The Arts & Science Council is showcasing the cultural offerings of Charlotte in a big way on Saturday, January 10th, with “Connect with Culture” Day. Museums and other venues all around Charlotte are hosting special events, including concerts, dancing, storytelling, opera and much more. Even better, they’re all FREE. This is your chance to visit a host of museums for free, hear a free performance by musicians from the Charlotte Symphony, see a performance by Opera Carolina, attend a poetry workshop, create clay pots, visit historic sites, walk the trails of the Carolina Raptor Center and much more. There will even be some Random Acts of Culture. All for free. If you have questions, contact the individual venues for more information. Have you signed up for Charlotte on the Cheap’s daily email yet? Just one a day, with links to all the posts from the previous 24 hours. It’s free! Sign up now.
Center City
Mint Museum Uptown, 500 S. Tryon St., Charlotte, NC 28202
Free general admission
Time: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Special exhibitions at Mint Museum UPTOWN: Admission to the special exhibitions “Beyond Craft: Decorative Arts from the Leatrice S. and Melvin B. eagle Collection” and “Connecting the World: The Panama Canal at 100” requires additional special exhibition fees for adults ($12 adults; $9 seniors or students over 18; FREE to Mint members). Admission to The Light Factory’s “Moment Mile,” a special pop-up gallery featuring two 100-foot long panoramic photographs of Tryon Street simultaneously captured by 138 local photographers, is always FREE during regular museum hours.
Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, 551 S. Tryon St., Charlotte, NC 28202
Free general admission
Time: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Levine Museum of the New South, 200 E. 7th St., Charlotte, NC 28202
Free general admission
Time: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Special Opportunity
1pm-3pm – Final LGBTQ Community Forum with Josh Burford and Malu Fairley from 1pm-3pm in Harris Hall. The forum is in partnership with the Charlotte Business Guild.
McColl Center for Art + Innovation, 721 N. Tryon St., Charlotte, NC 28202
Free general admission
Time: 12 p.m.-5 p.m.
Special Opportunity
12pm-2pm – You can experience Charlotte-Mecklenburg area middle schools participating in the regional Rube Goldberg Machine Exposition. Each participating school will form a team with the objective of making a Rube Goldberg inspired machine that has the ability to “Erase a Chalkboard” in an effective yet profoundly complicated way.
Bechtler Museum of Modern Art at Levine Center for the Arts, 420 S. Tryon St., Charlotte, NC 28202
Free general admission
Time: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
West Charlotte
Latibah Collard Green Museum, 720 Tuckaseegee Rd., Charlotte, NC 28208
Free general admission to Latibah Collard Green Museum & special performance
Time: 12 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Special Performance
1 p.m.: In addition to free admission, you can experience African arts by creating a traditional African style song and rhythm in an African drum circle led by Drums for Life and African dance movement by Oneaka Dance Company. Then, take a journey through “Life and Times in Black American History” at the Latibah Collard Green Museum.
Myers Park
Wing Haven Gardens and Bird Sanctuary, Willow Oak Room, Education Building, 248 Ridgewood Ave., Charlotte, NC 28209
Discovery Place visits Wing Haven Gardens and Bird Sanctuary for Animal Explorations
(Parking: Lot adjacent to 260 Ridgewood Ave.)
Time: 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
Discovery Place’s Science Reach Program visits Wing Haven to present a special children’s educational program, ‘Animal Explorations’. Discover the wonderful world of animals and travel across the planet to discover unique creatures and their relationship with their environment. Investigate the fascinating adaptations that help animals survive in their particular biomes.
South Park
Morrison Regional Library, 7015 Morrison Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28211
Storytime reading with Charlotte Ballet Principal Ballerina Alesandra Ball James
Time: 11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Storytime Reading with Charlotte Ballet Principal Ballerina Alesandra Ball James. Allesandra will read several of her favorite children’s stories, including “Angelina’s Big City” and “Toe Shoe Mouse”. Children of all ages are encouraged to dress-up for storytime.
University Area
University City Regional Library, 301 E. W.T. Harris Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28262
Poetry workshop with Quentin Talley
Time: 12 p.m. -2 p.m.
Say Word is an interactive performance poetry workshop with Quentin Talley. This two hour intensive workshop will explore poetry formats and performance techniques, which fuse into the art form known as Spoken Word.
Matthews
Siskey YMCA, Room 2, 3127 Weddington Rd., Matthews, NC 28105
Jazz movement class with Charlotte Ballet
Time: 1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Join us as a Charlotte Ballet Teaching Artist will be on-site to explore a beginning jazz class
concentrating on coordination, rhythm, flexibility and self-expression. Jazz dance is a form that appeals to most due to its energy and variety. Several forms will be explored through the warm up, progressions across the floor and a high energy jazz combination. The class is open to ages 10+.
Mint Hill
Jimmie’s Restaurant, 7024 Brighton Park Dr., Mint Hill, NC 28227
Random Act of Culture
Time: ??? (It wouldn’t be random if we told you the time. Drop in to Jimmie’s and you might catch the act!)
Huntersville
Huntersville Arts Center, 109 S. Old Statesville Rd., Huntersville, NC 28078
Folk and bluegrass music with The Kollard Kings
Time: 10 a.m. -12 p.m.
Come hear the old-time sounds of ‘The Kollard Kings’. Your toes will tap, and your ears will smile! The Kollard Kings specialize in old-time string band songs from Charlotte’s heyday as a country music recording center back in the ‘30s – the roots of what would become ‘bluegrass’. This event is for all ages.
Carolina Raptor Center, 6000 Sample Rd., Huntersville, NC 28078
Free general admission to Carolina Raptor Center
Time
11 a.m. to 3 p.m. – Walk on the Raptor Trail, where you’ll see more than 25 different native and exotic bird species along the ¾ mile path.
11 a.m. Meet the raptors in the Festival Area.
12:30 p.m. Walk with the resident bird care volunteer to feed the vultures. Learn about the raptor medical center at the “Day in the Life of A Raptor Center” exhibit.
2 p.m. Join the volunteer docents in Kay’s Courtyard for a trivia tour of the Raptor Trail. The eagles, hawks, falcons and owls are waiting!
Latta Plantation, 5225 Sample Rd., Huntersville, NC 28078
Free general admission to Latta Plantation
Time: 10 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Enjoy Historic Latta Plantation, the last remaining cotton plantation along the Catawba River open to the public. Take part in a self-guided tour of the plantation grounds, interact with interpreters clothed in 19th century garb inside the circa 1800 home, visit the exhibit hall, and see several different living history demonstrations.
East Charlotte
Midwood International & Cultural Center (Auditorium) 322 Hawthorne St., Charlotte, NC 28204
Clayworks pottery workshop & Afircan-American history through music/dance with A Sign of the Times
Time: 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Clayworks Pottery has designed a session for all ages, including the true beginner. No previous experience necessary. Participants will explore basic handbuilding and wheel techniques in clay to create a piece to take home with them.
2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Join A Sign of the Times in “Digging History through Music and Dance” – an educational program of African-American history as told through dance including Brazilian, Soca and Caribbean dance forms. Then, enjoy learning some of the dances with instruction from our talented dancers.
Charlotte Museum of History, 3500 Shamrock Dr., Charlotte, NC 28215
Free general admission
Time: 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Enjoy self-guided tours of the museum galleries and visit the Hezekiah Alexander Home Site, where you will encounter Mary, William, and Esther Alexander. Children will have the opportunity to make a pinch pot in the Great Hall.
Pineville
Belle Johnston Center, 413 Johnston Dr., Pineville, NC 28134
A chamber performance from members of the Charlotte Symphony
Time: 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Enjoy a special ensemble presentation performed by Charlotte Symphony musicians for your listening pleasure. This chamber program is a wonderful way to hear and appreciate the immense talent and breadth of our local symphony musicians.
James K. Polk State Historic Site, 12031 Lancaster Hwy., Pineville, NC 28134
Free admission
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
This NC State historic site, commemorating the life and times of the 11th President of the U.S., will be open to the general public for visits and living history connections.
Steele Creek
Steele Creek Library, 13620 Steele Creek Rd, Charlotte, NC 28273
Musical storytelling with Opera Carolina’s Opera Xpress
Time: 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Musical storytelling brings the world of opera and storytelling alive as an all-inclusive art form and teaching tool. Opera Carolina brings the story of “Hansel and Gretel” to life with sets, costumes and a timeless tale. Time will also be set aside for children to explore the technical components with a wig and make-up demonstration, and face painting. For children ages 4+.
Northwest Charlotte
CMS School Options Fair, Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology, 1430 Alleghany St., Charlotte, NC 28202
Random Act of Culture
Time: ??? (It wouldn’t be random if we told you the time. Drop by the CMS School Options Fair and you might catch the act!)
Learn about the top free things for kids to do in Charlotte.
Find out all about this week’s free events.
Learn about the free days at local museums.
See a big list of local thrift shops and consignment shops.
Browse a big list of today’s Charlotte daily deals from Groupon, LivingSocial, etc.
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