorded Music Society is holding a members' choice evening at Stricklandgate Methodist Church at 7.15pm next Thursday. For details call 01539-722697.

SPEND an evening in the company of famous steeplejack, TV presenter and raconteur Fred Dibnah, who will be regaling audiences at the Grand Theatre, Blackpool, with stories from his career on Tuesday. The evening begins at 7.30pm. For details call 01253-290190.

JASON Reynolds of Red Alert North West will be giving a talk on a range of countryside topics including forestry, politics and red squirrel conservation at Cumwhinton Village Hall, near Carlisle, at 7.30pm next Thursday. For details, call 016977-2330.

THE Ulverston Group of the Cumbria Wildlife Trust winter series of talks continues with a talk by Gillean Cleave entitled In Pursuit of Others with Earthwatch in Chile, on Tuesday. Meet at the Parish Centre, Church Walk, Ulverston, at 7.45pm. For details, call 01229-583033.

THEATRE

HAROLD Brighouse's classic comic play about a miserly Lancashire cobbler with a big decision to make, Hobson's Choice, opens at the Lancaster Grand Theatre on Tuesday. Performances begin at 7.30pm. For tickets call 01524-64695.

EVE Ensler's poignant exploration of female sexuality, The Vagina Monologues, opens for two nights at Lancaster University's Nuffield Theatre on Saturday. The performance begins at 7pm and it runs until Sunday. For details, call 0800-028-3042.

ALAN Bennett's hilarious comedy Kafka's Dick is showing at the Dukes Theatre, Lancaster. The play surrounds the antics of an obsessive fan of the writer Franz Kafka who gets to meet his hero reincarnated in the form of a tortoise. Kafka's Dick runs until February 28. For details of performances call 01524-598500.

EXPERIENCE life in the north through the eyes of the people who live there at Forum 28, Barrow, on Thursday. True North is a performance of seven short comedies inspired by Barrow and featuring typically northern situations by the Ashton Group. For details call 01229-820000.

WALKS

CELEBRATE Valentine's Day with a poetry walk led by John Fox on Saturday. The walk will follow a six-mile route from Baycliff to Ulverston. Meet at Baycliff at 11.30am. For details call 01229-585588.

ENJOY a leisurely stroll along the Mayor's Walk in Bitts Park, Carlisle, and discover the Eden Benchmark Sculpture beside the River Eden on Wednesday. Meet at The Park Keeper's Lodge at 10.30am. For details call 01228-561601.