Gordon Lightfoot returns to the Reno area for the first time since 2005. He'll play John Ascuaga's Nugget on Friday and Saturday.

Lightfoot has described his performing style in this way: "I try to set up a coffeehouse atmosphere at center stage, a small intimate space where everyone's thoughts are focused on the same thing at the same time."

Officially, Lightfoot is now well into the sixth decade of his career, even though those first years had sparse output. Then he sang with a group called the Teen Timers, writing his first tune, "The Hula Hoop Song." It was rejected for recording but Lightfoot received enough encouragement that he decided to write some more.

The young Lightfoot appeared and danced for two years on "Country Hoedown," which aired on CBC, Canada's national public broadcast station.

He was influenced by Bob Dylan. He wrote for major performers such as Marty Robbins and Peter, Paul and Mary. Finally, after intermittent successes mainly in his native Canada, he reached the U.S. charts in 1971 with "If You Could Read My Mind."

That song, and others like "Sundown," "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" and "Carefree Highway," established Lightfoot firmly in the folk-pop pantheon. He's continued, recovering from a 2002 abdominal hemorrhage that sent him into a weeks-long coma, and recording the album "Harmony" (his 20th) in 2005.

Lightfoot has played just about every size venue imaginable, but the Nugget Celebrity Showroom has always offered him one of his best. No seat is very far from the stage, the feel is intimate, and the atmosphere is one he has always found comfortable. It's good to have him back, laidback. (1100 Nugget Ave., Sparks, 8 p.m.; $60; 800-648-1177 or janugget.com)

Around the Silver Circle

• You'll find seminars on everything from heart health to getting a good night's sleep. There also will be gentle exercise using ki gong, a 5K run or 1-mile nature walk, and an interactive fair. All are included, plus more, in the Women's Wellness Weekend on Saturday and next Sunday at Granlibakken ($99; Granlibakken.com – select "make a reservation," click on "conference" and use "www" as both login and password).

• Reno's National Bowling Stadium has traditionally been accessible only to tournament bowlers. It's been a matter of consternation for those who would like to bowl a few lines on one of its 100 lanes. A rare opportunity opens this Friday to help raise funds for Special Olympics Nevada. It's pricey ($150 for a family of four, includes shoe and ball rental, food and beverage, and a chance at prizes), but it's for a good cause. (BowlForTheGoldReno.com)

• If you're wandering around Reno on Saturday and wondering why so many people are going into the Reno Ballroom across from the Silver Legacy, they're heading to CANFEST, a celebration of canned beer now in its third year. The $25 entry buys unlimited tastings from brewers across the country. The intent is to take the stigma from canned beer, which began its transformation when the first microbrewery began canning its craft brews. Now, more than 130 do so. (Ticketmaster or silverlegacy.com)

• Wynonna returns to the Silver Legacy this Friday. (407 N. Virginia St., Reno, 8 p.m.; $50, $67.50; 800-687-8733 or silverlegacy.com) Foghat brings classic rock to Harrah's Tahoe on Saturday. (15 Highway 50, Stateline, 7:30 p.m.; $30; 800-427-7247 or SouthShoreRoom.com) And the Knitting Factory presents a tribute to Michael Jackson called "Foreverland" on Saturday. (211 N. Virginia St., Reno, 8:30 p.m.; $16 general admission standing, $30 reserved seating; KnittingFactory.com)

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