Year of Arts & Culture | 2007-08

The MSU Museum celebrates a landmark 150 years as Michigan's natural history and culture museum, and the state's first Smithsonian Institution affiliate

WKAR adds to new channels to its digital tier. WKAR Life (23.3) features lifestyles, how-to and encore programs; WKAR World (23.4) features documentaries, history and current events.

This exhibition, organized by the University of Michigan Museum of Art and drawn from their collection, covers over 1000 years of Chinese porcelains to illustrate the important role of foreign trade and changing domestic markets in stimulating Chinese potters — and their counterparts in Japan and Korea — to continually reinvent their repertoire of shapes and decorative techniques. The exhibition traces the exchange along the Silk Road between the Chinese Han dynasty and ancient Persia and the Mediterranean world; porcelains made for domestic use, foreign exchange and imperial families.

Michigan Opera Theatre returns in grand style to present Giuseppe Verdi's beloved "La Traviata," filling the stage with the opulent glamour and decadent delights of 19th-century Paris. In the face of certain death, a beautiful courtesan devotes herself to fleeting pleasures. But a young man's sincere declaration of true love leads Violetta to realize the emptiness of her frivolous existence and she gives up everything to pursue a romantic reverie that leads to tragic consequences. Verdi's soaring arias and passionate duets make "La Traviata" one of the most popular operas.

Discover (or rediscover) culture, creativity and all there is to see and do in Greater Lansing. Participants can visit more than 35 locations, including Potter Park Zoo, Impression 5 Science Center, as well as the Lansing Art Gallery, Lansing City Market, State Capitol, Capital Area District Library and more. MSU destinations include: Beal Botanical Gardens, Beaumont Tower, MSU Bug House, MSU Dairy Store, MSU Museum, Kresge Art Museum, Wharton Center for Performing Arts and MSU Children's Gardens. "Tourists" purchase a passport for $1 (from Lansing or Meridian malls, AAA-Grand River Ave., CATA Transportation Center, or CVB in Old Town). Then they have access to the leisure, learning and tourist attractions all day long. Presented in partnership with the Greater Lansing Convention&Visitors Bureau.

The roots, the rhythms and the richness of music, dance, arts and culture from across America and around the world come to downtown East Lansing for the Michigan State University Museum's annual Great Lakes Folk Festival, Aug. 8-10. Five music and dance stages sponsored by the City of East Lansing let visitors swing, fling, jig, reel and revel, including: Acadian (Prince Edward Island, Canada), bluegrass, Chinese erhu, Malian kora (West Africa), Ottawa Valley fiddle (Canada), Piedmont blues, Western swing, Wisconsin polka, Zydeco and more. This award-winning event has emerged as one of the region's premiere arts programs and a summer-time high note -- and is expected to draw more than 90,000 visitors throughout the weekend to celebrate culture, tradition and community. Learn more at http://www.greatlakesfolkfest.net .