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Here are a selection of brief news items pertaining to arts, entertainment, culture and other fun things to do in your spare time:

HHS to host Norwegian dancers

The Stoughton High School Norwegian Dancers, who have performed internationally, will give a performance at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, April 20, at Holmen High School, 1001 McHugh Road.

The performance is sponsored by the Sons of Norway Wergeland Lodge.

The lively group of dancers presents a program that includes humorous, gymnastic and audience participation dances, combining colorful Norwegian costumes, rousing music and exuberant ethnic folk dances.

There also will be a Norwegian bake sale before the show, during intermission and after the performance.

Admission is $8, $4 for students ages 6 to 18 and free for those ages 5 and younger. Tickets will be available at the door or can be purchased in advance by calling Bing or Carolyn Skogen at 783-2158.

‘Sound of Music’ opening is April 25

Tickets for the La Crosse Community Theatre production of “The Sound of Music” are now on sale, with show dates on April 25-27, May 1-4, and 8-10 at 7:30 p.m. and May 11 at 1 p.m. A bonus 2 p.m. matinee on May 3 also has been added.

Tickets are $20.50 on Fridays and Saturdays and $19.50 with a $10 student/military ticket available on Thursdays and Sundays. Student rush tickets for Friday and Saturday shows are $10 if seats are available after 7 p.m.

For tickets, call the box office at 784-9292 or stop in at the theater, 118 Fifth Ave. N. Box office hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and one hour before curtain time during performances.

UW-L to stage ‘Diary of Anne Frank’

The UW-La Crosse theatre arts department will bring to life the legendary story of Holocaust victim Anne Frank.

“The Diary of Anne Frank,” newly adapted by Wendy Kesselman, will be performed at 7:30 p.m. April 25-26 and May 1-3. Sunday matinee performances run at 2 p.m. April 27 and May 4. Performances are in the Toland Theatre in the Center for the Arts, 16th and Vine streets.

Kesselman’s adaptation of the 1955 Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett brings to life personal accounts of the Holocaust through the words of a young girl.

Tickets are $3 for UW-L students, $8 for other students, senior citizens and children and $10 for others. Tickets will be available starting at 1 p.m. Monday, April 21, in the Center for the Arts box office or by phone at 785-8522. Box office hours are 1 to 4:30 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays and one hour before show times.

Bird photographer to speak at Sierra Club

The Sierra Club will hold its monthly meeting on Tuesday, April 29, at 7 p.m. in the basement of the Ho-Chunk Three Rivers House, Eighth and Main streets in La Crosse.

Alan Stankevitz will present, “Photography of our Fine, Feathered Friends,” highlighting some of his more than 60,000 images of birds. Stankevitz also will talk about digital photography and its advancements over the past few years.

All are welcome.

Author to speak at genealogy meeting

The La Crosse Area Genealogical Society will meet Tuesday, April 22, starting at 7 p.m. in the Main Library Auditorium, Eighth and Main streets, La Crosse.

The speaker will be Susan T. Hessel, local author and personal historian. She will discuss her latest books: “Luke, You’re in a Tree,” a child’s first book of family history that can be personalized for each child; and “Getting the Conversation Started: 101 Essential Questions for Personal Family History.” Visitors are welcome.

LYSO to play at OHS April 20

The La Crosse Area Youth Symphony Orchestras will give their spring concert starting at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 20, in the Claude C. Deck Performing Arts Center at Onalaska High School.

The Youth Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Enaldo Oliveria, will perform movements from Symphony I by C.M. von Weber. Mariel Crolius, a junior at La Crosse Central High School, is the LYSO concerto competition winner and will perform the first movement from the Horn Concerto by Richard Strauss with the Youth Symphony Orchestra.

The Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Randall Mastin, will perform the overture from Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville,” “Amadeus” from Symphony No. 25 by Mozart, “America’s Cup” by Alan Silva and more.

Both orchestras will combine to perform “Pirates of the Caribbean — Dead Man’s chest” to end the concert.

Tickets are $10, $5 for students and senior citizens and will be available at the door.

Student artwork featured in UW-L exhibit

University of Wisconsin-La Crosse art students graduating in May will show a wide variety of artwork in the Spring 2008 Senior Exhibition.

Seventeen graduating seniors will show paintings, sculpture, ceramics, photographs, metal work, prints and video. The exhibition opens with a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, April 18, in the University Art Gallery in the Center for the Arts. The show runs through May 9; admission is free.

The student artists exhibiting work include: Rachel Abraham, Hassan Albanjabi, Christine R. Benzschawel, Wesley DeVries, Carly Dilworth, Chris Hansen, Ingrid A. Hudak, Joseph L. Keenan, Maggie Lach, Lindsey Martin, Meghan MacCoun, Jessica Mootz, Heather Neff, Ian Roberts, Nichol Schoen, Becki Viner and Billy Zakrzewski.

Regular gallery hours are noon to 8 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, noon to 5 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and during Toland Theatre events. The gallery also opens for appointments by calling the UW-L art department 785.-8230.

Organizations sought for cultural brochure

La Crosse Area Cultural Resource Guide Committee is seeking applicants who wish to be included in a brochure to be displayed throughout the greater La Crosse Area. The brochure is a collection of La Crosse Area organizations offering participatory opportunities in the arts and humanities. The primary focus is not-for-profit entities and educational institutions.

The brochure offers an opportunity to build cultural awareness of the diversity in the arts and humanities within the 7 Rivers Region and promote organizations to residents of the greater La Crosse area or to tourists looking for a cultural experience while visiting.

So far, nearly 40 entities have committed to the project.

Interested organizations may request an application from Allen Ebert at aebert@lacrossecommunitytheatre.org and e-mail or mail the completed application to La Crosse Community Theatre, 118 Fifth Ave. N., La Crosse, WI 54601. Application deadline is April 30.

WTC to show films promoting diversity

In an effort to promote diversity on campus and in the community, Western Technical College has launched a mini-film festival featuring internationally acclaimed films. The events are on the fourth Wednesdays of the month, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. in room 203 of the Coleman Center, 304 Sixth St. N., La Crosse.

On April 23, “The Story of the Weeping Camel” will be featured. Combining drama and documentary, this film follows the adventures of a family of herders in Mongolia’s Gobi region who face a crisis when a mother camel unexpectedly rejects her newborn calf after a particularly difficult birth. A violinist is summoned to the camp and a ritual of folk music and chanting is performed to promote the bond between mother and child.

The screenings are free and open to all. Popcorn will be provided and other refreshments will be available.