THE WEEKENDER
Your weekly editor-curated arts compendium
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This weekend’s bursting at the seams up and down the CRANDIC! North Libertines can groove on down to Centennial Park for a day of the best blues on offer, Cedar Rapidians can celebrate a belated Pride with the CR Pride Fest in NewBo, and there’s a host of activities for Iowa Citians, from another entry into the Feed Me Weird Things lineup with Hayden Petigo, Booker T. Jones at the Englert to Friday Family Fun Night at Wilson’s Orchard and more! Top pick: Catch the CR Pride Late Show to see RuPaul’s Drag Race winners Violet Chachki and Kylie Sonique Love at CSPS! Violet is the winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 7, known for tight corsets, high-fashion influence (and, as her star continues to rise, collaborations), burlesque performances and circus-style aerial stunts. Kylie Sonique Love was the first reality show contestant to come out as transgender in 2010, when she spoke her truth on the second season of Drag Race. VIP tickets are available for meet-and-greets as well as an after-afterparty shuttle trip to Basix!
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The Weekender is sponsored by:
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Downtown Mt. Vernon
Heritage Days Festival 2023
Jul 6 – Jul 8 – 4:45pm
The 35th Annual Heritage Days Festival, Mount Vernon’s biggest summer festival, will take place July 6-8 in and around Uptown Mount Vernon. The 2023 theme is “Family Friendly Mardi Gras.”
More info >>
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Theatre Cedar Rapids
Rock of Ages
Jul 6 – 7:30pm
Book by Chris D’Arienzo
More info >>
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Wilson’s Orchard & Farm
Friday Family Fun Night
Jul 7 – 5:00pm
Family Fun for Everyone!
More info >>
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Uptown Artway
Pop-Up Acts in the Artway
Jul 7 – 6:00pm
The City of Marion will host Pop-Up Acts in the Uptown Artway this summer on Friday evenings. Enjoy free live music from the Uptown Artway or on the patio of a nearby business from 6-8 p.m.
More info >>
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The James Theater
DVIP Benefit Show
Jul 7 – 7:00pm
Foxhill Troubadours as The Police
Plastic Relations as INXS
Chameleon Society as The B-52s
Dave Zollo and the Body Electric as Elvis Costello and the Attractions
More info >>
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Theatre Cedar Rapids
Rock of Ages
Jul 7 – 7:30pm
Aqua Net, Lycra, lace, and liquor flow freely at one of the Sunset Strip’s last legendary venues.
More info >>
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The Lucky Cat Comedy & Events
Comedy: Prelims – Funniest Person in Iowa 2023
Jul 7 – 8:00pm
The Funniest Person in Iowa Contest is BACK this July! Watch the best comics in Iowa compete for the title of Funniest Person in Iowa.
More info >>
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Amana Colonies
Kinderfest in the Amana Colonies
Jul 8 – 10:00am
Kinderfest is our weekend dedicated to kids and families! Join in on the Kinderfest Olympics, roving story time with Oma, crack a geode with Noble Stone, take home a traditional Colony craft kit, part
More info >>
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Indian Creek Nature Center
MONARCH FEST
Jul 8 – 10:00am
Celebrate Monarch Butterflies and their importance to our natural world!
More info >>
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NewBo City Market
CR Pride Festival
Jul 8 – 12:00pm
This year’s theme is “Stand Strong, Stand with Pride.”
More info >>
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Centennial Park
Dave Moore
Jul 8 – 12:30pm
Dave Moore is a singer-songwriter, who plays guitar, button accordion and harmonica. He was influenced by country blues and conjunto music. Dave lives in Iowa City and records for Red House Records.
More info >>
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Centennial Park
The Diplomats of Solid Sound
Jul 8 – 3:30pm
Diplomats of Solid Sound is an American band and song writing powerhouse. Their mixture of old school funk, soul, blues, and Americana.
More info >>
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Cedar Ridge Winery
Saturday Music: Eric Pedigo (Patio)
Jul 8 – 5:00pm
Eric’s vocals validate and alleviate stress with each note, and his stage presence exudes an honest passion for the music he creates.
More info >>
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Centennial Park
Kevin Burt & Big Medicine
Jul 8 – 7:00pm
For more than 25 years Kevin Burt has been electrifying audiences throughout the Midwest dispelling the myth that true blues has no roots in Iowa.
More info >>
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CSPS Hall
CR Pride Late Show
Jul 8 – 8:00pm
We are excited to present RuPaul Drag Race winners Kylie Sonique Love & Violet Chachki as the 2023 CR Pride headliners!
More info >>
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Codfish Hollow Barnstormers
Here Come The Mummies/ Sun Stereo
Jul 8 – 8:00pm
Here Come The Mummies/ Sun Stereo
More info >>
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Wilson’s Orchard & Farm
Sunday Bluegrass Jam
Jul 9 – 12:00pm
Join us for our weekly Bluegrass Jam hosted by Annie Savage and Friends!
More info >>
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Public Space One
Friendly Faces Screening
Jul 9 – 6:30pm
This Iowa-based web series follows the exploits of Ollie Hart and Dean Overstreet as they set out to launch a rent-a-friend service for the eccentric residents of Harmony.
More info >>
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Trumpet Blossom Cafe
Feed Me Weird Things: Hayden Pedigo + Jordan Sellergren
Jul 9 – 7:00pm
Hayden Pedigo has lived many lives, having been homeschooled in Amarillo, Texas by his truck-stop preacher father; run for Amarillo City Council in 2019, aged 25; and much more.
More info >>
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The Englert Theatre
Booker T. Jones
Jul 9 – 7:30pm
Booker T. Jones is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award recipient and arguably the most famous Hammond B3 player in history.
More info >>
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Prairie Lights Bookstore
Grant Faulkner in conversation with Mary Helen Stefaniak
Jul 10 – 7:00pm
Executive Director of National Novel Writing Month, Grant Faulkner, will talk about his book on writing, The Art of Brevity: Crafting the Very Short Story.
More info >>
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The James Theater
Community Assembly Series
Jul 10 – 7:30pm
The Community Assembly Series is an effort to bring community members together to build friendships, trust and collaborations designed to enhance our shared community.
More info >>
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Album Review: Chill Mac — ‘None Chiller’
by Rhys Davis, Jul 5
The moment you press play on “Heart & Soul,” the first track of None Chiller, Dom Russell (performing as Chill Mac) establishes himself as more than just a rapper. “This is deeper than rap, I got a story to tell,” he says. Mac paints pictures of his past, and expresses his innermost desires to inspire, “I’m just tryna touch souls like DMT, on another level get on my frequency.” |
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Booker T. Jones remembers Stax Records, “Green Onions” and his melting pot ’60s soul group ahead of Englert appearance
by Kembrew McLeod, Jul 6
“Back in 1962, we were breaking the law in a big way just by playing music together in Memphis,” storied songwriter Booker T. Jones recalled. “And while it was OK to break the law if you’re in the right place, like at Stax, in general, it was never OK.” Sixty-two was the year Jones’ interracial band — Booker T. & the M.G.s — scored a number three hit with the instrumental track “Green Onions.” Stax Records was the legendary soul music label that released their debut single. Throughout the ’60s, the group also served as the independent label’s house band, playing on dozens of stone-cold classics, backing Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Wilson Pickett, Rufus Thomas and other major R&B artists.
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