Start the Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend early with the first black woman elected to Congress. The documentary "Shirley Chisholm: Unbought and Unbossed" is part of a fascinating multimedia presentation by Eva Doyle at the Buffalo History Museum tonight at 6:00pm.

If current events have left you needing a good reason to smile, check out Caroline Rhea at Helium. She'll be making audiences laugh on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

On the other hand, if you're looking for some good, wholesome outdoor winter fun during the long holiday weekend, you have at least two options. Tonawanda Winterfest starts on Thursday and includes ice skating, magic shows, straw mazes and beer tastings at locations throughout Tonawanda, and it continues straight through Monday. Or head to Canalside for Chillabration, which commences on Friday. Meet a native American snow snake (really!), and enjoy ice sculptures, rides, fire dancing, on-ice performances, a vendor market, and more. Fun for all ages, again, straight through end of day Monday. 

It's the second Friday in January this week so it must be M&T Second Friday at the Burchfield Penney. Janice Mitchell and Jim Beishline will be playing tunes from the Great American Song Book from 5:30-7:30pm, followed by poetry readings by the inimitable Sam Magavern and David Landrey. And the entire Gallery is open, too! 

If you're in the mood to laugh while supporting a good cause, catch Stand-Up For Planned Parenthood at Babeville Friday evening. The proceeds go to - where else? - Planned Parenthood. Or you can dance. Don't know how? That's the point of Ballroom Lessons at Spectrum Dance. Grab a partner and get your feet tuned up by a pro in a spacious dance studio out on Transit.

All this fun and it isn't event the weekend yet! Reserve Saturday for Buffalo on Tap. Choose early, late or VIP, but get to the Convention Center for this hoppy fest. If you don't care about dancing but you've always wanted to skate, check out the Skate Great Hockey Edge lesson on Saturday. Psst. It's for beginners of any age. Or take a Winter Trails Snowshoe Walk at Artpark, especially if either architecture or birds are of interest to you. End your day at the Big Lebowski Party at the fabulous Riviera.

Can you pronounce Opłatek? How about Kolędy? If so -- and especially if not - get thee to Corpus Christi for a traditional homemade Polish holiday-time dinner on Sunday. Just $20 if you RSVP and 12&Us are free.

Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The kids are home from school, the post office and banks are closed. Even if you have to work, make this day one on which you recall the Civil Rights Movement and our nation's battle to ensure equal rights for all. Be inspired at the Buffalo History Museum's annual MLK celebration at 2:00pm on Sunday when Danielle Holley-Walker, Dean of Howard University School of Law, gives a free talk "The Time is Always Now" about Martin Luther King Jr's life, and his impact on African and American History.