Play ball! First Fridays celebrates sports, Fire Arts welcomes spring and more this weekend

It's beginning to look and feel like spring — rain, sunshine, wind — and there's a great variety of things to do this weekend in and around South Bend. There are even some Easter egg hunts left. Don't forget Joseph Dits' suggestions from his Outdoor Adventures column and The Tribune's online events calendar, too.

‘Game On!’ theme celebrates sports and games for April’s First Fridays event in downtown South Bend

SOUTH BEND — “Game On!” is the theme for April’s First Fridays event from 5 to 9 p.m. April 7 in downtown South Bend.

A celebration of sports and games, some highlights include the following:

• Behind the Scenes Tours at Four Winds Field at Coveleski Stadium, 501 W. South St., from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.: Take a tour that includes both the home and visiting locker rooms, the performance center, the team store, and the rooftop deck.

Comedian Costaki Economopoulos, who performs at 7 and 9 p.m. April 7 at The Drop Comedy Club, will hold a meet-and-greet from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Home Plate Suite during the stadium tours.

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Opening Day for the South Bend Cubs is April 11.

• Soccer Activities on the Gridiron, from 5 to 8 p.m.: In honor of the recent Season 3 release of “Ted Lasso,” the South Bend Lions, a semi-professional soccer team that plays in USL League Two, will be on hand, and there will be a soccer dart board activity.

• South Bend Museum of Art, 120 S. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 5:30 to 8:00 p.m.: a reception for the “University of Notre Dame MFA Exhibition,” which continues through June 18 and features the work of six students. The “2023 Scholastic Show” also continues through April 29. Admission is free.

• The Drop Comedy Club, 111 N. Main St., inside Aloft: Costaki Economopoulos performs at 7 and 9 p.m. He is a sports commentator and stand-up comedian, best known for being a regular guest on “The Bob & Tom Show” and for the “Quick Snaps” feature on Sirius XM Satellite Radio and podcast. Tickets are $20. For more information, call 574-222-2639 or visit thedropcomedyclub.com.

• Adult Retro Recess: The Great Egg Hunt, Howard Park, 7 to p.m.: The VPA Adult Recess Event and Great Egg Hunt have been rescheduled to April 7. This free event is open to anyone 21 or older and features music by DJ Grind and food and drinks for purchase from food trucks. The Great Egg Hunt portion of the event is $10 and requires advance registration; visit facebook.com/visithowardpark for more information.

Various restaurants and businesses will have specials and activities throughout the night.

For more information, call 574-282-1110 or visit downtownsouthbend.com.

Sister Hazel performs at South Bend’s Four Winds casino

SOUTH BEND — Sister Hazel performs at 9 p.m. April 7 at Four Winds South Bend’s Ribbon Town Ballroom, 3000 Prairie Ave.

Formed in Gainesville, Fla., in 1993, the band consists of Ken Block, Jett Beres, Andrew Copeland, Ryan Newell and Mark Trojanowski, all of whom have been in the band since the release of its self-titled debut in 1994.

Best known for the song “All for You,” other radio singles include “Champagne High,” “Change Your Mind,” “Stay a While” and “We Got It All Tonight.”

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After years of being known for its pop-rock sound, Sister Hazel shifted gears with the 2016 country album “Lighter in the Dark,” which reached No. 4 on Billboard’s U.S. Country Chart.

Other notable albums include “… Somewhere More Familiar,” “Fortress,” “Chasing Daylight,” “Absolutely” and “Release.”

Tickets are $60-$40.

For more information, call visit ticketmaster.com or fourwindscasino.com.

‘Vernal Reawakening’ juried exhibit opens at Fire Arts

SOUTH BEND — Fire Arts’ seventh annual juried show opens with a reception from 5 to 8 p.m. April 7 and continues through May 26 at 305 E. Colfax Ave.

Titled “Vernal Reawakening,” the 3-D show’s theme is the return of spring, a season when there is a sense of hope in a metamorphic time of rejuvenation, reinvention and reimagination. Fantasy or reality, it is a time of rebirth or revitalization.

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An awards ceremony will take place April 7. The People’s Choice Award will be presented during First Fridays on May 5.

Hours are noon to 9 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and noon to 5 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Admission is free.

For more information, call 574-282-2787 or visit fireartsinc.com.

Elkhart Civic opens 'A Year with Frog and Toad'

BRISTOL — “A Year with Frog and Toad” opens April 7 and continues through April 16 at Elkhart Civic Theatre’s Bristol Opera House, 210 E. Vistula St.

Written by Robert and Willie Reale and based on Arnold Lobel’s children’s books, the family musical tells the story of two best friends: the cheerful Frog and the curmudgeonly Toad.

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The musical follows Frog and Toad through four colorful seasons, from hibernation to hibernation. Frog and Toad, along with their playful, quirky friends Snail, Turtle, the Birds and more, embark on many adventures, from rushing down a hill in a runaway sled in the winter to taking a picnic and a quiet moment in the summer.

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. April 7-8 and 14-15 and at 3 p.m. April 16.

Tickets are $25-$19.

For more information, call 574-848-4116 or visit elkhartcivictheatre.org.

Percussion group pax duo performs at Goshen’s Ignition Music Garage

GOSHEN — The percussion group pax duo performs at 8 p.m. April 8 at Ignition Music Garage, 120 E. Washington St.

Based in Goshen and Madison, Wis., the percussion duo of Tristan Swihart and Micah Detweiler aims to break preconceptions of contemporary percussion through collaboration and the creation of genre-bending works.

Their repertoire moves percussion music beyond the concert hall, incorporating lighting and electronics, and blending genres such as indie, hip-hop and funk into a contemporary classical context.

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In January 2022, pax duo released the 15-minute video “Bloom Suite,” an arrangement of an Elliot Cole work originally scored for guitar, clarinet and cello adapted for marimba and vibraphone by Swihart and Detweiler. The video was filmed at Studebaker Building 84, run by Em En Studios, in South Bend.

Swihart was born and raised in Goshen, and Detweiler is an alumnus of Goshen College, where he now works as the adjunct professor of percussion.

They met in 2012, when Detweiler began working with the Northridge Raider Marching Band in Middlebury, where Swihart was a student. The marching band show that year was titled “Et in Terra Pax.”

Since then, they have gone from student and teacher to close friends and colleagues.

Tickets are $15-$5.

For more information, call 574-971-8282 or visit ignitionmusic.net.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend area has Sister Hazel, First Fridays and more this weekend