Entertainment

The Benton County Nurturing Council is having a movie night tonight at the Palace Theater for showings of "Beauty and the Beast." At 6 pm there will be 36 tickets available to the first families through the door. There will be a maximum of four tickets per family. A family must consist of at least one adult and one child under the age of twelve. The special offer is sponsored by the Benton County Nurturing Council, an organization of local entities dedicated to helping families.

Shellsburg Elementary students will take the stage Tuesday evenins to share their annual spring concers. t The students' art work will also be displayed in the lunch room. A third event, the "Buy One Get One Book Fair" will also be open in the music room. Tuesday concerts are a double feature with the K-2 students performing at 6:30 and the 3-4 grades at 7:15.

The Vinton-Shellsburg & Benton Community Homeschool Assistance Program will present its 2017 senior drama: Meriweather Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies. Performances will be at 7 p.m., Friday, April 28 and 3 p.m., Sunday, April 30 at Tilford Elementary in Vinton, Iowa. Admission is $1, freewill donations welcome. Please come find out what's going on in Meriweather Academy's library! See more photos HERE and HERE.

Finally! This week the Palace is showing one of this year's most anticipated films- the live action and 3D version of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Rated PG, this 3D live action film will be showing at 7 pm nightly at the Palace beginning Friday, April 21, with an additional matinee on Saturday, April 22, at 3 pm. The film will also play in a Monday matinee at 2 pm, as usual.

Bob Black and his band, Banjoy, will be at Farmers Mercantile Hall in Garrison Sunday, May 7th for an afternoon performance. Banjoy is a lively bluegrass band featuring legendary banjoist, Bob Black, a veteran of Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys. Kristie Black joins on traditional-style guitar and provides some beautiful vocals. Mark Wilson is Banjoy's talented lead guitarist and bassist Paul Roberts provides the foundation.

"Monsters" Sarah Schminke, Gabe Schmidt and Grace Horst dance and sing about getting their groove on. The Vinton-Shellsburg drama department's presentation of "There's a Monster in My Closet" did not include the ending of the musical, when the high school singers and performed for the Tilford Elementary students on Wednesday. Apologizing for the incomplete play, senior Brittany Grendler, told the youngsters there is one way to find out how the musical ends: To join the Little Vikes Drama Camp.

  Area IPA member Scott Anderson holds one of the huge shells like those used during the Boomtown event. By Tamara Stark, Vinton Boomtown Committee It's official! The original Boomtown, as we've all come to know and love will GO ON in it's entirety; homemade shells, Junior Pyrotechnic show, Main show and all! After months of discussion and planning, the individual-hand crafted shell portion of Boomtown has a new location! Several members of the Iowa Pyrotechnic Association attended the April 13th Vinton City Council meeting to ask for permission to use an isolated section of a city ditch as the new home for the launch site of the I.

The inspirational story of a man's relationship with God is explored in the new film, The Shack. Playing the Palace April 14 through Thursday, April 20 at 7 pm every evening, and Monday, April 17 at 2 pm, The Shack is based on the best-selling novel released in 2007, which spent a solid 49 weeks in the #1 spot on the New York Times Bestseller's List.

The final film that features Hugh Jackman as the beloved X-Men character, Wolverine, will be at the Palace this week. Opening Friday, April 7 through Thursday, April 13, Logan plays every evening at 7 pm, and in our regular Monday matinee. Critics have raved about Jackman's last installment as Wolverine in the film Logan. Some critics even go as far as saying it is "one of the best superhero films of all time.

Do you believe in monsters? The Vinton-Shellsburg High School Drama Department does, but they want children of all ages to know that those mythical creatures residing in your closets, under your beds, and hiding in the corner of your rooms are friendly beings, there to serve and protect. And they like to play video games and sing and dance to great songs like Get Your Groove On and Dream King! Hannah Haisman and Lindsey Miller, who portray Emily and Stephanie, are the first ones to see Murray the Monster (Gabe Schmidt), and his bosses Wanda and Lola (Gracie Horst and Sarah Schminke).