Taste, view, learn, ‘Connect’ all day across the county

You can get a free jolt of arts, sciences and more with “Connect with Culture Day,” Friday and Saturday at sites all across Mecklenburg County.

Yes, that name is singular, but its dozens of experiences are spread over both days. Notably, all the free stuff, organized by the Arts & Science Council, isn’t just uptown: Activities sprawl across Mecklenburg County, from “Taste of the World,” plus a social circus and mobile art at the Charlotte Museum of History, to gallery tours at Johnson C. Smith and Davidson College, to Charlotte Ballet folks doing storytime at five regional libraries, and a dance class at the Bette Rae Thomas Recreation Center.

The whole schedule kicks off at three breweries tonight, from salsa lessons at NoDa Brewing to an African drum circle at Resident Culture to jazz at Lenny Boy, and collaborative artwork at all three.

But you can also slip into the Mint Museum uptown for free starting at 6, and roam around on a late-night adventure til 11 p.m. – stepping out to hit a 9 p.m. Latin music concert at the adjoining Levine Center for the Arts.

And Saturday morning, you’ll find uptown’s museums – the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, Levine Museum of the New South, McColl Center for Art + Innovation, Mint Museum Uptown and Wells Fargo History Museum – open for free.

Check out the whole schedule at www.artsandscience.org.

This story was originally published January 26, 2018 at 10:44 AM with the headline "Taste, view, learn, ‘Connect’ all day across the county."