I usually get apprehensive when the weather gets too hot, but I am loving these pleasant spring days – warm and sunny during the day, cool and comfortable at night. They motivate me to get out and do more, and scanning the calendars on ColumbusMakesArt.com, I’m finding plenty to do in a weekend that’s especially loaded with film screenings, dance performances and theater.

• The 2024 Cinema Columbus Film Festival kicks off this Wednesday, April 24 and runs through Sunday evening, April 28. There are dozens of screenings at seven venues, from short films to documentaries to features. Should be an exciting week for film buffs!
• Last week the Priscilla R. Tyson Cultural Arts Center opened a series of exhibitions featuring work from the National League of American Pen Women. Exhibitions at the CAC are always free.
• Catch a free concert from Mezclado at the Upper Arlington Public Library on Thursday, April 25.
• On Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, you can see the world premiere of a new play, The New Seattle, from Columbus playwright Cory Skurdal at the Columbus Museum of Art. Tickets range from $10-25.
• Eclipse Theatre Company is also running a show called All the Days: A Family Play in Two Weeks through Sunday, April 28.
• Last weekend, Opera Columbus opened its latest production, The Temple, a Magic Flute Experience, offering a fantastical take on Mozart’s opera, performed in a speakeasy-like setting.
• If you’re in the mood for comedy and music, Shadowbox Live just opened its newest production, Behind Closed Doors. It runs through June 2.
• Ohio Arts Council’s Riffe Gallery hosts the free opening reception for its newest exhibition, Sequence, from 2-4 p.m. on Saturday, April 27.
• That same day, you can catch a free performance from Columbus Rings handbell choir at the Main Library downtown.
• Finish out the weekend with a stellar performance at Natalie’s. Rhythm of a Woman: Tribute to Blues and Jazz’s Contribution to the Civil Rights Movement features Columbus singers as iconic figures like Lena Horne, Nina Simone and Aretha Franklin.

It’s also a dance-heavy weekend!

• This Friday-Sunday, April 26-28, is the 2024 OhioDance Festival at Sullivant Hall. It’s a weekend packed with performances, demonstrations, workshops, film screenings and more.
• This weekend BalletMet performs Romeo & Juliet at the Ohio Theatre, accompanied by the Columbus Symphony. There are four performances, with a bonus senior citizen dress rehearsal Friday morning.
• On Saturday, April 27, Oyo Dance Company offers two performances of Santos Difuntos exploring beauty, grief and the celebration of lives lived.

BalletMet, CAPA, Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus Symphony, Gateway Film Center, Opera Columbus, Shadowbox Live and Wexner Center for the Arts receive an Operating Support grant from GCAC, while the Central Ohio Branch of the National League of American Pen Women, Columbus Rings, OhioDance and Oyo Dance Company are Project Support recipients.

(Image credit: Santos Difuntos, Oyo Dance Company)

Nick is marketing, communications, & events administrator for GCAC. He’s also a food/travel writer penning works for Columbus Monthly, Ohio Magazine and his own site BreakfastWithNick.com. He is thriving with this sunny but cool spring weather.