An 80’s metal nostalgia trio consisting of Def Leppard, Cheap Trick, and Poison will be making its way to Time Warner Pavilion on August 7.

REI at North Hills has some interesting store events coming up in March. All of the events take place at the store, and are free:

• 3/10: Backpacking 101
• 3/17: Backcountry Cooking
• 3/18: Basic Bike Maintenance Class
• 3/21: Garage Sale
• 3/24: One Gas Tank Adventures

What to do on this rainy day…what to do. Don’t forget that Marbles Museum in downtown Raleigh has a full slate of indoor fun! There are exhibits, play spaces, and the Triangle’s only IMAX theater. Here is a rundown:

IMAX Movies

• Under the Sea 3D
• Grand Canyon Adventure 3D: River at Risk – Closes Thursday (3/5)
• Wild Ocean 3D
• The Greatest Places
• The Dark Knight: The IMAX Experience – Closes Thursday (3/5)

See the IMAX schedule for more info

First Fridays Kids Camp – Friday, March 6 (6-9p)

Don’t forget about First Friday coming up next week! First Fridays Kids Camp offers a chance for kids to have a night out without their parents (and vice versa)! While children enjoy the museum, parents have the chance to explore First Friday galleries and restaurants in downtown Raleigh. This program is an exclusive benefit for members of Marbles Kids Museum.

The camp promises an evening of play, discovery and imagination for kids 3 to 10 years old. All kids must be potty trained (this does not include pull ups). The camp includes dinner, activities and time to explore the museum.

Marbles members can register online or by phone at 919.857.1022. Registration for each First Fridays Kids Camp closes at 5:00pm on Thursday, the day before the camp.

Cost: $15 for first child; $10 for each additional child per member family.

Evan Rachel Wood is returning to her roots at Raleigh’s Theatre In The Park to play Juliet in Romeo and Juliet in May. The production will be directed by her brother, Ira David Wood, IV. It will be a welcome break from the 21-year-old’s booming film career. Evan is starring in the upcoming Wood Allen film “Whatever Works” (to be released June 19) and made the tabloids this week with her possibly rekindling romance with Manson. Here is more on R&J:

As a native of Raleigh, Evan spent many hours on stage alongside her brother and her father, Ira David Wood III, Executive and Artistic Director of Theatre In The Park, and best known for his role as Scrooge in the Raleigh holiday classic, A Christmas Carol. Evan has chosen to return to Theatre In The Park after several Oscar nominated films, including Thirteen, Across the Universe, and The Wrestler. Evan will be joined on stage with her father, Ira David Wood III who will play Capulet, opposite Lynda Clark as Lady Capulet.

"Evan’s first major role at Theatre In The Park was as Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker," her father explains. "Watching her work, there was no doubt in my mind that she was going to have an amazing career as an actress.  We’re all deeply grateful that she and her brother came to us with this project.  It’s always so important to come home and to give something back to the place and people who nurtured and helped guide you when you were just starting out.  It’s going to be a wonderful production and I’m grateful to have been included."

Ira David Wood IV, an accomplished actor of TV, stage and film, last seen on stage as Malcolm in Shakespeare’s Macbeth at TIP, served as the assistant director of A Christmas Carol this past December, is thrilled at the opportunity to direct Romeo and Juliet.

This production of Romeo and Juliet is scheduled for May 2009, specific dates to be announced. Hollywood and Broadway celebrities are expected to attend. Romeo and Juliet is a fundraising event benefiting Theatre In The Park’s Annual Fund for Arts and Education. Tickets will go on sale mid-March, prices to be announced soon. Watch the theatre’s website for updates.

Auditions for the casting of 14 men and 5 women are scheduled for Tuesday, February 24^th and Wednesday, February 25^th at Theatre In The Park, starting at 7:00PM.  Auditions will be by appointment only. Scheduling is being managed by the theatre office manager.

Theatre In The Park, currently celebrating its 61^st season, is located in the northern end of Raleigh’s scenic Pullen Park adjacent to North Carolina State University. The theatre is acclaimed for its many outstanding theatrical achievements. Each season Theatre In The Park presents an exceptional series of productions including the very best in comedy, original musicals, Shakespeare, and contemporary drama. Theatre In The Park is North Carolina’s largest non-profit performing Arts organizations and is second in the region only to the celebrated Actor’s Theatre of Louisville in original works premiered. Theatre In The Park truly offers something for everyone.

MORE INFORMATION: Visit www.theatreinthepark.com or call (919) 831-6058

1987 Sanderson graduate Paul Horner was killed seven years ago while paddling the Oyacachi River in Ecuador. From American Whitewater Magazine:

In all regards Paul was a tough act to follow, and leaves behind a soulful legacy of discernment. He despised television and fast food, never listened to commercial radio, and was generally suspicious of the corporate world, but was never self-righteous or prudish. He basically loved to challenge himself, and found every aspect of life worth examining. Descending rivers with close friends became a spiritual calling and a pursuit that he found to be true.  His death is not to be compared with those of the inexperienced or the foolish, nor was it the result of a dreadful miscalculation brought on by a driving ego. Paul was simply pursuing his dream and it delivered him to this place, a beautiful jungle river in rural South America and the company of friends. A hero’s death.

Sanderson students the mid 80’s knew and liked Paul, though he really came out of his shell at UNC. Just before beginning college, I got to know Paul through family friends. Before long it seemed that everywhere I turned, a friend of mine knew him. He had a funny dichotomy of a quiet manner, yet very talkative when the right button got pushed.

Paul’s family and friends have started the Paul Horner Foundation. It aims to further the spirit of Paul by identifying and nurturing a Wake County public school student  each year who wishes to engage in an unusual endeavor which might not necessarily be encouraged by his peers or the society around him. The Foundation believes it important to support young people who pursue uncommon goals in a spirit of kindness and individuality. The Foundation will fund a full scholarship to allow this young person, via a summer experience, to pursue an uncommon dream and thereby inspire those around him.

Knockabout Gifts has been one of the fun, interesting little stores in City Market. They have completed their move, though, to a bigger space. Look for the awnings on Blake Street, and coming soon on Blount Street.

According to the Raleigh Downtowner, the Five Points Bar has shut its doors.

Superchunk will make their mighty return to the Cat’s Cradle on Tax Day, April 15. They will be celebrating the April 7 release of the the new EP, Leaves In The Gutter.  Tickets will be $12.

The Boylan Bridge Brewpub is finally open. If it weren’t for the Fairweather house on St. Mary’s, this would be the longest renovation in the city’s history. Gawd!