Week of April 8-14

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

Baseball season is officially back in full swing! The Bowling Green Hot Rods are letting the games begin at home this year with a series against the Lansing Lugnuts from Michigan. The Hot Rods are looking forward to an exciting new season with new team members and a new manager. The Bowling Green Ballpark is the perfect place to bring the family for an evening of America's favorite pastime.

Opening day festivities at home this year will be marked with special features--the first 1,000 fans to arrive will receive a free t-shirt courtesy of Citizens First bank and the game will be followed by a fireworks display! So sit back and enjoy that soft serve ice cream and hotdog as you settle into what's sure to be an exciting season of Bowling Green Hot Rods baseball. For more information, call the Ballpark at 270-901-2121 or visit its website at the link below.

With the arrival of springtime comes more fun in downtown Bowling Green. The Second Saturdays Festival series kicks off this year on April 13! The festivals are held on the second Saturday of each month from April through September in beautiful Fountain Square Park from 10am-5pm. Sponsored by The District, the festivals bring together the best of the Bowling Green community!

There are horse and carriage rides by Rockin B Horse and Carriage, inflatables for kids, face painting, balloon twisting, food vendors, product vendor booths and more. Check out the Craftsman Village of local artisans showing off their skills. The opening festival this year also includes the Cruisin' for a Cure Car Show featuring a ton of hot rods and classic cars! For more information, please call 270-782-0222 or visit the link below.

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

All phone numbers are area code 270 unless otherwise noted.

Ongoing- April 19 VSA National Juried Exhibition: Sustaining/Creating, Capitol Arts Center Houchens Gallery, call for hours, 904-5015, theskypac.com

Ongoing- April 30 History of the Capitol Exhibit, Capitol Arts Mezzanine Gallery, community artists look back at the history of the Capitol Arts Center, 782-2787, call for hours, theskypac.com

Ongoing -April 30 Squirrely Scavenger Hunt, Lost River Cave, free, details at Wildflower Gifts, 393-0077, lostrivercave.com

Ongoing- May 5 "Moneyville," National Corvette Museum, interactive exhibition, 781-7973, corvettemuseum.org

Ongoing- May 12 "Curiosity: Drilling into Mars' Past," WKU Hardin Planetarium, Tues/Thurs 7pm, Sun 2pm, use new digital technology to move through the solar system from the Mars rover, 745-4044, wku.edu/hardinplanetarium

April 8 Phillip Phillips Live, Van Meter Hall, 7pm, for ticket info contact the Diddle Box Office at 745-5222, ticketmaster.com

April 9 WKU Percussion Ensemble, FAC Recital Hall, 7:30pm, $7 admission, 745-3751, wku.edu/music

April 11 Spring 2013 Speaker Series: "Bullets, Bribes and Intimidation: Drug Trafficking and the Law in Central America," Barnes & Noble, 7pm, 745-6121, wku.edu/library

April 11 Chanticleer, WKU Cultural Enhancement Series, Van Meter Hall, 7:30pm, open and free to faculty, students, staff and the community, 745-5204, cultural.enhancement@wku.edu

April 11 A Taste of Bowling Green, Sloan Convention Center, 7-9pm, advance $40/person or $45/person at the door, live music from Tyrone Dunn and Kin-Foke, silent auction, 202-2468, tasteofbowlinggreen.com

April 11-14 Bowling Green Hot Rods vs. West Michigan Whitecaps, BG BallPark, 901-2121, bghotrods.com

April 11-16 Dead Man's Cell Phone, Gordon Wilson Lab Theatre, Thur. Fri. Sat. Mon. & Tues. at 8pm, Sun. at 3pm, adults $15/Students $12, 745-5845, wku.edu/theatre-and-dance

April 12 Music eX UofL Faculty Chamber Group, FAC Recital Hall, 7:30pm, free, 745-3751, wku.edu/music

April 12 Oval Track Racing, Beech Bend Raceway, 6pm, 781-7634, beechbend.com

April 12 The Steel Drivers, The Warehouse at Mt. Victor, 8pm, $35 reserved seating, $25 general admission, 904-6677, thewarehouseatmtvictor.com

April 12-13 Franklin Simpson High School Lady Cats Classic Softball Tournament, Buchanon Park, contact Matt Wilhite, 586-3273

April 12-14 2013 Amateur Disc Golf Championship Tournament, all BG Disc Golf courses, 200 participants, 843-3313, bluegrassdiscgolf.org

April 13 WKU Jazz Band Concert, Van Meter Hall, 7:30pm, free, 745-3751, wku.edu/music

April 13 I Remember Her 5K Run/Walk & FunRacing Challenge, Kereiakes Park, 8:30am, $25 entry/$15 for "in-spirit" entries, 678-314-7313, tabithabriggs.org

April 13 Teen Dance, Moxley Community Center, free, 7-9pm, ages 13-17, 393-3249, bgky.org

April 13 Test & Tune Drag Racing, Beech Bend Raceway, 781-7634, beechbend.com

April 13 SOKY Car, Truck, Bike & Antique Tractor Show, Warren East High School and Middle School, 8am-3pm, awards and door prizes, free admission, first 100 get a free goodie bag, food and craft vendors, benefits the Bristow Elementary Jr Beta Club, 842-1960

April 13 KMS Drifting, Beech Bend Raceway, 8am-4pm, 781-7634, beechbend.com

April 13 Girls' Day Out, Sloan Convention Center, 10am-4pm, door prizes, giveaways, samples, shopping, 791-4873

April 13 Jack Hanna's Into the Wild LIVE!, SKyPAC, 7:30 pm, 904-1880, theskypac.com

April 13-14 Soap Box Derby Rally Race Qualifier, Phil Moore Park, 791-3753

April 13-14 Southern Kentucky Ranch Horse Association Club Show, WKU Ag Expo Center, 745-3976

April 14 Basic Use of a GPS, Lost River Cave, 2-4pm, part of the geocaching series, class on learning how to store coordinates, set-up waypoints, track mileage and download basic unit information, no registration required, 393-0077, lostrivercave.com

April 14 Baker Chamber Players Series, Baker Arboretum and Downing Museum, 3pm, $50 tickets, includes wine and hors d'oeuvres, 745-5222, wku.edu/music

April 14 NHRA Drag Racing, Beech Bend Raceway, 781-7634, beechbend.com

April 18 DREAMGIRLS, Broadway Series, SKyPAC

April 19-20 Southern Kentucky Book Fest, Carroll Knicely Conference Center, featuring special guest Henry Winkler

April 19-21 BG Civil War Commemoration, Living History event, Downtown

April 20 Anything but Classical 2 & In the Bag, SKyPAC

April 20 5th Annual Spring Classic Swap Meet & Flea Market, Beech Bend Raceway

April 20 BGWC Humane Society 5K Fundraising Walk, Warren County Regional Airport

April 20 Mom Prom, Jaycee Pavilion at Lampkin Park

April 20 March of Dimes Walk, Phil Moore Park

April 20 Mini Corvette Challenge, National Corvette Museum

April 20 Pioneer Cemetery Lantern Tour, Living History event, part of Civil War commemoration

April 22-24 Bowling Green Hot Rods vs. Fort Wayne TinCaps, BG BallPark

April 22 Broadway in Love, Orchestra Kentucky, SKyPAC

April 23 Pecha Kucha Night, Kentucky Museum

April 23 STOMP, SKyPAC

April 25-27 NCM Bash, National Corvette Museum

April 25-29 Evening of Dance, Russell H. Milller Theatre

April 25- May 5 14th Annual Herb Festival, Wild Bird & Nature Store

April 26 10th Annual Mayhem, Circus Square Park

April 26-28 Campers Appreciation Nature Fest Weekend, Barren River Lake State Resort Park

April 27 Color Blaze 5K Run, Phil Moore Park

April 27 Earth Day Event, Lost River Cave

For your convenience, a bulletin board of events and a full brochure rack are located on the front porch of the Visitors Bureau if you need information when the main office is closed.