Community Calendar

Building and supporting our community is what we do at the LIFEworks Project! We invite you to shop our client choice grocery outlet today from 4:30pm-7pm.
The River City Bread Basket is located at 505 N. Winchester Ave. in Waynesboro, Va.
Select what works best for you and your family! Grab a shopping cart and not a box!
All items are available while supplies last! Meat, eggs, dairy and more! All FREE!
Call 540-251-2381 to register
We’ll see you soon! #ThriveThursday
#distributionwithdignity #buildcommunity
#foodjustice #empowerment

The Blue Ridge Irish Music School (BRIMS) offers classes for all ages and skill levels in Irish dance, music and singing. The winter/spring semester begins on January 20 & 22 and runs for 12 weeks.

Sell Me: I Am From North Korea
Written and performed by Sora Baek

Sora Baek is an award-winning actor, writer and producer from South Korea whose masterful one-woman show is inspired by the true stories of North Korean defectors and survivors who risk everything to escape one of the world’s most repressive regimes. This acclaimed show was a sell-out sensation at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Baek delivers a brutally honest performance filled with vulnerability, humor, and boundless energy as she explores questions about women’s rights, social justice and empowerment. Playbill called Baek’s vivid play “breathtaking” whose impoverished lead character 15-year-old Jisun makes the heart-wrenching decision to sell herself to buy medications for her dying mother. A second-generation North Korean refugee herself, Baek’s grandparents fled the North during the Korean War with her father when he was only four years old. Featuring historical photos, real-life footage and public testimony, this startling multimedia play is a “powerful, riveting experience. A must see!” (William Patterson University).

Big Time Rush is coming to Charlottesville, VA! Join them at John Paul Jones Arena on January 26th at 7PM to hear EVERY song from EVERY episode of their hit TV show!

Untethered, a collective formed by trumpeter Paul Giess in the summer of 2024, plays what the drummer Grant Calvin Weston dubs spontaneous creative composition. Their album “Grasping for the Moon” received critical acclaim and was featured as album of the day on Bandcamp in August, which wrote “the music is in constant flux, opening up and tightening, cooling down and catching fire, riding stasis and exploding with hyperactive motion.”

Through inventive and unpredictable improvisation, they display musical personalities that have range and depth, holding a deep pocketed funk next to chamber music-esque sound design. Intricate, profound and otherworldly, the ensemble’s inventive nature allows each performance to be a one-of-a-kind experience to resonate with their audiences. For this performance, Paul will be joined by drummer G. Calvin Weston and bassist Timothy Ragsdale.

Dialogues of the Carmelites
Music and libretto by Francis Poulenc
Featuring the JMU Opera Theatre

In 1794, during the final days of the French Revolution, a group of Carmelite nuns joyously went to the guillotine singing psalms and hymns of praise. This defiant display of love and generosity in the face of certain death helped turn the tide of the Reign of Terror and has inspired countless individuals in times of crisis and turmoil. This fascinating moment in history became the subject of French composer Francis Poulenc’s 1956 opera. Written in the wake of World War II, Dialogues of the Carmelites is a profound meditation unlike any other work in the repertoire. Through beautiful choruses and intricate scenes, the opera explores how we live, how we die, how we fall apart, how we come together, and why we must keep singing to the very end. Sung in English with English surtitles.

Forte Chamber Music Presents
The Balourdet Quartet is acclaimed for their vibrant energy and masterful blend of technical precision and emotional depth that brings a fresh perspective to both beloved classics and modern compositions. Its unique closeness and willingness to take creative risks earned it the 2024 Avery Fisher Career Grant as well as Chamber Music America’s 2024 Cleveland Quartet Award. They have recently been named the first ever Quartet-in-Residence at the Seattle Chamber Music Society and have recently completed residencies at Indiana University and the New England Conservatory’s Professional String Quartet Program.

Saturday, February 7, 4PM
Tickets: Adults $35 | Students FREE

First Christian Church
3109 Rivermont Ave
Lynchburg, VA 24503

Tickets available at www.lynchburgtickets.com/balourdetquartet, or at the door.
For more information call: 434.515.1837 or email fortechambermusic@gmail.com

Dialogues of the Carmelites
Music and libretto by Francis Poulenc
Featuring the JMU Opera Theatre

In 1794, during the final days of the French Revolution, a group of Carmelite nuns joyously went to the guillotine singing psalms and hymns of praise. This defiant display of love and generosity in the face of certain death helped turn the tide of the Reign of Terror and has inspired countless individuals in times of crisis and turmoil. This fascinating moment in history became the subject of French composer Francis Poulenc’s 1956 opera. Written in the wake of World War II, Dialogues of the Carmelites is a profound meditation unlike any other work in the repertoire. Through beautiful choruses and intricate scenes, the opera explores how we live, how we die, how we fall apart, how we come together, and why we must keep singing to the very end. Sung in English with English surtitles.

Suni and Mae are dreamers. As young girls, they dreamt about journeying far beyond our solar system, singing among the stars and discovering all that was unknown to them - the secrets of space. Using magical illusions and a state-of-the-art digital LED wall, the sisters and the audience embark on an interactive journey across the galaxy. The wonders of outer space are explored with dazzling imagery and key ideas and inventions in science, technology, and engineering. Brought to you by Cahoots NI, the award-winning team behind Danny Carmo’s Mathematical Mysteries, Secrets of Space has been developed with leading space industry experts. Recommended for audiences ages 7 and up.

The esteemed Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir (EPCC) makes its Forbes Center debut in a program that celebrates famed Estonian composer Arvo Pärt’s indelible mark on choral singing and classical music. The program features his works alongside other ethereal melodies brought to life by the choir’s resplendent sound. Well-versed in interpreting the spiritual depth that characterizes Pärt’s music, the EPCC has toured the world to critical acclaim and won countless accolades including two GRAMMY Awards for Best Choral Performance, 16 GRAMMY nominations and a Gramophone Award. Led by Tonu Kaljuste, the choir is renowned for its transcendent Gregorian chant and baroque repertoire. These “pure and impassioned, astounding choral artists” (The Wall Street Journal) will charm audiences in this virtuosic concert experience.

Solas is hailed by The Boston Globe as “the finest Celtic ensemble this country has ever produced.” Since 1995 they have been a galvanizing element in the Irish music scene - a lightning rod of talent and inspiration that set new standards for musicianship, repertoire, and intensity. Over the course of twelve critically acclaimed albums and significant international touring, Solas brought their love for the traditions of Irish music, and their sense of melodic and instrumental adventure to the world. In 2017, after a remarkable two-decade career, Solas decided it was time for a break. Now, after eight years, Solas is back and ready to celebrate its 30th Anniversary at the Forbes Center! Get ready to experience the joy of this magical performance.