What's happening this week: Slush Cup, Thai festival, opera and J. Holiday

Skiers and snowboarders compete in the Alyeska Resort Slush Cup during spring carnival on Saturday, April 12, 2014, in Girdwood.

Girdwood Spring Carnival and Slush Cup

Celebrate the end of ski season at Alyeska Resort during the 40th annual Spring Carnival. Events are spread from Friday through Sunday — there's an Xtratuf tug-o'-war (2 p.m. Sunday), dummy downhill race (noon Sunday), mountain bike race (10 a.m. Sunday) and, of course, the Slush Cup, where 50 competitors will ski or ride down the mountain and try to make it across a 90-foot pond for a chance to win a season pass (4 p.m. Saturday). See alyeskaresort.com for a detailed schedule.

Opera Extravaganza

Anchorage Opera will celebrate their 55th anniversary with a hit parade of famous and familiar songs from "Aida," "Norma," "Turandot," "Lakme," "Nabucco," "Suor Angelica," "Tales of Hoffmann" and more. Members of Alaska Dance Theatre will perform and Maestro Brian DeMaris will conduct. 8-10:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Alaska Center for the Performing Arts, 621 W. Sixth Ave. $19.50-$126.75. (907-279-2557, anchorageopera.org)

Four women from Thailand joined a teen from their American host family to perform a Thai dance at a cultural celebration picnic at Anchorage Gold Course on July 6, 2016. At center is Keawarin Sangprapai. The event was hosted coordinating organizations for J-1 students who work in Anchorage area hotels and restaurants. (Marc Lester / Alaska Dispatch News)

Songkran Festival 2017

This celebration of Thai culture will include a special Thai buffet, Thai music, dancing and door prizes. 6-10 p.m. Saturday, Asian Cultural Center at Northwood Elementary School, 4807 Northwood Drive. $25. (907-344-9994, bunn4ave@gmail.com)

2 new plays

'The Afterlife of J. Edgar Hoover': From Australian playwright Timothy Daly (who Anchorage audiences may remember from "Kafka Dances" and "Man in the Attic") comes a tale of the famous FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, now dead of course, and his young "caretaker," also dead. Directed by Dick Reichman and presented by Cyrano's Theatre Company and RKP Productions. 7 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays through April 23, 411 D St. $23-$25. (907-274-7122, cyranos.org)

Jeremy Gaunt (left) and Jay Burns in “The Afterlife of J. Edgar Hoover.” (Photo by Frank Flavin)

'Picasso at the Lapin Agile': This fast-paced absurdist comedy, written by the legendary comedian Steve Martin, places Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso in a Parisian cafe in 1904, just before Einstein transformed physics with his theory of relativity and Picasso set the art world on fire with cubism. The two muse on the century's achievements and prospects, before being visited by a third genius from the future. 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 5 p.m. Sunday, UAA Harper Studio, 3700 Alumni Loop. $10-$20. See artsuaa.com for tickets.

J. Holiday

Grammy-nominated R&B singer and songwriter J. Holiday is best known for his hit singles "Bed" and "Suffocate." See him live in Anchorage Friday. Tickets are $35; VIP tickets are $80, available at ledultralounge.com, Bottoms Boutique, 907Wingman and The Glam Hunter Boutique. Doors open at 8 p.m., show starts at 9 p.m. Friday at LED Ultra Lounge, 901 W. Sixth Ave. (907-229-3178, ledultralounge.com/events)

Battle of the Decades Video Dance Party: '80s vs '90s vs '00s

Choose your favorite decade and dress the part as the Williwaw dance floor travels back through the '00s, '90s and '80s. Prepare for crowd dancing and group singalongs. Free candy necklaces or neon rope friendship bracelets while supplies last. 9:30 p.m. Saturday at Williwaw. Free admission; 21 and over. (601 F St.)

Gin + Tonic class

Expert bartenders will share the secrets to crafting a perfect Barcelona-style gin and tonic. Sample small-batch gins and creative tonic waters complemented with fresh and dry botanicals along with appetizers. Tickets $65 at brownpapertickets.com. 3 p.m. Saturday at South Restaurant + Coffeehouse. (11124 Old Seward Highway)

Arctic Entries

April's Arctic Entries is this week. In case you haven't been, this is the event wherein seven people each tell a seven-minute-long true story relating to the show's theme, and local musicians perform a few songs as well. This show's theme is "It Takes Two: Stories Told in Tandem." 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Alaska Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are $15 at centertix.net.

*Editor's note: A previous version of this story stated that the last Arctic Entries show of the season is this week. In fact, there is one more before summer, on Tuesday, May 9. The story also incorrectly listed the length of the pond for the Slush Cup as 90 inches instead of 90 feet.