A lot is going on with the Freedom Center this weekend, not the least of which is the International Freedom Conductor Awards Gala at the Duke Energy Convention Center (6 p.m. Saturday). The awards ceremony and dinner will honor two freedom fighters and Nobel Peace Prize winners who worked to bring true democracy to their homelands: President Lech Walesa of Poland and President Nelson Mandela of South Africa. (RSVPs were due by July 31, but you can still buy tickets online starting at $200 as of press time.)
In conjunction with the ceremony, photojournalist Matthew Willman will lead tours through two newly opened Nelson Mandela photography exhibitions at the Center on Friday (noon-3 p.m.). On Saturday, award-winning biopic
Walesa: Man of Hope, a powerful film about Walesa’s anti-communist movement of the 1970s, will screen at the Center (1 p.m.). A public gospel concert closes the weekend (5 p.m.).
Museum admission: $14 adults; $12 seniors; $10 children. National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, 50 E. Freedom Way, Downtown,
freedomcenter.org.