This week in the Arts:
Special Events
The Creative Discovery Museum will host a Chinese New Year celebration on Saturday from 12-4 p.m. Activities include performances by the Chien Hong Lion Dance Troupe and The Chien Hong School's martial arts performing group, constructing paper lanterns, reading books about Chinese New Year, and making miniature paper lions. Visit www.cdmfun.org for more information.
The community orientation for ACTSO (Afro Academic Technological Scientific Cultural Olympics) will take place on Saturday at the Center for Creative Arts.
Email chattanoogaactso@gmail.com for more information.
The Jewish Cultural Center will host Havdallah, a ceremony that marks the symbolic end of the Sabbath and/or religious holidays, as well as a community dinner and an interfaith panel discussion on life and the afterlife on Saturday at 7 p.m. Call 493-0270 ext. 10 for more information.
Dinner and the Arts, an event featuring a silent auction, dinner provided by The Outback Steakhouse and a showcase concert featuring students in vocal, instrumental, dance, acting, and musical theatre peformances as well as visual art and creative writing exhibitions, will take place on Thursday, Jan. 26, beginning at 5:30 p.m. at the Center for Creative Arts. Reservations may be made by calling 209-5942.
Theatre, Music & Dance
The String Theory at the Hunter concert series continues Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the Hunter Museum of American Art with a performance by violinist Jaime Laredo, cellist Sharon Robinson and pianist Gloria Chien. A pre-concert conversation with the artists will begin at 6 p.m. Visit www.huntermuseum.org to purchase tickets.
The Shaking Ray Levi Society will host a performance by Thollem McDonas on Thursday at 8 p.m. at Easy Lemon. Call 910-9729 or visit www.shakingray.com for additional information.
The Importance of Being Earnest opens at the Chattanooga Theatre Centre on Friday, Jan. 27, beginning with an opening night reception at 7 p.m. The production continues each weekend through Sunday, Feb. 12. For ticket information, visit www.theatrecentre.com.
Ballet Tennessee will present the high energy contemporary dance company Ailey II at the Tivoli Theatre on Saturday, Jan. 28, at 8 p.m. Call 757-5050 or visit www.chattanoogaonstage.com for ticket information.
As part of the Ailey II residency, a free community outreach ballet class for children ages 8 - teens will take place at the South Chattanooga Recreation Complex on Saturday, Jan. 28, from 12:15-1:15 p.m.; a Ballet Master Class for intermediate and advanced dancers will be held at the Ballet Tennessee studios on Saturday, Jan. 28, from 12:15-1:45 p.m.; a Modern Master Class for intermediate and advanced dancers will take place at the Ballet Tennessee studios on Sunday, Jan. 29, from 1:30-3 p.m. Visit www.ballettennessee.org for more information.
The Bessie Smith Cultural Center and TheCreativeUnderground will host a tribute to singer/songwriter Stevie Wonder entitled "Songbook - Stevie Wonder" on Sunday, Jan. 29, at 6 p.m. in the Bessie Smith Performance Hall. Visit www.bessiesmithcc.org for more information.
The Barking Legs Theater will host performances by Monroe Crossing on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and Donna Hébert and Max Cohen on Sunday at 7 p.m. Call 624-5347 or visit www.barkinglegs.org for more information.
The Athens Area Council for the Arts' Black Box Concert Series continues with a performance by Eilen Jewell on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at The Arts Center in Athens, Tn. Visit www.athensartscouncil.org to purchase tickets.
The River City Clarinet Winter Festival, co-hosted by The UTC Department of Music and the Chattanooga Clarinet Choir, will be held on Saturday and will close with a community concert at 4 p.m. at the UTC Fine Arts Center. Contact Jan Wilkinson at chattanoogaclarinets@gmail.com for additional information.
The Chattanooga Music Club and the MacDowell Music Club will present a joint concert Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at the UTC Cadek Conservatory. Visit www.chattanoogamusicclub.org for more information.
Lee University continues its Presidential Concert Series with a performance by organist Burkard Schliessmann on Thursday, Jan. 26, at 7:30 p.m. For more information, please call 614-8240.
The Covenant Arts Concert Series continues Friday, Jan. 27, at 8 p.m. at Covenant College with a performance of Ain't I a Woman! with actress Taylore Mahogany Scott and The Core Ensemble. Pre-concert gourmet dinners are offered in Covenant's Great Hall immediately preceding each performance. Visit
www.covenant.edu/covenantarts or call 706.419-1153 for more information or to make reservations.
The Ensemble Theatre of Chattanooga's production of Falsettos will take place Friday-Sunday, Jan. 27-29, at the St. Andrews Center. Visit www.ensembletheatreofchattanooga.com or call 987-5141 for ticket information.
The Chattanooga Choral Society in collaboration with the UTC Department of Music and UTC Theatre will present Treemonisha, an opera by famed ragtime composer Scott Joplin, Friday-Saturday, Jan. 27-28, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 29, at 3 p.m. at the UTC Fine Arts Center. Call 425-4269 or visit www.tickettracks.com for more information.
The Tennessee Valley Theatre will present Jason Coleman's The Legacy of Floyd Cramer on Saturday, Jan. 28, at 7:30 p.m. For reservations, call 365-PLAY or visit www.tennesseevalleytheatre.com.
The Jericho Brass will perform on Sunday, Jan. 29, at 3 p.m. at St. Thaddaeus Episcopal Church. Visit www.jerichobrassband.org for more information.
Visual Art & Film
The opening reception for "Repertoire," an exhibit featuring works by Covenant College students highlighting the content of their Painting 2 class, will be held Friday from 3:30-5 p.m. in the Landis Gallery at AVA. The AVA Media Lab will host a free Mac 101 tutorial on Friday, Jan. 27, from 12-1 p.m. Visit www.avarts.org for more information.
Planet Altered will host "Patterns, The Hefferlin Family Art Exhibit," featuring eleven members of a family of artists, with varied and innovative art works, all reflecting patterns in architectural designs, quilts, paintings or molecular charts, through Tuesday, Jan. 31. Visit www.planetaltered.com for more information.
The opening reception for the "Bain Butcher: Paintings" exhibit will be held Friday from 5:30-7 p.m. at The Arts Center. The exhibit continues through Friday, Feb. 24. For more information, call 745-8781 or visit www.athensartscouncil.org.
The Art of the Tin Can workshops with instructor Karen Rudolph will take place Saturday-Sunday from 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Drawing 102 classes will be held Mondays, Jan. 23-Feb. 27, from 6-9 p.m.; an Oil Painting course with instructor James Courtenay James will take place Tuesdays, Jan. 24-Feb. 28, from 6-9 p.m. at Townsend Atelier. Call 266-2712 or visit www.townsendatelier.com to register.
A Watercolor Workshop with Alan Shuptrine will be held Thursday, Jan. 26, from 5-8 p.m. at Shuptrine's Gold Leaf Designs. For more information, call 266-4453 or visit www.shuptrines.com.
Art Creations will offer six-week classes in Perspective Drawing and Painting on Canvas as well as a Children's Painting Discovery Class beginning Thursday, Jan. 26. For more information on these and additional classes, visit
www.art-creations.com.
Writing, Literature & Poetry
Lee University's annual Writers Festival continues Thursday-Friday with special guests representing a range of creative writing genres, playwriting, non-fiction, and poetry, as well as guest theatre artists. For more information, call 614-8669 or 614-8232.
The Eastgate PageTurners book club will meet at the Eastgate Library on Saturday at 11 a.m. to discuss The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. For more information, call 757-5310 or visit www.lib.chattanooga.gov.
Kindred Connections, a book club that aims to bring parents and their teens together through reading, will meet on Saturday, Jan. 28, at the Chattanooga Public Library for a discussion of The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke. Contact Della Phipps at phipps_d@lib.chattanooga.gov for more information.