There are 192 million Valentine’s Day cards exchanged annually. And although cards can be a nice touch to give that special someone, the statistic from Hersheys.com is a reminder that Valentine’s Day can be predictable. This Valentine’s Day weekend, spice it up and check out what the East Lansing area has to offer you, your friends and your other half.
For Brandon Foote, the best folk songs tell interesting narratives of the world. Whether it be something he hears on the street or reads in the newspaper, Foote, an East Lansing resident, said the stories of the world he lives in are what inspires the songs he writes. Foote and his wife Bethany comprise the folk band Gifts or Creatures. They will perform at the fourth annual Folk Festival at (SCENE) Metrospace, 110 Charles St., which will run Friday and Saturday.
Elizabeth Dunham never has been a huge fan of pop music. The international relations sophomore certainly never thought she would suit up in a red leotard and prepare to impersonate Lady Gaga. But at 9 p.m. Friday at the Lansing Center, 333 E. Michigan Ave., in Lansing, Dunham will be one of the performers in the lip-sync contest, Fake the Funk, which is expected to draw more than 1,000 spectators.
The Michigan Princess Riverboat will host Big Band Valentine’s Dinner Cruise from 6:30-9:30 p.m. Friday at 2995 W. Main St., in Lansing.
Professors from the MSU Jazz Department will perform in “Up South” from 8 p.m. to midnight Saturday in the Creole Gallery, 1218 Turner St., in Lansing.
The premier of Warm the Heart Knit-a-Thon will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Perspective2, 319 E. Grand River Ave., in Lansing.
In his office at Skyyline Hair and Design, 412 Albert St., John Howard has many pictures displayed from his 18 years of running the shop. In one picture, former MSU basketball player Earvin “Magic” Johnson is seen attempting to lift Howard’s son, Juwan, to dunk a basketball. In another, a high school senior picture of a smiling Juwan is displayed on a shelf above his desk. Today, Juwan Howard is a general management freshman and Howard, a Martinville, Mich., resident, is a single father of three children who continues to cut the hair of East Lansing residents.
For theatre senior Adam Ehrlich, acting always has been a dream. “There’s something addicting about acting that I can’t really explain,” Ehrlich said. “It’s one of the most challenging, yet most enjoyable experiences I’ve ever had.” Because of his love for acting, Ehrlich plans to attend “Romeo and Juliet,” which will premiere at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Wharton Center’s Pasant Theatre.
Normally students don’t get lunch with a show when they dine at the International Center’s food court, but Monday wasn’t a typical day. A few minutes past noon, a clearing formed near the first row of tables as nine dancers sporting ogre ears erupted into a choreographed dance to Smash Mouth’s “All Star.” The group of students, participating in what commonly is referred to as a flash mob, was promoting “Shrek the Musical,” which will debut at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in Wharton Center’s Cobb Great Hall and run until Sunday.
Although Jeremy Mason said he always has loved art, it wasn’t until he bought a new house three years ago that he found his niche. Mason, a Holt, Mich., resident and 2001 MSU alumnus who works as a financial planner, debuted his art pieces Sunday at the East Lansing Public Art Gallery on the second floor of Hannah Community Center, 819 Abbot Road. The exhibit will be on display until March 2.
The latest event organized by Ten Pound Fiddle is its annual Mid-Winter Singing Festival, which will begin at 8 p.m. Friday at Hannah Community Center, 819 Abbot Road, with a performance by Chicago-based quartet Weavermania!.
The Moonlight Ski and Shoe will be held from 6-9 p.m. on Saturday at the Harris Nature Center, 3998 Van Atta Road, in Okemos.
In celebration of Black History Month, a presentation of black culture called Let Freedom Ring will take place at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at Wharton Center’s Pasant Theatre.
The MSU College of Music will present an Arabic ensemble for its “Greater Lansing Community Concert Series — Music at the Museum” at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at the Michigan Historical Museum, 702 W. Kalamazoo St., in Lansing.
Under the supervision of Sherrie Barr, associate professor of theatre and director of dance, the Orchesis Dance Concert will premiere at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the Auditorium’s Arena Theatre. The goal of Orchesis is to bring dance to the community, offering non-credit technique classes to students of all levels taught by students in Orchesis.
Megan Gebhart, a marketing senior, started a blog on blogging platform Tumblr called “52 Cups of Coffee.” Gebhart said the goal of the blog, which began last summer, is to invite a different person she doesn’t know to have coffee with her each week.
The theater production of “Oedipus” will start at 8 p.m. Friday at Williamston Theatre, 122 S. Putnam St., in Williamston, Mich.
The Center for Advanced Study of International Development will sponsor guest speaker Andrea Freidus in its CASID/GenCen Friday Forum Speaker Series at noon Friday in Room 201 of the International Center.
The American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women, or GRFW, will hold a casting call for women to speak out about heart disease at 5 p.m. Friday at Lansing Center, 333 E. Michigan Ave., in Lansing.
College is a whole new world for many freshmen traveling campus for the first time. The State News sat down with one of these explorers to get a glimpse, in 15 questions or fewer, at a new face on campus and her perspective of her new frontier.