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Toytopia: The fun-filled exhibit!

Toytopia is a celebration and history of toys both vintage and new! Learn about the history of your favorite toys from the last century and play to your heart’s content with our interactive Lego wall, giant dancing piano, oversized Battleship, life-size Barbie Dreamhouse, arcade game classics, and so much more! Toytopia takes place through April 26 at the Wilbur D. May Museum at Rancho San Rafael Regional Park, 1595 N. Sierra St., in Reno. Admission is $13 for adults; $11 for children and seniors; $7 per person for groups 15+; and free for children 2 and younger. Click here to learn more. (Sponsored Content)

Spring forward

Mark the start of spring with a new plant or by learning a new gardening skill. Swap cuttings, plants, gardening books or growing tips with fellow plant nerds—who like to indulge in a drink or two—at a free plant swap, starting at 4 p.m., Friday, March 20, at Underworld Distillery, 5301 Longley Lane, Building F, Suite 203. Must be at 21 or older to enter. Check underworlddistillery.com or www.facebook.com/underworlddistillery.

Learn more about beekeeping and home gardening during a two-day seminar presented by the University of Nevada, Reno, Extension in Douglas County. The first day focuses on beekeeping, with sessions covering pests and diseases, hive anatomy, and hive dissection. The second day shifts to home horticulture, featuring topics such as fruit tree care, integrated pest management (IPM) and vegetable gardening. The seminar takes place on Saturday and Sunday, March 21 and 22, in the South Room at Douglas County Community and Senior Center, 1329 Waterloo Lane, Gardnerville. Seminar fees are $30-$50. Visit extension.unr.edu/master-gardeners/events.aspx or www.facebook.com/UNRExtensionDouglas.

Learn more about soil prep and tubers at two gardening classes—“Soils 101” on Saturday, March 21, and “All About Potatoes” on Saturday, March 28. The free classes start at 11 a.m. at the Rail City Garden Center, 1720 Brierley Way, Sparks. Visit railcitygardencenter.com to register. 

Won’t you take me to?

lespecial.

Seeking some upbeat or offbeat music to take you away from the daily grind? Return to the disco era of the 1970s and early 1980s when Funkytown performs the funk-forward dance anthems of the era starting at 7 p.m., Friday, March 20, at Reno Public Market, 299 E. Plumb Lane. Admission is free to the all ages show. Visit www.renopublicmarket.com.

Catch a wave to Reno’s biggest little tiki bar and soak in the “outlaw surf” vibes of Santa Cruz-based trio Dead Kampers, who perform at 8 p.m., Saturday, March 21, at Pele Utu, 1275 Stardust St. There’s no cover, but you must be 21 or older to enter. Go to www.peleutu.com or www.facebook.com/PeleUtu.

Prepare for some “heavy future groove” when power trio lespecial brings its “Tentacle Difficulties” tour to Lake Tahoe for a night of metal riffs, funk, hip hop and tribal beats made for the dancefloor. Lespecial and opening act Collectivity hit the Crown Room stage at 8 p.m., Saturday, March 21, at the Crystal Bay Casino, 14 State Highway 28, Crystal Bay. Tickets to the 21-and-over show are $28.50. Visit www.crystalbaycasino.com.

Finally, get down with System of a Clown, who will play all your favorite SOAD hits and deep cuts with a theatrical twist. The clown-faced quartet, with support from Dirt Weasel, Evil Army, Moral Demise, Felipendejo and Scyteca, gets the all-ages show going at 7 p.m., Saturday, March 21, at Club Underground, 555 E. Fourth St. General admission tickets are $15. Go to clubundergroundreno.com. 

Mindful music

Nathan Amaral.

Reno Phil’s Classix series continues with a program of music that exemplifies intellectual curiosity, the search for knowledge, the thrill of discovery and resulting insight. The Reno Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by artistic director Laura Jackson, begins the evening with a performance of Autumn Maria Reed’s “Robin’s Eye View,” an imaginative exploration of the world from above. Guest soloist Nathan Amaral, the winner of the 2024 Sphinx Competition, will take center stage with his performance of Felix Mendelssohn’s innovative Violin Concerto op. 64 in E minor. The night concludes with Johannes Brahms’ monumental Symphony No. 1 op. 68 in C minor. The concerts start at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, March 21; and 4 p.m.. Sunday, March 22, at the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts, 100 S. Virginia St. Tickets are $23.50-$122.50. Visit renophil.com.

Silliness on the slopes

Snowbladers will put on their wackiest ski gear and shred for a good cause this weekend at the Pain McSchlonkey Classic. The annual ski competition, which coincides with International Snowblade Day, honors the late professional skier and BASE jumper Shane McConkey. The former Olympic Valley resident was not only known for his free-spirited approach to skiing, but also for his contributions to the invention of the rockered ski, which was originally designed to improve floatability and maneuverability in powder snow. McConkey died in a ski-BASE jump accident in 2009, but his memory lives on through this tongue-in-cheek tribute to the freeskier. Combining sport, frivolity and philanthropy, this fundraiser for the Shane McConkey Foundation starts off with the Hot Dog Downhill, where participants in creative costumes race down the slope to the finish line, and concludes with an awards ceremony and $20,000 gear giveaway. Registration is required to participate. The event gets underway at 8 a.m., Saturday, March 21, at Palisades Tahoe, 1960 Olympic Valley Road, Olympic Valley. Go to www.palisadestahoe.com or shanemcconkey.org for more information.

Love notes

The Notebook.

Make a date with your beloved to see the Broadway musical The Notebook. Based on the best-selling novel that inspired the 2004 film starring Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling, The Notebook tells the story of Allie and Noah, both from different worlds, who share a lifetime of love despite forces that threaten to pull them apart. A moving portrait of the enduring power of love, the production features music by singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson and a book by Bekah Brunstetter. Performances are 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, March 24-26; 8 p.m., Friday, March 27; 2 and 8 p.m., Saturday, March 28; and 1 and 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 29, at the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts, 100 S. Virginia St. Tickets range from $40-$155 with $25 student rush tickets (subject to availability). The Pioneer Center will also present a vocal performance workshop with touring members from The Notebook designed for students age 13 and older who wish to learn original music and staging from the show. The workshop starts at 4:30 p.m., Friday, March 27. The class fee is $35, and pre-registration is required. Visit pioneercenter.com for more information.

Sonic seducers

LSD and the Search for God.

The Holland Project presents an evening of blissed-out, dreamy pop with San Francisco space rockers LSD and the Search for God. Taking its name from William Braden’s book The Private Sea: LSD and the Search for God, the group’s swirling guitars, fuzzy melodies and ethereal vocal harmonies drew comparisons to 1990s-era indie and shoegaze bands like My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Spacemen 3, Yo La Tengo and Sonic Youth. While they have only released two albums—their self-titled EP in 2007 and Heaven Is a Place in 2016—they’ve developed a must-see reputation within the underground psych and shoegaze scene. The group, with support from Harsh Intention, performs at 8 p.m., Thursday, March 26, at The Alpine, 324 E. Fourth St. The show is open to all ages. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 on the day of the show. Visit hollandreno.org. 

It’s a trip

Take a disturbing drive down David Lynch’s Lost Highway when Desert Hearts Film Society hosts a screening of the 1997 neo-noir horror film. The movie centers on a jazz musician named Fred Madison (Bill Pullman), who, after a series of strange events and visions, is arrested and later convicted of murdering his wife, Renee (Patricia Arquette). The plot takes a surreal twist when Fred mysteriously disappears from his prison cell, replaced by another character named Pete Dayton (Balthazar Getty) who has no memory of how he got there. The movie’s head-scratching storyline divided audiences and critics when it was first released, but Lost Highway has since been reevaluated as one of Lynch’s best films. The screening starts at 6:30 p.m., Friday, March 27, at the National Automobile Museum, 1 Museum Drive. Tickets are $15. Lost Highway is rated R and includes violence, sexual content, strong language and flashing lights. Viewers under 17 must be accompanied by an adult age 21 or older. Purchase tickets at filcorbitt.com/deserthearts.

Bewitched

L.A. Witch.

Gothy garage rockers L.A. Witch kick off a brief West Coast tour in Reno in support of their latest album, DOGGOD. Sade Sanchez (guitar/vocals), Irita Pai (bass), and Ellie English (drums)—started the band as an informal affair, but their sultry and beguiling reverb-draped songs caught on with the public, pushing the project beyond the confines of Southern California and onto stages across the world. On DOGGOD, the trio explores broader swaths of sonic terrain, employs a greater arsenal of tones, and probes larger existential and cosmic themes, all while retaining the band’s signature sense of the forbidden, the forsaken and the foreboding. L.A. Witch, with opening acts Daiistar and Pancho and the Wizards, hit the stage at 8:30 p.m., Friday, March 27, at Cypress, 761 S Virginia St. Tickets to the all-ages show are $20. Go to www.freshbakin.com.

11 Days a Week is written and compiled by Kelley Lang. Want your event included in 11 Days a Week? Email 11days@renonr.com for consideration. Email advertising@renonr.com for advertising info!

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