photo by: Contributed

Virtual Cinema a Go Go returns with an online screening of director Phil Karlson's low budget thriller "Kansas City Confidential."

Mid-January may feel like a slow time of year, but the creative and interesting folks of Lawrence continue to bring absorbing, educational and entertaining events to our city. Here are some suggestions for the coming weekend:

THURSDAY

• The Ad Astra Chamber Players offer their first concert of 2022 at 1:30 p.m today. The concert, hosted by the Lawrence Music Club and Plymouth Congregational Church, will take place at the church at 925 Vermont St. See the program here.

• The Lawrence Arts Center and Senior Resource Council are hosting another “Lawrence Love Letters Story Circle” from 1:30 to 3 p.m. today at the Senior Resource Center, 745 Vermont St. Participants aged 65+ are invited to share their stories about love. Come to listen, share your stories and connect with others. As in the previous Circle, story prompts include “What does love look like? What does love sound like? What does love smell like? What does love feel like? What does love taste like? The story circle will be recorded for possible future use in a public performance at the Lawrence Arts Center in February.

FRIDAY

• Virtual Cinema a Go Go returns with an online screening of director Phil Karlson’s low budget thriller “Kansas City Confidential” (1952). Rumored to be the inspiration for Quentin Tarantino’s “Reservoir Dogs,” this nail-biter is about a gang that pulls off an armored car robbery in Kansas City. Also on the program, an episode of TV’s “Peter Gunn” (1958), maybe the coolest private eye ever, backed up by Henry Mancini’s cool jazz. Admission’s free but you’ll need to register for access credentials. See https://www.facebook.com/events/624979888824005/ for registration link.

• Story Slam: We’re Not in Kansas Anymore, 7-10 p.m., Lawrence Arts Center, 940 New Hampshire St. The event features stories, live and uncensored. Suggested donation is $10. Ages 18 and up only.

SATURDAY

• In the mood for a little “light” reading? Need to beat the wintertime blues? From 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont St., is offering Seasonal Affective Disorder lamps set up with comfy chairs and work spaces. Come in, read, soak up some light therapy. SAD lamps are also available to check out. Questions? Email hhenderson@lplks.org.

• The Kansas Authors Club invites interested viewers to attend the livestream of “Celebration of William Stafford: Living a Poetic Life.” Stafford, born in Hutchinson in 1914, was a well-known poet and pacifist. The event will feature readings by Kansas Authors Club members and will be available on the Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter pages of the Watkins Museum of History. See watkinsmuseum.org for more details.