Activities for all

Around the region...

CHILDREN'S charity NCH is holding a coffee morning tomorrow, Saturday (January 15), at Gaskell Hall, Silverdale, from 10am-12pm. There will be various stalls including a bookstall, cake stall, bric-a-brac and tombola. All proceeds will go to charity. For tickets, or to volunteer to help, please call 01524-761424.

THE Widening Horizons group is organising a talk and slideshow entitled History of Landscape Protection by Martin Varley, at the Community Centre, Haverflatts Lane, Milnthorpe, on Wednesday, January 19, at 10am.

LEARN some silky Latin dance moves at the Argentine Tango Class at Fellside Studios, Sepulchre Lane, Kendal, on Sunday (January 16), at 5pm. Bring shoes that slide and loose clothing. No partner is needed. For details, call 01539-723470.

SOUTH Lakeland Lacemakers is holding a special Jacob's join lunch at Agriculture House, Appleby Road, Kendal, on Saturday (January 15), from 10am-4pm. For details, call 015242-71730.

CUMBRIA Wildlife Trust is holding a talk entitled 50 Years of Wildlife Watching by John Wilson, at the Dallam Community Centre, Milnthorpe, on Monday, January 17, at 7.45pm. For details, call 01539-816300.

KENDAL Recorded Music Society will be holding a meeting entitled Choral Music Through the Ages, by Harry Philipson, at Stricklandgate Methodist Church, on Thursday (Jan 20), at 7.15pm. For details, call 01539-722697.

EXPERIENCE a raucous night of improvised comedy at the 10th Great Annual Balloon Debate at the Gregson Centre, Moor Lane, Lancaster, tonight, Friday (Jan 14), at 8.30pm. The balloon Debate features improvised comedy from five local talents who will be appearing in the guise of five famed writers. Each has to impress the audience and defend their right to remain aloft while their rivals are hurled to oblivion.

THE famous Moscow State Circus returns to Lancashire, bringing a brand new show featuring a 35-strong cast of performers, acrobats and clowns to the Grand Theatre, Blackpool, until Sunday (Jan 16). For details, call 01253-290190.

BEGIN the New Year with some inner peace on an introduction to Buddhist meditation course on Sunday (Jan 16), at 7pm at the World Peace Cafe, Cavendish Street, Ulverston. For details, call 01229-584029.

Exhibitions...

THE new season at the Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Kendal, opens with an exhibition entitled Sculpture, Drawing and Light by Nicola Hicks, on Tuesday (Jan 18). Hailed as one of the foremost sculptors of her generation, the exhibition features pieces in a variety of media including charcoal drawings, which explore the physicality and psychology of people and animals. For details, call 01539-722464.

A PHOTOGRAPHIC exhibition of images from the industrial North of England entitled Perspectives on the Industrial North, by Christian Shaw, opens at the Brewery Arts Centre's Sugar Store Gallery, Kendal, tomorrow, Saturday (Jan 15).

THE Lowry is hosting an exhibition entitled Salford Snapshot featuring the work of three photographers exploring different aspects of the lives of people, past and present, in Salford. For details, call 0870-787-5780.

BRANTWOOD'S Severn Studio 2005 programme of guest exhibitions opens with The Wide Blue Yonder by Mark Haywood. The exhibition is a tribute to famous, but contrasting, Coniston figures, John Ruskin and Donald Campbell, and features artefacts and digital artworks. The exhibition runs until February 13. For details, call 015394-41396.

ENJOY a diverse new exhibition looking at Morecambe Bay at the Williamson Gallery, Ashton Memorial, Lancaster. AIM artists, formerly Artists in Morecambe, have spent the past ten months working on the theme of Morecambe and the surrounding coastal environment. The exhibition features sculpture, glasswork and painting and runs until February 20.

CONCERTS...

STRING quartet Status Cymbal will be performing at Appleby Public Hall on Sunday (Jan16), at 7.30pm. The group is made up of musicians who have performed with some of the UK's top orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic and the programme includes a wide variety of music, ranging from jazz classics to pop hits. For details, call 017683-53552.

KENDAL Midday Concert Club is hosting the Prazak String Quartet at Kendal Town Hall next Wednesday (Jan 19), at 1pm. The programme features pieces Haydn and Dvorak. For details, call 01539-725768.

EXPERIENCE the romance and beauty of the ballrooms of 19th century Vienna at the Johann Strauss Gala at Preston Guild Hall tomorrow, Saturday (Jan 15), at 7.30pm. The show features traditional Viennese dancing, costumes and orchestral music. For tickets, call 01772-258858.

THE Orchestra of Opera North present an evening of Beethoven at the Great Hall, Lancaster University, next Thursday (Jan 20), at 7.30pm. The programme reveals Beethoven the man through his music and features pieces such as the fiery Egmont Overture and the Seventh Symphony. For details, call 01524-594151.

SPORT...

AFTER last week's home postponement, Kendal RUFC head south to Rugby Lions in National League 3 North tomorrow (Saturday) for a 3pm kick-off. Windermere are at home to Moresby in the Cumbria League, while Upper Eden travel to Trafford MV.

KENDAL Town footballers face a long trip to Shepshed Dynamo in Leicestershire for their UniBond League First Division match tomorrow (Saturday), 3pm kick-off. There is a chance that another match could be rearranged for midweek, so see our website thisisthelakedistrict.co.uk for details.

THEATRE...

BURNESIDE Amateur Theatrical Society presents Jack and the Beanstalk, the tale of a lazy boy who gets more than he bargained for when he trades a cow for some magic beans, at the Bryce Institute until tomorrow, Saturday (Jan 15), with a matinee performance at 2.30pm and an evening performance at 7.30pm. For details, call 07792-777213.

THE Oxen Park Cinema Club series of films continues with a showing of classic Pixar animated adventure Toy Story, at the Rusland Parish Rooms tomorrow, Saturday (Jan 15), at 4pm. For details, call 01229-861507.

ULVERSTON Pantomime Society presents Aladdin, the magical tale of high adventure, love, flying carpets and magic lamps at the Coronation Hall next Tuesday (Jan 18), at 7.30pm. The show runs until Saturday (Jan 22). For details, call 01229-587140.

ENJOY a fun-filled show of energetic dance, song and entertainment for all the family at an Instep School of Dance production entitled A Galaxy of Stars, which appears at Forum 28, Barrow, tonight, Friday (Jan 14), and tomorrow, Saturday (Jan 15)

at 7.30pm. For tickets, call 01229-820000.

THE students at St Martin's College present Ten Tiny Fingers, Nine Tiny Toes, a tragicomedy by Sue Townsend exploring a future where the government controls every aspect of people's lives, including selling perfect babies. The show, at the Dukes, Lancaster, runs from next Wednesday (Jan 19) for four days, with performances at 7.30pm. For details, call 01524-598500.

WILLIAM Golding meets Quentin Tarantino at a Pilot Theatre production of the classic tale of boys gone wild, Lord of the Flies, at the Lancaster Theatre Grand, next Thursday (Jan 20), at 1.30pm and 7.30pm. The performance coincides with the 50th anniversary of the novel and runs until next Friday (Jan 21). For details, call 01524-64695.

BRASSY Coronation Street barmaid Susie Blake stars in a new production of Cole Porter's classic musical High Society, which opens at Manchester's Palace Theatre on Monday (Jan 17). For details, call 0870-060-1768.

WORLD famous Canadian alternative circus troop Cirque du Soleil will be appearing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester, with their new show, Saltimbanco, until January 30. For details, call 0870-060-1768.

WALKS...

GET fit and meet new people on a 1.5-mile walk along the canal path in Kendal followed by a swim in the Leisure Centre with the Walking the Way to Health group on Sunday (Jan 16). Meet at Kendal Leisure Centre, at 11am. For details of this and other walks, call 01539-729511.