April 13-19

Gear up for fun! Welcome to our "What's Happening" email, where we share details about events going on this week in and around our own Hot Rod City, USA.

We love hearing from you!

• Tag your social media adventures with #gearedforfun and we'll share them!

The Southern Kentucky Book Fest is one of the state's largest literary events. Held in Bowling Green at the Carroll Knicely Conference Center April 17-18, the annual book fest draws thousands of readers of all ages who welcome the occasion to meet their favorite authors and purchase signed copies of their books. This year's headlining author is Diana Gabaldon of The Outlander series fame.

The book fest features a Children's Day and the Kentucky Writer's Conference on Friday, followed by the official book fest on Saturday. Attending the book fest is free! A new feature of the 2015 Kentucky Writers Conference will be the Writers Conference for Teens, a program developed specifically for area high school students. For more information on the SOKY Book Fest and a complete schedule of events, please check out the website below or call Barnes & Noble or the WKU Libraries.

Spongie Acres Bed & Breakfast is collaborating with singer/songwriter Dan Modlin to bring great country music to Bowling Green at this year's Spongie Acres Spring Music Fest. The festival is FREE to all to enjoy, and any donations given will benefit the Camp Loucon Summer Camp scholarship fund.

Music lovers will have a chance to hear songs from Dan Modlin, Joey Hayes, Joe Hash, Les Kerr, Willi Houston and The Carmonas and even more. This year, weather permitting, performances will be on the back deck/lawn at Spongie Acres Bed and Breakfast on Saturday, April 18, from 2 to 5 pm. Bring The family, lawn chairs, blanket and a picnic! For more information please call 270-535-3368 or visit the website below.

Ongoing-May 10 Comets, Asteroids and Meteors: Great Balls of Fire, National Corvette Museum exhibit, 270-781-7973, corvettemuseum.org

April 14 Cruisin for a Cure Car Show, Bruster's Ice Cream parking lot, 5-8pm, free, 270-392-0981

April 14 Kirker Butler Talk and Book Signing, Augenstein Alumni Center, 7pm, free, Emmy-nominated writer and producer for Family Guy, The Cleveland Show, The Neighbors and more, 270-745-3121, wku.showare.com

April 14 Dress to Express, Kentucky Museum, 7-8:30pm, featuring Paddy Bowman, Director of Local Learning for the National Network for Folk Arts in Education, free, wku.edu/folkstudies

April 14-15 BG Onstage presents James and the Giant Peach, Van Meter Hall, 6:30pm, tickets $10/adults, $8/students, $5/children, bgonstage.org

April 16 Kentucky Strings: Bluegrass Music and Beyond, South Lawn, free, 12-6pm, 270-745-4375, wku.edu/go/ces

April 16 Tibetan Folktales: Haiwang Tuan, Barnes & Noble, 7pm, free, presented by WKU Libraries, wku.edu/libraries

April 16 A Taste of Bowling Green, Sloan Convention Center, 7pm, tasteofbowlinggreen.com

April 17 WKU Faraway Flix Series: Caramel, WKU Faculty House, 6:30pm, wku.edu/libraries

April 17-18 Southern Kentucky Book Festival, Carroll Knicely Conference Center, Fri SOKY Book Fest Children's Day and Kentucky Writer's Conference, featuring headlining author Diana Gabaldon of The Outlander series, sokybookfest.org

April 17-18 South Union Seminar, South Union Shaker Village, reservation required, Fri 6-9pm, Sat 8am-3pm, architecture of South Union, 270-542-4167, southunionshakervillage.com

April 17-19 10/10th, NCM Motorsports Park, Grand Max, 800-538-3883, motorsportspark.org

April 17-19 Greenwood High School Border Battle Girls Fast Pitch Softball Tournament, Buchanon Park, 270-529-3781

April 17-19 KYASA Girls Fast Pitch Softball Tournament, Ephram White Park, kyasa.org

April 17-26 Mainstage theatre presents Boeing Boeing, Phoenix Theatre, 270-781-6233, ptkbg.org

April 18 Test & Tune Drags, Beech Bend Raceway, 12-5pm, 270-781-7634, beechbend.com

April 18 American Girl Tea Party: A Paris Afternoon, Club at Olde Stone, 2:30pm, $40/pair, bring your daughter or granddaughter to celebrate the doll of the year, part of the 2015 Parties of Note by the Symphony at WKU, 270-745-7681, thesymphonyatwku.org

April 18 Ladies' Day Out, Cabela's, goodies, seminars, discounts, cabelas.com

April 18 Kite Day in the Park, Aviation Heritage Park, 11am-3pm, first 20 families receive free pocket kite, presented by BG Parent and Aviation Heritage Park, aviationheritagepark.com

April 18 Earth Day Invasive Plant Pull, Lost River Cave, 1-4pm, register online or at the door, 270-393-0077, lostrivercave.com

April 18 Chinese New Year of the Ram Dinner, Confucious Institute at WKU, 6pm, $40/person, authentic Chinese dinner and dance for entertainment and have your name written in Chinese lettering, 270-745-7681, thesypphonyatwku.org

April 18 7th Annual Spring Classic Swap Meet & Flea Market, Beech Bend Raceway, 8am, 270-781-7634, beechbend.com

April 18 WKU Football Spring Game, WKU Houchens Smith Stadium, free, wkusports.com

April 18 Spongie Acres Spring Music Fest, Spongie Acres Bed & Breakfast, 2-5pm, donations for Camp Loucon scholarships, 270-535-3368, spongieacresbedandbreakfast.com

April 18-19 Free Admission, Mammoth Cave National Park, certain cave tours apply, 270-758-2192, http://www.nps.gov/maca/index.htm

April 18-20 Bowling Green Hot Rods baseball vs. Lake County Captains, BG Ballpark, 270-901-2121, bghotrods.com

April 19 NHRA Drag Racing, Beech Bend Raceway, 270-781-7634, beechbend.com

April 19 Jacksonian Days Festival, activities in Scottsville, scottsvilleky.info

April 19 Fruit of the Loom: Build an Iconic Brand in Southcentral Kentucky, presented by WKU Libraries, Barnes & Noble, featuring Scott Greene, SVP Corporate Strategy and Business Development, 7pm, free, wku.edu/libraries

April 20 An Evening with Lerner & Loewe, Orchestra Kentucky, SKyPAC, 270-846-2426, orchestrakentucky.com

April 21 Teafusion Workshop, Tea Bayou, 5:15pm, 21+ only; registration required, 270-904-3889, teabayou.com

April 21-22 Sister Act, SKyPAC, 7:30pm, 270-904-1880, theskypac.com

April 22-23 Amateur Disc Golf Tournament, multiple courses

April 23-May 3 16th Annual Herb Festival, Wild Bird & Nature Store, 9am-6pm, 270-746-0203, herbfestivalbgky.com

April 23-25 NCM Bash, National Corvette Museum, 270-781-7973, corvettemuseum.org

April 24-26 AMRA Harley Spring Rally & Drags, Beech Bend Raceway, 270-781-7634, beechbend.com

April 25 Brews & Tunes, Mellow Mushroom, 270-393-1800, facebook.com/brewsandtunesbg

April 30-May 1 Mid-South Conference Championships Softball Tournament, Buchanon Park, mid-southconference.org

May 1 Carmina Burana, Van Meter Hall, 270-745-3121, wku.showare.com

May 1 12th Annual Mayhem, Circus Square Park, free, Revolution 91.7 on Facebook

May 2 Girls Day Out, Sloan Convention Center, 270-792-1078, Girls Day Out on Facebook

May 2 O'Reilly Saturday Night Grudge Racing, Beech Bend Raceway, 270-781-7634, beechbend.com

May 2 Junior Achievement Mini Corvette Challenge, National Corvette Museum, jaforkids.org

May 2 Opening Day, Beech Bend Amusement Park, 10am-6pm, 270-781-7973, beechbend.com

Bigger and better, our #gearedforgiveaways contests feature free hotel stays, event passes, seasonal goodies and treats! Keep up with us on Facebook and Twitter to find out how to enter! Our next contest winner will be announced at the end of THIS WEEK with a SOKY Book Fest theme. Click the photo for more info!

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.