This weekend in Kansas City: First Friday, Pablo Ziegler Quartet for New Tango, Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

An expanse of offerings will entertain and educate savvy celebrants at the First Friday festivities on April Fool’s Day. People who appreciate fine furniture and deep discounts can enter a contest at Plus Modern Design (1739 Walnut St.). The winner of a “make a statement” competition will be awarded a $300 credit by the fashionable retailer. The work of Socorro Reyes, a children’s illustrator who is influenced by Beatrix Potter and Maurice Sendak, will be featured in The White Rabbit’s Secrets exhibition at the Mexican Cultural Center of the Consulate of Mexico (1617 Baltimore Ave.). Plenum Space Art Gallery (504 E 18th St.) will display the colorful paintings of the Kansas City artist Rif Raf Giraffe.

Friday, April 1, Crossroads Arts District. 816-994-7313. kccrossroads.org. Free.

Since becoming its artistic director, Devon Carney has been fashioning the Kansas City Ballet into a company capable of mounting storybook ballets like “The Three Musketeers” and “Swan Lake” with the best of them. His commitment to contemporary choreography is just as strong. You’ll have six opportunities to see “New Moves,” the annual showcase Carney created for new works, beginning Friday in the Todd Bolender Center for Dance & Creativity. “New Moves” is an opportunity for the Kansas City Ballet to stretch itself with some of the most innovative choreography in the world of contemporary dance. This year works by Jennifer Archibald, Andrew Skeels and Stephanie Martinez will be featured, and three of the Kansas City Ballet’s own dancers, Sarah Chun, Charles Martin and Ryan Jolicoeur-Nye, will contribute works as well.

7:30 p.m. Friday, April 1, Saturday, April 2, Thursday, April 7, through Saturday, April 9, and 2 p.m. Saturday, April 9. Bolender Center, 500 W. Pershing Road. $36. 816-931-8993 or kcballet.org.

Gustav Mahler originally named his Symphony No. 1 after one of his favorite novels, “Titan,” by Jean Paul. But after three performances, Mahler dropped the title and discounted any link between his symphony and the book. Still, the name is fitting, even without the association. The Symphony No. 1 is indeed titanic, a work of majesty and splendor. The Kansas City Symphony conducted by Michael Stern will perform Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 Friday through Sunday at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Also on the program is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 27.

8 p.m. Friday, April 1, and Saturday, April 2, and 2 p.m. Sunday, April 3. Helzberg Hall, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. $23-$76. 816-471-0400 or kcsymphony.org.

Not many people possess a clear conception of the music of Argentina. Saturday’s concert by the Pablo Ziegler Quartet for New Tango will provide a rare opportunity to hear one of the world’s most important proponents of the form. Ziegler was the pianist in the groundbreaking ensemble led by the brilliant Astor Piazzolla. The men advanced the artistic possibilities of tango in the 1980s by emphasizing the music’s jazz and classical components.

8 p.m. Saturday, April 2. Yardley Hall. 913-469-4445. jccc.edu/theseries. $35.

Roberto González Echevarría is part of the lineage of intellectuals who have written extensively about baseball. In his 2001 book “The Pride of Havana: A History of Cuban Baseball,” the scholar examines the era in which the country served as a training ground and a vacation destination for Major League Baseball players and explores the multitude of changes that followed the Cuban Revolution. The status of the sport in Cuba likely is to be transformed again. Barack Obama and Raúl Castro recently attended an exhibition game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban national team in Havana. Echevarría, a Cuban native and the Sterling Professor of Hispanic and Comparative Literatures at Yale University, will address this development on Saturday.

1:30 p.m. Saturday, April 2. Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. 816-221-1920. nlbm.com. Free with paid admission to the museum ($10, $9 for those 65 and older, $6 for children 12 and younger.)

It seems so very, very long ago, but in many past baseball seasons, the least interesting thing about the Kansas City Royals’ home opener was the ballgame. But with a little luck (and if the boys in blue stay healthy), those days could be long behind us as the Royals look to defend their 2015 World Series Championship. The uptick in the product on the field hasn’t stopped the folks at Kauffman Stadium from making the gameday experience something special. The Rivals Sports Bar, the Royals Hall of Fame and the Frank White Lounge all have new looks for the season. New food offerings include the Champions Alley Dog, a bacon-wrapped, tempura-battered footlong hot dog with sweet slaw and chipotle ketchup on a pretzel bun for $15. Or if your tastes run a little healthier, you can grab a kale salad with strawberries, apple, Marcona almonds, Boursin cheese and a poppy seed vinaigrette for $10 at Craft & Draft behind left field. Tickets for the opening series against the Mets may be hard to come by, but the team continues its season-opening home stand next weekend against the Twins. If you are one of the lucky fans attending opening day (which is at night this year), go early and check out some of KC’s finest musical offerings. During pregame, Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear, the critically acclaimed mother-and-son folk duo from KC, will entertain at the Outfield Experience stage. And the Project H, one of the shiniest jewels on KC’s jazz scene, will perform at the Hy-Vee stage near Gate C.

The Royals play the Mets at 7:37 p.m. Sunday, April 3, and 3:15 p.m. Tuesday, April 5. Some tickets still remain at Royals.com and at ticket resellers.

The absence of the insightful commentary of Frank White was one of the few things that could have improved the wonderfully charmed 2015 season of the Kansas City Royals. White’s occasional work in the broadcast booth in previous seasons rankled fans who wanted to hear nothing but happy talk, but his evenhanded analysis was based on his experience as one of the greatest players in Royals history. He’ll take a break from his current position as Jackson County executive to assess the Royals’ prospects for 2016. White is certain to discuss the difficulty of repeating as World Series champions. After winning the World Series in 1985, the Royals teams White played for never returned to the playoffs.

6:30 p.m. Monday, April 4. Country Club Plaza branch of the Kansas City Public Library. 816-701-3400. kclibrary.org. Free.

Prospective buyers of tickets to “Kinky Boots” who only know that the musical won a slew of Tony Awards including best musical in 2013 might initially be put off by the show’s provocative title. The amusing premise isn’t scandalously risqué. The owner of a British shoe manufacturer hopes to revive his failing business by creating a line of boots that caters to cross-dressing men. While the theme of gender identity might be relatively novel for a hit Broadway production, “Kinky Boots” also addresses the age-old theme of father-and-son conflict and the old-fashioned travails of love. As a performer in “Kinky Boots” suggests, the show is capable of pleasing everyone, including “ladies, gentlemen and those who have yet to make up their mind.”

8 p.m. Tuesday, April 5; 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 6, through Friday, April 8; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 9; 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday, April 10. Music Hall. 800-776-7469. theaterleague.com/kansascity. $45-$100.

With “Toruk — The First Flight,” the Cirque du Soleil performing group re-creates the world imagined in the movie “Avatar.” Toruk is the red-and-orange creature that soars over Pandora.

7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 31, and Friday, April 1; 4 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 2, 1:30 p.m. Sunday, April 3. Sprint Center. 816-949-7000. sprintcenter.com. $28-$130.

“Shine on Harvest Moon” is the name of an early 1900s song as well as the title of this show, which features popular songs from that era. Also included are “In the Good Old Summertime,” “Glow Little Glow Worm,” “Bill Bailey” and “By the Light of the Silvery Moon.”

8 p.m. Thursday, March 31, through May 8. Chestnut Fine Arts Center. 913-764-2121. chestnutfinearts.com. $25-$28.

The performance troupe Shen Yun uses music and dance to take its audience through 5,000 years of Chinese culture.

7:30 p.m. Friday, April 1, through Sunday, April 3. Muriel Kauffman Theatre, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. 816-994-7222. kauffmancenter.org. $60-$120.

It might sound like work, but the 26th annual Project Blue River Rescue is also a community fun day. Hundreds of volunteers of all ages will down doughnuts and coffee, disperse to clean up the Blue River, then meet for lunch. Gloves, tools and trash bags are provided.

8 a.m. Saturday, April 2. Lakeside Nature Center. 816-513-8960. lakesidenaturecenter.org. Free.

Dan Kelly, dkelly@kcstar.com

This story was originally published March 31, 2016 at 3:00 AM with the headline "This weekend in Kansas City: First Friday, Pablo Ziegler Quartet for New Tango, Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum."