friday January 13
Reelfoot Lake Eagle Festival
Reelfoot Lake, www.reelfoot.com,
Worth the two-hour drive north, this festival includes pontoon boat rides over the shallow Reelfoot Lake (which was created during the earthquakes of 1811 and 1812) and bus rides around the area in search of the 200 or so eagles that make this their winter stop. Through Sunday.
Rounding Third
Theatre Memphis, 8 p.m., $8-$20
It doesn’t matter if you win or lose, it’s how you play the game — but only if your kid’s no good at baseball. In Richard Dresser’s Rounding Third, two men coach their sons’ Little League team and battle it out over class and moral issues.
saturday January 14
Screening of Crash
Rhodes College’s McCallum Ballroom, 10 a.m.
As part of its 6th Annual MLK Summit on Service, Hands On Memphis presents the film Crash, about 15 Los Angelenos who reveal the darkest parts of the heart when it comes to race. After the film, there will be a moderated discussion.
Martin Luther King Day
Celebration
National Civil Rights Museum, $2
First of three days celebrating the life of Martin Luther King. Includes musical and dance performances as well as discussions on how to become more active in the community.
saturday January 14
An Evening in Vienna
Featuring Jonathan Biss
Germantown Performing Arts Centre,
8 p.m., $45
Pianist Jonathan Biss performs with IRIS. Selections include Debussy’s “Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun” and Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 “Elvira Madigan.”
“Murray & Mendelssohn”
Cannon Performing Arts Center, 8 p.m., $12-$76
Violinist Tai Murray performs Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto as part of the Memphis Symphony’s Masterworks Series. Another concert will be held Sunday at the Germantown Performing Arts Centre at 2:30 p.m.
sunday January 15
Winter Jam
Desoto Civic Center, 6 p.m., $10
This event began 10 years ago as a free, Christian rock “experiment.” It’s only a reasonable $10 now, and this year’s show includes NewBoys, tobyMac, NewSong, ZOEgirl, Hawk Nelson, Krystal Meyers, and the “Sphere of Fear,” a motorcycle stunt, in which bikes are ridden inside and around an iron globe.
Roberta Flack and Isaac Hayes
Horseshoe Casino, 7 p.m., $65
A double shot of smooth from the woman who sang “Feel Like Makin’ Love” and the man who sang “The Theme from Shaft.”
monday January 16
Memphis Grizzlies vs. San Antonio Spurs
FedExForum, 7 p.m.
Over the past few seasons, the NBA has been forging a tradition: Martin Luther King Day in Memphis. The Memphis Grizzlies host a nationally televised game on the holiday, usually with a visit from league commissioner David Stern and pre-game programming at the National Civil Rights Museum. It’s a splendid showcase for both the city and its team and has also provided some great games and moments: Larry Finch’s halftime standing ovation in 2003 and a thrilling, gritty win over division rival Houston in 2004. This year, the MLK Day game marks the Grizzlies’ first home game against defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs.
tuesday January 17
Chicago
The Orpheum, 7:30 p.m., $15-$75
Award-winning Broadway musical about deadly showgirls and their razzle-dazzle attorney. Tom Wopat, who played Luke Duke on The Dukes of Hazzard and recently completed a much-praised Broadway run of Glengarry Glen Ross, stars as Billy Flynn.
wednesday January 18
“Transformation in a Time of Democratic Fever,”with Albie Sachs
Michael Rose Theatre at the University of Memphis, 7:30 p.m., free
Presented by Facing History and Ourselves as part of the organization’s “Community Conversations” tour. Albie Sachs, South African court justice and human-rights activist, joins his partner, urban planner Vanessa September, in this discussion about the changes in South Africa after the fall of apartheid.
