Music
Djembe Joy, a class in hand drumming for beginners, will be offered from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Wednesday, August 10, at the Women’s Drum Center, 2242 University Ave. The cost is $15. Drums are provided. Masks are required. Visit womensdrumcenter.org.
Summer Nights in Rice, a free concert series, continues with a performance by the Twin Cities Latin Band from 4-7 p.m. Thursday, August 11, in downtown Saint Paul’s Rice Park. Visit landmarkcenter.org.
Music in the Parks, free concerts in Mendota Heights’ Mendakota Park, will continue with Funktion Junction from 6:30-8 p.m. Friday, August 12.
The Native American band Bluedog will perform live from 7-8:30 p.m. Friday, August 12, on the Klas Overlook at Historic Fort Snelling. Admission is free. Bring a lawn chair or blanket for seating. Refreshments will be available. Parking costs $6. No alcohol or pets are allowed. Call 612-726-1171.
Exhibits
“Journey to Space,” a traveling exhibit built with the support of NASA, is being displayed through September 5 at the Science Museum of Minnesota, 120 W. Kellogg Blvd. Learn of the journeys people are taking into space and imagine a future when earth is no longer the only planet we call home. An accompanying exhibit will test visitors’ space knowledge and engineering skills with the aid of a NASA model. Tickets should be purchased in advance. Visit smm.org.
The history of plastic and its beauty and diversity as a design material are explored in “Plastic Rapt: A History of Designing Forever,” on view through September 25 in the University of Minnesota’s Goldstein Gallery on the second floor of McNeal Hall, 1985 Buford Ave. It includes objects made from celluloid, the earliest semi-synthetic plastic, and Bakelite, the first true synthetic plastic. Admission is free. Call 612-624-7434.
Walking tours of the historic areas in and around downtown Saint Paul are offered from 10-11 a.m. on Wednesdays in August. Led by Landmark Center volunteers, the tours are free with pre-registration. The schedule includes It Happened Right Here: Saint Paul’s Origins Tour beginning at the Robert Street entrance to Kellogg Park on August 3, the Rice Park Tour beginning at Landmark Center on August 10, and the Great River Tour beginning at Upper Landing Park on August 17. The Rice Park and Great River tours are also available virtually. For reservations, visit landmarkcenter.org or call Sydney at 651-292-3063.
“Genocide and Justice: From Nuremberg to the International Criminal Court,” an exploration of the Holocaust of World War II and the more recent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia and Darfur, is being displayed through September 30 on the main floor of Mitchell Hamline School of Law, 875 Summit Ave. The free exhibit includes highlights of the international tribunals and domestic prosecution of the perpetrators. Hours are 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Dog Days and Art, an art crawl for people and their four-legged friends, will be held on Saturday, August 6, on Harriet Island. Artists will be showing and selling original works from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. in their studios in Warehouse 2, 106 W. Water St. Dogs that are leashed and well-behaved are welcome at the outdoor portion of the festival, which runs from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. There, people may commission a portrait or photograph with their pet, purchase gourmet treats for their dogs or order delicious edibles for themselves at any of several food trucks.
Theater
Minnesota Fringe Festival, the 29th annual celebration of the dramatic arts, will return from August 4-14 with 119 plays in 595 performances at 11 different Minneapolis venues. The shows were selected in a lottery, though 10 percent of the slots were reserved for BIPOC applicants and 10 percent for applicants from outside the metro area. Tickets are $15 per show ($7 for children); $65 for five shows; and $110 for 10 shows. A $5 festival button is required. Reservations cost an additional $3. Proof of COVID-19 vaccination is also required. Visit minnesotafringe.org.
The young acrobats of Circus Juventas take a death-defying journey through circus history in Confetti, running through August 14 under the big top at 1270 Montreal Ave. The time travelers juggle with minstrels in Renaissance Italy, visit Phillip Astley at the dawn of the circus ring, witness the invention of the flying trapeze and rub shoulders with P.T. Barnum. New acts as the fire jump rope, extreme unicycle and 90-foot wire walk will be executed alongside old favorites as the flying trapeze, teeterboard and wall trampoline. Show times are 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $25-$50, free to children age 2 and under on the lap of an adult. Visit circusjuventas.org.
Classics Lost ’n’ Found Theater will present four short plays and two staged readings in the fundraiser, More of a Good Thing: An Evening of Theater, at 7 p.m. Friday, August 19, at Lake Nokomis Presbyterian Church, 1620 E. 46th St. in Minneapolis. The plays include Cock and Bull and Queen Enid by Steven LaVigne and Woman’s Work is Never Done and The Man Behind the Man in the Cape by Noreen K. Brandt. The staged readings are Ghoulies and Ghosties: Tales of Horror and Suspense and The Cozy Tea Party Murders. Admission is by donation, and reservations are not necessary. Call 612-724-4539.
This Show Is Cheaper Than Gas: America on Empty, the Brave New Workshop’s latest comic revue, will be performed from August 19 through November 5 on the stage at 824 Hennepin Ave. in Minneapolis. The collection of sketches satirizes the current landscape where every day the media give us something new to be terrified about, the economy is in freefall, a C-note barely covers a fillup at the gas station, and nine people whom nobody elected have rewritten 50 years of U.S. history. Tickets are $38 and $43, or $23 for the previews on August 11, 13, 17 and 18. For reservations, visit bravenewworkshop.org.

Film
Encanto will be screened at 9 p.m. Friday, August 5, in Union Depot’s Lot D, 392 E. Kellogg Blvd. The audio for the drive-in movie will be streamed over radio. Refreshments will be available. Contests, quizzes and prizes will all be part of the fun. Tickets are $15 per vehicle. Visit uniondepot.org.
Nightclubbing, a documentary on Max’s Kansas City, the renowned nightclub that operated from 1965-81 in New York City, will be screened by Sound Unseen at 7 p.m. Wednesday, August 10, at Trylon Cinema, 2820 E. 33rd St. in Minneapolis. David Bowie first met Iggy Pop at Max’s. Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious played his last shows there. And it is where Andy Warhol held court with artists, actors, filmmakers, models, writers and countless musicians. Tickets are $12. The film will be preceded by the 20-minute flick, Sid: The Final Curtain. Visit soundunseen.com.
Eight classic French films will be shown in August by the Alliance Francaise. The film festival will open at 7 p.m. Thursday, August 18, with Jacques Tati’s 1953 comedy, Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot. It will conclude at 7 p.m. Friday, August 26, with Mathieu Kassovitz’s gritty 1995 crime drama, La Haine. Both programs will be held at Main Cinema, 115 Main St. SE in Minneapolis. The six other films in the fest will roll at 7 p.m. outside of the Alliance Francaise, 227 Colfax Ave. N. Minneapolis. They include François Truffaut’s 1960 crime drama, Tirez sur le pianiste, on August 19; Jean-Luc Godard’s Vivre sa vie, the tragic tale of an aspiring actress who ends up a prostitute, August 20; Truffaut’s Jules et Jim, starring Jeanne Moreau as the center of a romantic triangle, August 22; Jacques Demy’s Les Parapluies de Cherbourg starring Catherine Deneuve, August 23; Demy’s Les Demoiselles de Rochefort starring Deneuve and Françoise Dorléac, August 24; and Truffaut’s gripping World War II drama Le dernier Metro starring Deneuve and Gerard Depardieu, August 25. Tickets are $8 in advance, $10 at the door, at Main Cinema; $5 at the Alliance Francaise; or $40 for all eight films. Call 612-332-0436 or visit afmsp.org.
Books
A free poetry workshop will be offered by Cracked Walnut from 10 a.m.-noon on Saturday, August 6, in the first floor meeting room at the Highland Park Library, 1974 Ford Pkwy. Bring eight to 10 copies of an original poem to read and have critiqued. For reservations, email donna@donnaisaacpoet.com.
Et cetera
Live music, cold beer and seltzers, games for all ages and 50 food trucks will be featured at the Saint Paul Food Truck Festival, running from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday, August 6, in Union Depot’s Parking Lot C, 390 E. Kellogg Blvd. Performers include Khalia & Blackwater from noon-3 p.m., Tyte Phitt from 3:30-6:30 p.m., and Sumo Seven from 7-10 p.m.
The Little Africa Festival will be celebrated from noon-9 p.m., Sunday, August 7, in Hamline Park, Snelling and Thomas avenues. The free event will feature African music, dancing, visual art and food as well as poetry, a fashion show and Parade of Nations.
All things Irish will be celebrated at the 42nd Irish Fair of Minnesota from August 12-14 on Harriet Island. More than 500 international, national, and regional acts will be featured on nine stages. Live music, dance and storytelling will abound, along with Irish sporting events, cultural exhibits, children’s activities and a Celtic marketplace. Hours are 3-11 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday. New this year are pub trivia, a sea shanty sing-along, an Irish toast competition and Irish comedy. The musical lineup includes We Banjo 3, Gaelic Storm, Skerryvore, the Friel Sisters, Aoife Scott, Patsy O’Brien, Clare Cunningham, Wild Colonial Bhoys, Sweet Colleens, Paddy Wagon, Northerly Gales, Hounds of Finn, Tim Malloys, Inland Seas and Locklin Road. Admission is $20, $15 for ages 13-17, free to children 12 and under. Three-day passes are $45 and $40. Visit irishfair.com.
Indiafest, a celebration of the culture, heritage and traditions of the subcontinent, will be held from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday, August 13, on the grounds of the State Capitol. Sponsored by the India Association of Minnesota, the free event will feature the best in Indian music, dance and cuisine. Learn new skills in yoga and meditation. Shop at the Indian bazaar. Play chess or cricket. For more information, visit iamn.org.
The Minnesota Boychoir will hold auditions for new members on August 16-18 and 23-25. Every boy who auditions is welcomed into one of the organization’s three ensembles. Twenty percent of the singers participate with the aid of scholarships. A boot camp for boys ages 6-12 who would like to build up their confidence before the auditions will be held on Saturday, August 20. For more information, visit boychoir.org.
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