To fix the error:
navigate to your K2 folder -> app -> includes
edit the file widgets-removal.php as below
Change the contents of the file from:
< ?php
if (get_option('k2sidebarmanager') == '1') {
remove_action('plugins_loaded', 'wp_maybe_load_widgets', 0);
}
?>
to
< ?php
if (get_option('k2sidebarmanager') == '1') {
remove_action('plugins_loaded', 'wp_maybe_load_widgets', 0);
if( is_admin() )
{global $pagenow; if( $pagenow == 'index.php' ) wp_maybe_load_widgets();
}
}
?>
Many thanks to Tom Raferty!