“A Tuff Shuffle – Backstage with Louis Armstrong” a one-man theatrical show featuring Danny Mullen. 7:30 p.m Dec. 28. LGAC Black Box Theater, 405 N. Lee St., Salisbury. Admission $10 at the door. 704-633-2787; salisburyartist@gmail.com
This Friday night Dec 28 at Looking Glass, 405 N. Lee St., theatre-goers who arrive early to get a good seat for the show “A Tuff-Shuffle: Backstage with Louis Armstrong” will be treated to a special pre-show performance at 7 p.m. by one-man band David Lamanno. Doors open 6:45 p.m.
Information: 704-633-2787 or salisburyartists@gmail.com

The Inn will be closed this weekend but will host a New Years Eve Bash with Broken Yesterday, Evolve, Jordan Connell and Sean Stoots. The Inn is a Christian rock music coffee shop/venue located at 1012 Mooresville Hwy 150, across from Food Lion and next to KFC.

SPENCER — The N.C. Transportation Museum is pleased to host a traveling exhibit from the Smithsonian Institution and the N.C. Humanities Council. The “Journey Stories” exhibit opens Jan. 5 with a reception for invited guests. The exhibit is free to anyone to view during its six week appearance at the museum, through Feb. 16. Regular museum admission applies to view other exhibits and to ride the on-site train.
Journey stories are tales of how we and our ancestors came to America, a central element of our personal heritage. From Native Americans to new American citizens and regardless of our ethnic or racial background, everyone has a story to tell. Our history is filled with stories of people leaving behind everything, families and possessions, to reach a new life in another state, across the continent, or even across an ocean.
The reasons behind those decisions are myriad. Many chose to move, searching for something better in a new land. Others had no choice, like enslaved Africans captured and relocated to a strange land and bravely asserting their own cultures, or like Native Americans already here, who were often pushed aside by newcomers. Our transportation history is more than trains, boats, buses, cars, wagons, and trucks. The development of transportation technology was largely inspired by the human drive for freedom.
The exhibition focuses on why we work and the needs that our jobs fulfill. Our work takes place everywhere – on the land, on the streets of our communities, in offices and factories, in our homes, and even in space. An exploration of the tools and technologies that enabled and assisted workers also reveals how workers sometimes found themselves with better tools, but also with faster, more complex and often more stressful work environments.
The Journey Stories exhibit will be supplemented by two programs that tell more specific stories about journeys that are part of the American experience.
Saturday, Jan. 26, Dr. Bill Anderson will speak about the removal of the Cherokee Nation from its homeland in the Southeast.
Saturday, Feb. 9, Meltonia Young shares Stories from the Underground Railroad, part art exhibition, part history, and part decoding of the secrets behind the quilt patches that are synonymous with the Underground Railroad.
• Saturday, Jan. 5: PPT’s Youth Theatre Audition Workshop 9 a.m.-1 .p.m. Only 20 spots available. Call 704-633-5471 to sign up. Only $40. Norvell Theater, 135 E. Fisher St., PiedmontPlayers.com
• Saturday-Sunday, Jan. 5-6: Set construction for Piedmont Players Theatre’s “To Kill a Mockingbird.” 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Lunch provided. No experience required, come for an hour…come for the weekend…come help build the set of a Pulitzer Prize Winning Classic. Meroney Theater, 213 S. Main St., 704-633-5471, PiedmontPlayers.com
• Monday-Tuesday, Jan. 7-8: Auditions for Piedmont Players Theatre’s Youth Production “The Jack Tales,” 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. Only 25 spots per time slot. Auditions by appointment only. Call 704-633-5471 to sign up. Norvell Theater, 135 E. Fisher St., PiedmontPlayers.com

The first Catawba College Honor Choir Festival will be held Friday, Jan. 4, 2013 on Catawba’s campus. The more than 150 seventh through twelfth grade students that have been selected from participating schools across North Carolina will rehearse throughout the day and will offer an evening performance at 7 p.m. in the Omwake-Dearborn Chapel.
The students will be divided among three honor choirs: men’s chorus, women’s chorus, and 7-10th grade mixed chorus. The guest directors for these groups will be Greg Detweiler, choral director at Morehead State University; Sheryl Jones, former director of the Longhorn Singers at The University of Texas; and Dean Orbison, choral director at East Rowan High School. Catawba College choral students will sing along with the honor choir students and perform a set of music during the public performance under the direction of Catawba College Choral Director Dr. Jimmy Shepherd.
Throughout the day, junior and senior participants will have the opportunity to audition for music scholarships and there will also be a solo voice competition. The winners of this competition will receive an award and sing their solos at the 7 p.m. concert.
Participating schools include East Rowan High School, West Rowan High School, Salisbury High School, West Henderson High School, North Iredell High School, Queen’s Grant High School (Matthews), South Columbus High School, Surry Central High School, Lake Norman High School, Erwin Middle School, Brown Middle School (Davidson County), Lexington Senior High School, A.L. Brown High School, Saint Mary’s School (Raleigh), and Thomasville High School.
The 7 p.m. performance on Jan. 4 at Omwake-Dearborn Chapel is open to the public and tickets can only be purchased at the door for $3. Contact Dr. Jimmy Shepherd at choir321@gmail.com with questions.
HICKORY — The Forming Artists’ Association of Hickory is looking for artists to become members of an exciting new artists group forming in the greater Hickory area. A meeting is planned for Jan. 10, at 6:30 p.m. to share ideas and discover ways to promote, inspire and educate visual artists from the area, as well as elect officers and form committees. The meeting will be at 18 Second St. SE, Hickory. Contact Pat Flachbart at rakupatti@earthlink.net or 828 496 2293 for more information.
See the 2013 Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 12, when forty aspiring opera singers compete in the NC District auditions. Each singer, between the ages of 20 and 30, must have prepared five arias in the original language and key. The event will be held in Dana Auditorium, Queens University of Charlotte, 1900 Selwyn Ave., Charlotte. The public is invited to attend, with a $3 donation suggested .
for admission. For more information contact Leslie Paliyenko at lesliepaliy@windsgream.net
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