This week's happenings

MISCELLANEOUS

THE Big Draw event gets into full swing at Barrow Dock Museum on Friday, October 8. Members of the public will be invited to do a drawing using water as the theme. These drawings will then be fastened together within a shiny fabric to make a huge travel rug to represent Cumbria's lakes, rivers and coastal areas. The activity is suitable for all ages and runs from 11am-4pm. For details, call 01229-894444.

THE Wordsworth Trust's series of Summer Poetry Readings continues on Tuesday, Oct 12, with an evening with poet Galway Kinnell. The reading will take place at The Thistle Hotel, Grasmere, at 6.30pm. For details, call 015394-35544.

THE Festival of Stories opens at Live Theatre, Pudding Chare, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, on Friday, Oct 8. The festival features a programme of 14 vibrant new stories and a play inspired by Anton Chekhov and Raymond Carver. Highlights of the festival include readings from renowned authors such as Andrew O'Hagan and Ali Smith. The festival runs until October 31. For details, call 0191-488-8850.

CONCERTS

STEP back to the 60s and 70s at a cabaret night with Mike Hurst and his All Star Band, at Sedbergh School on Sunday, Oct 10. During his career, Mike Hurst has played and recorded with artists such as Marc Bolan, Manfred Mann and Showaddywaddy. For details, call 015396-22228.

GRANGE-over-Sands and District Concert Club presents cellist Matthew Sharp and pianist Dominic Harlan, at the Victoria Hall, Grange, on Saturday, Oct 9. The programme features pieces from Strauss, Schubert and Rachmaninov. The performance begins at 7.30pm. Tickets are available on the door.

EXHIBITIONS

BRANTWOOD, Coniston, is hosting an exhibition of floral photography by Dave Marshall Ward. The exhibition runs until October 24. For details, call 015394-41396 BLACKWELL, The Arts and Craft House at Bowness, is hosting an exhibition of works from some of Europe's leading contemporary glassmakers. The exhibition opens on Tuesday, Oct 12, and promises a great diversity of exhibits combining fine craftsmanship, sensitive use of materials and great design flair. Contemporary Glass runs until December 31. For details, call 015394-46139.

ABBOT Hall Art Gallery continues to draw the crowds with Walter Richard Sickert: The Human Canvas, an exhibition of 43 paintings by a man described as the father of modern British art. The exhibition is open from Monday-Saturday (10.30am-5pm).

THE Witherslack Group of artists 11th exhibition is currently showing at The Old Schoolroom, Witherslack. The exhibition includes work from Alvin Irving, a recent prizewinner at an exhibition in Athens to coincide with this year's Olympic Games. The exhibition runs until October 17 and is open from 10am-5pm daily.

IMPERIAL War Museum North, Salford Quays, is hosting an exhibition entitled The Greater Game: Sport, War and Peace looking at the similarities between sport and conflict and the role of sport in bringing people together in wartime. For details, call 0161-836-4000.

LEGENDARY Northern artist L S Lowry is the subject of an exhibition entitled Lowry's Mean Streets of the 1930s and 40s inspired by a strange beauty' he described seeing on the streets. The exhibition is on show at The Lowry, Salfo rd Quays until January 2. For details, call 0870-787-5780.

FARFIELD Mill, Sedbergh, is hosting an exhibition by Jane Brown, Sue Dee and Jo Holmes. Entitled Eclectic Touch, the exhibition features textiles, sculptures and bespoke installations. For details, call 015396-21958.

THE Edge Gallery, Lancaster, is hosting an exhibition by Edward Chadwick entitled Harbour. Chadwick's photo-art is inspired by the rugged moorland landscape of Northern England and the spectacular shoreline of the West of Ireland. Harbour runs until November 4.

KENDAL Museum is hosting an exhibition on the Blue Streak Project, which looks at the development of the rocket at RAF Spadeadam in Cumbria. For details, call 01539-721374.

THEATRE

LUDUS Dance premieres it's new show Perfecting Eugene, on Friday, Oct 8. The performance explores the science of human genetics and society's obsession with perfection. The show begins at 7.30pm. For tickets, call 01524-582803.

LANCASTER Footlights Club production of The Darling Buds of May, the heart-warming tale of the loveable Larkin Family, opens at the Lancaster Grand Theatre on Tuesday, Oct 12. Performances are at 7.30pm. For tickets, call 01524-64695.

EUROPEAN Ballet bring a production of the classic fairytale Sleeping Beauty, to the Coronation Hall, Ulverston, on Saturday, Oct 9. There are two performances, at 3pm and 7.30pm. For details, call 01229-587140.

MIKE Leigh's comedy Abigail's Party is showing at the Dukes Theatre, Lancaster, until October 16. The play centres on an evening of entertaining in 1970s suburbia in the lounge of Beverly and Laurence. Beverly is hosting a little soiree for her new neighbours, Ange and Tone, and also Sue from number 9, and when the gin and tonics start to flow, so do the home truths. For details, call 01524-598500.

ALAN Ayckbourn's new comedy, Drowning on Dry Land, opens at the Old Laundry Theatre, Bowness, on Monday, Oct 11. The play, presented by The Stephen Joseph Theatre, focuses on A-list celebrity Charlie and takes a wry look at modern, media-driven society and asks whether anything any more is what it seems. Performances start at 8pm. For details, call 015394-88444.

SPECTACULAR musical Jesus Christ Superstar is showing at the Palace Theatre, Manchester, until Tuesday, October 12. Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's rock opera tells the story of the last seven days in the life of Jesus and has been thrilling audiences for more than 30 years. For details, call 0870-401-3000.

KES, the story of a boy's relationship with his pet kestrel, is showing at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, until October 16. Famously made into a film by Ken Loach, Kes remains one of the seminal stories of growing up in the late 20th century. A celebration of human potential and its struggle for expression, it is brought to life in a dramatic adaptation by Lawrence Till. For details, call 0161-833-9833.