Week of April 16-22

Welcome to our weekly "What's Happening" email, designed to provide you with a glance at opportunities for an unbridled good time in the Bowling Green area.

There couldn't be a more appropriate setting in Bowling Green for a 1920s Speakeasy and "Who Dun It" than the Historic Railpark & Train Museum at the L&N Depot! Guests at this Thursday's Great Gatsby Gala & Murder Mystery will enjoy dinner, dancing, roulette, and live jazz music with murder and mayhem included for free! Perform tasks as your assigned character, hit the casino tables with your Speakeasy money, and blackmail others to keep secrets.

Awards such as Best Costume, Best Detective, and Most Money will be given and a silent auction will also take place. Attendance is not mandatory to bid, and proceeds support the preservation and restoration of two very rare railroad artifacts: L&N #109, a pre-1910, 3-section Jim Crow segregation railcar and a WWII Hospital Car, one of only four remaining. Call 270-745-7317 or visit the link below for more information.

Several Bowling Green area organizations work toward increasing literacy, but no event raises awareness and celebrates the love of reading quite like the Southern Kentucky Book Fest. Presented by WKU Libraries, Warren County Public Library, and Barnes and Noble Booksellers, the free event returns this weekend with a vast array of books and authors from nearly every genre including Carl Hiaasen, Robert Morgan, Silas House and Matthew Holm.

Children's Day and the Kentucky Writers Conference, featuring 12 sessions led by published authors attending the Book Fest, will take place on Friday. Then on Saturday, attend free author presentations, meet authors, and purchase signed copies of their books. A special ticketed event, An Eloise Tea Party, will be at 2 p.m. Saturday with tickets available at Barnes & Noble or any WCPL location.

Visit the link below or call 270-745-4502 for more information.

To view the complete calendar of upcoming events, click here and visit our Events section.

All phone numbers are area code 270 unless otherwise noted. (Sam Bush Photo by David Clister)

Ongoing - April 18 Erin Carlyle & Leslie Nichols Exhibit, Capitol Arts Center Houchens Gallery, M-F 9am-5pm, 782-2787

Ongoing - April 30 "A House Divided: Civil War Money" Exhibit, Historic Railpark & Train Museum, 745-7317, historicrailpark.com

Ongoing - April 30 Discovering the Me I Want to be Exhibit, SKyPAC Children's Gallery, M-F 11am-6pm, 904-5000, theskypac.com

Ongoing - May 8 Paintings by Myra Dwyer, Capitol Arts Center Mezzanine Gallery, M-F 9am-5pm, 782-2787, capitolarts.com

16 Camelot, Orchestra Kentucky VIP Series, SKyPAC, 7:30pm, 846-2426, orchestrakentucky.com

16-17 Stop Kiss, WKU Theatre & Dance, WKU Gordon Wilson Lab Theatre, 8pm, 745-5845, wku.edu/pcal/in-production

16-18 Bowling Green Hot Rods vs. Great Lakes Loons, BG BallPark, 901-2121, bghotrods.com

17, 19, 22 Planetarium Show: Interpreting the Narrative of our Ancient Earth, WKU Hardin Planetarium, 7pm Tu & Th, 2pm Sun, 745-4044, wku.edu/physics

18- May 12 Spring Graduating Seniors Exhibition, WKU Ivan Wilson FAC 2D Corridor Gallery & Main Gallery, wku.edu/art

18 KMEA District 3 Choral Festival, WKU Van Meter Hall & DUC, 8:30am, 745-3751, wku.edu/music

18 Young Frankenstein, Broadway Series, Southern KY Performing Arts Center, 7:30pm, 904-1880, theskypac.com

18 Buy A Hat. Change a Life, Krochet Kids International, WKU MMTH Auditorium, 7pm, free, wku.edu/sustainability, 745-2508

19 Earth Day Celebration and Recycling Fair, Bowling Green Technical College Main Campus Courtyard, 9am-3pm, 901-1075

19 Real Meal Picnic, WKU Downing University Center Courtyard, 5:30pm, featuring local/ sustainable foods, free, 307-1549

19 WKU Kentucky Live Speaker Series, Travel Writer Gary West, Barnes & Noble, 7pm, free, 745-6121, wku.edu/library

19-21 Bowling Green Hot Rods vs. Cedar Rapids Kernels, BG BallPark, 901-2121, bghotrods.com

20 WKU Earth Day Festival, DUC Centennial Mall, 11am - 4pm, music, education, art and more, wku.edu/sustainability, 745-2508

20 Symphony Concert Series, Austrian Masterworks, WKU Van Meter Hall, 8 pm, 745-5222, thesymphonyatwku.org

20 Crawfish Boil, 440 Main Restaurant, Jon Crosby & the Rescue Blues 9pm, 793-0450, main440.com

20 A Night with Corey Smith, Southern KY Performing Arts Center, doors open 6pm, show begins 7pm, coreysmith.com

20 Stock Car Racing, Beech Bend Raceway, gates open at 5pm, racing at 8pm, $10, 781-7634, beechbend.com

20-21 South Union Seminar, South Union Shaker Village, "Historic Preservation in the Shaker World: It's Challenges, Successes, and it's Future," 6-9pm Fri, 8am-3pm Sat, 800-811-8379, shakermuseum.com

20-21 Greenwood High School Girls Fast Pitch Softball Tournament, Buchanon Park, bpettyasa@aol.com

20-22 WKU Baseball vs Troy, Nick Denes Field, Fri 6pm, Sat 4pm, Sun 1pm, 1-800-5-BIG RED, wkusports.com

21 The Great Cloth Diaper Change, National Corvette Museum, 11am, free, vendors, gcdcbgky.eventbrite.com

21 Derby Garden Festival, Riverview at Hobson Grove, 9am-4pm, Derby Brunch, vendors, speakers, 843-5565, bgky.org/riverview

21 Test & Tune Drag Racing, Beech Bend Raceway, Noon-5pm, 781-7634, beechbend.com

21 Spring Classic Swap Meet & Flea Market, Beech Bend Raceway, Gates open at 8 am, 781-7634, beechbend.com

21 Arbor Day Celebration, Kereiakes Park, 9am-12pm, 393-3111, bgky.org/tree/events.php

21 Earth Day Invasive Plant Pull, Lost River Cave, 1-4pm, all ages, free boat tours for volunteers, 393-0077, lostrivercave.com

21 Household Electronics Recycling Drive & Document Shredding, National Corvette Museum, 9am-1pm, 2trg.com, 502-554-9995

21 KMEA 3rd District Solo Ensemble Recital, WKU Music Hall: Choral Hall, 8am, 745-3751, wku.edu/music

21 Mike Super Magic & Illusion, Family Fun Series, Southern KY Performing Arts Center, 7:30, 904-1880, theskypac.com

21 WKU Violin Duo Recital, WKU Music Hall: Choral Hall, 7:30pm, 745-3751, http://wku.edu/music

21-22 SOKY Disc Golf Championships, Kereiakes & White Parks, 303-6491, sokydiscgolf.com

21-22 Earth Day Weekend Race, Ballance Moto X, $20/ $10 both Sat & Sun, $10/ $5 Sun only, 792-7223, ballancemotox.com

21-29 National Park Week, Mammoth Cave National Park, free Mammoth Passage & Discovery Tours, special activities all week including Wildflower Day 4/21 & Jr. Ranger Day 4/28, 758-2192, nps.gov/maca

22 NHRA Drag Racing plus Super Gas, Beech Bend Raceway, gates open at 10am, 781-7634, beechbend.com

22 "Vanishing of the Bees", WKU Mass Media & Technology Hall Auditorium, 2pm, eforbes30@insightbb.com

22 Are You Smarter Than A Baritone?, WKU Choral Hall, 3 pm, faculty recital with Wayne Pope, 745-3751, wku.edu/music

April 26-28 NCM Bash, National Corvette Museum

April 26-30 An Evening of Dance, WKU Russell H. Miller Theatre

April 26-May 6 Herb Festival, Wild Bird and Nature Store

April 26-May 13 Becky's New Car, Public Theatre of Kentucky, Phoenix Theatre

April 27-29 AMRA Harley Spring Rally & Drags, Beech Bend Raceway

April 28 Leon Russell, Legends Series, Southern KY Performing Arts Center

April 28 Spring Antique and Garden Market, South Union Shaker Village

May 1 The Symphony's Concerto Concert, WKU Van Meter Hall

May 4 The Before Broadway Series Presents: Ordinary High, WKU Gordon Wilson Lab Theatre

May 4 Golden Dragons Acrobats, Family Fun Series, Southern KY Performing Arts Center

May 4-6 An Arthurian Tale, Capitol Arts Center

May 4-6 KY International Barrel Racing Association Show, WKU Ag Expo Center

May 5 Beech Bend Amusement Park Opening Day

May 5 18th Annual Mini Corvette Challenge, National Corvette Museum