Asides: News of Triangle arts, in brief

Window dressing takes on new meaning in Wilson

Nash Street, the main drag in Wilson, is being turned into an art gallery for a first-ever large format outdoor photo exhibition, “Eyes on Main Street.”

One hundred photographers from 24 countries were invited to submit images that portray “street life.” The images were then printed to movie poster size and are being displayed in large storefront windows, spanning six city blocks. In addition to those submitted, the exhibit will include iconic images from the Library of Congress collection, including those by Dorothea Lange and Walker Evans.

The event kicked off Saturday, but opening weekend festivities continue Sunday with three photographic seminars and workshops. The festival runs through Sept. 7. Weekend speakers include Jamason Chen, professor, manager of technology at the School of Journalism at Loyola University in Chicago; Carol Johnson, former curator of Photography at the Library of Congress; Peter Fitzpatrick, chair of the Photography Department, School of Fine and Performing Arts, Columbia College in Chicago.

For more information, go to www.eyesonmainstreetwilson.com or www.facebook.com/eyesonmainstreet

Viva Las Vegas, done in symphony style

Liberace will take the stage, so to speak, when the North Carolina Symphony pays tribute to the music and lavish shows of Las Vegas for the finale of its 2014-15 Pops series, “Pops Goes Vegas.”

Conductor Jack Everly will lead the orchestra through such classics as “Luck Be A Lady,” “Hey, Big Spender,” “Viva Las Vegas,” “My Way,” and “Fly Me to the Moon.” Featured performers include Martin Preston as Liberace; vocalists Scott Beck, Allison Briner, and Ted Keegan; and lead dancers Anne Nicole Beck and Jen Ladner.

The shows will be at 8 p.m. Friday, May 15, and Saturday, May 16, in Meymandi Concert Hall, Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Raleigh.

Everly is the Principal Pops Conductor of the Indianapolis and Baltimore Symphony Orchestras, Naples Philharmonic Orchestra and the National Arts Centre Orchestra (Ottawa). He also is the music director of the National Memorial Day Concert and A Capitol Fourth on PBS.

Preston is an actor and musician who has spent the past 18 years performing as Liberace, with shows in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Beck has appeared on Broadway in “Saturday Night Fever” and in “Grease”; Keegan played The Phantom in “The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway” and the National Tour and in “Phantom – The Las Vegas Spectacular”; Briner recently performed with the National Tour of “White Christmas,” and has performed the role of Rosie in Broadway’s Mamma Mia!”

Tickets range from $18 to $75. Student tickets are $15. For more information, go to www.ncsymphony.org, or call (919) 733-2750.

Ben Owen III exhibit at science museum

The pottery of Ben Owen III will be featured in the exhibit “Old Roots, New Branches” at the Nature Art Gallery inside the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences through the end of May.

Owen is a third generation Seagrove potter, working in the family business since he was barely a teen. In high school he began using the glazes and craft traditions of his grandfather, who had been influenced by the Asian pottery he had seen in museum collections. His own style evolved as he traveled the world. His work has been shown at galleries around the country and his pottery has celebrity fans, including James Taylor.

The Nature Art Gallery is on the mezzanine level of the Museum store on the first floor of the main museum. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Enjoy a moonlight gala among the flowers

Eat, drink and smell the flowers at the The N.C. Botanical Garden’s annual Carolina Moonlight Gala. The event, from 6 to 10 p.m. on June 6, is a fundraiser for the Garden and will support its ongoing education and conservation efforts. This year, a special Call for the Cause campaign will direct money to the Garden’s horticultural therapy program, which trains caregivers and provides therapy sessions for the disabled, hospice patients, at-risk youths, prison inmates and senior citizens.

The event will feature music, locally sourced food and drink from the Chapel Hill Catering Company, and a silent and live auction. It will be held at the Garden, 100 Old Mason Farm Road in Chapel Hill. The event is being put on by the Botanical Garden and the Botanical Garden Foundation and is being chaired by Carol Folt, chancellor of the University of North Carolina, and her husband, Dr. David Peart.

Tickets are $125. For more information and to buy tickets go to www.ncbgfoundation.org or call (404) 822-0276.

Music inspired by nature – with brass bands

The Triangle Youth Brass Band and the Triangle Youth Academy Brass Band close out their concert season with a program titled “Between Earth and Sky,” featuring music inspired by nature. Featured works include “Sentinel” by Peter Meechan, “Northern Landscapes” by Peter Graham and “Mountain Song” by Philip Sparke.

The Triangle Youth Brass Band is directed by Jesse Rackley, while Matt Edwards directs the Triangle Youth Academy Brass Band. The Raleigh bands include 70 of the finest brass and percussion students in the Triangle.

The concerts are at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, May 15, at the Covenant Presbyterian Church, 125 S. Selma Road, Wendell; and at 7 p.m. Monday, May 18, at Meymandi Concert Hall, Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts, downtown Raleigh. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students or senior citizens. For more information, www.trianglebrass.org

This story was originally published May 10, 2015 at 8:10 AM with the headline "Asides: News of Triangle arts, in brief."