GOINGS ON : Making a Date With Wilder’s ‘Matchmaker’ : The play that evolved into ‘Hello, Dolly’ is being staged by the Pacific Conservatory of Performing Arts.

A suggestion: Tell your boss you have to leave work early today. Otherwise, you might not make it up the coast in time to catch some of tonight’s events.

Opening this evening: The Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts (PCPA Theaterfest) at Santa Maria’s Allan Hancock College will present Thornton Wilder’s “The Matchmaker,” tonight through April 17 at the campus’ Marian Theatre. The play, which ultimately evolved into “Hello, Dolly!” is the story of a wealthy businessman from Yonkers who hires a female friend to find him a wife.

Previews will run tonight and Friday at 8 p.m. The regular evening shows will begin Saturday and run Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8 p.m. There will be 2 p.m. matinees Saturday, Wednesday, and April 9, 10, 12, 13, 16, and 17. Tickets range from $11 to $17, with senior, military, and student discounts two days prior to the show, depending on ticket availability. Call 922-8313 or (800) 549-PCPA. The theater is located off Bradley Road between the Stowell and Main Street exits of U.S. 101.

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Santa Barbara’s Sea Center will exhibit the gyotaku (fish printing) work of Japanese artist Yoshiko Takahashi tonight through May 4. Takahashi, one of the leading gyotaku artists in Japan, will be showing his work in the United States for the first time. The Sea Center is located at 211 Stearns Wharf. It is open every day from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission is $2 (adults), $1.50 (seniors) and $1 (children). Call 962-0885.

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UC Santa Barbara’s Middle East Ensemble will perform authentic Egyptian music tonight at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. Musicians will perform on the oud (a lute), the nay (a flute), the rabab (a fiddle), the mizmar (an oboe-like instrument), and the drums. Show time is 7:30 p.m. at the museum’s Mary Craig Auditorium. General admission is $5, with tickets available at the door. Call 963-4364. The concert is in conjunction with the museum’s exhibit “Travelers in an Antique Land: Early Travel Photography in Egypt,” which consists of 100 photos Egypt taken in the 19th Century. The museum is located at 1130 State St.

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You may want to spend this weekend just hanging out at UCSB’s Lotte Lehmann Concert Hall, where the university’s Department of Music will present two shows.

First up, the acclaimed duo The Perks, with double bassist Nico Abondolo and dancer Rebecca Stenn, Friday at 8 p.m. Abondolo, a member of the UCSB faculty, received a first place award at the International Geneva Competition in 1983, and has performed throughout Europe, the Far East and the United States. Stenn is a member of the Momix dance troupe. General admission is $8 at the door.

Saturday, the UCSB Gospel Choir will team with the Biola University Gospel Choir for a “Gospel Explosion,” beginning at 8 p.m. General admission is $10. Call the Arts and Lectures box office at 893-3535.

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Or how about spending your Easter holiday weekend at Pismo Beach? Children will be hunting, tossing and decorating Easter eggs just south of Pismo Pier, beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday. The pier will also be the site of a nondenominational Easter morning service Sunday at 7 a.m. For more information call the Pismo Beach Visitor Information Center at 773-4382 or (800) 443-7778. Both events are free.

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Coming up: The Santa Barbara Civic Light Opera will celebrate and preview its next production--”Evita”--with wine, song and fine food on April 14. Deadline for reservations, at $75 per person, is April 8.

The evening will kick off with wine and hors d’oeuvres at Bryant and Sons jewelers, followed by dinner at the Wine Cask. Members of the cast will perform songs from the musical, about the life of Eva Peron, the wife of Argentine dictator Juan Peron. Director Mark Lipschutz will discuss the production. A portion of the cost will benefit SBCLO and is tax deductible. Call 962-1922. By the way, “Evita” opens April 29.

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A free April Fool’s concert? No joking. Guitarists Ted Killian and Josef Woodard, who make up the duo April Fools 2.0, and guest percussionist John Bergamo, will perform Saturday (a day after April Fool’s Day) at the Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum. The concert will begin at 2 p.m. CAF is located on the second level of the Paseo Nuevo shopping center. For more information call 966-5373.