• Want to introduce your kids to opera? Indianapolis Opera is offering a free community children’s program, The Billy Goats Gruff, on Feb. 21 at 10:30 a.m. at the Basile Opera Center, 40th and Pennsylvania. The program is suitable for children 12 and under. Post-performance, kids can ask questions of the performers, and there will be craft activities. For more information, call 283-3531 or visit www.indyopera.org
• Don’t miss NESCO’s Pi Day 2015, March 14 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at Arsenal Tech, 1500 E. Michigan St. Join folks from around Indy and celebrate Pi, the mathematical constant AND PIE the delicious treat. This will be the only time for the next 100 years, this years date will be 3-14-15 or 3.1415, so it will be extra-special. Local foodie Jolene Ketzenberger will be there, and there will be a pie contest. Actually, this year there will be two other pie baking competitions — one for culinary students and one for professional chefs from around Indy’s hottest new eateries, as well as one for just regular people. There will also be a Kidzone with math and science game and expositions by some of the champions from the VEX Robotics Championships so kids can see what they can do with math and science. Colts cheerleaders will be on hand, plus lots of prizes for the winners of the pie contest. Tickets for the event are only $10 and the proceeds go to support the community building work of NESCO on Indy’s near eastside. To enter your pie, you need to fill out a form available online from NESCO. Call 296-5444 for more information.
• The Poets Laureate of Lawrence program continues on the 4th Tuesday of the month from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Lawrence Art Center, 4437 N. Franklin Rd. This month’s reading will be an open mic. Bring your own poems, or poems by those who inspire you.
• The Hearing Examiner who heard the St. John’s Church at German Church petition for rezoning recommended approval for the rezoning of the property to make way for demolition and a new gas station at the Feb. 11 meeting. It was a blow to historic preservationists and Cumberland officials; however, plans are being made to remonstrate at the full Board of Zoning Appeals.
• The Indiana Repertory Theatre is hitting on all cylinders at the moment. The Giver’s run has been extended to March 1, and The Hound of the Baskervilles opened Feb. 18 and will run through March 15. Tickets are $59-$25, depending on dates and times. Visit www.irtlive.com or call 635-5252 for some great shows.
• Speaking of great local theatre, check out EclecticPond’s The Tempest: Adrift in Time Feb. 20-March 7 at Playground Productions Studio, 5529 Bonna Ave., Suite 10. This adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest looks exciting. Tickets are only $19 for general admission. The ensemble cast includes Joanna Winston, Frankie Bolda, Matt Anderson, Brian Hartz, and Zack Neiditch, among many others. Visit eclecticpond.org for more information.