Kansas State University

The following events are sponsored by the university's McCain Performance Series, Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art and the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance. Unless otherwise indicated, most are free and open to the public.

• Make valentines for all the special people in your life at the Beach Museum's Family Valentines Workshop from 1:30-3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 1. Children must be accompanied by an adult. The cost is $5 per participant, or $3 for museum members.

• "Dinner and a Mid-Night Snack: Gifts of Contemporary Works on Paper from Donald J. Mrozek and R. Scott Dorman" opens Feb. 3 and runs through July 12 in the museum's Marion Pelton and Hyle Family galleries.

• The K-State Tap Dance Ensemble and the Parents as Teachers program will present "Building Family Relations and Enhancing Child Development Through Tap Dance" from 6-7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 3, at the Sunset Zoo in Manhattan.

• The opening reception for the Beach Museum's newest exhibition, "Dinner and a Mid-Night Snack," will be from 5-7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 5, at the museum The reception will feature a special in-gallery musical performance by Aaron Martin, a Topeka native. Refreshments available.

• K-State Theatre presents "Bustown" at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 5-7 and 12-14 and at 2:30 p.m. Feb. 15 in the Mark A. Chapman Theatre in Nichols Hall. "Bustown" is a look at small-town life that questions the desperate move young people make to the city and how if affects the people and places they leave behind. It is written by Lachlan Philpott, an Australian Fulbright scholar who is at Kansas State University through the Oz to Oz Program. Tickets cost $10-$15, plus applicable taxes and fees, and can be purchased at the McCain Auditorium box office, by calling 785-532-6428 or online at http://www.k-state.edu/theatre or http://www.k-state.edu/mccain.

• The McCain Performance Series presents the divine musical comedy "Sister Act" at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 6, in McCain Auditorium. The Broadway and movie smash tells the story of Deloris Van Cartier, a wannabe diva whose life takes a surprising turn when she witnesses a crime and the cops hide her in a convent. Tickets are available at the McCain box office, online at http://www.k-state.edu/mccain, or by calling 785-532-6428.

• Professor of music Paul Hunt will perform a trombone recital at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 9, in All Faiths Chapel.

• University distinguished professor of music David Littrell will perform a viola da gamba, cello and double bass recital at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 10, in McCain Auditorium's Kirmser Hall.

• From Feb. 11-15, the USD 383 Early Expressions Student Art Show will be on display in the UMB Theater at the Beach Museum during regular museum hours. A public reception will be 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14, at the museum. Events are sponsored by the Manhattan-Ogden Public Schools Foundation.

• Guest Artist Lori Rhoden will present a piano master class at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, in All Faiths Chapel. Rhoden is a professor of music and coordinator of piano pedagogy and group piano at Ball State University where she teaches piano performance, piano pedagogy and group piano.

• Join "Dinner and a Mid-Night Snack" guest curators Thomas Bell and Katie Kingery-Page as they host an in-gallery performance by saxophone students of Anna Marie Wytko, assistant professor of music, at the Dinner and a Mid-Night Snack Salon Series from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12.

• Kansas State University faculty artists will collaborate for the "Celebrating New Music" concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, in All Faiths Chapel.

• On Friday, Feb. 13, send a tap-a-gram, performed by the K-State Tap Dance Ensemble, to your valentine. Contact Julie Pentz, associate professor of dance, at jpentz@k-state.edu for more information.

• Guest artist Chindarat Charoenwongse-Shaw will present a piano master class for Kansas State University music students at 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13, in McCain Auditorium's Kirmser Hall. Charoenwongse-Shaw is from Bangkok, Thailand. She has been a piano faculty member at the University of Central Oklahoma since 2000 and served as the piano division head from 2005-2010.

• Enjoy the talents of Kansas State University music, theatre and dance students at the fifth annual McCain Student Showcase at 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 15, in McCain Auditorium. Tickets may be purchased at the McCain Auditorium box office, by calling 785-532-6428, or online at http://www.k-state.edu/mccain/.

• The voice studio of Amy Rosine, associate professor of music, will perform a recital at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17, in McCain Auditorium's Kirmser Hall.

• A cheeky vaudeville-inspired circus show for all ages, "Circus Oz: But Wait…There's More" comes to the McCain Auditorium stage at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17. Using a mix of stunt-jumping acrobatics, cutting-edge juggling, virtuosic unicycling, elegant trapeze flying and more, the show uses circus to satirize the rising tide of information, speed, consumerism, visual pollution, television, the Internet and today's manic fast-paced lifestyles. Tickets are available at the McCain box office, online at http://www.k-state.edu/mccain, or by calling 785-532-6428.

• Faculty artists Susan Maxwell, instructor of music, and Steven Maxwell, associate professor of music, will share a basso and tuba recital at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17, in All Faiths Chapel.

• The K-State African Ensemble will perform at Fort Riley on Wednesday, Feb. 18. Time and location of performance to be announced.

• The women of Sigma Alpha Iota will present the "Women in Music" concert at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 18, in All Faiths Chapel. Sigma Alpha Iota is an international music fraternity that promotes interaction among those who share a commitment to music.

• The General Student Recital will be at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 19, in All Faiths Chapel. Performers in the recital include students from the university's voice, keyboard, wind, string and percussion programs.

• At 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19, don't miss "Observing an Artist: Margo Kren" at the Beach Museum. Kren, professor emeritus of art at Kansas State University, will review her 45-year art career.

• Kansas State University's Ebony Theatre will present "By the Way, Meet Vera Stark," a funny and irreverent look at racial stereotypes in the glamorous days of old Hollywood, at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 19-21 and at 2:30 p.m. Feb. 22 in East Stadium's Purple Masque Theatre. Tickets cost $4-$7, plus applicable taxes and fees, and can be purchased at the McCain Auditorium box office, by calling 785-532-6428, or online at http://www.k-state.edu/theatre or http://www.k-state.edu/mccain.

• Flautists from across the region will be campus Saturday, Feb. 21, for K-State Flute Day, coordinated by Karen Large, assistant professor of flute. The final concert will take place at 4 p.m. in McCain Auditorium's Kirmser Hall.

• The world's top taiko drummers will present an entrancing celebration of music, physicality and life in "KODO," at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22. Tickets are available at the McCain box office, online at http://www.k-state.edu/mccain, or by calling 785-532-6428.

• The Parent to Parent program interactive workshop, Coaching a Home Run Reader, will be 10-11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 25, at the Beach Museum. The workshop looks at the ways we approach problems and challenges from the perspective of our own personal knowledge and experience, and how parents can use these tools to coach their children to become successful readers. Children will take part in activities and tour during the workshop. Reservations are required by calling 785-532-7718.

• The Early Release Workshop, Geometric Abstracts, will be 2-3:30 pm. Wednesday, Feb. 25, at the Beach Museum. Children will learn about geometric abstraction and create their own using acrylic paints. The workshop is for ages 5 and up. The cost is $5 per participant, or $3 for museum members. Reservations are required by calling 785-532-7718.

• Life Forms: Chet Peters Roundtable will be at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, at the Beach Museum. Join Liz Seaton, Beach Museum curator; Pat Bosco, Kansas State University vice president for student life and dean of students; and Steve Peters, son of Chet Peters, in conversation about Chet Peters, the artist.

• Catch the K-State Tap Dance Ensemble from noon to 3:15 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27, at the Wamego Middle School Fine Arts Fair.