Events from around the state:

1). Asheville Art Museum: Japanese-American avant-garde modern dancers Eiko & Koma will perform their original choreography “Mourning” at 8:00 p.m., Saturday, April 12 at Lipinsky Auditorium on the campus of UNC-Asheville. Eiko & Koma are the recipients of many awards and honors including a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship and a MacArthur Fellowship.

2). Reynolda House Museum of American Art presents a poetry reading by W.S. Merwin, one of the most widely read poets in America, on Tuesday, April 22 at 7 p.m. He is the winner of the 1970 Pulitzer Prize along with many more awards. The reading is part of the Kenan Writers’ Encounters, the North Carolina School of the Arts, and Wake Forest University’s Dillon Johnston Writers Reading Series. For further information and to reserve seats, please call 336-758-5150. Admission is free; a cash bar reception follows.

3). N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences will hold its Planet Earth Celebration on Saturday, April 19, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Burt's Bees presents a greatly expanded Earth Day celebration. The event will feature live bands including Donald "The Junkman" Knaack, kids’ activities from the Scrap Exchange and Marbles Museum, the NC Sustainable Building Design Competition and much more! Enjoy a presentation by Richard Louv, author of "Last Child in the Woods;" visit Burt’s Bees mobile tour experience and warehouse gift sale; listen to speakers from Al Gore’s Climate Registry; shop for goods and services at the Green Bazaar and Boutique. For more information, contact Steve Popson, 919.733.7450 x379. Part of Earth Day Raleigh 2008.

4). The Kings Mountain Historical Museum would like to invite you to spend a special evening with John Connor, local geologist, on Tuesday, April 22, 2008 at 7:00 pm. Mr. Connor will speak on “The History of Mining in the Kings Mountain Area.” After his presentation there will be time for “ROCK ID.” If you have an interesting example and you want to know what it is, bring it along.

5). The North Carolina Transportation Museum will host their annual Rail Days Festival on April 26 & 27, 2008. The event runs 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.

6). Western Carolina University will present the opera “The Barber of Seville,” produced by the Asheville Lyric Opera, at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 22, in the main performance hall of the Fine and Performing Arts Center on Western’s campus. For more information, contact the Fine and Performing Arts Center box office at (828) 227-2479 or visit http://wcutheatre.ticketsxchange.com.

7). Duke Homestead State Historic Site: On Sunday, April 20, 2008, from 2 to 4 p.m. costumed staff and volunteers will interpret a 19th century church revival on the steps of the original 1852 farmhouse of tobacco farmer and businessman Washington Duke. After a service featuring a circuit-riding preacher on horseback, a traditional southern Sunday dinner will be available to visitors who provide a small donation of their choice, and local musicians will perform live music.

8). High Point Museum: Each month, the Museum presents “Pastimes in the Park”, an educational series that explores aspects of the daily lives of early European settlers to the greater High Point area. These programs, sponsored in part by the Piedmont Natural Gas Foundation, feature demonstrations and hands-on activities representing tasks carried out in the late 18th and the early 19th centuries. Candle wicking will be held April 12 from 10 am to 4 pm and April 13 from 1 pm to 4 pm in the Historical Park.

9). Port Discover: Find out how it is “Easy to Be Green,” on Saturday, April 19. Join the Port Discover Junior Volunteers for a day of hands-on-activities. What can you make out of dryer lint? Can you make a rocket out of recyclables? What is the best way to compost? Try your hand at making plant pots out of newspaper. With Port Discover’s Junior Volunteers as your guides, play Green games, take Earth Day quizzes, and learn how it’s “Easy to be Green.” “Easy to be Green” programs are ongoing from 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. No reservations needed.