This year’s Café/Cabaret is coming and for the first time it will perform for two weeks.
Favorite singers (and a few new ones) will do a British invasion at the new Performing Arts Center, 329 N. Lee St.
This year’s show will also feature a full band of musicians backing the performers. The tables will be set and the bar will be open.
Featured performers include Kent Bernhardt, John Brincefield, Mary Ann McCubbin, Becky Lippard, Carol Harris, Patsy Parnell, Matt Newton, Chrissy Bracken and Douglas Brewer.
Musical director and pianist is Matthew Brown and special guest band members are Graham Carlton, Alan Dandison and Zack Davis.
The British Invasion takes place Jan. 23 through 25 and Jan. 30 through Feb. 1. There is limited seating each night.
Tickets are on sale now at 704 -310-5507 or at leestreet.org
Uncle Buck’s All American Pub & Grub, 127 S. Main St., will host the Memphis based Jeff Jensen Band on Friday.
Justin Fedor of The New Familiars will be performing Saturday in the first of three consecutive appearances with special guests.
This Saturday, Fedor brings Jimmy Brown from Columbia Records.
For more information, call 704-633-3750 or visit facebook.com/unclebucksgrub
SPENCER — The Green Goat Gallery is hosting a miniature show, “The Magnified Heart, a Valentine’s Day Miniature Show” to run February 8 – March 9.
All mediums, 5×7 or smaller will be accepted.
Artists are asked to provide two framed pieces, along with a fee of $5 per piece, by Jan. 31 or Feb. 1.
Pieces will be offered for sale, at a 60 percent commission in favor of the artist.
An opening reception will be held at the gallery from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8.
Contact Jenni the gallery at 704-431-4527 or greengoatgallery@yahoo.com for more information.
The English Speaking Union Salisbury Branch will host an evening of opera and musical theater with tenor David Holley at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23 at the Country Club of Salisbury.
The program will include Gilbert & Sullivan and other favorites.
Holley is the director of opera, and a professor of music at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
He is also the artistic director of the Greensboro Opera and president elect National Opera Association.
Tickets are $32 per person. RSVP to Gerry Wood at 704-216-2660.
Holley brings with him:
Jason Barrios, baritone, who recently appeared as Pooh-Bah in Greensboro Light Opera and Song’s productions of The Mikado (as Pooh-Bah), HMS Pinafore (as Dick Deadeye) and as the Sergeant of Police (in The Pirates of Penzance).
Joann Martinson, soprano, has earned awards in the Bel Canto Institute, Orpheus, NATS, NATSAA, Greensboro MTNA, Heafner-Williams, Coeur d’Alene Young Artist, Long Leaf Opera, Symphony in the Valley, and the American Prize Competition.
Benjamin Blozan, pianist, is principal coach/accompanist for the UNCG Opera Theatre program and often collaborates with the Greensboro Opera.
KANNAPOLIS — Goldmine Toastmasters Club will host a free improv workshop from 8:30 to 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 8.
Paul Marks from Over The Counter Improv will conduct the workshop, which will include:
• Adding humor to public speaking
• Developing teamwork through funny eye contact games
• Games and mental exercises to develop creativity
• Sharpening listening skills
It will be held at the Rotary Hall, 211 West Ave. and is open to the public.
Anyone that wants to attend will not have to preregister. For details, visit goldminetoastmasters.com or otcimprov.com.
 
Piedmont Players Theatre introduces the cast of “A Thousand Cranes,” a drama by Kathryn Schultz Miller. Public show dates are Feb. 28, March 1 and 7-8.
Meet the cast:
Macy Abramson
Molly Bourque
Braydon Campola
Riley Campola
Elijah Carpenter
Joseph Clark
Chloe Corley
Joe Cornacchione
Josh Doyle
Garrett Jennings
Maddie Laity
Meghan Maxey
Bayleigh Grace Miller
Vivien Rudisell
Zoë Watson
Courtney Williams
“A Thousand Cranes” is based on the true story of Sadako Sasaki, a young girl born in Hiroshima during World War II.
Ten years after the atomic bomb fell on Hiroshima the people of Japan were still feeling the effects of the bomb, and Sadako was diagnosed with “radiation sickness” (leukemia).
In her struggle against this illness, she began folding paper cranes, relying on the ancient tale that states if a sick person folds one thousand paper cranes, the gods will grant her wish and make her healthy again.
Norvell Theater is located at 135 E. Fisher St.
For more information, call 704-633-5471 or visit piedmontplayers.com.
Learn how to bake with yeast and explore different mixing and shaping techniques.
From classic French loaves to rolls, take the mystery out of bread baking. Vegetarian soup will be served for lunch.
Bread Bootcamp, sponsored by Salisbury-Rowan Symphony Guild, is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25.
The cost is $50. The class will be held in a private home. For information, email Kate Davis at kldavis302@gmail.com or call 704-637-4314.
Tickets are now available for the Friday Jan. 31 performance of the North Carolina Symphony.
William Henry Curry, conductor, brings Beethoven’s 5th to the Keppel stage. There will also be music by Gluck and Haydn.
Soloists will include Dovid Friedlander, violin; Bonnie Thron, cello; Melanie Wilsden, oboe; and John Pederson, bassoon.
For tickets, call 704-637-4314 or visit salisburysymphony.org
The concert is at 7:30 p.m. at Keppel Auditorium on the campus of Catawba College.
CONCORD — The Living Room Reading Series of Old Courthouse Theatre, 49 Spring St. NW, presents “The Graduate,” bringing the inspired movie hit of the 60s vividly to life on stage.
The reading, rated PG-13, takes place at 4 p.m. Sunday. There is no admission charge.
Visit oldcourthousetheatre.org for more information.
Pottery 101, 704-209-1632, pottery101nc@gmail.com, pottery-101.com

Children’s clay classes
Pottery 101 offers an opportunity for children to experiment and learn new art making skills. Students will create their very own art piece based on various themes. Classes for ages 6-14 are Saturdays from 10 a.m. to noon. $35 per class includes instruction, materials and firing. Instructor: Jessica Buckwalter.
• Clay Valentines: January 25
• Where the Wild Things Are: February 1
• Creative Soap Dispenser: February 15
• Who Put the Cookies in the Cookie Jar?: February 22
• Clovers Pot O’ Gold: March 1
• Hilarious Hoppy Easter Bunnies: March 22
• Carrot Candy Dishes: March 29
Bring on the Sunshine!: April 12
• Spring Blue Birds: April 26
Adult clay sessions
• Beginning and intermediate wheel class: for beginners and for those with some experience. Cost: $200 + $10 lab fee. Clay and glazes provided. Thursdays January 16 through March 6, 6:30-9 p.m. Instructor: Keith Meyers
• Open studio: for students who are able to work independently; must have completed at least two beginning/intermediate level classes and demonstrate a basic skill level. Cost: $50/month + cost of clay at $30/25 lb. bag (includes the cost of glazing and firing). Studio sessions begin the 15th of each month. Open studio hours are Tuesdays 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and 6:30-9 p.m., Saturdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Register now for Spring classes at Waterworks, waterworks.org or 704-636-1882.
• Hand Building & Wheel Pottery, ages 12 to adult. Tuesdays 6:30-9 p.m. Jan. 28, Feb. 4, 11, 18, 25, March 4. All skill levels welcome. Learn all aspects of hand building, using the potter’s wheel, and sculpting techniques in this fun clay class. Explore surface treatments and glazing techniques. Instructor Brent Smith, tuition $150 (nonmembers $180)
• Figure Drawing from Life, ages 21 and up, Tuesday s 7-9 p.m. Feb. 25, March 4, 11, 18, 25, April 1, 8, 15. Non-instructional drawing sessions with nude models. Each session includes short poses for gesture drawings and longer poses for finished drawings. Monitor Don Moore, tuition $120 (nonmembers $150)
• Fun with Printmaking, ages 12 to adult, Tuesdays 6:30-9 p.m. Feb. 25, March 4, 11, 18, 25, April 1. A creative hands-on class to explore different printmaking techniques. Learn the unique printmaking processes and print a variety of projects on fabric and paper. Instructor Anna Kenar, $150 (nonmembers $180)