Barrage is a high-octane fiddle-fest that features an international, multi-talented cast performing an eclectic mix of music and dance.

The show is at 8 p.m. on Thursday, May 6 in the Guido Theater at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $25-35.

With its latest show called Animado!, Barrage will perform for one night in Dearborn, a show perfect for the entire family.

With the allure of Riverdance and the power of Stomp, Barrage has entertained millions of people around the world, including audiences in North America, Europe and Asia.

Dearborn audiences will see the performance titled Animado, which means “lively” in Spanish.

Since its creation in Calgary, Canada, Barrage has been featured at many international events and has played for presidents, prime ministers and princes. The group has also had its productions aired on several international networks including PBS, the BBC and CBC.

For more information about Barrage, visit the group’s website at www.barrage.org

Buy tickets by calling the Box Office at 313-943-2354, online at www.dearbornfordcenter.com or at The Center at 15801 Michigan Ave.

So what else might be on the chopping block for the city of Dearborn as it wrestles to find a way to overcome a $10 to $20 million shortfall for the budget year that begins July 1?

In an interview this Sunday in the Dearborn Press & Guide, Dearborn Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr. says “we’re looking at everything”, including the potential sale/privatization of the following:

•Camp Dearborn

• Ford Community & Performing Arts Center

• Dearborn Ice Skating Center

•Dearborn Hills Golf Course

• Dearborn Towers in Clearwater, Fla.

• And the elimination of the city’s curbside leaf collection program, which we reported HERE earlier.

Other items discussed here earlier include the closure of six of the city’s public pools, which has generated significant controversy in several stories posted HERE.

City officials claim that closing the Crowley, Hemlock, Lapeer, Summer-Stephens, Ten Eyck and Whitmore-Bolles pools would save Dearborn $132,000 a year in operational costs. In addition, the city claims future savings of $3.8 million by not pursuing investments necessary to keep the pools in a safe and healthy condition.

WHAT: Public is invited to attend the “Art of Spring” Hand Sculpted Glass Show & Sale this weekend, featuring a colorful variety of bird and flower glass sculptures, vases, and magnets, along with the demonstration and sale of “glass memory” wood engravings. In addition, visitors will have the opportunity to purchase paper birds for $1 each to assist The Greening of Detroit. No admission to attend.

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday, April 11 and Sunday, April 12, 2010

WHERE: Glass Academy

25331 Trowbridge

(near Gulley Road & Michigan Avenue in west Dearborn)

313-561-4527

www.glassacademy.com

WHO: Glass artists Chris Nordin & Michelle Plucinsky, owners of the Glass

Academy and Furnace Design Studio. Other glass artists will also

participate.

 Although the official date for the beginning of Spring occurs in March, Michigan folks will tell you it doesn’t really arrive until April when the days are longer, the birds begin to chirp, and flowers begin to bud.

In celebration of warm, pleasant feelings associated with Spring’s arrival, the Glass Academy of Dearborn is hosting “The Art of Spring” Hand Sculpted Glass Show & Sale from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 10 and Sunday, April 11, 2010. The Glass Academy is located at 25331 Trowbridge, near Gulley Road and Michigan Avenue in west Dearborn.

The weekend exhibit and sale will feature a colorful variety of bird and flower glass sculptures, vases, and magnets, along with the demonstration and sale of “glass memory” wood engravings. The uniquely etched wood pieces are available in a variety of shapes and sizes for use as coasters, table runners, wall hangings and other décor.

“Each year we look forward to creating something different, yet affordable, for our patrons to purchase as collectibles or as gifts for friends and family,” said Chris Nordin, glass design artist and co-owner of the Glass Academy. “For glass art enthusiasts and collectors, April is also Michigan Glass Month.”

There is no admission to attend. New this year, visitors will have the opportunity to purchase paper birds for $1 each to assist The Greening of Detroit, an organization that supports reforestation and urban agriculture in Detroit, and to be entered in prize drawings for custom glass art.

Prices for “The Art of Spring” glass pieces, all Michigan-made, range from $10 to $250. Several museum quality pieces produced by Furnace Design Studio, which is housed within the Glass Academy building, will also be available for viewing and purchase in a separate display area.

For more information about “The Art of Spring” Hand Sculpted Glass Show & Sale, call 313-561-4527 or visit www.glassacademy.com