Through 6/11
Minds Wide Open: Virginia Celebrates Women in the Arts
and Vibrant Spirits: the Art of Crones & Innocents
Location: Suffolk Museum 118 Bosley Ave.
Featuring Older and Emerging Female Artists. Tues.-Sat. 10am-5pm, Sun. 1pm-5pm. Free and open to the public. Suffolk Museum, 757-514-7284.

Through 6-30
Mirror, Mirror: The Female Image in Portraiture
Location: Shooting Star Gallery, 118 North Main Street
“Mirror, Mirror: The Female Image in Portraiture” offered as part of Mind Wide Open – Virginia Celebrates Women un the Arts, featuring prints, paintings, photography and pastels. Opening reception Friday, April 30, 2010, from 5:30pm-7:30pm. Free and open to the public. Regular Gallery hours are Tuesday – Saturday, noon-5pm. (757) 934.0855 or sutnstar@aol.com.

Through 5/22
Fields and Forests, Waterways and Wetlands Exhibit
Location: Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts SCCA), 110 West Finney Avenue
In partnership with the National Audubon Society, the SCCA galleries will feature fine prints of American master artist John Audubon. Called “the Founding Father of American Art,” Audubon created a massive body of work that included portraits of every bird then known in the United States. Complementing the extraordinary Audubon images will be an extensive local collection of waterfowl decoys. All Audubon prints will be offered for sale, with the proceeds jointly benefiting the SCCA and the National Audubon Society. (This exhibit is presented by the SCCA and the Suffolk Museum including The Decoy Collection of Tommy O’Connor and paintings by Paul Fisher.) This exhibit is free and open to the public. 8:30am-5:30pm. SCCA, (757) 923-0003 or suffolkcenter.org.

5/1
Whaleyville Community Day.
Location: Whaleyville Village
This annual community celebration includes a parade, business expo, arts and crafts, a tractor pull, live music, car show, kid’s rides and activities. Free and open to the public. For more information about this event, contact 757-986-2282.

5/3-5
A Tale of Two Cities Performed by First Baptist Christian School
Location: First Baptist Christian School
First Baptist Christian School presents this classic story set in London and Paris during the French Revolutionary period. It deals with some of the most noble and most vile parts of human nature. In the end, the power of love and the gift of self-sacrifice find victory over evil. 7pm-9pm. Adults, $15; Children, $8. (757) 923-2900 box office.

5/6 - 5/8
4th Annual Great Dismal Swamp Birding Festival
Location: Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife refuge, 3100 Desert Rd.
Celebrate International Migratory Bird Day at the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. Over three days enjoy guided bird walks, narrated bus tours, bird banding demonstrations, birdhouse building, educational workshops, nighttime owl prowls and much more. Beginner Bird Walks offered for new birders. Fun for the whole family! Free & open to the public. Reservations required for the walks and bus tours.
Call 757-986-3705 for details.
Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, 757-986-3705.
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5/13
“Renoir’s Ladies” Lecture by Jeffrey W. Allison, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Location: Suffolk Museum 118 Bosley Ave.
Jeffrey W. Allison, Paul Mellon Collection Educator at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts will present an illustrated lecture. Of all the artists who made up the Impressionist movement Renoir is probably one of the most popular today and he is known above all for his paintings of lovely women. Mr. Allison discusses some of Renoir’s best loved paintings and his models including Nini de Lopez and Suzanne Valadon. 7pm. Free and open to the public, reservations suggested. Suffolk Museum, 757-514-7284.

5/14 - 5/15
American Cancer Society’s Rockin’ Relay for Life
Location: Nansemond Suffolk Academy, 3373 Pruden Blvd.
The American Cancer Society Relay For Life is a life-changing event that gives everyone in communities across the globe a chance to celebrate the lives of people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against the disease. At Relay, teams of people camp out at a local high school, park, or fairground and take turns walking or running around a track or path. Each team is asked to have a representative on the track at all times during the event. Because cancer never sleeps, Relays are overnight events up to 24 hours in length. Although every Relay For Life is different, there are certain traditions at all Relays, no matter where they are held. These traditions help participants celebrate, remember, and fight back.
Nansemond Suffolk Academy. kathleen.e.day@live.com

5/15
Shake, Rattle & Roll Spring Car Show
Location: N. Main St. in Historic Downtown Suffolk
This festive Main Street event honors the racers, records and fans of the ol’ quarter-mile concrete track at Suffolk Airport. Show begins at 10 am with awards presented at 2 pm. Music, food, vendors and pedal-car racing for children age 6 and under. Free and open to the public. 757-514-4130. (The Shake, Rattle & Roll Spring Car Show is not affiliated with the Suffolk Raceway Reunion “Little Guy Nationals.”)
Suffolk Division of Tourism, 757-514-5130 or 866-SEE-SUFK toll free.
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5/15 (Every Wednesday & Saturday through September Starting 5/15)
Suffolk Farmers’ Market
Location: Market Park, Adjacent to Seaboard Station Railroad Museum – 326 North Main Street
The Suffolk Farmers’ Market kicks off at Market Park with the very best in locally grown fruit and vegetables, homemade jams and jellies, fresh seafood, cut flowers, handcrafted jewelry and more. Opening day will feature a farm animal petting zoo that includes a cow, a goat, a pony, chickens and other entertaining critters! The market season will continue through September, open from 3pm-6pm on Wednesdays and 9am-3pm on Saturdays. The Suffolk Farmers’ Market and associated activities are free and open to the public. Free and open to the public. The market is sponsored in part by the Obici Healthcare Foundation and is managed by the Suffolk Division of Tourism. For additional information, call the Suffolk Visitor Center at 757-514-4130.

5/16
Say Goodnight Gracie
Location: Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts, 110 W. Finney Ave.
The Love, Laughter, and Life of George Burns and Gracie Allen
“Say Goodnight Gracie” is the hit Broadway play that invites you to spend a hilarious, heart-warming evening in the uplifting company of the world’s favorite and funniest centenarian. George Burns, who spanned one hundred years of American entertainment history, is now miraculously alive and kicking in this stunning tour de force. 3pm. $30/$35. Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts, 757-923-2900 box office.

5/22
Holland Founders Day Parade and Celebration
Location: Holland Village
A daylong celebration commemorating the founding of the first Ruritan Club in the Holland Community of Suffolk. Festivities begin at 10am with a parade at 11am, followed by the Second Annual Ruritan Barbeque Cook-off with all-day entertainment concluding with fireworks at 9pm. 10am. Parade 11am. Fireworks 9pm
Holland Village, 757-514-4130

5/22-23
The 13th Annual Virginia Festival of Flight
Location: Suffolk Executive Airport
Come see hundreds of homebuilt, antique, classic, military, ultralight, and powered parachute aircraft at the Suffolk Executive Airport during the largest aircraft "Fly-In" in the Mid-Atlantic. See Radio Controlled aircraft on display. Examine all the airplanes up close; talk with pilots and builders. Visit the Youth Tent for hands-on activities. Kids and parents, come fly Control Line Models with an instructor at your elbow! Participate in aviation-related forums and "do it yourself" workshops. Since there is no Aerobatic Air Show aircraft will be free to arrive and depart all day keeping the air buzzing.
Sat. 8am-5pm; Sun. 8am-4pm. Admission fee required.
Suffolk Division of Tourism, 757-514-4130.