Arts and entertainment calendar

Events coming up in the Greenville area offer music, arts, theater and family fun. Here is a sampling.

The 52nd annual Ayden Collard Festival continues today in downtown Ayden. The event will include a parade and live bands along with rides, vendors, a collard-eating contest and other activities. No pets are allowed at the festival, only service animals. For more information, visit aydencollardfestival.com.

Magnolia Arts Center, 1703 E. 14th St., will host auditions for “Rent” at 10 a.m. today and 2 p.m. Sunday. Performance dates are Nov. 12-15 and Nov. 19-21. Ages 18 and older are eligible to audition. Visit magnoliaartscenter.com.

Greenville’s annual Sunday in the Park concert series will feature Emerald City Big Band at 5:30 p.m. Sunday. The two-hour free concert will be held at Wildwood Park, 3450 Blue Heron Drive. For more information, call 329-4968.

Farmville is hosting four days of art, music and literature with Arts Across Farmville. Events begin at 6 p.m. Wednesday with an author talk at the Emily Monk Davidson Gallery featuring Skye Perryman of Democracy Forward. Music in the Park at the May Museum will follow at 5:30 p.m. Thursday with the band Spare Change. The Third Friday Art Walk will begin at 6 p.m. Friday and the inaugural PorchFest live music event will begin at noon Saturday with locations across town.

Magnolia Arts Center, 1703 E. 14th St., will present “12 Angry Men” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and Sept. 24-26. Additional matinee performances are scheduled for 2 p.m. Sept. 19-20 and Sept. 26. The drama tells the story of a jury that must decide the verdict in the case of a young man who faces the death penalty if found guilty of killing his father. Tickets are $20 for general admission and $15 for students, senior adults and members of the military. Visit magnoliaartscenter.com.

East Carolina University’s School of Music will present a performance by the ECU Symphonic Wind Ensemble at 7:30 p.m. Friday in A.J. Fletcher Recital Hall. Free. For more information, call 328-6851. Streaming available at youtube.com/ecuschoolofmusiclive.

City Art Gallery, 511 Red Banks Road, will host an opening reception for “Spirit of Place” from 6-8 p.m. Friday. The exhibit will feature works from artists Amy Dixon and Kevin LePrince. The show will continue through Oct. 10. Visit cityartgreenville.com.

Winterville Parks and Recreation will host an outdoor concert from 7-8:30 p.m. Friday at the Winterville Rec Park Amphitheater, 332 Sylvania St. Spare Change will perform. Concessions will be available. For more information, call 756-1487.

Greenville Museum of Art, 802 S. Evans St., is featuring “Embodied,” from North Carolina artists Lynne and Suzanne Scott Constantine, in the West Wing Gallery. “Rooted In Place,” in the Commons Gallery, showcases oil and watercolor landscapes and interior scenes by Louisiana-based artist Kathryn Keller. Both exhibits continue through Saturday. Visit gmoa.org or call 758-1946.

East Carolina University’s School of Music will present a performance by the ECU Symphony Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in A.J. Fletcher Recital Hall. Free. For more information, call 328-6851. Streaming available at youtube.com/ecuschoolofmusiclive.

“Homecoming” is scheduled through Saturday at The Emily Monk Davidson Gallery, 3725 N. Main St., Farmville. The group exhibit will include artists whose works have been featured over the last four years at the gallery. A reception will be held from 6-8 p.m. Friday as part of Farmville’s monthly Art Walk. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday-Thursday, 9 a.m. to noon and 4-6 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Visit facebook.com/FarmvilleArts.

The Music House, 408 W. 5th St., will host The Calyx Piano Trio at 7 p.m. Saturday. The concert will feature Nina Ferrigno, piano; Catherine French, violin; and Jennifer Lucht, cello, performing works by Beethoven, Haydn, Kats-Chernin and Bolcom. Tickets are $20 (suggested donation) with a discounted rate for students. RSVP is required. All concerts include complimentary wine tasting and refreshments. Reserve via Venmo (@John-OBrien-21575, include email and party size) or email themusichousegreenvillenc@gmail.com.

Figapalooza 2026 will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday at Eastern Carolina Village & Farm Museum, 4570 County Home Road. The one-day fig festival celebrates figs, farms and community with local vendors, food trucks, plant nurseries, farmers, bakers, makers and more. For more information, visit facebook.com/foefigs.

The 106th Pitt County American Legion Agricultural Fair will be held Sept. 22-27 at 3910 Martin Luther King Jr. Highway. Gates and exhibit hall open at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 22. The gates will open at 4 p.m. Sept. 23-25 and 1 p.m. Sept. 26-27. The fair will close at 10:45 p.m. daily, except for the final day, when closing time is 8:30 p.m. Admission is $10 at the gate. Parking is free. Visit pittfair.com.

East Carolina University’s School of Music will present a performance by Gustafson and Friends at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 22 in A.J. Fletcher Recital Hall. The concert will feature ECU faculty artist Christine Gustafson, flute; with Catherine Gardner, voice; Thomas Kim, clarinet; Quintin Mallette, marimba; and Narae Lee and Eric Stellrecht, piano. Free. For more information call 328-6851. Streaming available at youtube.com/ecuschoolofmusiclive.

ECU/Loessin Playhouse will present “Godspell” at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 23-26 in McGinnis Theater. An additional matinee performance will be held at 2 p.m. Sept. 27. The musical is structured as a series of parables, primarily based on the Gospel of Matthew. It features a troupe of eccentric players who team up with Jesus to teach his lessons in a new age. Individual tickets are $10-20. Visit tickets.ecu.edu or call 252-328-6829.

Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival will present “Brahms for Six” at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 25 in ECU’s A.J. Fletcher Recital Hall. The concert will include “String Sextet No. 1 in B-flat Major, Op. 18” and “String Sextet No. 2 in G Major, Op. 36.” Featured musicians will be Xiao-Dong Wang and Carmit Zori, violins; Ara Gregorian and Paul Neubauer, violas; and Clive Greensmith and Peter Stumpf, cellos. Tickets are $40. Online viewing options are available. If seats remain, a limited number of “Community Rush” discounted tickets will be available Sept. 21. Call 328-4788 or visit fourseasons.ecu.edu/tickets.

Hundreds of art pieces from East Carolina University alumni artists will be on display during the RE/collection Alumni Exhibition, which continues through Sept. 26 at four local venues: Wellington B. Gray Gallery at ECU’s Jenkins Fine Arts Center; Emerge Gallery and Art Center, 404 Evans St.; Janice Hardison Faulkner Gallery at ECU’s Joyner Library; and the Proctor-Yongue House, ECU College of Fine Arts and Communication offices.…Read more by Kim Grizzard