It's Martin Luther King Jr. Day: Go Out and Do Good

It’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and to celebrate here in New York, you can get out there and donate your time to the Day of Service being held across the city. Community Service projects are being touted with the slogan, “It’s a day ON, not a day OFF.” You can check the website serve.gov/mlkday for a list of suggested events in your community. (At the Jewish Community Center in Manhattan, for example, New Yorkers can help by making kits for hospitalized children, preparing meals for the homeless, and more. The JCC is at 334 Amsterdam Avenue and West 76th Street; 212 505-4444)
Over at New York University, an entire week of events is being presented; they run the gamut from films to lectures to exhibits and community service initiatives. Check nyu.edu for details.
The littlest freedom fighters can head over to the Children’s Museum of Manhattan all day today, from 10 am to 5 pm (212 West 83rd Street; 212 721-1234). The Martin Luther King Jr. Festival features crafts projects, a performance by the Harlem Gospel Choir, and discussions of Dr. King’s work.
To cap off the evening, the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre at Symphony Space is offering a free evening of music built around the theme of peace and justice. (2537 Broadway; 212 505-4493).
So get out there and celebrate, New York--and do some good in the process.

Director Retires; Symphony Space Moves Ahead

Sometimes knowing where to go for a cultural event in New York is a no-brainer--Carnegie Hall for music; City Center for dance, and so forth. But there’s one small venue that actually has a lot of those things, and more--Symphony Space, on New York’s upper west side (Broadway and 97th Street; (212) 864-5400.
As Symphony Space embarks on its fall season, it does so with the recently announced resignation of its artistic director and one of its founders, Isaiah Sheffer, coloring its season. Sheffer (who is as much an institution as the institution itself) has been instrumental in plotting the direction of Symphony Space, and indeed helped design what is probably the institution's most widely known and beloved feature—“Selected Shorts,” story readings by well-known actors that are also carried on Public Radio International. Sheffer’s tenure has also been associated with “Bloomsday on Broadway,” the annual reading of James Joyce’s “Ulysses”; and “Wall to Wall,” celebrations of composers ranging from Bach to Sondheim.
Sheffer will continue as the host of “Selected Shorts,” and fans should take note of the upcoming ”Isaiahfest” planned for June.
In the meantime, the season is underway, with its roster of the expected (family programs like their “Just Kidding” extravaganza on Nov. 1) and the more unusual (a high-definition screening of the second part of “The Ring Cycle,” “Die Walkure,” on Oct. 11).
So take advantage--and enjoy Sheffer's legacy.