I’ll bet a lot of folks are thinking, “There are at least five places I’d like to be tonight.” A full slate of theater is with us again this weekend and some music, too. However, I absolutely urge readers to carve out some time to visit the Macon Film Festival.

In just eight years, this event has become something extraordinary. With day passes priced at just $10, there’s no reason not to explore the diverse offerings. Not only does MAGA bring all sorts of creativity to town, it also shows off our assets as a locale for film makers.

Read more about MAGA on page 7E, and see the complete schedule online at www.maconfilmfestival.com.

Theater weekend

The avalanche of good stuff on stage that started last weekend is still with us, and while some shows have closed, more have opened.

This is our last chance to see Chekov’s “The Seagull” in Mercer University’s petite Backdoor Theatre, where reservations (301-2974) are always a must. This is also the final weekend for “Dixie Swim Club” at the Backlot Players’ Rose Theatre in Forsyth.

Opening tonight at Theatre Macon is a sure-fire charmer, “The Octette Bridge Club.” Also opening tonight at Warner Robins Little Theatre is the comedy “Honeymoon at Graveside Manor.”

For fans of World War II-vintage music (Glenn Miller and other groups of the 1940s), two performances of “In the Mood” will be at the Grand Opera House on Friday, complete with a big band and six singers.

Looking ahead, the Natural Players will be visiting the Grand later in the month with a production of George Orwell’s novel “Animal Farm.”

Music and art

If theater and film were all that’s on the calendar, we would still have more going on than anyone could ask for, but in reality there’s plenty more.

Friday night, for example, Doug Hill and the eclectic “Mad About Chamber Winds” will be on the stage of Mercer’s Fickling Hall, the very same venue that held Ward Stare and the Mercer University Orchestra earlier in the week and Robert McDuffie and talent from the Center for Strings a few days previous.

Amazingly, this evening also will see the opening reception for the Middle Georgia Art Association’s Winter Arts Festival. At Georgia College and State University, the Max Noah Singers will present the seventh annual Valentine’s Day Rendezvous concert on Saturday in the Magnolia Ballroom.

Contact Larry Fennelly at LarryFennelly@AvantGuild.com.