*Lance Williams and True Worship Ministries presents the True Worship Retreat, billed as an outing to help “further equip and educate the Body of Christ in the area of worship.” The event is scheduled to take place from Sept. 7-9 in Rahway, New Jersey at the Agape Family Worship Center (501 E. Hazelwood Ave.). An estimated 3,000 men, women and young adults will be in attendance, as will several vendors and other corporate sponsors. Among the notables scheduled to attend are Richard Smallwood, Donald Lawrence, Walter Hawkins, Tye Tribbett and Kim Burrell. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Make a Wish Foundation. For more information and registration, call 732-545-9301 or visit www.trueworship.org.
*TV’s Judge Mathis will host the 5th Annual Detroit Youth & Education Expo, to be held Saturday, Aug. 19 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Wayne County Community College, the Downtown Detroit Campus (1001 Fort Street). The Expo is free to the public. The Youth & Education Expo is a non-profit event created by the former inner-city street youth-turned-judge as part of his ongoing effort to empower the community. Judge Mathis will share his own personal insights on how to overcome life’s challenges and obstacles.
*The Sept. 8 and 9 taping of “An Evening of Stars Tribute to Aretha Franklin,” benefiting the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), will be the first time in 28 years that the UNCF's annual TV special will be produced without legendary performer Lou Rawls, who died in January at the age of 72. But Rawls, who is credited with originating the idea for the event in 1979 and helping the UNCF to raise over $200 million for minority scholarships, will be remembered on the 28th anniversary of the program with a special award bearing his name. The Lou Rawls-UNCF Award will be given to an artist whose career exemplifies Rawls' passion for ensuring that minority youth receive a quality college education. The first recipient of the accolade will be announced Sept. 8 during the taping at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.
*Films starring Morgan Freeman, Don Cheadle and others have been added to the roster of screenings scheduled for the Toronto International Film Festival, to take place Sept. 7 through 16. Among the world premieres announced Tuesday are “The Dog Problem,” described as a "shaggy dog story" starring Cheadle, Mena Suvari and Giovanni Ribisi; and “10 Items or Less,” starring Freeman as an aging Hollywood icon who falls for a young female checkout clerk.