WEDNESDAY 10
"Cut to the flickering images of children writhing in a spiritual trance on a chapel floor while being hectored about the glory of dying for Christ, and one knows exactly where the first Christian suicide bombers will come from," Chris Barsanti writes about Jesus Camp in Film Journal International. While the deck might be stacked in favor of the Air America crowd, Jesus Camp is what it is ‹ an unflinching look into the intense training and evangelical indoctrination that born-again Christian children are recruited into to "take back America for Christ." Jesus Camp "stares into the face of faith run amok, and for those willing to follow its gaze, it provides sad revelations," writes Neva Chonin of the San Francisco Chronicle. The film runs at the Nickelodeon Theatre until Thursday. Show times are at 7 and 9 p.m., with a 3 p.m. matinee today. Tickets are $6, $5 for students and seniors and $4 for Columbia Film Society members. Call 254-3433 for more information.

The Nick will also hold a screening of local filmmaker Helen Hill's works at noon and 1 p.m. Hill, who grew up in Columbia, was killed by an intruder in her New Orleans home on Jan. 4. ETV is planning a special Southern Lens episode this spring about Hill and her work. More information about Hill and her work can be found at her web site, helenhill.org.

Indie-danceroos (and Free Times faves) No Way Jose! bid a fond farewell to the Soda City at the New Brookland Tavern tonight. See the music section on page 41 for more information.

THURSDAY 11
Everyone needs a little break in their life. (Hell, it was even the basis for a mid-'90s McDonald's advertising scheme.) The Columbia Museum of Art recognizes this need and, in that spirit, presents its Art Breaks series, which kicks off today and runs every Thursday through mid-February. The illustrated gallery talks are led by Mana Hewitt, instructor and director of USC's McMaster Gallery. This year's inaugural Break tackles architectural innovations from Stonehenge to the Guggenheim. And as if you needed more incentive, coffee and pastries are served. The talks are free with museum membership or admission, and take place at 10:30 a.m. Call 343-2186 or visit columbiamuseum.org for more information.

FRIDAY 12
Though it's now much more treatable and thus reduced in its death rate, AIDS is still classified as a pandemic by the World Health Organization. The numbers don't lie: According to the Centers for Disease Control, black Americans still make up the majority of AIDS cases in the United States, and South Carolina still has the ninth-highest AIDS case rate per 100,000 residents. If awareness is a weapon, then Citizens to Eradicate AIDS Stigma through Education is well cached: The group screens Out of Control: AIDS in Black America at Earlewood Park (111 Parkside Dr.) at 7 p.m. The screening is free. Call 786-4206 for more information.

Little-known fact: The eponymous mockingbird in Harper Lee's classic To Kill a Mockingbird represents innocence, and thus to kill a mockingbird becomes a turn of phrase describing the destruction of innocence. Better-known fact: The Workshop Theatre's adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird ‹ drawn more from Lee's novel than Christopher Sergel's 1960 stage adaptation ‹ opens tonight at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults and $13 for students, seniors and soldiers. The Workshop Theatre is located at 1136 Bull St. Call 799-6551 to purchase tickets or visit workshoptheatre.com for more information.

SATURDAY 13
Got a lot of old crap lying around the house? Well that crap might actually be worth something, as the South Carolina State Museum plays host to the Museum Roadshow, where experts will appraise art, textiles, military memorabilia, furniture and jewelry. A $10 ticket entitles the holder to one appraisal (plus $1 off regular museum admission) during one of two sessions: one from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and one from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Call 898-4952 for more information.

They're not magic tricks ‹ they're illusions! The South Carolina Association of Magicians Magic Gala Show brings together magicians from across the country to perform everything from simple feats of sleight of hand to full-blown magical productions at the Koger Center. The gala begins at 8 p.m.; tickets are $15 ($10 for kids) and can be purchased by calling 251-2222, or by visiting the Koger Center box office or capitoltickets.com.

Back before I-95 became the main artery for north-south travel along the East Coast, U.S. Route 1 ‹ which encompasses parts of Two Notch Road and Gervais Street ‹ was the main route of travel. Photographer James Henderson chronicles the slow fade and deterioration of the 2,337-mile highway in his exhibit A Road Less Taken, which opens today at the McKissick Museum. The exhibit can be seen from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Call 777-7251 for more information.

SUNDAY 14
Hark! Dost thou hear what I hear? 'Tis the sounds of medieval and renaissance musicians reenacting the Twelfth Night performances of yore! (We shall be kind, and shant mention that nigh a fortnight has passed since Christ's Mass.) Yon Arlecchino Consort doth perform period music at yon Columbia Museum of Art at 3 p.m. And zounds! Such a performance costs nary a farthing! Forsooth! Call 799-2810 for more information.

MONDAY 15
Today is Martin Luther King day, and the City of Columbia holds its annual Martin Luther King Day Celebration at 4 p.m. in Martin Luther King Park at 2300 Greene St., just north of Five Points. The annual event, which celebrates the life and legacy of Dr. King's nonviolent approach to the Civil Rights movement, will feature entertainment by students from Columbia and Keenan high schools, and the keynote speaker is Reginald Lloyd, U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina. The public is encouraged to attend and to bring canned goods to benefit the Harvest Hope Food Bank. Call 545-3097 for more information.

TUESDAY 16
USC's McMaster Gallery opens an exhibit today of new media works by artist Annette Barbier. Barbier, who is also the chairman of interactive arts and media at Columbia College (the one in Chicago, not on North Main), will showcase electronic media works and pieces of computer animation. The gallery is open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Call 777-7480 for more information.

WEDNESDAY 17
Historian and author Walter Edgar begins his Wednesday lecture series addressing South Carolina's role in pivotal epochs in American history. Spaces for the series, held at the South Carolina Archives and History Center, are limited, and reservations are $50. Call 777-5195 to register or for more information.