Save the Date: Americana music, rap icon, MLK tributes stand out

What do you get when you combine musician Mary Flower with the BBQ Boys band? Music that’s finger-picking good.

Starting at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 13 at the Old Liberty Theater, 113 N. Main Ave., Ridgefield, Mary Flower, a finalist in 2000 and 2002 at the National Finger Picking Guitar Championship, will perform songs that range from ragtime to folk to hot jazz for just $20 a ticket. The fun doesn’t stop with Flower, however, as she’ll be joined by the BBQ Boys, a four-piece jazz, blues and jug band that mixes sounds from a mandolin, guitar, dobro and horns. 360-887-7260 or www.oldlibertytheater.com/calendar-1/2018/1/13/mary-flower-the-bbq-boys.

This event includes one of the most surprising Clark County appearances of a young 2018. Professor Griff, a founding member of the iconic rap group Public Enemy, will make a pit stop in Clark County for the Clark College MLK Celebration from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Jan. 17 at Clark College, 1933 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver. Griff will give a lecture from 1 to 2 p.m. in the Gaiser Student Center, and the rest of the day features a visiting museum filled with more than 7,000 original artifacts pertaining to the 1968 Olympics, Muhammad Ali, Arthur Ashe, the Black Panther Party, Shirley Chisholm, and many musicians of the era. The free event’s focus is to honor Martin Luther King Jr.’s teachings and the 50th anniversary of his assassination, thus the theme “1968.” 360-699-6398 or www.clark.edu/campus-life/arts-events/mlk.

If you’re seeking more discussion on race and social justice in the United States, look no further than Science on Tap Portland — Cause and Effect: Racism, Poverty and Public Health at 7 p.m. Jan. 16 at the Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 N.E. Alberta St., Portland; $15 general admission, $8 with student ID, 21 and younger only allowed with a guardian. Epidemiologist Dr. Frank A. Franklin, who’s the director of the community epidemiology services at the Multnomah County Health Department, will examine the crossroads of inequality and public health and the quest for well-being improvements for vulnerable populations, while you relax, sip on a pint and listen. 503-719-6055 or www.albertarosetheatre.com.

Watch championship fighting without even leaving the area. In the latest installment of Rumble at the Roseland at 7 p.m. Jan. 20 at the Roseland Theater, 8 N.W. Sixth Ave., Portland, Alex Aguilar, the Full Contact Fighting Federation’s 170-pound welterweight champion, returns to battle pro-bound Johnny James. The 135-pound bantamweight division will also have a championship bout, and there will be two more “superfights” in the 125-pound and 155-pound divisions. Tickets range from $29 to $59. 971-230-0033 or roselandpdx.com/event/rumble-at-the-roseland-11.

Magenta Theater, 1108 Main St. Vancouver, keeps the quirky coming. Starting at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 20, the theater’s latest outside-the-box production, “The Black Chair Project,” begins with staged readings that include topics such as dating faux pas, philosophical monkeys, a “Twilight Zone”-like state and political sabotage. Magenta performers act in and direct the four plays, and there will be an intermission so you can mingle and discuss the topics. Tickets range from $10 to $12. 360-635-4358 or www.magentatheater.com/page/black-chair-project-4-one-acts-january-20th.

Find treasure at the Clark County Antique and Collectible Show, which features 250 booths from vendors across the U.S. from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Jan. 21, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 22 at the Clark County Event Center at the Fairgrounds,17402 N.E. Delfel Road Ridgefield; $6 for both days; $6 for parking. Collectible toys, period lighting, estate jewelry, sports memorabilia and much more will be on sale. Appraisers will also be on hand to identify and evaluate show patrons’ individual pieces if brought to the show for $7 per item. You can bring photos of larger pieces to be appraised. 503-282-0877 or christinepalmer.net.

Make your New Year’s resolutions a reality by listening to Seattle author Kyndra D. Holley discuss her new cookbook, “Craveable Keto,” from to 2 to 3:30 p.m. Jan. 27 at Vintage Books, 6613 E. Mill Plain Blvd., Vancouver; free. Holley preaches the real food, low-carb, keto way of life, and will be available for a question-and-answer session and a book-signing. 360-694-9519 or www.vintage-books.net.