5 Things to do in the Sauk Valley: Pops concert, strings quartet and the history of pizza

It’s a new year: A chance to try something for the first time. That includes attending a winter pops concert, a string quartet, an open mic by aspiring musical acts or an impressionist. And if that doesn’t fit your taste, a program on the often crusty history of pizza surely will, because everyone loves pizza. Here’s 5 Things to Do in the Sauk Valley for the first week of 2023.

1 First note. Sterling Municipal Band will have its Winter Pops Concert 7 p.m. Friday at New Life Lutheran Church, 702 W. Lynn Blvd., Sterling. Crystal Duffee, the band’s principal flutist, is the featured guest soloist. Admission is free.

2 Strings in contrast. Kontras Quartet will perform 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Dixon Stage Left, 306 W. First St., Dixon. The quartet formed in 2009 when the musicians were string principals with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. The group, named for the Afrikaans word for “contrast,” has three albums. The group will perform while visual artist Lewis Ackenbach will paint a work in the modernist style. Tickets are $30.

3 Receptive audience. First Fridays Open Mic monthly show will be 7 p.m. Friday at the Oregon VFW, 1310 W. Washington St. A fish fry starts at 4 p.m. Admission is free, though there is a tip jar for donations. Performers can sign up starting at 6:30.

4 Working clean. Comedian, impressionist and singer Don Tersigni will perform 1 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 11, at Rock River Center, 810 S. 10th St., Oregon. Admission $8.

5 Cheese on top. Historian Wolf Koch will present a program on the history of America’s favorite food — pizza — 2 p.m. Sunday to the Sterling Rock Falls Historical Society, Lincoln Learning Center, 607 E. Third St., Sterling. Koch’s research says the food item’s origins stretch back farther than the accepted determination it was first made in 18th century Naples.

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