Scene Calendar: Fun things to do in Gainesville Jan. 7-13, 2022

MUSIC

Elvis Birthday Bash: 7 p.m. today, Florida Theatre, 128 E. Forsyth St., Jacksonville. Tickets: $29.50-$39.50. (floridatheatre.com, 904-355-5661) World-class Elvis impersonators Mike Albert and Scot Bruce along with the Big E Band celebrate Elvis’ 87th Birthday Bash.

Jazz on the Green: 7-9 p.m. Saturday, Celebration Pointe, Celebration Pointe Avenue off of Interstate 75 and Archer Road. Free. (celebrationpointe.com) Live music by Gainesville Big Band on the stage in the promenade, food and drinks, lawn games and more.

Parker McCollum: 8 p.m. Thursday, Florida Theatre, 128 E. Forsyth St., Jacksonville. Tickets: $24.50-$39.50. (floridatheatre.com, 904-355-5661) A singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and dedicated road warrior, Parker McCollum began building a following in his native Texas with 2015’s “The Limestone Kid.”

Todd Snider: 8 p.m. Thursday, Ponte Vedra Concert Hall, 1050 A1A N., Ponte Vedra Beach. Tickets: $32-$46. (pvconcerthall.com) You don't often hear about an artist reinventing their sound 18 albums into a celebrated career. But for Todd Snider, his latest release, “First Agnostic Church of Hope and Wonder,” isn't so much a sudden change in direction as an arrival after years of searching.

THEATER

Bob Saget: 8 p.m. Saturday, Ponte Vedra Concert Hall, 1050 A1A N., Ponte Vedra Beach. Tickets: $39.50-$57.50. (pvconcerthall.com) Bob Saget is best known for his role as Danny Tanner on the long-running sitcom “Full House” and the spin-off “Fuller House.” He also was the host of “America’s Funniest Home Videos” from 1989 to 1997. He’s been an adult-oriented stand-up comedian for 30 years.

Puddles Pity Party: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Phillips Center, 201 Hull Road. Tickets: $25-$45, $10 UF students. (performingarts.ufl.edu) Everyone’s favorite “Sad Clown with the Golden Voice” is coming to share his heartfelt melancholic pop anthems.

BENEFITS

Soup, Sandwich & Sweets Supper: 5-7 p.m. Saturday, First Baptist Church, 25520 W. Newberry Road, Newberry. Entry: $10 donation. (514-0540) An annual tradition featuring homemade treats, prizes, fellowship and fun. Proceeds support community projects and scholarship funds.

ET CETERA

Frogs and Friends Friday: 2-3 p.m. today, Morningside Nature Center, 3540 E. University Ave. Free; registration required. (bit.ly/frogfriday21) Family friendly event held every first Friday of the month at the picnic pavilion. Kids, accompanied by an adult, can join Morningside’s animal caretaker and learn about the canter’s amphibian and reptile friends.

Devil's Millhopper Geological State Park Sinkhole Guided Walk: 10-11 a.m. Saturday, Devil’s Millhopper Geological State Park, 4732 Millhopper Road. Cost: $4 per vehicle, $2 pedestrian or bicyclist. (bit.ly/devilsmill) Ask questions and learn about the area and its history while exploring the park with a ranger.

Guided Hike on Rim Ramble: 10-11:30 a.m. Saturday, Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park North Entrance, 4801 Camp Ranch Road. Admission: $4 per vehicle. (bit.ly/rrhike21) This 1.5 mile trail meanders through a dense upland forest and sinkhole-rich topography. The terrain varies from level ground to gently rolling hills. This hike takes participants into areas of the park that are not open to the public. The walk originates at the La Chua Trail Horse Barn. Sign-up at the Interpretive Trailer located by the Horse Barn.

Carson Springs Wildlife Conservation Foundation Tour: 10 a.m.-noon Saturday, Carson Springs Wildlife Conservation Foundation, 8528 E. County Road 225. Tickets: $25 adults, $10 ages 2-11, free ages 1 and younger; $45 motorized-vehicle tours. (carsonspringswildlife.org, 468-2827, contact@cswildlife.org) Take a tour — on foot or in a tour vehicle — of Carson Springs Wildlife Conservation Foundation with big-cat feeding demonstrations and up-close encounters with the animals.

Rooterville Animal Sanctuary Self-Guided Tours: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, Rooterville Animal Sanctuary, 5579 Darwood St., Melrose. Cost: Suggested $10 donation per person or $30 for a family of four. (rooterville.org) Take a map of the sanctuary at the gate to see highlights of Rooterville to help you find your way. Guided tours at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Horse Feeding: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Mill Creek Farm Retirement Home for Horses, 20307 NW CR 235A, Alachua. Entrance: Bag of carrots. (millcreekfarm.org) The Retirement Home for Horses provides lifetime care to elderly horses seized by law enforcement agencies, rescued by the SPCA or humane societies, as well as horses retired from government service such as police patrol or state and federal parks.

Stargazing: 5:30-8:30 p.m. Saturday, Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park Hickory Ranch, 9300 SE CR 234, Micanopy. Tickets: $10; must be purchased in advance. (prairiefriends.org, bit.ly/stargaze22) Learn more about the stars and planets with the Alachua Astronomy Club. There will be food and music. Bring your own chairs/blanket and beverages.

Gainesville Street Rods Cruz-In: 6 p.m. Saturday, Publix Super Market at Springhill Commons, 9200 NW 39th Ave. Free admission. (bit.ly/jancruz) Vehicles, music and conversation.

Sweetwater Wetlands Tour: 1:30-2:30 p.m. Sunday, Sweetwater Wetlands Park, 325 Williston Road. Tickets: Free with park admission of $5 per car or $2 per person for bicyclists, pedestrians and buses. (sweetwaterwetlands.org, 393-8437) Get out into nature during a ranger-led tour. Online pre-registration through Eventbrite is required. Only 10 spaces per tour are available.

Paleontology in the Park: 2-3 p.m. Sunday, Depot Park, 870 SE Fourth St. Free. (bit.ly/paleonov21) Join Depot Park Ambassadors on the second Sunday of each month in the Play Area for paleontology and fossil-related activities and learn about the unique fossils hidden throughout the Blue Grotto. Each month will be slightly different as we dig up fun new activities for kids of all ages.

Sweetwater Wetlands Park Wednesday Bird Walks: 8:30-10 a.m. Wednesdays through May 25, Sweetwater Wetlands Park, 325 SW Williston Road. Admission: $5 per vehicle; $2 for pedestrians, vans and bikes. (alachuaaudubon.org) Discover the rich diversity of birds at one of north central Florida's premier birding hotspots during a two- to three-hour guided walking tour. Birders of all levels welcome. Walks are led by volunteers from Alachua Audubon Society with assistance from Sweetwater Wetlands Park rangers.

Barnyard Buddies: 3-4 p.m. Wednesday, Morningside Nature Center, 3540 E. University Ave. Free; registration required. (bit.ly/barnbuddies2021) Weekly program where youngsters, with an adult, can meet and greet farm animals by helping staff with afternoon feeding. Number of participants will be limited. All attendees must register for each session. Tickets will be made available the Thursday before the next program. Facial coverings are required for all participants over the age of 6 unless exempt. Animals love donations of carrots, squash, apples, sweet potatoes and melons.

PAGES

2022 Winter Reading Challenge: Read for a Better World: Ongoing through Jan. 31, aclib.beanstack.org. Free. (aclib.beanstack.org, aclib.us/winter) The Winter Reading Challenge returns with a new goal for the community – to read 600,000 minutes Jan. 1-31. Chances to win prizes and help the library district compete against libraries across the country.

ART

Florida Museum of Natural History: “Tiny Titans: Dinosaur Eggs and Babies” on display through Sunday. The exhibit is $8 for adults; $7 for Florida residents, seniors and non-University of Florida college students; $5.50 for ages 3 to 17; and free to museum members and UF students with a valid Gator 1 Card. “Tiny Titans” uses authentic specimens, lifelike models and realistic artwork to transform the area into a “Jurassic Park” day care and showcase the rarely seen world of dinosaur parenting. Standing exhibits include the “Our Changing Climate: Past and Present,” “Butterfly Rainforest,” “Florida Fossils: Evolution of Life & Land,” “Northwest Florida: Waterways & Wildlife,” “South Florida People & Environments,” “Exploring Our World,” “Fossil Plant Garden” and “Florida Wildflower & Butterfly Garden.” All standing exhibits are free, but regular admission fees apply to enter the “Butterfly Rainforest” exhibit: $14 for adults ($12 for Florida residents and seniors) and $7 for ages 3-17. Admission is free for museum members and UF students with a valid Gator 1 card. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. 3215 Hull Road. (floridamuseum.ufl.edu, 846-2000)

Harn Museum of Art: “Tempus Fugit: Time Flies,” a reflection on time and its many meanings, on display through Jan. 23; “Plant Life: Exploring Vegetal Worlds in the Harn Museum Collection,” featuring 12 works that were chosen because something in them provokes critical reflection on the strange entanglements of humans and plants, on display through Feb. 20; “Shadow to Substance,” which creates a chronological arc from the past to the present into the future using historical photographs from the Harn and Smathers Library collections and through the lens of black photographers working today, on display through Feb. 27; “Plural Domains: Selected Works from the Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation Collection,” drawn exclusively from the collection of the Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 2002 by Ella Fontanals-Cisneros to foster cultural exchange and enrichment of the arts, on display through April 24; “Global Perspectives: Highlights from the Contemporary Collection,” a celebration of global interconnectedness, on display through Sept. 25; “Florida Impressions: Gift of Samuel H. and Roberta T. Vickers” includes celebrates the transformative gift to the Harn Museum of Art from Samuel and Roberta Vickers who formed one of the world’s most extensive collections of Florida-themed art; “Everyday to the Extraordinary: Highlights from the Korean Collection” includes objects from everyday life alongside exemplars of artistic production. Ceramics in the exhibition span nearly 2,500 years of history, from the Three Kingdoms Period (57 BCE–668 CE) to the present, while paintings date from the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910) and into the 20th century. On display indefinitely; Ongoing exhibitions include “ClayCurvyCool,” “Elusive Spirits: African Masquerades,” “Highlights from the Asian Collection” and “Highlights from the Modern Collection.” Museum hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, 3259 Hull Road. Free. (392-9826)

Matheson History Museum: “When Johnny Came Marching Home: Some Gave All – All Gave Some,” remembering those who came home from war with both physical and mental wounds, on display outside; “Trailblazers: 150 Years of Alachua County Women,” celebrating the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote in the United States, on display; “Lights of Conversation” on display outside; “Beyond the Headlines: Reflections on 2021 from Behind the Camera” on display online; “COVID-19 Community Archives” on display online; “McCarthy Moment: The Johns Committee in Florida” on display. Hours are 1 to 4 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 513 E. University Ave. (378-2280, mathesonmuseum.org)

ALTERNATIVE ART SPACES

Good News Arts Inc.: “Thank you for coming,” a celebration of local artists who have been crucial to Good News Arts in its first year, on display. Gallery hours are noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday. 23352 W. U.S. 27, Suite 80, High Springs. (goodnewsarts.com)

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Entertainment Calendar: Fun things to do Jan. 7-13, 2022