By BILL KISER
DavidsonNews.net

Area stages are where it’s happening this weekend, with a healthy list of theatrical and musical performances to choose from.   The Connie Company — the youth performance group of the Davidson Community Players — and the Davidson College Theatre Department offer “Sleeping Beauty” in seven shows on Friday-Sunday at the Cunningham Theatre Center’s Barber Theatre. Meanwwhile, Warehouse Performing Arts Center in Cornelius will open its run of the comedy “On The Verge” with shows Thursday through Sunday.  On Sunday, award-winning cellist Anna Wittstruck — the granddaughter of Davidson residents Bill and Mary Vinson — performs works by Beethoven, Mozart and Shostakovich in the Sloan Music Center’s Tyler-Tallman Hall at Davidson College. Read the full story

A blues concert and service in Huntersville with Mike Farris and a service in Davidson led by best-selling author Donald Miller this weekend will kick off a four-week message series called “Hope in a House of Blues” at the two campuses of Lake Forest Church. Read the full story

By BILL KISER
DavidsonNews.net

Award-winning cellist Anna Wittstruck, will perform at Davidson College on Sunday afternoon as part of the college’s 2012 Concert Series. Two movies with a message will be shown in Davidson this week – “Courageous” on Wednesday at Davidson United Methodist Church, and the documentary “Dreaming Nicaragua” on Sunday night at Davidson College Presbyterian Church.

On the stage, the Connie Company — the youth performance group of the Davidson Community Players — and the Davidson College Theatre Department will perform “Sleeping Beauty” this week, with seven shows spread over Friday-Sunday at the Cunningham Theatre Center’s Barber Theatre at Davidson College.

And for something a little more lighthearted, the Warehouse Performing Arts Center in Cornelius will open its run of the comedy “On The Verge” Thursday, with shows daily through Feb. 4. There’s also live music scheduled later this week at Summit Coffee and the Brickhouse Tavern, both in downtown Davidson.

These events — and more below — are in our day-by-day calendar at right. Also, at right on this page, see our movie show times listings for Our Town Cinemas. Read the full story

By BILL KISER
DavidsonNews.net

Local musicians take the spotlight this weekend at clubs around the area. On Thursday night, Davidson’s Summit Coffee will hold its Songwriters Showcase, with performances by Jackie Moseley, Summit’s 2011 Songwriter of the Year winner, and Cambridge, Mass., folk singer Matthew Alexander. And on Saturday night, The Birdsnest in Davidson will hold its After Holiday Jam. The second-annual event will feature music by Billy Jones and Mason Bissett. Read the full story

CORNELIUS – Lake Norman YMCA in Cornelius will host its monthly Fun Night for 4th and 5th graders on Friday, Jan. 20. The event is 8 to 10:30 p.m. at the Y on Davidson Street. Read the full story

By BILL KISER
DavidsonNews.net

Davidson College will hold a series of lectures and other events at Alvarez Student Union on Monday as part of the college’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration. And there’s plenty more going on in the area this week, as well – from organ music to an art exhibit opening to the start of the three-weekend VisitLakeNorman.org Soccer Series.

On Tuesday night, a performance by organist Susan Bates kicks off the second half of Davidson College Presbyterian Church’s Organ at Davidson series, with a reception to follow. Wednesday night, Davidson College’s Van Every/Smith Galleries will host an exhibit of recent gifts and acquisitions, a selection of works by artist Sean Scully and the launch of “Davidson Collects: 100 Writers Respond to Art,” a book that includes essays by 100 college students on works in the school’s permanent art collection. Read the full story