For one night, Marin Alsop leads the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Soulful Symphony in Martin Luther King Jr.’s 80th Birthday Celebration, a community celebration honoring the life and legacy of Dr. King. This special performance includes marching bands, choral groups and Joseph Schwantner’s New Morning for the World, showcasing texts by Dr. King set to music. Former NAACP President Kweisi Mfume narrates. 8 p.m.; $15 and up. Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral St., Baltimore. 410-783-8000; www.bsomusic.org
WHO’S IN TOWN
Franz Nicolay of the Hold Steady plays punk rock straight from the heart of Brooklyn, N.Y.; with Mischief Brew, Labianca. 8 p.m. The Ottobar, 2549 N. Howard St., Baltimore. 410-662-0069; www.theottobar.com
MUSIC
Ken Gutberlet hosts Baltimore Songwriters Night. Bring an open mind and musical ideas. 8 p.m. Tyson’s Tavern, 2112 Fleet St., Baltimore. 410-342-2112; www.tysonstavern.com
Resident musician Muleman rocks Fells Point for two consecutive Wednesdays. 9 p.m. to midnight; free. Cat’s Eye Pub, 1730 Thames St., Baltimore. 410-276-9866; www.catseyepub.com
Talking Head hosts a musical fest of garage, punk and experimental music, with Garotas Suecas, AK Slaughter, Thee Lexington Arrows, DJ Amanda Otto. 9 p.m. Talking Head, 407 E. Saratoga St., Baltimore. 410-207-8011; www.talkingheadclub.com
ART
Walters Art Museum’s exhibit “The Special Dead: Exploring the Medieval Cult of Saints” is full of lively works of medieval art. Pay close attention Christian cult relics from late antiquity to the end of the Middle Ages. The show presents the latest research on the shrine of Saint Amandus. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday; free. The Walters Art Museum, 600 N. Charles St., Baltimore. 410-547-9000; www.thewalters.org
Sherah Rosen from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago facilitates Towson Arts Collective’s Figure Drawing Session tonight. All levels of talent welcome. 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. $10. Towson Arts Collective, 410 York Road, Lower Level, Towson. 410-916-6340
WINE & DINE
Make like a Londoner and take a tea break! Elkridge Furnace Inn hosts an elegant afternoon tea with your selection of tea, an apple cinnamon scone with raspberry jam and clotted cream. Choose from Cream of Baltimore Soup, or a salad of mixed greens, roasted beets, pancetta, hazelnuts and creamy goat cheese dressing. And that’s just to start. 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. $26.50. The Elkridge Furnace Inn, 5745 Furnace Avenue, Elkridge. 410-379-9336; www.elkridgefurnaceinn.com
KIDS
Paddle Baltimore’s Middle Branch Park harbor at the weekly Twilight Canoe Escape, perfect for all outdoors-lovers ages 7 and up. Pre-registration required. 6 p.m. $5. Middle Branch Park, 3301 Waterview Ave., Baltimore. 410-396-0440
THEATER
For one more week, Centerstage’s production of “Caroline, or Change” takes us back to Louisiana, 1963, into the overheated basement domain of Caroline Thibodeaux, a maid who works for the well-meaning Gellmans and struggles to keep her bitterness in check. See the award-winning musical, set in the heart of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. Through Jan. 11. 8 p.m.; $10 to $65. The Pearlstone Theater at Centerstage, 700 N. Calvert St., Baltimore. 410-332-0033; www.centerstage.org
EVENTS
Charm City Yoga’s Yoga Birth Workshop is an ideal birth-preparation program that combines the ancient mind-body wisdom of yoga with education on the modern birthing environment. The six-week weekly series begins tonight. 6 to 8 p.m. $240. Charm City Yoga Midtown, 107 E. Preston St., Baltimore. 410-234-8967; www.charmcityyoga.com
