The East Baton Rouge Parish Library Children’s Service Department will feature a special exhibition from next Tuesday, January 16, through February 25, celebrating the work of the children’s book illustrator and writer Maurice Sendak, who is widely known for his most famous work Where the Wild Things Are. The exhibition, Maurice Sendak: 50 Years, Works, Reasons, will be on display in the Children’s Room of the Main Library at Goodwood and will include 50 of the artist’s works as well as comments from celebrities, authors and more. In addition, the library will also be presenting a series of Sendak-themed events throughout the months of January and February, including a Wild Rumpus for Kids on January 27 and a movie marathon on February 10. For more information, visit ebrpl.com.

The Baton Rouge Jewish Film Festival continues this week with showings of three films at the Manship Theatre. Today, Thursday, January 11, explore the obstacles of self-discovery with Rachel Israel’s 2017 film Keep The Change, which follows a grown man with autism as he finds himself facing romance. Saturday, January 13, the film Denial takes a different look at the Holocaust when an author is sued by a Holocaust denier and must prove the truth of the heinous happenings. Wrapping up the festival with a 3 p.m. Sunday, January 14, showing is Norman, a star-studded Joseph Cedar film which offers keen observations of Middle Eastern politics through the character study of a likable New Yorker. For tickets, visit manshiptheatre.org.

LSU’s Hilltop Arboretum is hosting its annual symposium this Saturday, January 13, at the LSU Design Auditorium from 8:15 a.m. to 2 p.m. With the theme “Planting in a Post-Wild World,” the symposium will feature a lecture by Claudia West on the future of planting design. Tickets are available here.

The Walls Project’s MLK Festival of Service will take place from this Friday, January 12, through Monday, January 15, along a 2-mile stretch of Scenic Highway from Airline Highway to Swan Avenue. Working to bring the community together through creative projects to beautify the landscape of Baton Rouge, volunteers will have the opportunity to paint buildings, garden, create murals and more. To get involved, visit the event page here.

Next Wednesday, January 17, the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge presents Arturo Sandoval on the Manship Theatre stage as part of the River City Jazz Masters series. Sandoval’s Cuban American heritage strongly influences his music, producing a blended sound on both trumpet and piano. Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. show are available through Manship Theatre.

Opéra Louisiane is hosting Sing and Swing this Friday, January 12, at the Crowne Plaza starting at 7:30 p.m. The fundraising event will feature local celebrities performing karaoke with a live band as well as dining, dancing and more. For ticket information, visit operalouisiane.com.

The East Baton Rouge Parish Library and Louisiana Public Broadcasting will present a free screening of the documentary film I Am Not Your Negro at the Main Library at Goodwood on Sunday, January 14. The 6:30 p.m. screening will be immediately followed by a panel discussion in the Large Meeting Room. The film, an Academy Award-nominated masterpiece based on James Baldwin’s unfinished manuscript Remember This House, is a cinematic exploration of racism in the United States. For more information, visit ebrpl.com.

Now through February 28, the West Baton Rouge Museum is presenting the work of J. Nash Porter in his exhibition Mardi Gras Indians. The curated selection of vibrant photographs follows the long-standing traditions of both New Orleans Mardi Gras Indians as well as second line groups.

The Baker Branch of the East Baton Rouge Parish Library is hosting a screening of American Experience: Citizen King in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. this Saturday, January 13. The film, which aims to uncover the truth behind King’s historic story, will be accompanied by a discussion with Southern University history professor Charles Vincent.

Author Randall Ladnier will be at the Main Library at Goodwood next Wednesday, January 17, to discuss his book The Brides of La Baleine, which examines the genealogy of the young women who arrived in Biloxi in 1721. The lecture is free and open to the public.