Your free time is precious, so how to spend it? Here are five ideas for Birmingham, Jan. 31-Feb. 7, 2020.

Image by Vinson Tan from Pixabay

SPECIAL EVENTS

Indulge in fantasy at Kami-Con. If you're into anime, manga, cosplay, gaming and other aspects of geek culture, you'll be in good company this weekend at the BJCC East Exhibition Halls. The convention features panels, concerts, vendors, contests and more, today-Sunday. Special guests include voice actors such as Steve Blum, Rob Paulsen, Jacob Hopkins and Leah Clark.

Kami-Con Season 12, Jan. 31-Feb. 2, BJCC East Exhibition Halls, 2100 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd. North, $55 weekend pass, $35-$55 daily.

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Red Mountain Theatre Company Facebook photo

THEATER

Does love conquer all? The characters of "Porgy and Bess" are faced with that question, and many others, in George Gershwin's folk-jazz opera of 1935. Tough social issues and raw street life are part of the storyline, which explores the relationship of a disabled beggar and the woman he wants to save from drugs, abuse and violence. The show's musical numbers -- "Summertime," "My Man's Gone Now," "I Got Plenty O' Nuttin'," "It Ain't Necessarily So" and "Bess, You Is My Woman Now" -- require power and subtlety from the cast, as you'll see when Red Mountain Theatre Company takes on the Gershwin classic. The production runs Feb. 7-23 at the downtown Cabaret Theatre.

"Porgy and Bess," Feb. 7-23, Red Mountain Theatre Company, Cabaret Theatre, 301 19th St. North, $19.55, 205-324-2424. Show times 7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, 2 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays.

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Image by HMaria from Pixabay

NATURE

Forget the groundhog, for this year at least. Birmingham Bill is hibernating, so folks at the Birmingham Zoo have decided that owls will make the weather prediction for 2020. Head to the zoo on Sunday for a "Winter Wake-Up" that features a wildlife show, keeper chats, family-friendly activities and more. The action starts at 9 a.m. If the owls are looking for an early spring -- or resigned to six more weeks of winter -- we'll hear about it at 10 a.m.

The Birmingham Zoo's Winter Wake-Up : A Hibernation Celebration on Groundhog Day, Feb. 2, 9 a.m.-2 p..m, Birmingham Zoo, 2630 Cahaba Road, $12.95-$17.95 zoo admission, free for kids younger than age 2, 205-879-0409.

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AL.com file photo/Frank Couch

RACING

"Racing shouldn't just be for rich idiots. Racing should be for all idiots." That's the motto of 24 Hours of Lemons, an endurance car racing series for cars that cost $500 or less. They run on dedicated tracks, and all you need -- aside from a track-prepped car -- is a valid street driver's license. Sound crazy? Find out more on Saturday and Sunday when 24 Hours of Lemons comes to Barber Motorsports Park for an event called the 'Shine Country Classic. Lemonade, anyone?

'Shine Country Classic, Feb. 1-2, Barber Motorsports Park, 6040 Barber Motorsports Parkway, Leeds, spectator tickets $30 at gate, free for kids younger than age 16.

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Courtesy photo

VISUAL ARTS

Pay attention to "The Lynch Quilts Project." Six quilts that focus on the lynching phenomenon will be on view at UAB's Project Space Gallery, Monday through March 15. The fabric artworks use "traditional and contemporary quilting techniques to examine how the past, present and future are intricately connected," says artist LaShawnda Crowe Storm. "Members of a global community have contributed to the construction of the quilts through the donation of fabric, sewing of individual blocks and aiding in the actual quilting. ... At the core of this project is not only a healing ritual, but a memorial process." The exhibit is presented by Bib & Tucker Sew-Op and UAB's department of art and art history. A reception, lecture and more are planned for Thursday; see the details here.

"The Lynch Quilts Project," Feb. 3-March 15, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Project Space Gallery, 900 13th St. South, free admission.

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