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Virtual book talks and concerts...and Sun Prairie Groundhog Day, in Isthmus Picks for Jan. 28-Feb. 4

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Education for Democracy: Renewing the Wisconsin Idea, Thursday, Jan. 28, 4:15 pm: The Wisconsin Idea has long brought the thinkers and scholarship of the public university into the community. A new book of essays, Education for Democracy: Renewing the Wisconsin Idea (University of Wisconsin Press), focuses on the role of the public university in a democratic society. At this livestream book launch event, editor Chad Alan Goldberg (pictured) and essayists will speak about their contributions and participate in a Q&A with the audience. Register here.

Kel Mur, Gillian Drier, Thursday, Jan. 28, 5 pm: A gallery talk by two of the three new artists exhibiting through Feb. 27 at the Arts + Literature Laboratory will be broadcast live on Facebook. Kel Mur's Reap includes weaving, video, performance and sound. Gillian Drier's Ideas, Ideals, Criticism, and Concerns incorporates quilting, beading, community and Black future. Mur and Drier are both participants in the Bridge Work Madison emerging artists program. The third artist exhibiting, Victoria Maidhof, incorporates photos and text into a multidimensional exploration of loneliness in her Don't Fall in Love and Chronicles of the Ordinary. Gallery open hours are noon-5 pm Thursdays-Saturdays.

Sundance Film Festival, Thursday, Jan. 28-Wednesday, Feb. 3: If there is a silver lining to the pandemic, it is that we have been able to experience virtually many events we may never have been able to attend otherwise. Case in point: The legendary Sundance Film Festival is now no farther away than your couch. Even in its virtual incarnation, the choices of what to watch are overwhelming, so cruise to the How to Fest page to get started. Films are $15 each and "seats" are limited, so as with an in-person film fest some decision-making will be needed...but there is also an array of intriguing free programming viewable just by signing up for a fest account.

Verona Quartet, Friday, Jan. 29, 7 pm: The string quartet-in-residence at Oberlin College, Verona Quartet, has quickly risen to prominence with their performances at international competitions and captured Chamber Music America's prestigious Cleveland Quartet Award in 2020. For this Wisconsin Union Theater concert, the quartet welcomes guest cellists Dmitry Kouzov and Annie Jacobs-Perkins (Verona cellist Jonathan Dormand will be unable to participate due to pandemic-related complications). The livestream begins with a Q&A session, followed by performances of String Quartet in A Minor, Op. 51, No. 2 by Johannes Brahms, and the “American” string quartet by Antonín Dvořák. Tickets here.

Sun Prairie Groundhog Day events, Friday, Jan. 29-Tuesday, Feb. 2: It turns out that Groundhog Day is less "a day" than a state of mind, evidenced, of course, in the classic Bill Murray film of 1993 in which he keeps reliving the day until he finally gets it right. It's also evidenced in Sun Prairie by the fact that its festivities run from Jan. 29 through the day itself, Feb. 2. There's a scavenger hunt for pictures of Jimmy the Groundhog throughout the town. Area merchants are featuring a number of specials and Cannery Wine Bar and Tasting Room is giving away bottles of "Jimmy Juice" which, since you must be 21 + to get it, figures to be alcoholic. But move over Punxsutawney Phil, the real fun comes on Feb. 2 at 7 am when Jimmy comes out to predict the rest of this winter's weather. Tune into the special broadcast via local cable (TDS Channel 1013 or Charter Channel 983), Roku or Apple TV apps (search for KSUN), Mobile app (search for Sun Prairie Media Center in app store or Google Play), or the Sun Prairie Media center website or Facebook.

J. Marsden, Saturday, Jan. 30, 7 pm: Madison singer-songwriter J. Marsden's solo music often sounds like a rootsier take on '90s-era grunge rock, even when he is playing acoustic (and quite different from his work with ska-punks 4 Aspirin Morning or the metal fusion Wall of Funk). Marsden is currently working on a follow-up to the 2017 album Gravity. You can help make it happen — and get a sneak preview of some new songs — by attending a livestream concert fundraiser hosted by The Spaceship.

HUMP! Film Festival, Saturday, Jan. 30, 10 pm: The 2020 in-person screenings for the annual HUMP! Film Festival experienced COVID coitus interruptus, but rose again for a virtual second coming over the summer. (Sorry, couldn't resist.) Curated by author, activist, and "Savage Love" relationship advice columnist Dan Savage, HUMP! features homemade short films by people of all body types, gender identities and sexual expressions. The premiere on Jan. 30 features an option to join a viewing party with Savage. For tickets and info on future screenings (continuing through March 6), visit here.

Fang Sings the Classics, Sunday, Jan. 31, 1 pm: Lords of the Trident was active in making online videos even before the pandemic sent musicians around the globe to the virtual world. In COVID-19 times the band has kept up a steady stream of entertaining metal-themed livestreams which also usually double as fundraisers for local nonprofits. Next up, lead singer Fang VonWrathenstein takes on opera arias (think "Nessun Dorma" and "O Sole Mio"), with accompaniment by guitarist Baron Taurean Helleshaar and duet guest Brittney Slayes (of Unleash the Archers). Find the livestream (and donate for Community Shares of Wisconsin) on YouTube or Twitch.

A Special Retrospective Schubertiade, Sunday, Jan. 31, 3 pm: UW Mead Witter School of Music professor of piano Martha Fischer and her husband, Bill Lutes (an emeritus professor of piano), have coordinated seven previous January concerts celebrating the birth of composer Franz Schubert. The tradition will continue in 2021 (on Schubert's birthday, no less) with a webcast compilation of music from past concerts, including performances by singers Cheryl Bensman-Rowe, Emily Birsan, Wesley Dunnagan and many others. The concert also features a newly recorded Fantasie in F Minor piano duet by Fischer and Lutes.

MMoCA Mosaic 5K, through January 31, anytime: Madison is lucky to have two great art museums, the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art and the Chazen, both of which are free to visitors. MMoCA is raising funds to keep admission free going forward. The Mosaic 5K is a socially distant run; participants can "run, walk, or roll the 5K anywhere — inside or out." Furthermore, if watching movies on your couch is more your thing, go for it. You do have to set your fundraising goals, though, and ask family and friends to support your run (or movie marathon). Registration is $35 and all registrants will receive a limited-edition scarf (pictured) featuring the artwork of up-and-coming Madison artist Terrence Adeyanju.

Cicely Tyson, Monday, Feb. 1, 6 pm: Cicely Tyson's acting career stretches back to the days of live television and an episode of the 1950s NBC series Frontiers of Faith. More TV, film and theater work led up to her breakout roles in the 1970s, including an Academy Award nomination as best actress for Sounder and a Primetime Emmy win for The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. And Tyson has remained a star ever since, including five more Emmy nominations for her work in the current series How to Get Away With Murder. In this ticketed livestream talk from Barnes & Noble, Tyson, a 2016 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, discusses her new memoir, Just as I Am, with Tyler Perry. Update: We are saddened to report Cicely Tyson died on Jan. 28, 2021; this pre-recorded event will now move to Facebook as a free event in her honor.

Plant Sale with the Pros, online sales through Feb. 1 (while supplies last): During a Wisconsin winter, it's never too early to start dreaming about spring. To that end, this seasonal rite hosted by Olbrich Botanical Gardens has been reimagined as an online storefront. Packages of curated perennials and vegetables and individual fruit trees are available for purchase now through Feb. 1 (or when supplies run out). Individual perennials and ground cover plants will be posted on Jan. 15. Curbside pickup will begin May 7, and while the usual interaction with experts for plant advice can't happen in person, you can email questions to horticulture librarian Amy O'Shea (aoshea@cityofmadison.com).

Give the Gift of Mobility, Feb. 1-28, Metcalfe's: Throughout February, Metcalfe's Hilldale and West Towne markets will offer customers the option to donate $1 or round up a purchase total to support Madison residents experiencing homelessness. Friends of the State Street Family will use funds collected to buy Madison Metro bus passes for distribution to those in need. The campaign was created by Ellina Seckel, associate chief of pharmacy for William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital.

Data Science Research Bazaar, Wednesday-Thursday, Feb. 3-4, 1 pm: Data are more indispensable than ever, and more and more of our everyday interactions are now a datum point collected somewhere. So understanding how to use such information is a valuable skill for both researchers and the general public. The Data Science Hub at UW-Madison is hosting its second "research bazaar," with an overall focus on using data for social good, kicking off with a pair of programs this week (including a talk on "Flourishing in the Digital Age" by Dr. Shilagh Mirgain, 1 pm Thursday). Four more sessions take place through Feb. 25. Find the schedule and register here for the free livestreams.

Kat Stiennon, through Feb. 28: Madison-based photographer Kat Stiennon has been photographing professional ballet dancers since 2013, including local companies Madison Ballet and Magnum Opus. Selections captured in the studio and at perhaps unexpected locations are the focus of The Art of Capturing Movement, the current virtual exhibition at PhotoMidwest. Find the exhibit here through February.

When Work Doesn’t Work: Grappling with Vocation and the “Good Life”, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 4 pm: Sometimes needing to be happy in your job becomes less important than having a job at all. Maybe those two things don't need to be mutually exclusive, though. In this livestream interview sponsored by Upper House and the Nehemiah Center for Urban Leadership Development, anthropologist and author Christine Jeske will share insights about work and the meaning of the “good life,” much of it gathered from interviews she conducted amid some of the highest unemployment and entrenched racism in the world. Her book, The Laziness Myth: Narratives of Work and the Good Life in South Africa (Cornell, 2020), examines how cultural narratives and systemic barriers influence the ways we experience work and how prevalent myths shape (and distort) peoples’ beliefs about vocation. Jeske is an associate professor of cultural anthropology at Wheaton College. Register here.

Arboretum Winter Enrichment Series, Thursday, Feb. 4, 10 am: This popular series of naturalist lectures from UW Arboretum is virtual this spring, on Thursday mornings, Feb. 4 through April 8. The series kicks off with a lecture by Thomas Easley, assistant dean of community and inclusion at the Yale School of the Environment, on "Relationships, History, Hip Hop, and Forestry: Thinking About Diversity and Inclusion in the Environmental Sciences." Each lecture costs $10; registration is required by the Sunday prior to the Thursday it takes place (that's Jan. 31 for the first lecture). Find info here on the full series.

Wisconsin Scavenger Hunt, ongoing: Are you bored with staying inside yet? More importantly, are the kids bored? Okay, stop fibbing; we're all bored. The Wisconsin Historical Society has pulled together a Wisconsin scavenger hunt that should get both adults and kids out of the house with a purpose, engaging with our surroundings and our state's history and culture. And you can even do most of the hunt from a car, and all of it in a safe, socially distanced way. Hunt items (PDF list here) range from fish fry signs to Cream City brick. And did you know Master Locks are made right here in Milwaukee? 14-0-30!

We hope it's handy for you to find the Picks in a single weekly post. The individual Picks can still be found in the usual places online: collected here, and sprinkled throughout all the events.

Editor's note: This post has been updated following the death of Cicely Tyson on Jan. 28.