What's on where around Luton: listings, February 17 edition

WEDNESDAY

Adults with learning difficulties arts and craft sessions. Every Wednesday 10.30am to 12.30pm and Saturdays from 11am to 1pm at Arttrend, Arundel Road, Luton. Social and creative activity for adults with learning difficulties, engaging in all types of art and craft work such as painting in acrylics, papier mache, salt dough, cross stitch, rug making etc. Please see the website www.arttrend.co.uk and go to Art ALD, then see the gallery of work already done. Tel 07794 987796 if you would like more details. 10.30am to 12.30pm Wednesdays, 11am to 1pm Saturdays – but you can come and go at any time. £6 per session including materials and refreshments.

Luton Irish Forum holds a weekly Tuesday and Wednesday Club from 11am to 1.30pm at 102 Hitchin Road. This is a great chance to meet old friends and make some new ones. Refreshments are all included along with soda bread, scones with jam and monthly chicken and chips. Entry costs £1, plus optional £3 for two games of bingo and a raffle.

The Wednesday Club holds a monthly tea dance, quiz, weekly dominos, cards and needle craft. Tel: 01582 720447.

Snow Child, 11.30am & 2.30pm, The Hat Factory. A magical story about family, love and the power of dreams. A lonely couple yearn for a child of their own. They build a small figure from the ice and snow. Admission: £4. Visit www.lutonculture.com or call 01582 878 100 for more information. Part of the FebFest festival.

Family Dance Workshop,11.30am, Stockwood Discovery Centre. Suitable for ages 3 and over and their families. Creative dance workshop for young children and their families, with movement games and imaginative adventures accompanied by original music. The workshop finishes with a bubble disco. Admission: £4.

Sing-a-long a Tea Party, 4.45pm, Connors Café. Suitable for ages 4+ and their families. Adults £6.95 per person. Children (age 11 & younger) £4.95 per person.

The Grove Theatre, Dunstable hosts a Musical Maestros workshop for ages 7-12 years. Participants spend three days learning dialogue, songs and dances from a well-loved musical that will have them feeling like they’re in the West End. Cost: £45 per person. Call 01582 60 20 80 for more information.

Direct from success in London’s West End, a sold-out UK tour and standing ovations at every performance, The Simon & Garfunkel Story is back at The Stables, Wavendon at 8pm. Using huge projection photos and original film footage, this 50th anniversary celebration features a full live band performing all the hits, including Mrs Robinson, Cecilia, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Homeward Bound and many more. Tickets: £18.50. Call 01908 280800 or visit www.stables.org to book.

Screaming Blue Murder Comedy club comes to The Stables, Wavendon at 8.45pm. Compere Andrew Bird introduces rising star George Rigden; headliner is Michael Fabbri. Line-up may be subject to change. May contain strong language and adult material; suitable for 16+. Tickets: £10 in advance, £12 on the door. Call 01908 280800 or visit www.stables.org to book.

THURSDAY

Keep fit for the more mature. Luton Irish Forum’s keep fit class meets at 102 Hitchin Road, Luton, LU2 0ES, Thursdays from 10am to 11am. The class is ideal for anyone who wants to get active and it’s great fun too at £2 a session.

Barnstormers Comedy night at the Grove Theatre, Dunstable, with three top comics, presented by Kevin Precious. Tickets cost £12.50 in advance or £15 on the door. The show starts at 8pm. Call 01582 60 20 80 to book.

Star of Live At The Apollo, QI and The Jonathan Ross Show, the razor sharp and Canadian Katherine Ryan returns with a highly anticipated new show. Hot on the heels of a complete sell-out UK and Australian tour, Katherine comes to Harpenden Public Halls at 8pm. Tickets: £18.50. Call 01582 767525 or visit www.harpendenpublichalls.co.uk to book.

FRIDAY

Luton Irish Forum’s Baby and Toddler group meets at 102 Hitchin Road, Luton LU2 0ES, every Friday from 9.30am to 11am during term time. Recommended a donation of £1 per adult and 50p per child. A drink and a healthy snack is provided for your child(ren) around the middle of the session. Tea, coffee and biscuits are available for the adults throughout the morning. Telephone 01582 720447.

The Dublin Legends - Sean Cannon, Eamonn Campbell, Gerry O’Connor and Paul Watchorn - continue the legacy started by the legendary Irish folk group The Dubliners at the Grove Theatre, Dunstable at 7.30pm. Tickets: £23. Call 01582 60 20 80 or visit www.grovetheatre.co.uk.

Cafe Society Swing tells the true story of the legendary New York nightclub which was the city’s first racially desegregated music venue. From 1938 to 1949 Café Society played host to legendary names including Billie Holiday, Lena Horne, Sarah Vaughan and Count Basie. The script is drawn from many sources, including testimony from Terry Trilling-Josephson, the surviving widow of club owner Barney Josephson. The eight-piece band is fronted by Vimala Rowe, one of the most talked-about vocalists on the London jazz scene, and also features vocalist and guitarist Ciyo Brown and musical director Alex Webb. It takes pace at The Stables, Wavendon at 8pm. Tickets: £15. Call 1908 280800 or visit www.stables.org to book.

The past few years have seen indie troubadour Daniel Pearson quietly build a reputation as one of the best new singer-songwriters around. Blending elements of indie rock, country and soul, his immediately accessible songs deliver the emotional connection and honesty that only instinctively great songwriting can provide. His third album Alone, Together was released in August and showcases a confident artist building an impressive catalogue of work. A compelling live performer, Pearson has toured the UK the US and performed at major festivals across England. He plays at The Stables, Wavendon at 8.45pm. Tickets: £10 in advance, £12 on the door. Call 01908 280800 or visit www.stables.org to book.

MONDAY

Luton Music favourite, critically acclaimed British specialist Mark Bebbington, returns to the Music on Mondays series with a piano recital including Ireland’s Sarnia and Doreen Carwithen’s rarely heard Sonatina. Also featuring are Beethoven’s ever popular Appassionata Sonata and a selection of well-loved Chopin works . Mark’s concerts at Music on Mondays have always been a highlight of the season for all piano music fans. Tickets are £15 for adults (inc seniors), £8 for registered students/unemployed/disabled people and free for under-18s in education. Call 01582 878100 or buy on the concert door. Ample parking indoors in the adjacent Mall car park, £1 after 6pm.

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 24

After selling several million records, winning two Brit Awards and the Mercury Music Prize and performing across the globe, Heather Small has become one of the most successful female recording artists of recent years. Since her success with M People, she has released two solo albums and also branched out into the world of television, regularly appearing on a wide variety of entertainment shows. Spend an evening in the company of a musical star at The Stables, Wavendon from 8pm. Tickets: £39.50. Call 01908 280800 or visit www.stables.org to book.