If you’re looking for something the whole family can enjoy without breaking the bank, you’re in luck. Starting on March 23 the Pershing County Library will host a series of live shows. The performers come from the Pioneer Center Youth Program, the outreach division of Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts in Reno.
All the shows will be at the community center and last about one hour.
“They’re free and are open to anyone who wants to come,” says Kathie Brinkerhoff, the library director. “We’ve had most of them before and they were all great.”
Two shows this month
The first in the lineup is Larry Wilson, a magician. He’ll perform on March 23 at 6 p.m.
“I don’t just want to fool you. I want to blow your mind a little. Magic isn’t about the tricks; it’s supposed to open your mind to a world of limitless possibilities,” he says.
On March 29 at 6 p.m. Petroglyph returns to the community center.
Pete Fairley, a percussionist, plays the tabla drums, doumbek, djembe and several other instruments from around the world. David Blonski adds the didgeridoo, an instrument native to the Australian outback played by buzzing the lips.
“Pete and I love traveling around the globe, listening to music and letting it inspire us,” says Blonski.
The April lineup
The April lineup includes Aria 51, the Nazanin Arastoo Puppet Theater and Tsurunokai. Aria 51 features two tenor ukuleles and a cello. They showcase Hawaiian music but branch out into other sounds as well.
“Even though Hawaiian music is beautiful, and we all love it, you can play all sorts of stuff with these instruments,” says Julie Holloman, the director of Reno’s Aria School of Music and Art.
Nazanin Arastoo makes puppets from found materials and uses them to teach and entertain children and adults. Arastoo was born in Tehran, Iran. She experienced the Iranian Islamic Revolution and lived through two years of the Iran-Iraq war. The Arastoo family fled over the mountains to Turkey when the nightly bombings escalated.
She has lived in the United States for over three decades. Arastoo taught visual arts, music and puppet theater until Washoe County School District closed her charter school in 2019.
She’ll present ‘Lost in the Forest,’ an original puppet play about a boy who has a series of misadventures that help him grow.
Rieko Shimbo, a Montessori teacher from Tokyo, leads Tsurunokai, a Japanese drumming group.
“Make sure to come for the Japanese drummers,” says Brinkerhoff. “They are the last group to perform and you don’t want to miss them. The others are good too so you won’t want to miss those either.”
