Mondo Piccolo: Blossom Festival Band brings out the little pipes for the Stars and Stripes (forever).

Last year New York-based director Matthew Earnest came to Porthouse Theatre (1145 W. Steels Corners Rd., Cuyahoga Falls) with his adaptation of J.M. Barrie's 1904 classic, Peter Pan. His production peeled back the Disney layered onto Peter Pan to peer at the dark, conflicted underside of the tale of the boy who doesn't want to grow up. This year, Earnest's back to do the same in his adaptation of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, which is already a psychedelic staple for whacked-out adults, in his Alice... Still, the theatre's warning that this production isn't appropriate for those under 10, no matter how beloved the tale is by kids. Emily Pote, who was Wendy in last year's Peter Pan, plays Alice, and versatile local actor Nick Koesters, known for his flair for the comedic and the absurd, is the Cheshire Cat in this production which previews at 8 tonight, with its official opening at 8 tomorrow. And since it's July 4, tomorrow's opening will also feature the 30-piece Brass Band of the Western Reserve, a pre-show picnic and the traditional opening night post-show champagne reception. Tickets: $13-$26. Alice... runs through July 19. Box office: 330.929.4416. - Anastasia Pantsios

THURSDAY, JULY 4

Blossom Festival Band

Fourth of July symphonic band concerts have been a Blossom Music Center staple since its second season in 1969 (a year in which Janis Joplin also graced its stage!). Their popularity resulted in the formation of the ensemble known as the Blossom Festival Band, featuring some of Northeast Ohio's best classical musicians, and now directed by Loras John Schissel. At 8 tonight and tomorrow, it'll kick off the 2008 Blossom Festival (the regular orchestral season) with a smorgasbord of traditional American music: selections from Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story, a tribute to Leroy Anderson on his 100th birthday, Sousa marches, a salute to the US Armed Forces and a Gershwin medley featuring sax soloist Dale Underwood. One Russian elbowed his way onto the program as well, and you've probably guessed who: It's Tchaikovsky, without whose 1812 Overture no Fourth of July program is "official." Both evenings will feature fireworks, weather permitting, and an "All-American Picnic" starting at 5:30 with patrons free to bring their own picnics or buy cookout-style fare at Blossom. Tickets: $20-$42. Box office: 216.231.1111. - AP

Contemporary Cloth Artists: Words to Live By

For the last eight years, a group of several dozen or so area artists has been meeting, exchanging ideas and exhibiting under the collective name of Contemporary Cloth Artists (CoCA). These artists' medium is quilts and what they call "creative cloth," traditionally feminine "crafts" (the genre attracts mainly women) that these artists are extending into the realm of expressive fine art. Their latest show, Words to Live By, incorporates words and images as well as traditional patterns, into colorful work they're describing as "part textile art, part poetry slam." It opens with a free reception from 6-8 p.m. today at the

Annex Gallery (13015 Larchmere Blvd., 216.795.9800) and runs through Aug. 4. Go to contemporaryclothartists.org for info. - AP

CIM Lunch and Listen Recital Series

Alice… at Porthouse Theatre, Thursday, July 3

Cleveland Institute of Music alumni are some of the most respected and successful musicians around; even the ones who never set the concert world on fire are no slouches. So the free Lunch and Listen concerts sponsored by the CIM Alumni Association throughout July are a gift to the area's classical music fans. Bring a lunch to eat on the CIM terrace or lounge (11021 East Blvd.) at noon; the music starts at 12:30. Today, pianists Julie Loeb Sacks and Brad Blackham and singer Kristen Matson will perform; next week, July 10, trumpeter Loren Toplitz and singer Elizabeth Huff will offer new work by Kevin Krumenauer, followed by guitarist Erik Mann on July 17 and the quartet of pianist Marshall Griffith, guitarist Joan Griffith, flutist Linda White and double bassist Mark Better performing their "Jazz Impressions of Cleveland" on July 24. Go to cim.edu or call 216.791.5000 for more info. - AP

Boston Mills Art Fest

The venerable Boston Mills Art Fest heads into its second and final weekend this week with an entirely new group of artists from last weekend, making this two, two!, TWO! great festivals in one. If you didn't see the art object - painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, piece of jewelry, glass or ceramic object - that made you swoon last week, you might see it this weekend. Preview is 6-9 tonight with wine, hors d'oeuvres and a first crack at the art; the show runs 10 a.m.-6 p.m. tomorrow through Sunday. Admission: $7.50 adults, $6 ages 13-21, $6 seniors, children 12 and under free. Preview Night tickets: $39 advance, $49 at the door. For info go to . - AP

SATURDAY, JULY 5

Cleveland Orchestra

The Cleveland Orchestra makes its first appearance at 8 tonight at its summer home, Blossom Music Center (1145 W. Steels Corners Rd., Cuyahoga Falls), with Robert Porco conducting. It'll be joined by the Blossom Festival Chorus for a mighty noise on Orff's Carmina Burana, Borodin's "Polovtsian Dances" and, yes, Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture yet again. To make things even more dramatic, the Cleveland Orchestra Children's Chorus will be pitching in on the thunderous Carmina Burana. There'll be fireworks after the concert, weather permitting. Tickets: $22-$47. Box office: 216.231.1111. - AP

MONDAY, JULY 7

Daniel Thompson-athon dinner & poetry reading

There's a bit of a eucharistic feel to the kick-off of the Daniel Thompsonathon, a two-day event celebrating the life and work of the late Cuyahoga County poet laureate Daniel Thompson. That's because, in this fourth year after his passing, disciples will gather for a potluck dinner at 5:30 today, and then listen to readings both from featured poets and open mikers starting at 6:30. Sponsored by the Shaker Heights Public Library, the gathering is at Horseshoe Lake Park Pavilion (Park Drive, east of Lee Road, Shaker Heights). For more info, contact 216.291.3424 or the library at 216.991.2030. Free. Tomorrow, the congregation meets at the Barking Spider Tavern (11310 Juniper Rd., University Circle, 216.421.2863) for more featured poets and open mikers, hosted by Ray McNiece and his Tongue in Groove Band. Free. - Michael Gill