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Bernard LaFayette Jr., a minister, educator, lecturer and prominent civil rights leader of the mid-20th century, will deliver the keynote address at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commission of Mid-Michigan’s 40th annual Day of Celebration luncheon on Monday (Jan. 20).
The dream marches on
Martin Luther King Jr. is lauded as one of the most influential figures in American history — so much so that his birthday is honored each year with a holiday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, more
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At the Lansing Symphony Orchestra’s Friday evening (Jan. 10) Masterworks concert, principal horn player Corbin Wagner (left) made performing Richard Strauss’ Horn Concerto No. 2 look easy.
Zephyrs, zephyrs and more zephyrs
“How did they do that?”  You don’t often get to experience Harry Houdini-level bafflement at a symphony performance, but the world premiere of a cleverly crafted three-part … more
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Plymouth Township-based author and Civil War historian Jack Dempsey said he can trace his interest in the war to when he was 3 years old and was boosted up onto a monument of Stonewall Jackson at Manassas National Battlefield Park for a photograph.
Historian says Civil War stories can ‘help to draw us together’
Plymouth Township-based author and historian Jack Dempsey has written 10 books, seven of them on the Civil War. more
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From left: Quinn Kelly as Jake II, TJ Kelly as Walt and Lewis Elson as Jake I in Riverwalk Theatre’s production of “Lustful Youth.”
Playful chaos transpires in Riverwalk Theatre’s ‘Lustful Youth’
For anyone who took an introduction to theater class in college, Riverwalk Theatre’s production of “Lustful Youth” will feel like déjà vu. In such a class, more
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Ryan Andrews (right) and Phil Clark have been releasing music on Madlantis Records for more than 20 years. The latest release, Neganance’s “12 Songs,” is a Christmas grindcore LP issued on an old-fashioned VHS tape. It’s also available to stream on Bandcamp and YouTube.
Madlantis Records drops a VHS tape
From wall-rattling sludge rock to hook-laced punk, Ryan Andrews is one of the most experimental and dynamic artists to call Lansing home. Shoot, he even has a country band. His main outfit, No Skull, … more
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Southeast Michigan bluegrass band Wilson Thicket performs on Feb. 8, 2024, at the Robin Theatre in REO Town, one of the Ten Pound Fiddle’s go-to venues. The Fiddle doesn’t have a brick-and-mortar location but instead rents local spaces based on expected attendance for each show, such as University Lutheran and Edgewood United churches in East Lansing and UrbanBeat in Old Town.
Fiddle at 50
As the first pluck of a banjo fills the room, and the fiddle conjures a commanding, rustic sound, it becomes clear that a Ten Pound Fiddle event is more than just a concert. more
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Lansing Symphony Orchestra principal horn player Corbin Wager, the featured soloist at Friday’s (Jan. 10) Masterworks concert.
‘A bit of a beast’
It’s always a sweet moment when the orchestral thunderheads recede and honey-gold beams stream through the cracks, courtesy of the Lansing Symphony Orchestra’s principal horn player, Corbin Wagner. more
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In October 1977, President Jimmy Carter traveled to Detroit to attend a conference on the needs of the nation’s poor. It was sponsored by the Community Services Administration, which was a program of President Lyndon Johnson’s “war on poverty.”
Remembering Jimmy Carter, from his environmentalism to his literature
Although Jimmy Carter only served one term as president and was much maligned, since his Dec. 29 death at age 100, the nation has been reminded of his lifelong commitment to humanity. more
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Sphinx Virtuosi, a self-conducted chamber orchestra that blends classical music with soul, bluegrass, jazz, blues and elements of rag, will travel from Detroit to perform at the Wharton Center on Feb. 22.
Notable events to keep arts aficionados busy in 2025
While the first week of the year starts off slow, allowing everyone to unwind after the busy holiday season, happenings will begin picking up quickly in the following weeks and may fly past your radar as the list grows. more
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Local photographer and videographer Raymond Holt has been taking tintype photographs for six years. He had his own camera custom-made by Arizona-based K.B. Canham Cameras Inc., which specializes in building large-format cameras.
‘Not for the faint of heart’
President Abraham Lincoln, abolitionist Frederick Douglass, outlaw Billy the Kid and assassin John Wilkes Booth all sat (or stood) for tintype photographs, but so did hundreds of thousands of Union and Confederate soldiers before heading off to deadly battlefields. more
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The cast of “Lustful Youth,” running at Riverwalk Theatre Jan. 9 through 12 and 16 through 19. From left: TJ Kelly, Rachael Steffens, Keara Hayes, Quinn Kelly, Lewis Elson and Allison Meyer.
Riverwalk’s ‘Lustful Youth’ fine-tunes the art of sexy slapstick
After kicking off its 36th season with “Angels in America,” Riverwalk Theatre took things in a lighter direction, following up with the comedies “Pickleball and “Urinetown.” more
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January and early February theater productions:
“Lustful Youth” Jan. 9-12 and 16-19 7 p.m. Thursday more
Writers often create works that are either a reflection of the times or cautionary ta-les warning of undesirable future outcomes. Sometimes both. The Greater Lan-sing theater community boasts an embarrassment of riches when it comes to for-ward-thinking boards and directors who embrace their roles in terms of present-ing such stories, challenging audiences with thought-provoking works. In a criti-cal election year, that mission was especially relevant. In February, Riverwalk Theatre presented “The Exonerated” in its Black Box space. The stripped-down theater was the perfect setting for this heartbreaking work about six real-life people who were wrongfully convicted of capital crimes and were eventually released from prison, a bold reminder that justice isn’t al-ways blind. Lansing Community College’s late February/early March production of “The Thanksgiving Play” was a humorous take on the dangers of sanitizing history for the sake of political correctness. In Larissa FastHorse’s script, four white theater types try to create a culturally sensitive play about the first Thanksgiving with no input from a Native American. The play reflects wokeness gone wild and is a cau-tionary tale about trying to do the right thing the wrong way. Later in March, Ixion Theater Ensemble staged Detroit playwright Dominique Morisseau’s “Pipeline,” a harrowing story about a divorced Black mother trying to keep her son out of the school-to-prison pipeline. As prejudice drives decisions that shape a young man’s future, this story shows us how stories like those in “The Exonerated” happen. In April, Peppermint Creek Theatre Co. confronted book banning and civil rights with “Alabama Story.” Based on true events in late-1950s Alabama, State Librari-an Emily Reed resists attempts by the state Legislature to ban a children’s book about a white rabbit marrying a black rabbit. Williamston Theatre closed out the summer with “Predictor,” a highly innovative take on the true story of the development of the first home pregnancy test, which provided women a new level of privacy and self-determination. While funny and poignant, the play also offers some incredibly moving moments, such as when a single woman from the typing pool quietly yet desperately pleads with inventor Meg Crane to get a test following an affair with a married colleague. Williamston followed this with a newly commissioned play, “Thirst,” about the disparities between the poor and the wealthy in the face of a water shortage. Pow-er couple Frank and Florence Doyle play vicious games within their marriage, using poor people of color as their pawns. If the title “Predictor” hadn’t already been taken, it would have been an apt title for this work since we’re entering 2025 with signs that the economic gap will continue to grow in the United States and abroad. In a double-whammy review weekend, I rounded out 2024 with Riverwalk’s “Urinetown” and Peppermint Creek’s “What the Constitution Means to Me.” I saw both the weekend after the November election. Talk about a gut punch. “Urinetown” continued the theme of the rich versus the poor, with an uncomfort-able conclusion that seemed to indicate that control of resources is best left to the elite rather than the unwashed masses. “Constitution” would have been uplifting had the Democrats won the White House, but it instead served as a reminder that, while an impressive set of ideals that guided us pretty well for a long time, the Constitution has fragilities that have been exploited and will likely continue to be exploited in the next term. In summary, area theater companies reminded us this year that when it comes to civil rights, LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights to bodily autonomy, censorship, justice reform and protecting democracy, everything old is new again. Here’s hoping these theater troupes will continue to raise their voices and our awareness in 2025.
Local theater tackled thought-provoking topics in 2024
Writers often create works that are either a reflection of the times or cautionary tales warning of undesirable future outcomes. more
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Courtesy Detroit native Curtis Chin’s late-2023 memoir, “Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant,” was a 2024 Michigan Notable Book and was announced as the 2025-‘26 Great Michigan Read in October.
2024 in lit — and what to look forward to in early 2025
It’s been a very good year for Lansing’s literary scene. In February, Kalamazoo-area author Bonnie Jo Campbell visited Michigan State University during her extensive release tour for more
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Michigan State University jazz studies director and bassist Rodney Whitaker was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in September, joining fellow members such as Benjamin Franklin, Martin Luther King Jr. and Albert Einstein.
From grass roots to shooting stars
Have you ever lay down in a meadow and gazed at the stars? Greater Lansing’s fine arts scene is like that: a rich and rare mix of fertile, more
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Public Art of the Week: Haylie Klusack
Haylie Klusack If you shop at Capital City Market in downtown Lansing, it’s likely you’ve seen the work of the artist and sign painter Haylie Klusack. more
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Whether you’re looking to spend New Year’s Eve dancing, feasting, gaming or simply sipping champagne, local events have you covered.
Gear up for the ball drop
It’s somehow the end of the year once again, and though there won’t be any fireworks, you can still start 2025 off with a bang. more
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Photo by Leandro Martins Santa’s sleigh stands by as Kris Kringle works his way down the chimney at 776 Pebblebrook Lane in East Lansing’s White Hills neighborhood.
Keep an eye on that candle
My father did not like candles. When I was a kid, we brought out a couple of sugary angel candles every December. more
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Environmental writer Dave Dempsey, who has authored numerous academic titles about the Great Lakes, has taken a more accessible and entertaining approach with his most recent book, “The Great Lakes: Fact or Fake.”
Test your Great Lakes knowledge
In his latest book, “The Great Lakes: Fact or Fake,” environmental writer Dave Dempsey answers 41 questions about the Great Lakes; along the way more
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Jeffery Gower (left) and Jason Lantrip in front of their latest muse, Big Penny.
Truck-munching bridge immortalized in song Local duo Deer & Elk tell the tale of Big Penny
The 12-foot-tall railroad bridge on Pennsylvania Avenue, nicknamed Big Penny, is notorious for being a tad too short for truckers looking to pass under it. Since it was built back in 1928, it’s … more
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