Spring Arts Annual 2015 

If autumn is the season of decay, spring is the season of bounty. Everything is in abundance—flowers, sunshine, Peeps, the sugar crashes you get after you eat too many Peeps. But most of all, this era of plenty applies to the arts. Here in SLO County, the sunny season brings us a blossoming bouquet of events, from ballet to outdoor art festivals to musicals, that more than make up for the lazy spring bloom metaphor used earlier in this sentence.

For visual art, galleries and venues across the coast will be featuring a diverse array of exhibits, from celebrations of surrealism to the smooth craftsmanship of fused glass sculpture. Through May, you can see the arresting photographs of acclaimed photographer Arthur Tress in his exhibit, About Morro Rock: 100 Views, at the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art (pictured on our Spring Arts cover). Walk a few blocks down from SLOMA between April 3 and May 10, and check out the abstract works of Intimate Jest, a new exhibit from the very new gallery Left Field in SLO. And to cap off spring and start off summer, drive up to North County the weekend of May 22 through 24 for the main event, the popular Paso Artsfest, which features dozens of artists and events, including live workshops and an exclusive Hearst Castle Art Tour.

When you tire of the two-dimensional, don’t fret. There are more than enough tantalizing theatrical, dance, and performing arts events to delight even the pickiest of people. On March 28 and 29, head over to Cal Poly’s Spanos Theatre for the spellbinding scenes of the SLO Civic Ballet’s production of The Crucible. Starting May 15, ya got trouble if you don’t see the SLO Little Theatre’s production of the classic musical The Music Man. And on April 12, the most important day of the year (i.e. my birthday), you don’t want to miss this issue’s cover man, the incredible and erudite host of This American Life, Ira Glass, at the PAC. It’s shaping up to be a flourishing season this spring, so mark your calendars now!