7 Fun Events To Enjoy This Weekend [Jan 12-14]

There are so many fun events in our community for this weekend! I have highlighted seven for you to enjoy! Don't let the cold keep you in...get out and enjoy what Evansville has to offer. 

1. Harlem Globetrotters

The famous basketball tricksters are making a stop in the 2018 World Tour at the Ford Center at 7 p.m. Thursday and will take on long-time adversaries the Washington Generals.

The show promises "incredible ball handling wizardry, rim-rattling dunks, trick shots, hilarious comedy and unequaled fan interaction" with autograph and photo opportunities after the game. Tickets start at $26 and can be bought at harlemglobetrotters.com, Ticketmaster.com or the Ford Center Box Office.

2. Stepping Up workshop

Non-partisan organization Stepping UP is hosting a free training session Friday for women interested in public service, seeking public office, serving on boards and supporting other candidates.

The workshop, Stepping Up: How to run for public office, is from noon to 1 p.m. in the Blue & Gold Room in the first-floor atrium of Old National Bank. Attendees are encouraged to arrive by 11:30 a.m. to purchase lunch at Fresh Harvest Deli or bring a brown bag.

Elected office holders and those who have worked in campaigns will talk about their experiences and give advice for succeeding in the political arena. Vanderburgh County Councilwoman Stephanie Terry and Denise Johnson, director of Mayor Lloyd Winnecke's re-election campaign, will moderate a panel which includes Indiana State Senator Vaneta Becker, former Vanderburgh County Coroner Annie Groves, recent City Councilwoman Anna Hargis and Lori Sherman, attorney with Kittlinger & Gray and 2016 candidate for Indiana Representative for District 77.

3. Shopkins Live!

This stage production brings the tiny plastic toys alive using "custom-designed theatrical costumes, creative onstage characters, state-of-art video and set design" along with original music.

Shopkins Live! is at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Aiken Theatre with tickets starting at $25 at Ticketmaster.com and the Old National Events Plaza Box office.

4. Classics by Candlelight

The Millikin University Choir are performing from 7-9 p.m. Friday at First Presbyterian Church as part of the Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana Classics by Candlelight series.

The series concerts are free and open to the public and feature concerts by classical music groups performing in area churches.

5. WingFest

The festival, from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday at Veteran's Memorial Coliseum, includes a wing eating contest, bobbing for wings, chicken-themed tailgate games and other contests to judge the best wings at the fest. More than 20 food vendors will be on hand for the WingFest.

6. Carrie Newcomer and Over the Rhine

The Under the Beams concert series kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at New Harmony's Murphy Auditorium with singer/songwriter Carrie Newcomer and folk band Over the Rhine.

Newcomer has 16 albums and was listed as one of the 50 most influential folk musicians of the last 50 years by a Chicago radio station and one of the most influential folk artists of the last 25 by a Boston station. Over the Rhine's core is the husband-and-wife team of pianist/guitarist/bassist Linford Detweiler and vocalist/guitarist Karin Berquist who have shared the stage with artists such as Bob Dylan, John Prine and Ani DiFranco.

Buy tickets at underthebeams.org or a call 812-682-3128.

7. MLK Day activities

The University of Southern Indiana will host its annual Martin Luther King Jr. luncheon Monday with a keynote from Johnnetta Cole.Cole is president emerita of Spelman College and Bennett College for Women. She was also the past director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art.

Tickets -- from $5-$15 -- are required for this event and can be purchased online or at the USI Multicultural Center.

The University of Evansville has several events planned Monday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day all under the theme of "Respect and Compassion for All."

The day will begin with the annual re-enactment of the 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. There will be a pre-march rally at 11:45 a.m. on the steps of Neu Chapel. The reenactment of the march will start at noon. 

At 5 p.m. there will be a Women of the Civil Rights Movement LIVE experience hosted by UE's Black Student Union. The William G. and the Rose M. Mays Martin Luther King Jr. Lectureship will follow at 6 p.m. in Eykamp Hall with a reception after in the Ridgway University Center.

The keynote will be given by Robert Jackson who is an author, public speaker and owner of Lavelle Publishing and Robert Jackson Consulting.

All events are free and open to the public.