Night & Day Events
12 Thursday
Just what are sweet dreams made of? The Missouri Satsang Society, an affiliate of Eckankar (we’ll get to that) is holding a free three-week book discussion on The Art of Spiritual Dreaming by Harold Klemp, Eckankar’s spiritual leader. Eckankar describes itself as “the religion of the light and sound of God,” but discussion facilitators will share simple techniques that people of all faiths can use to remember and understand their dreams. The learning begins at 7 p.m. at the Trails West Library, 11401 E. 23rd Street in Independence. Call 816-931-0850 for more information.
13 Friday
When Ron Megee’s Late Night Theatre reprises The Birds tonight, it will be in the troupe’s brand-spankin’ — (and we do mean spankin’) — new digs at The Old Chelsea, which in a former life served as the River Market’s porn palace. Billed as a “condensed tribute” to Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds, the LNT production uses an all-male cast — including Philip blue owl Hooser as “Hitch” himself — to present 90 minutes of pure entertainment in a way only Megee and coproducer Missy Koonce can. A bonus in LNT’s move to the River Market — aside from the Old Chelsea’s sexually educational wallpaper — is that the company can add more 8 p.m. performances to its “late night” schedule. For tickets, call 816-235-2700.
14 Saturday
Nader and LaDuke: They may not be not as well-known as Gore and Lieberman and Bush and Cheney, but Ralph Nader and Winona LaDuke are trying to offer an alternative to the Democratic and Republican parties. In that effort, local Greens rally at Mill Creek Park today from 2 to 5 p.m., when not much debate will occur on such topics as campaign finance reform, universal health care, and ending corporate welfare. For more details, call 816-421-2935.
People for Animal Rights holds its second annual Animal Rights Symposium, titled “Compassion in Action,” this weekend. Among the animal rights heavy-petters scheduled to appear: Robert Cohen, the author of Milk, the Deadly Poison, who recently went on a hunger strike to protest bovine growth hormone; Chris DeRose, the founder of Last Chance for Animals, who has exposed animal abuse by reporting on Animal Planet and Hard Copy; and Dr. Elliot Katz, the founder of In Defense of Animals, which works toward ending animals’ status as property. The events begin with registration at 7:30 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, 2345 McGee Street, and include a gourmet vegan buffet lunch. For details, call 816-767-1199.
15 Sunday
He’s an English tenor with a flair for lieder, the German art song. It may even be that Ian Bostridge is a leader when it comes to lieder — he’s become a rising star since embarking on a full-time career as a singer in 1995. Before that, he earned a doctorate in history at Oxford with a dissertation on 17th century witchcraft. In his Midwest debut today at 2 p.m. at Johnson County Community College’s Yardley Hall, Bostridge is sure to charm the audience. A preconcert talk begins at 1 p.m.; for tickets, call 913-469-4445.
What better way to celebrate the true end of the 20th century than a three-part exhibition on the ever-changing definition of time? The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art kicks off a countdown to the new millennium with Tempus Fugit: Time Flies, an exhibit of artworks that examine time as both a natural phenomenon and a cultural construct, including work by Marcel Duchamp, Edward Hopper, Sol LeWitt, Mariko Mori, and Andy Warhol. For more information, call the museum at 816-561-4000.
16 Monday
Thirty-three million children in the United States have $50 million coming to them, and it’s unlikely they’ll go collect it themselves. So the Association for Children for Enforcement of Support is sponsoring a candlelight vigil to “shine the light of justice for forgotten children.” They hope the event raises awareness of problems surrounding unpaid child support; the vigil takes place at the Clay County Courthouse, 12 S. Water Street in Liberty, at 6:30 tonight. For more information, call 816-836-0397 or 816-781-1606.
17 Tuesday
Last year Chinese poet and novelist Ha Jin rose from being an unknown writer to literary stardom after winning the National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award for fiction. This month Waiting (which chronicles life in 1960s Communist China) came out in paperback, and his new collection of short stories, The Bridegroom, was also released. And tonight he’s in Kansas City for a 7:30 reading at Unity Temple. Pick up complimentary tickets at Rainy Day Books, 2706 W. 53rd Street in Fairway; call 913-384-3126 for information.
18 Wednesday
The Reggae Cowboys round up their innovative fusion of reggae, blues, country, R&B, and jazz to put on some “wild West Indies” music at the Grand Emporium, 3832 Main, tonight at 9. The ‘boys are touring in support of their latest album, Rock Steady Rodeo. For more information, call 816-531-1504. Yee haw, mon.
