Weekend Guide: April 15, 2016

Educate yourself this weekend with the Foundation Follies, a look at the portrayal of Asians in Hollywood at the Lawrence Arts Center’s film festival, and political discourse at the Dole Institute. Also on the docket: plenty of eco-friendly activities lined up just in time for Earth Day.

Lawrence Schools Foundation’s 26th Annual Foundation Follies

6 p.m. Friday, Liberty Hall, 644 Massachusetts St.

Evolution

The Lawrence Schools Foundations’ annual fundraiser returns to the stage this weekend, complete with singing, dancing and wisecracking USD 497 teachers, faculty, administrators and school board members.

The 2016 Golden Apple Awards, given to annually to deserving Lawrence elementary and secondary-level teachers, will also be presented.

As of Friday, tickets will be available only at Liberty Hall for an additional $5. They start at $10 (now $15, presumably) for USD 497 staff and $35 (again, that would be $40) for the general public. Doors open at 6 p.m., while the show starts at 7 p.m.

For more information, visit www.usd497.org/follies.

The Changing Face of East Asia in Hollywood: A Film Festival on Perspective, Representation and Discrimination

April 16-17, Lawrence Arts Center, 940 New Hampshire St.

This free two-day film fest — brought to you by the folks at Kansas University’s Center for East Asian Studies and the Lawrence Arts Center in partnership with The Confucius Institute of KU and the KU department of film and media studies — examines the portrayal of Asians in Hollywood over the last century.

Screenings kick off Saturday at 1 p.m. with 1932’s “Shanghai Express,” followed by “The Conqueror” (1956) at 3:30 p.m. and 1962’s “The Manchurian Candidate” at 7 p.m. Sunday selections include the 1973 Bruce Lee flick “Enter the Dragon” at 2 p.m., “The Karate Kid” (1984) at 3 p.m. and 2002’s “Better Luck Tomorrow” at 6 p.m.

Visit www.lawrenceartscenter.org for details.

2016 Dole Lecture with Martin Frost and Tom Davis

4 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Dole Institute of Politics, 2350 Petefish Drive

In this high-stakes, anything-goes election year, “bipartisanship can often feel like a thing of the past,” to quote the Dole Institute’s website. Former congressmen Tom Davis (R-Va.) and Martin Frost (D-Texas) will join forces (the pair are also the authors of “Partisan Divide: Congress in Crisis”) this weekend at the Dole Institute to discuss “why gridlock is more prominent than ever — and how it can be stopped.”

The free event will also include a book sale and signing.

Haskell wetlands Restoration Day

10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Haskell wetlands

Eco Ambassadors invites the public to join this student-led workday of seeding and planting to help restore the Haskell wetlands. Don’t forget gloves and gardening/landscaping tools.

The first annual event is one of several eco-focused programs taking place this month as part of a series sponsored by the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture Lawrence field office and Lawrence Ecology Teams United in Sustainability (LETUS) with Haskell and the Lawrence Percolator.

Related events stated for this weekend include “Mrs. Noah in Poetry and Dance” a collaborative performance by poet Elizabeth Schultz and dancer Joan Stone at 7 and 9 p.m. Friday at the Lawrence Percolator, and “A Change in Weather: Writing From Climate Change Art,” a writing workshop led by former Kansas Poet Laureate Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg and naturalist/writer Ken Lassman from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Lawrence Percolator.

For more information, including directions to the Haskell wetlands, visit the “Heating Up: Artists Respond to Climate Change” Facebook page.