Central Virginia events this weekend (July 6-8)

Friday, July 6
STAR STRUCK
The view is out of this world at Public Night at McCormick Observatory from 9-11pm (weather permitting). UVA's research telescopes on O-Hill will be pointed heavenward, and Astronomy Department staff and students will be on hand with a slide show and answers to starry questions. Free. McCormick Road. 434/924-7494.

Friday, July 6
MUSIC AT TWILIGHT: MOZART & MORE
Ash Lawn Opera Festival.Spend a romantic, enchanted evening with our Opera Company as they sing some of the world's best-loved music. Festival singers choose their favorite arias, duets, and ensembles from celebrated composers such as, Rossini, Verdi, Puccini, and, of course, Mozart! Perfect for the opera aficionado or as an introduction to this beautiful art. Ash Lawn-Highland. Doors open at 6pm. Shows begin at 8pm. $11-$18. All ages welcome. Email: mailto:info@ashlawnopera.org?subject=Music. For details, please click this link. For more info call: 434/979-0122.

Friday, July 6
ROMEO AND JULIET, CSI
Theaterworks Repertory Company presents Shakespeare's beloved text of passionate discovery and young love as a CSI. Here romance is not the primary focus. This reorientation of the text follows the format of a crime scene investigation. The idea is not to rewrite or abandon Shakespeare, but to find in his words a microcosm of modern life. Pay what you can ($7 suggested donation), 7:30pm. The Hamner Theater, Rockfish Valley Community Center, Rockfish School Lane, Nellysford. 434/361-9092 or http://www.thehamnertheater.com/.

Saturday, July 7
CELEBRATE ORANGE: PICNIC IN THE PARK
Orange Downtown Alliance.Come out to Booster Park for a picnic and fun family entertainment. Booster Park. Directions: near Orange Airport off route 20. 4:30 to 10:30pm. All ages welcome. Email: mailto:info@orangecova.com?subject=Celebrate. For details, please click this link. For more info call: 540-672-2540.

Saturday, July 7
FIRST SATURDAY BIRD WALK
Ivy Creek Foundation.Jennifer Gaden of the Monticello Bird Club leads this early summer bird walk. Meet in the parking lot. Ivy Creek Natural Area. Directions: Earlysville Road/Route 743 Meet in the parking lot. 7:30am. $free. All ages welcome. Email: mailto:icf@ivycreekfoundation.org?subject=First. For details, please click this link. For more info call: 434/973-7772.

Saturday, July 7
INTERNATIONAL FOLKDANCERS
Ezher Uremez teaches and leads line, mixers, and circle dances from around the world. Beginners welcome and partners not necessary. Free, 2-4:30pm every Saturday in July. Central Library, 201 E. Market St. 434/823-9705.

Saturday, July 7
EXPEDITION: THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPLORATORY CENTER
Open at the Keelboat barn in Darden Towe Park teaching the skills of exploration: knot-making, compass reading, and nature observation, as well as carpentry and boat building skills such as chiseling and drilling. The 55-foot replica of the Lewis and Clark Expedition keelboat is on display with some recent additions. 10am-2pm. Free. On the north end of Darden Towe Park past the parking lots. 434/979-2425. lewisandclarkeast.org.

Saturday, July 7
CLIMB EVERY MOUNTAIN
The hills are alive with the Sound of Music at Ash Lawn Opera Festival. Maria and the von Trapp family tell the familiar story again at historic Ash Lawn-Highland. Doors at 6pm, shows begin at 8pm. $16-$26. 434/979-0122.

Saturday, July 7
SCIENCE SATURDAY (Richmond)
Today is Electrifying Day at the Science Museum of Virginia. Visitors can make their hair stand on end at the static demonstration at noon and 2pm, see lightning-like electricity fly through the air at the Tesla coil at 1 and 3pm, visit the 1893 Chicago World's Fair in the Carpenter Science Theatre Company play, At the End of the Wire, also at 1 and 3pm, and explore the visiting exhibition Savage Ancient Sea. Included in the price of admission. 2500 W. Broad St., Richmond. 800-659-1727.

Saturday, July 7
ROMEO AND JULIET
With its rapturous language and uproarious comedy, Romeo and Juliet celebrates love's triumphs and its trivialities. In this profoundly human and always surprising masterpiece, Shakespeare puts into theatrical balance the joys of the body and the pleasures of the play's glorious language. 2pm. Blackfriars Playhouse. 10 S. Market St., Staunton. 1-877-682-4236.

Saturday, July 7
LOVE'S LABORS LOST
Written around the same time as Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night's Dream, this giddy, extravagant comedy is Shakespeare's most exuberant wordfest-- a heart-stopping explosion of our English language. Here the Bard presents four young lords ripe for an education in love by four young ladies and, for even more fun, throws in the fantastic love-warrior, Don Armado; the lust-sick clown, Costard; and the pompous scholar, Holofernes. 7:30pm. Blackfriars Playhouse. 10 S. Market St., Staunton. 877-682-4236.

Saturday and Sunday, July 7 and 8
SOUTH AFRICAN FOOD & WINE FESTIVAL
Grayhaven Winery.Join Grayhaven as they host the 2nd Annual South African Food & Wine Festival. Taste the delectable grilled meats and exotic dishes South Africa is known for. Dutch, Indian and Malaysian influences come together with native dishes to create a melting pot of culture and cuisine that is uniquely South African. Live the adventure as South African chefs whip up a weekend of fantastic food complimented by some of South Africa's best wines. Grayhaven Winery. Directions: 4675 East Grey Fox Circle, Gum Spring, VA. $10 adults, 10 and under free. Email: mailto:max@grayhavenwinery.com?subject=South. For details, please click this link. For more info call: 804-556-3917.

Saturday & Sunday, July 7-8
WINTERGREEN PERFORMING ARTS SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL CELEBRATION '07
Evans Center at Wintergreen Resort. Description: Wintergreen Performing Arts presents its 11th Summer Music Festival. Celebration '07 will honor the 400th Anniversary of Jamestown and the 200th Anniversary of Nelson County with a full roster of chamber and orchestra concerts, lectures, master classes, and open rehearsals. The concert program will include familiar masterpieces such as Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 and Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 ("From the New World"), two chamber music world premieres and what appears to be the American Premiere of Ottorino Respighi's transcription of Claudio Monteverdi's magnificent 1607 opera Orfeo. The festival will conclude with conductor Peter Oundjian and violinist Robert McDuffie performing Bruch's magnificent G minor Violin Concerto, a gem of the German Romantic period. The festival will also include the world premiere of Peter Coy's play A Shadow of Honor about a 1907 murder in Nelson County. Consult the Wintergreen Performing Arts website for a detailed schedule and the Wintergreen Resort website (http://www.wintergreenresort.com/) for travel packages. for information: (434) 325-8292; (866) 984-6874; Web Site: http://www.wintergreenperformingarts.org/

Sunday, July 8
SUMMER BIG WOODS WALK
Montpelier.Tour of the James Madison Landmark Forest. A 200-acre old-growth forest lies just beyond the back lawn of the Mansion. Designated by the U.S. Department of Interior as a National Natural Landmark, the "Big Woods" is recognized as the best example of an old-growth forest in the Piedmont. The tour will be led by Montpelier Horticulturist Sandy Mudrinich. Montpelier. Directions: 11407 Constitution Highway, Montpelier Station VA 22957. 2pm. $price included with admission. For details, please click this link. For more info call: 540-672-2728.

Sunday, July 8
EXPLORING SUMMER: A SUNDAY MORNING STROLL
Ivy Creek Foundation.Naturalist Mary Jane Epps, will lead an exploratory walk at Ivy Creek to see the wonders of a summer morning in nature. Wildflowers, ferns, mushrooms and the amazing variety of insects are a few of the topics Mary Jane may cover. Meet at the Ed Bldg. Ivy Creek Natural Area. Directions: Earlysville Road/Route 743. 10am. $free. All ages welcome. For details, please click this link. For more info call: 434/973-7772.

Sunday, July 8
UP ON THE MOUNTAIN: MUSIC AND FUN AT HUMPBACK ROCKS MOUNTAIN FARM
Lexington's Breakin' Nu Ground string band, Bruce Clark and the Sawmill Band, and Harry Baldwin and his Percheron horses (they don't play music) entertain while visitors tour the authentic old homestead. Free, 2-4pm. Milepost 5.8, Blue Ridge Parkway.