MLK Day of Music
Following Sunday night’s sold-out Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Concert (broadcasting live on WCLV 90.3 FM Ideastream Public Media at 7), Severance hosts the free, annual MLK Community Open House and Day of Music. Performances take place Monday from 11:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. Both the Mandel Concert Hall and the Reinberger Chamber Hall host a diverse lineup of acts from Northeast Ohio, including Blakk Jakk Dance Collective, Tiamoyo Chorale and the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra.
MLK Day free at the Rock Hall
The Rock Hall is free for all on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday Monday. Doors open along the Lake Erie shore at 9 a.m. with live performances starting at 11 a.m. on the PNC Stage, featuring students from Rainey Dance, the gospel quartet Fleshman Singers and singer-songwriter Esther Fitz. Visitors also can share their dreams on the “I Have a Dream” wall and check out archive broadcasts of “Soul Train” all day in the Foster Theater.
‘Shades of Ellington’
Columbus jazz cats Laura Camara and the Jake Reed Trio spotlight their debut album “Shades of Ellington” at the Bop Stop this weekend. Expect to hear Duke Ellington favorites along with some lesser-known works by the jazz legend as well as a few innovative interpretations. The joint starts jumping Sunday night at 7 on Cleveland’s Near West Side in Hingetown.
Celebrating Black History at the Akron Zoo
Dig into the history of the Akron Zoo’s home in Perkins Woods through a new exhibition opening on Monday for MLK Day. Named for Col. Simon Perkins, Perkins Woods was also home to the abolitionist John Brown and his flock of sheep. The exhibit “Celebrating Black History in Perkins Woods” explains how Akron’s Black community expanded a monument to John Brown and fought for the zoo to remain in Perkins Woods. The exhibit remains on view through March 7.
KSU alumni exhibition
Survey the results of more than 80 years of art education at the Kent State University School of Art Friday night during the opening reception for the inaugural biennial alumni exhibition. Alumni submitted 315 works of art and 35 were selected to go on view by juror Wendy Earle, Akron Art Museum curator. The show features a diverse collection of media from painting to weaving to ceramics until Feb. 21 in the CVA Gallery, located in the Center for the Visual Arts.
