Plan ahead: What’s going on in January

With a wildly successful career as a photographer, film director and musician, Fort Scott native Gordon Parks is one of Kansas’ greats. Parks was the first black photographer hired full time at Life magazine. The Wichita Art Museum is commemorating his groundbreaking work with an exhibition of the photographs he took of his segregated hometown in 1950 with the exhibit “Gordon Parks: Back to Fort Scott,” which was organized by the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Also opening at WAM on Jan. 30: “Freedom Now! Forgotten Photographs of the Civil Rights Struggle.”

Details: Jan. 30-May 8, Wichita Art Museum, 1400 W. Museum Blvd. Included in admission price, free on Saturdays. 316-268-4921, www.wichitaartmuseum.org

A new year means new traveling exhibits at Exploration Place. But before the new ones open, you still have time to catch “Design Zone,” which celebrates math through music, video games, roller coasters and more; it closes Tuesday. Later in the month, two new exhibits open: “Guitar” and “Making Waves.” “Guitar” is devoted to the science and history of the instrument and includes nearly 60 guitars, while “Making Waves” allows you to live out your Blue Man Group fantasies by playing a Theremin organ and making instruments out of PVC tubes.

Details: “Design Zone” is 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Fri.-Sat. and Mon.-Tue., noon-5 p.m. Sun.; “Making Waves” runs Jan. 23-May 1, “Guitar” runs Jan. 30-May 8; Exploration Place, 300 N. McLean Blvd. Included in admission price. 316-660-0600, www.exploration.org.

Wichita blues fans are in luck next weekend as the Stacy Mitchhart Band is headlining the 18th annual Blues Ball at the Cotillion. Get your groove on with the Stacy Mitchhart Band’s Mississippi soul sound in songs like “I Drink Whiskey” and “Soul Stoll.” Blue Dirt Daredevils and The Pina Brothers will also perform.

Details: Doors open at 7 p.m., show at 8 p.m. Jan. 9, The Cotillion, 11120 W. Kellogg. $20 advance, $25 day of show. 316-722-4201, www.thecotillion.com

Celebrate the arrival of Three Wise Men who came bearing gifts for the infant Jesus Christ this weekend at the Sedgwick County Extension Center. This celebration of Three Kings Day (also known as Epiphany) will show how some Hispanic countries celebrate this day, with cultural crafts, music and food for sale at various tables. The little ones will receive a treat bag, and they can take a picture with the Three Wise Men.

Details: 3-6 p.m. Sat., Sedgwick County Extension Education Center, 7001 W. 21st St. North. Free, $5 per plate for food. 316-660-0100, www.sedgwick.k-state.edu

The Kansas African American Museum is having a series of events to mark the Martin Luther King holiday. This year’s theme is “But If Not.” A service day project benefiting the Union Rescue Mission will be held at the museum starting at 11 a.m. Jan. 16. Later that night, its 37th annual MLK celebration will be at 6 p.m. and will feature the Wiley College Choir.

Details: $3 button recommended and available for purchase at the museum and participating Quik Trips. TKAAM MLK Celebration is 6 p.m. Jan. 16 at 1550 N. Chapel Hill. The museum is at 601 N. Water. Go to http://tkaamuseum.net for more information about MLK events that weekend, including a parade, pancake feed and Ministerial League Conference.

Small children may not be old enough for the film festival experience at Tallgrass, but until they are, they can get a taste of it at the fourth annual Smallgrass Film Festival. Exploration Place is showcasing family-friendly feature films and shorts in its dome theater, including the hand-drawn giraffe adventure “Zarafa,” the 1991 cult classic “The Rocketeer” and “Space School,” about how astronauts train underwater. A ticket grants access to one film, activities and all museum exhibits. It’s $2 for each additional movie.

Details: Doors open at 9:30 a.m. Jan. 16, Exploration Place, 300 N. McLean. $7 nonmembers, $5 Exploration Place and Tallgrass Film Association members, $2 for additional movies. 316-660-0620, www.exploration.org

Local gearheads and grease monkeys can enter their rides or simply admire automotive handiwork at the 59th annual Starbird-Devlin Car Show at Century II. The show features a variety of events for all ages, but the main draw is the Magnificent 7 competition, which showcases vehicles shown for the first time in Wichita. $17,000 in cash and trophies will go to the most outstanding cars in the contest. The car show benefits local charities.

Details: noon-10 p.m. Jan. 15, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Jan. 16, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Jan. 17, Century II, 225 W. Douglas. $6-$20. 316-303-8100, www.wichitatix.com

It’s springtime for Hitler once again as the Broadway musical adaptation of Mel Brooks’ “The Producers” comes to Wichita. This tale of two stage producers who con investors into funding the most repulsive musical of all time has been an enduring classic since the 1967 release of the original film.

Details: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 19-21, Century II, 225 W. Douglas. $40-$70. 316-303-8100, www.wichitatix.com

Brothers George and Ira Gershwin left an indelible mark on the world of stage and screen in the first half of the 20th century with works like “Lady, Be Good” and “Of Thee I Sing.” The Wichita Symphony plays tribute with performances of the Gershwins’ finest alongside rare video and audio clips from their family vault.

Details: 8 p.m. Jan. 29, 3 p.m. Jan. 31, Century II, 225 W. Douglas. $25-$67. 316-267-7658, www.wichitasymphony.org

Comedian Sinbad has been popular with audiences for more than two decades, at one point making Comedy Central’s list of the top 100 comedians of all time. Known for his numerous HBO specials and prominent roles in films like “Jingle All the Way” and the late-1980s sitcom “A Different World,” Sinbad is bringing his “semi-dirty” humor to Wichita.

Details: 8 p.m. Jan. 29, The Orpheum, 200 N. Broadway. $35-$55. 855-755-7328, selectaseat.com

Experience the kind of sound and fury that only trucks with enormous wheels can provide at Monster Jam 2016 at Intrust Bank Arena. Get up close and personal with superstars of the monster truck world like Grave Digger as they rip and smash through any and all obstacles in their way at this family-friendly destruction derby.

Details: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 15-16, 2 p.m. Jan. 16, Intrust Bank Arena, 500 E. Waterman. $10-$38. 855-755-7328, www.selectaseat.com

This story was originally published December 31, 2015 at 2:46 PM with the headline "Plan ahead: What’s going on in January."