Fairs, concerts, ehibitions and more to mark on your calendar for the week ahead. Don't forget to check Lakes Guide - Walks and Cycling and Sports for a chance to get into the great outdoors.

MISCELLANEOUS...

STOCK up your garden this weekend - a sale of bedding plants and shrubs takes place at Queen Elizabeth School in Kirkby Lonsdale on Sunday from 11am-2pm.

CONCERTS...

CELEBRATE the 100th anniversary of Morecambe Music Festival this week when the seaside resort fills with the rich sound of some of the area's finest singers. As well as a Children's Day with solo singing, school choirs and ensemble classes on Friday, Saturday has a Choir Day with ladies, mixed and male voice choirs. For details, call The Dome on 01524-411396.

POPULAR Kendal Choral Society will have an impressive 45 singers belting out Mozart's Requiem and Bach's Sleepers, Wake! for a concert at Cartmel Priory on Saturday from 8pm. Call 015395-36261 for details.

AFTER two years touring the world, Asere return to Kendal's Brewery Arts Centre on Saturday for another legendary Latin Salsa dance night. Direct from the streets of Havana, the effortless vocal harmonies and intense rhythms are sure to get your feet tapping and hips swinging and their energetic, fresh and powerful delivery will no doubt fill the Malt Room venue with a feeling of passion. It all starts at 8.30pm, call the Box Office on 01539-725133 for tickets.

EX-pupil Richard Stuart returns to his roots to present a one-man show of Gilbert and Sullivan patter songs including tunes by Noel Coward, Michael Flanders and Donald Swan tonight (Friday). The internationally-acclaimed performer, accompanied by his wife Susan on the piano, will perform in Powell Hall at Sedbergh School from 7.30pm. Call 015396-22228 for tickets.

ARNSIDE Choral Society present two tuneful shows this week: They performFaure's Requiem and Haydn's Heiligmesse at St James's Church in Arnside on Sunday from 3pm. On Monday the team present I Hate Music But I Like to Sing!!! an evening with Tracie Penwarden. Monday's 7.30pm performance will take place at Milnthorpe's St Thomas's Church and both will feature musical director, Glyn Hopkins. Call 015395-62221 or 01524-761552 for tickets.

ST JAMES'S Church in Staveley is the venue for a concert by Staveley Choral Society on Saturday from 7.30pm. Haydn's Nelson Mass will be conducted by Susan Osmaston and will feature some star soloists as well as Queen Katherine School's saxophone ensemble. For details, call 01539-443782.

JOHN Barker, a professional trumpet soloist makes a welcome return to the Sands Methodist Centre in Appleby on Saturday for a concert of popular songs and light classics from his extensive repertoire. The music starts at 7.30pm, call 01768-351553 for tickets.

THEATRE...

THANKS to Anne Robinson and The Weakest Link, Benji Sperring brings his first large scale theatre production, Assassins, to the Palace Theatre. After winning the popular quiz show last year, the Manchester University student invested his prize money in producing the bold, surreal and alarmingly funny show which is on show this Friday and Saturday night. Call the Box Office on 0870-4016000.

THE sensational, bursting-with-energy show by the Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers will really awaken your senses when it comes to the Lancaster Grand on Saturday from 7.30pm. Steeped in the ancient Japanese traditions of Taiko and infused with some expressive new music, this will be a night you won't forget in a hurry. Call 01524-64695 for details.

ONE of Britain's most popular writers, best known for his three autobiographical novels, The Other Side of the Dale, Over Hill and Dale and Head Over Heels in the Dales, Gervase Phinn shares his hilarious tales of life as a schools' inspector in the Yorkshire Dales tonight (Friday). From 7.30pm at Preston's Charter Theatre, call 01772-258858 for tickets.

COLLABORATORS Theatre Company present Magpie's Nest at Rheged, near Penrith, on Saturday. For those aged six and over, the show includes shadow puppetry, live music and visual delights. The performances are at 2pm and 7pm, call 01768-860090 to book.

THE Hull Truck Theatre Company continue to showcase regional writing talent with the premiere of Alison Watt's fast moving comedy Life's A Beach at Forum 28 tonight (Friday). The tale of three Bridlington B&B beauties struggling to make ends meet shows a roller coaster ride of life. It starts at 7.30pm, call the Box Office on 01229-820000.

THE long-awaited, popular Cats Eye Theatre production Teechers calls in at the Victory Hall in Broughton-in-Furness on Saturday from 7.30pm. This must-see comedy is sure to put a smile on your face, you can call 01229-716115 for tickets.

A SMORGASBOARD of choice comic cuts, songs and sketches from the pens of the nation's funniest women comes to the Lancaster Grand Theatre tonight (Friday). Let's Do It! includes some tasty tit bits of humour from the likes of French and Saunders, Joyce Grenfell and Victoria Wood and all but guarantees to put a smile on your face. It starts at 7.30pm, call the Box Office on 01524-64695.

ONE of the most popular musicals ever written will be on stage at Preston's Charter Theatre from Sunday. The Sound of Music tells the classic tale of Maria and her humble beginnings at the Abbey and with the Von Trapp children (and their dashing father).The tuneful ditties will transport you to the hills of Salzburg. For times and tickets, call the Box Office on 01772-258858.

EXHIBITIONS...

AN EXHIBITION into the life and works of the well known fell-walker, author and artist Alfred Wainwright is currently showing at Kendal Museum. His hand-drawn, hand-written pictorial guides to the Lakeland fells are still in use after 40 years and many of these original pen and ink works, as well as personal belongings such as his walking boots and (heavily darned) socks, will be on display. 01539-721374.

IT may sound grim but the exhibition of death at Tullie House in Carlisle offers visitors a taste of murder, mystery and intrigue. Into the Hands of the Shades explores Roman belief about death and burials in Cumbria with a somewhat macabre look at the other side'. Call 01228-534781 for details.

YOU may have heard of the art world's latest sensation Stella Vine following media coverage of her portrait of Princess Diana and the interest generated by Charles Saatchi who exhibited some of her strongly emotional pieces earlier this year. Whether you appreciate her deliberately bad' style or not, the art lovers among you may be interested to know that the Storey Gallery has been loaned two of her thought-provoking works which will be shown alongside the successful Spacecadets and Dogspace exhibitions. Call 01524-844133 for details.

THIS year marks the centenary of the Lakes Arts Society - founded by W.G. Collingwood, the secretary of the better-known John Ruskin. To mark this auspicious anniversary, an exhibition of works by some of the founder members (including Collingwood, Arthur Severn, Cuthbert Rigby and William Turner) will be on show at The Ruskin Museum in Coniston until June 6. For more details, call 015394-41164.

LATITUDE and Longitude, an exhibition of prints by students from Lancaster and Morecambe College, ends its run in the coffee shop of Kendal's Abbot Hall on Saturday. The creative display includes dry-points, silver-foil prints, collagraphs, silkscreen and monoprints and many of the 20 prints on show are for sale. Call 01539-722464 for details.

LOCAL scenes by local artists feature in the Pinfold Gallery's current exhibition, Images of Lakeland. Lakes Artists' Society members Philip Macleod and Vivienne Pooley are just two of the many varied contributors to the Bowness-based art house. Call 015394-42929 for details.

WENDY Ramshaw's beautiful and wearable jewellery is the focus of a new exhibition at Blackwell, the arts and craft house in Bowness. An overview of her career to date, the display is of more than 100 pieces made over the last four decades. Call 015394-46139 for details.

TALKS...

DUE to demand, Simon Yates will return to Rheged, near Penrith, tonight (Friday) from 8pm to repeat his new lecture, Beyond the Void. Best known for his rope-cutting role in the mountaineering epic, Touching the Void, Yates will discuss his adventures among the world's most spectacular peaks and takes a philosophical yet humorous look at some of his experiences and achievements. Call 01768-860005 for details.

OBOE players and music fans in general may be interested to know that an illustrated talk on the instrument will be taking place at Kendal's United Reformed Church on Sunday from 7.30pm. By Edward Lawton, the session will feature Margaret Armitage on piano. Call 01539-720073/015395-63977 for details.

THE state of today's publishing and poetry will be the subject of a topical talk by William Sieghart at The Thistle Hotel in Grasmere on Tuesday. As part of a series of summer readings by the Wordsworth Trust, the founder and director of Forward Ltd one of the world's leading publishing agencies will speak from 6.30pm. Call 015394-35544 for details.

WALKS...

UNRAVEL the mysteries of navigating the Lake District using a map and compass and experience the area's central fells on Tuesday with Map Reading Made Easy. Bring a map and compass (or run the risk of getting lost) and meet at Bowe Barn National Trust Office in Keswick at 9.45am for this walk, which is graded hard'. Call 017687-74649 to book.

EXPLORE the lower Kentmere valley on Sunday with a walk organised by The National Trust - which will begin at 11am from Wilf's Caf in Mill Yard, Staveley.

SPORT...

NETHERFIELD'S new South African professional Dale Benkenstein is set to make his belated debut after a delayed arrival when Fleetwood visit Parkside Road in the Northern Premier League on Saturday. The match starts at 1pm and it is the first of a home double bill at Parkside Road this coming weekend, with Egerton from Cheshire the opposition on Sunday in the Cockspur Cup ECB National Club Championship (check sports pages for starting time). Professionals do not play in this competition, which has reached second-round stage.

Because of the odd number of clubs now in the Northern League, Kendal sit out next Saturday, and travel to Fleetwood, whom they have already played in the league, in the Cockspur Cup on Sunday.

The Westmorland Football League's High Sheriff's Cup final for first division clubs takes place on Thursday when Appleby meet Wetheriggs United at Penrith (6.45pm).