‘Little Red Riding Hood,’ ‘Peter Rabbit 2,’ ‘The Producers,’ Easter train, more

TIOGA OUTDOOR MOVIE NIGHT SERIES: The 2022 Tioga Movie Night Series continues at 7 p.m. today with “Peter Rabbit 2.” Bring your lawn chairs and blankets, and enjoy the movie under the stars. This is a free outdoor movie screening. Tioga’s restaurants and coffee shop will be open before and during the film so attendees can purchase dinner or snacks to round out the evening. According to IMDB.com, “Peter Rabbit 2” picks up from the first film with Thomas and Bea now married and living with Peter and his rabbit family. Bored of life in the garden, Peter goes to the big city, where he meets shady characters and ends up creating chaos for the whole family. This film is rated PG and has a runtime of 1 hour and 33 minutes. Upcoming movies in the Tioga Outdoor Movie Night Series include “Luca” on May 13, “Soul” on June 17, “Sing 2” on July 8 and “Clifford the Big Red Dog” on Aug. 12.

“THE PRODUCERS”: The plot is simple: a down-on-his-luck Broadway producer and his mild-mannered accountant come up with a scheme to produce the most notorious flop in history, thereby bilking their backers (all “little old ladies”) out of millions of dollars. Only one thing goes awry: the show is a smash hit! The antics of Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom as they maneuver their way fecklessly through finding a show (the gloriously offensive “Springtime for Hitler”), hiring a director, raising the money and finally going to prison for their misdeeds is a lesson in broad comic construction. At the core of the insanely funny adventure is a poignant emotional journey of two very different men who become friends. Catch a show at 8 p.m. today and Saturday plus 2 p.m. Sunday at the Gainesville Community Playhouse, 4039 NW 16th Blvd. Tickets are $23 for general admission, $19 for seniors and $12 for students. For more information, to purchase tickets or to see more plays set for the season, visit gcplayhouse.org.

GREAT AMERICAN CLEANUP: COVID-19 distanced people around the world, and the cleanliness of our local community suffered for it. As many of the most loyal Keep Alachua County Beautiful volunteers were social distancing for a second year, community action sunk to an all-time low and litter piled up. Now, as the nation begins to reopen its doors, Keep Alachua County Beautiful has relaunched the Great American Cleanup event to help restore the well-being of the community. Now in its 31st year, KACB is ready for a redo of the 30-year anniversary celebration. To that end, the annual Great American Cleanup will be over the top this year. On Saturday, KACB will recognize its volunteers with awards, prizes and food at Albert Ray Massey (Westside) Park, 1001 NW 34th St. The cleanup portion of the event for Gainesville and unincorporated Alachua County will run from 9 a.m. until noon, and KACB will present awards and prizes for all at the noon thank-you party. To volunteer, visit kacb.org/events. Pre-registration is strongly encouraged and will qualify your group and yourself for grand prizes. Individuals, groups and organizations are all encouraged to participate. Assignments, safety gear, and other materials and supplies will be provided and distributed at Massey Park. Alachua County residents also are permitted free drop-off of used passenger vehicle and light truck tires during the event. Rims will not be accepted, and residents are limited to six tires each. To register, to become a sponsor, or for more information on other available dates for cleanup and beautification projects, visit kacb.org, call 371-9444 or email [email protected].

ROCK ’N’ ROLL EASTER TRAIN: Join Kirby Family Farm for its sixth annual Rock ’N’ Roll Easter Train from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Climb aboard a full-sized historical locomotive on Florida’s largest private railroad, play games and activities, have fun on rides, enjoy a live DJ and shows, visit the spring farm-animals petting area, and visit friends around the farm to collect Easter eggs. The Easter Bunny also will be on the farm for pictures. ​Every ticketed child will receive a prize egg. More than 1 dozen bikes, hundreds of toys and tickets to major theme parks will be given away as some of the prizes. Prizes range from small plush animals to the bigger items. Children 2 and younger do not require tickets but will receive a special prize animal plush or equivalent. Tickets are $15.99 for general admission in advance, $20 for general admission at the gate, $10.99 for ages 3-10 in advance, $20 for ages 3-10 at the gate and free ages 2 and younger. Gate ticket availability will be limited, so organizers recommend purchasing tickets in advance. For more information, or to purchase tickets online, visit kirbyfarm.com.

“LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD”: Sun Country Dance Theatre is set to present its 14th annual Spring Youth Concert — featuring the return of the company’s original story ballet “Little Red Riding Hood,” which premiered in 2013 — at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the Phillips Center, 3201 Hull Road. SCDT is committed to continuing to honor its mission of providing invaluable arts opportunities for the youths of the community and will be offering free tickets to all children ages 11 and younger (available through the box office only — not online). General admission tickets are $15 and can be purchased through the Phillips Center box office or website. Choreographed by SCDT Artistic Director Judy Benton to the beautiful music of Tchaikovsky, this enchanting ballet has been adapted from the fairy tale and follows Little Red throughout many adventures on her birthday. Join Little Red and her best friend the duck as they travel through the forest to Granny’s house, where they encounter many magical creatures, and, of course, the wolf is always lurking close by. This exciting ballet is meant to be enjoyed by the entire family with dancing, costumes, drama, comedy and fun. In addition to “Little Red Riding Hood,” the performance also will showcase the dancers of SCDT performing a diverse array of new works by both resident and guest choreographers, ranging in styles from classical ballet to contemporary and modern dance. Contributions to the production by special guest performers from Central Florida Ballet of Orlando will further celebrate the diversity of the arts and the collaboration of many performing artists to share the love of their art with our community. For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit performingarts.ufl.edu or call 392-2787.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Best bets: ‘Little Red Riding Hood,’ ‘Peter Rabbit 2,’ ‘The Producers’