Rainy but warm

Grab your umbrella before you head out the door this morning: it’s going to be a rainy day, but you’ll still want to hang around outside. Today’s high will get close to 70 degrees, with 25 mph wind gusts and afternoon showers. Go out for a stroll on Massachusetts Street and enjoy the springtime while you can: Friday’s high will be 20 degrees cooler.

Giving back

It’s Spring Sign Up Week for the Big Event, so now’s the time to get involved. The Big Event is the largest single day of service in Lawrence. It provides Lawrence community residents with a cost-free helping hand on projects around their neighborhoods or households. This year’s Big Event will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 12. Registration closes Saturday, so get on it! More here: thebigeventku.com.

Get lit

At 7 p.m. downtown, duck out of the showers at The Raven Book Store, 6 E. 7th St., for a night of readings. Mary Wharff, Kelly Barth and Anelisa Rodriguez will share their work with the crowd. Free to attend, with books available to purchase for signing.

Yesterday’s most-read

• One not done: Wayne Selden to return for sophomore season
• Column: Tharpe’s time as KU’s starting point guard may be over
• Kansas school finance bill cuts $15 million in transportation aid

Other March 27 events

Red Dog’s Dog Days workout, 6 a.m., Allen Fieldhouse, 1651 Naismith Dr.

Spring Compost & Woodchip Sale Event, 8 a.m.-3 p.m., Wood Recovery and Composting Facility, 1420 E. 11th St.

Story Time for Preschoolers, 10-10:30 a.m., Prairie Park Nature Center, 2730 Harper St.

Senior Session: Albert Bloch, 10-11 a.m., Spencer Museum of Art, 1301 Mississippi St.

Skillbuilders: Personal Safety & Home Security, 10-11:30 a.m., Drury Place at Alvamar, 1510 St. Andrews Dr.

“The Middle East: Winds of Change and Quicksand – The Arab Awakening, Israel and the Region,” 4 p.m., Stinson Leonard Street LLP Lecture Hall, 104 Green Hall, 1535 W. 15th St., KU Campus.

Cottin’s Hardware Farmers Market – Indoors! 4-6 p.m., Cottin’s Hardware and Rental, 1832 Massachusetts St.

Mixed Breed Mixer, 5-7 p.m., Lawrence Humane Society 1805 E. 19th St.

Volunteer Fair, Open to the Public, 5:30 p.m., Theatre Lawrence, 4660 Bauer Farm Dr.

The Open Tap, discussion of a selected religion topic, 5:30-7 p.m., 5 Bar and Tables, 947 Massachusetts St., free.

Drop in and Draw at the KUNHM, 5:30-7:30 p.m., KU Natural History Museum, Dyche Hall, 1345 Jayhawk Blvd.

Baker University Community Choir Rehearsal, 6-8 p.m., McKibben Recital Hall (Owens Musical Arts Building), 408 Eighth St., Baldwin City.

Junkyard Jazz Band, 7 p.m., American Legion, 3408 W. Sixth St.

Trivia Night, 7 p.m., VFW Post 852, 1801 Massachusetts St.

Big Tent Reading: Mary Wharff and Kelly Barth, 7 p.m., The Raven Book Store, 6 E. Seventh St.

“Annie Diggs: A Voice for Working People,” 7 p.m., Watkins Museum of History, 1047 Massachusetts St.

Free English as a Second Language class, 7-8 p.m., Plymouth Congregational Church, 925 Vermont St.

Affordable community Spanish class, 7-8 p.m., Plymouth Congregational Church, 925 Vermont St.

Lawrence Arts & Crafts group, 7-9 p.m., Merc cafe, 901 Iowa St., free.

Signs of Life Bluegrass Gospel Jam, 7-10 p.m., Signs of Life, 722 Massachusetts St.

Lecture: “The Congress of Racial Equality, the Freedom Riders, and the Early Civil Rights Movement,” 7:30 p.m., Carnegie Building, 200 W. Ninth St.

Encore 2014, 7:30 p.m., Free State High School, 4700 Overland Dr.

KU School of Music presents: Instrumental Collegium Musicum, 8 p.m., Room 328, Murphy Hall, 1530 Naismith Dr.

Team trivia, 9 p.m., Johnny’s West, 721 Wakarusa Drive.

Thursday Night Karaoke, 9 p.m., Wayne & Larry’s Sports Bar & Grill, 933 Iowa St.