“Primitive Paintings” by Tad DeSanto and Justin Vorel is at Galerie Hertz, 1253 S. Preston St., from May 26-June 29. The opening is Sunday, May 26 from 1-4 p.m.
Waterfront Park will offer Heritage Walks through the summer and fall. They will be led by local historian Rick Bell. The first tours of the season will be on Saturday, May 25 at 10 a.m. and Sunday, May 26 at 2 p.m. More details and a link to a park map are available at www.louisvillewaterfront.com/events or call Bell at 502-432-7666.
•Instant Installation Invitational
Saturday, May 25
Swanson Contemporary
638 E. Market St. • 589-5466
Free; 7-9:30 p.m.
This is the second “ready-set-create” Instant Installation Invitation organized by artist/curator Ezra Kellerman. Nicknamed the “iii Spring Meet,” the live art competition comes with hefty cash prizes totaling $1,000. So what do the artists have to do to get the loot? They have one hour to create an art installation using 10 unknown-in-advance items. Audience voting selects the winning sculptures. The artists in “iii Spring Meet” are Craig Bayens, Andy Cozzens, Valerie Sullivan Fuchs, Brandon Harder, Shohei Katayama, Thaniel Ion Lee, Sarah Lyon, David Metcalf and Michael Ratterman. It’s open to the public and will feature music by Matt Anthony and refreshments. The doors open at 7 p.m. with the competition starting at 8 p.m. The prizes will be awarded at 9:30. —Jo Anne Triplett
•Fucking Dyke Bitches
Saturday, May 25
Nelligan Hall
2010 Portland Ave.
$5; 7 p.m.
How Seattle “prohomo” punks F.D.B. got their name is simple: A neighbor used the slur in reference to them and their friends, and they’re using it as their identifier to reclaim it and take the power back. In the band’s direct explanation of its origin (which you can find on their Bandcamp, where you should go to hear them fucking rock out righteously), they add, “It would be careless of us to not acknowledge that the name remains, as it was first perceived, an anti-gay slander.” Therefore, those who also identify in the same manner are encouraged to use their full name proudly. Those who have a different identity are kindly asked to use F.D.B. With Dick Binge (from Olympia) and locals Stabler, All Dead and Die Yuppie Scum. —Peter Berkowitz
•Beatersville
Sunday, May 26
Phoenix Hill Tavern
644 Baxter Ave.
$5; 10 a.m.
Do you like slicked-back hair? Punkabilly? Other souvenirs of custom car culture? If yes, good news: For the eighth year, the annual Beatersville Car and Bike Show returns for their hotshot show of pre-1968 custom cars and hot rods, with bands, babes and booze to boot. Attendees (free for those under 12) can witness the marvel of the “Beater of the Year” and make as many Chris Brown jokes as possible. (Also, a pre-event show takes place on Saturday night at PHT). Live music will come from simpatico souls such as Hellfire Revival, Jane Rose and the Deadend Boys, Vice Tricks, King Wolf, 3GC and Nulydedz. It’s the most fun you can have while standing near six different guys who all look like Guy Fieri. —Peter Berkowitz
“The Super Hero Show” is at StudioWorks, 2008 Eastern Parkway, 502-582-3331, from May 24-June 22. The opening reception is Friday, May 24 from 5:30-8 p.m.
Thursday, May 23
Brown Hotel
335 W. Broadway • 873-4400
Free; 6:30 p.m.
Celebrated author appearance: As part of Spalding University’s semi-annual Festival of Contemporary Writing, Tim O’Brien, author of the classic Vietnam War story collection “The Things They Carried,” will give a reading/signing at the 16th-floor gallery of the Brown Hotel. Sena Jeter Naslund — no slouch herself — will introduce O’Brien, whose works also include the National Book Award-winning “Going After Cacciato.” “The Things They Carried” earned recognition by The New York Times as one of the 20 best books of the last quarter-century, and O’Brien’s books have sold more than 3 million copies worldwide. The festival will continue on Friday and Saturday afternoons with readings of works by alumni of the Spalding MFA in Writing Program (all events are ticketless, but locations vary). —T.E. Lyons
Thursday, May 23
ZaZoo’s
102 Bauer Ave.
$5; 9 p.m.
Since achieving international fame in the mid and late ’90s, Danielle Howle has remained comfortably just beneath the radar of mainstream America. She has been regarded as “South Carolina’s best kept musical secret,” accompanied only by the powerful chords of her guitar and a strong, nimble voice. Although she has lately ventured into acting, scoring roles in “Army Wives” and an independent film, Howle has never lost sight of her musical passion, writing and recording music for various independent productions and TV shows. She returned to touring this May, now with all sorts of new merchandise, particularly of the food-related variety. Be sure to stock up on branded beer koozies and homemade hot sauce before her concert! —Natalie French
May 23-25
Bomhard Theater, Kentucky Center
501 W. Main St. • 584-7777
$45+; 8 p.m.
Just like Rihanna, chains and whips excite me. So you would think I would have read E.L. James’ popular “Fifty Shades of Grey” series that made housewives horny from sea to shining sea. It’s on my summer reading list, so don’t get your panties in a wad. Or do. Whatever turns you on. “Spank! The Fifty Shades Parody” is coming to town this weekend to bring naughtiness to the Kentucky Center stage. A parody of the best-selling book, the show mixes musical numbers, sexy striptease performances and lots of spanking in what Chicago Public Radio called “a hilarious satire of practically every trope in popular culture.” Sometimes it just feels good being bad. —Sara Havens
May 23-26
Kentucky Center
501 W. Main St. • 584-7777
$11-$16; 8 p.m. (2 p.m. on May 26)
Take six sexual deviants looking for a good time and place them in a laboratory for a secret sex study — that’s the basic premise of “Great American Sex Play,” a racy romp that will make you laugh and blush in equal measure. The Louisville Repertory Company first put on this production in 2006 to rave reviews, with LEO Weekly describing the play as “a fascinating study of sexual polarity” and praising director Gil Reyes for challenging the audience “to examine themselves through theater.” For this rendition, Reyes has once again teamed up with playwright Brian Walker to close out LRC’s season with this titillating comedic undertaking, replete with nudity, explicit language and sexual situations. —Sarah Kelley
May 23-27
Belvedere
500 W. Main St. • arotr.com
$15-$120; various times
Abbey Road on the River was founded in Cleveland, Ohio, with the simple hope of honoring The Beatles’ legacy: make the world a happier place. Throughout the past 13 years, the festival has hosted more than 250 tribute bands, each with equally diverse backgrounds — Europe, America and Asia are all well accounted for. This year, the festival boasts Leon Russell and a total of 61 tribute artists, three of which are ensemble groups from Louisville’s Youth Performing Arts School. Abbey Road on the River has grown and matured over the years and has come to be the signature Memorial Day weekend activity — representative of peace and an encouragement of compassion and nonviolence. Talk about a revolution. —Natalie French
May 23-June 9
Vault 1031
1031 S. Sixth St. • 312-316-8158
$15; 7:30 p.m.
Who is Lillian Baxter? If you knew the answer to that, it would defeat the purpose. “An Evening with Lillian Baxter” is a one-man-as-one-woman show about the brief but vivid career of a fictional D-list actress in the early ’60s. Don’t expect too much of the typical drag shtick, though. John Vessels, the Louisville-theater regular who plays the titular character, originally wrote the show for a female actress in Chicago. The drag element was added later. The character, in addition to the mix of well-known and hidden gems from The Great American Songbook, is what’s supposed to shine in this “cabaret memoir” about living on the outskirts of celebrity. If you go, come prepared to ask Lillian something during the interactive Q&A segment. —April Corbin
“Cosmic Nature: Paintings by C.C. Coyle” is at the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, 589-0102, 715 W. Main St., through June 23.
Do you know of someone who has shaped the community of Louisville and should be recognized for it? Would you like to help preserve the stories of the people who have made your community great?
Local resident Kris Applegate is currently compiling a book of legendary locals of Louisville and is looking for your help. She is assembling images of the newsworthy and noteworthy individuals and groups who have built and shaped Louisville and the stories that go with them to include in an upcoming book to be published by Arcadia Publishing in their new Legendary Locals imprint. To share your photographs and stories, please contact Kris Applegate at 812-725-2723 or kris@louisvillelegendsbook.info by August 31. If you’d like more information about the book please visit www.louisvillelegendsbook.info.
Pre-registration is required.
The Cave Hill Heritage Foundation is presenting its next Twilight Tram Tour on Saturday, May 25 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. $35 per person. Call 502-451-5630 or email cavehill@bellsouth.net for more information.
The Louisville Free Public Library’s Iroquois branch, 601 W. Woodlawn, is showcasing artwork of the equine workers who care for the thoroughbreds at Churchill Downs. The artwork will be on display in the Community Gallery throughout the month of May. A public reception will be held at the library on Wednesday, May 29 from 1-2 p.m.
These workers, most of whom also live on the backside, access educational and other services through the Backside Learning Center (BLC), which is located on the backside of the track. For more information, contact Karen Peace or Sherry Stanley at 502-574-1720.
Wednesday, May 22
Uncle Slayton’s
1017 E. Broadway
$10-$12; 8:30 p.m.
Vandaveer is a band that’s from all over the place, with leader Mark Charles Heidinger being born in Ohio, raised in Kentucky, and settled for the time being in Washington, D.C. But for all its roaming and a revolving cast of characters — including the enchanting chanteuse Rose Guerin — the band has returned to the banks of the Ohio with its latest release Oh, Willie, Please, a gritty set of “murder ballads and songs of self-ruin” that includes such chilling gems as “Pretty Polly,” “Mary of the Wild Moor” and “Knoxville Girl.” If death by drowning, stabbing or blunt objects is your forté, then this show is for you, with the arrangements and harmonies of Heidinger and Guerin sure to send a shiver up your spine. —Jason Howard
Through May 31
Flame Run Glass Studio
815 Market St.
Glassblowing is a form of art not generally acknowledged, perhaps because it is widely regarded as some strange, illusionary act. There is liquid, and then there is glass — and somewhere in the middle, there is a long straw and a large furnace. It is no surprise, then, that the founder of Flame Run, Brook Forrest White Jr., regards the art of glassblowing as magic. This month, he’s invited Devyn Baron to display at his studio gallery, welcoming Baron’s punked-out glass vegetables and quirky sense of humor. A group of flamboyant, outcast fruits and vegetables is the star of Baron’s show: a wilted, crying onion, a rotten apple, and a thug tomato and asparagus all make an appearance. —Natalie French
Through May 31
Weber Gallery
1151 S. Fourth St. • 736-0818
Weber Gallery has an unusual way of defining diversity; it’s not expressed by words but by using colorful stripes as a metaphor. They are used here to represent ages, cultures and races, including those of the 16 artists in the exhibition, such as Carlos Gamez de Francisco, Shohei Katayama, Ed Hamilton and Luci Mistratov. The result is a striped world. “All my years in Louisville,” says Mistratov, “I’ve been impressed how many different people are able to live, to communicate, to work together and hold their cultural, religious and other traditions, their diversity, without conflict.” The meaning is present whether the artist physically used stripes in the work or not. Many schools and organizations participated, including special needs students and the Louisville Visual Art Association’s Open Door classes. —Jo Anne Triplett
The Cherokee Triangle Association is sponsoring an art competition to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Gen. Castleman statue. Artists are asked to submit work that captures the spirit of the statue. Art must be original, with an image size up to 18 inches by 24 inches, simply framed and wired. Deadline: July 10. Visit www.cherokeetriangle.org/resources for more info.
Howard Steamboat Museum & Mansion, 1101 E. Market St. in Jeffersonville, 812-283-3728, is holding its 21st annual “Victorian Chautauqua.” The arts, crafts, garden and antique fair features the Carriage House antique show, book signings, music, mansion tours, herb and perennial sale, and a wide array of arts and crafts booths. Saturday, May 18 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, May 19 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Admission to grounds is $4, children under 12 free with an adult. No pets please.
Creative Diversity Studio & Gallery is holding its Third Annual Pasta Bowl Fundraiser on Saturday, May 18 from 4-8 p.m. at City Cafe, 505 W. Broadway. For more information, call 502-212-9474 or email creativediversityart@yahoo.com.
Joe Autry
•GARDENZART
Saturday, May 18
Hidden Hill Nursery & Sculpture Garden
1011 Utica-Charlestown Road, Utica, Ind.
812-282-0524 • hiddenhillnursery.com
Free; 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
I’m stating the obvious when I say gardens consist of plants, flowers and shrubs. But any respectable garden should have a bit of stone, metal or glass for decoration … in addition to gnomes, of course. Hidden Hill has an 8-acre abundance of the former as well as a good amount of work by area artists. In celebration of local art, they are holding GARDENZART. The highlight of the day will be an onsite chainsaw sculpture by Joe Autry. He’s transforming a lightning-killed oak tree into a flower that will be unveiled at 2 p.m. during the festival. There will also be glass by Chad Balster, ceramics by Jennifer Martin and Caren Cunningham’s garden-worthy stone sculpture, just to name a few of the other works to be on display. —Jo Anne Triplett
Bianca Spriggs
•KY Women’s Book Fest
Saturday, May 18
U of L Ekstrom Library
2301 S. Third St. • 852-6083
louisville.edu/womenscenter/kwbf
Free; 9:30 a.m.
The seventh annual Kentucky Women’s Book Festival at U of L will have more than a half-dozen authors, representing a diversity of successful voices. All workshops and readings, as well as the luncheon (only non-free item on the agenda), take place at the Ekstrom Library. The opening session has Judith C. Owens-Lalude describing how she drew upon sources to compile the stories that inspired her Underground Railroad novel, “The Long Walk: Slavery to Freedom.” Other presenters include journalist Sarah Garland and poet Bianca Spriggs. Through the day to the concluding poetry slam, the presenters will be looking to inspire fellow writers as well as readers — so that women’s voices might find themselves on the published page instead of being, as Spriggs’ verse describes, “What slumbers in an attic or basement/beneath several layers of dust, dreaming/of what it means to remember the light.” —T.E. Lyons
•Bardstown Bound
Saturday, May 18
Highlands
Free; noon
To celebrate its 10th anniversary of encouraging people to frolic up and down Bardstown Road in the Highlands, the folks behind this month’s Bardstown Bound are going all out with an official Bambi Walk, a sanctioned chicken dance, and a beer and music fest on Saturday. As always, the stores and restaurants along Bardstown Road will offer sales and samples, and there will be a trolley running from 2-10 p.m. The Bambi Walk starts at 1 and is celebrating anyone who graduated high school in 1983, but all are welcome. The chicken dance begins at 5 p.m. at Bardstown and Eastern Parkway. And the beer fest is hosted by Valumarket from 5-9 p.m. Ladies and gentlemen, start your livers. —Sara Havens
Jeff Walz
•Gilda’s Night of a Thousand Laughs
Saturday, May 18
Actors Theatre
316 W. Main St.
$75-$125; 6 p.m.
It’s always refreshing when the rich and famous can take a joke at their own expense. Ratchet that respect up a few notches when said VIPs intentionally put themselves in the line of comedic fire for a good cause, which is exactly what Gilda’s Night of a Thousand Laughs is all about. Comedian Tom Mabe will lead a crew of local celebrities in an array of onstage antics to raise money for Gilda’s Club of Louisville, a nonprofit that provides support and services for those battling cancer. In addition to a live comedy show, the event includes an open bar, hors d’oeuvres, a silent auction and after-party. It’s a fitting fundraiser for a charity whose namesake is the great Gilda Radner, the “Saturday Night Live” comedian who died of ovarian cancer in 1989. —Sarah Kelley
•‘More from the Street’
Through May 18
Galerie Hertz
1253 S. Preston St. • 581-8277
Post-Derby, as our city fades out of the sports spotlight, there is something left behind: garbage. Thankfully, after seeing the show at Galerie Hertz, you may see the refuse from a new and charming angle. Tom Pfannerstill creates detailed paintings on carved wood, replicas of rubbish found by the artist. Simultaneously, you’ll admire Pfannerstill’s painting expertise and the power of packaging design. An entertaining way to question value, Pfannerstill’s striking results will have you yearning to take one of these treasures home. —Mali Anderson
•WonderFest 2013
May 18-19
Crowne Plaza Hotel
830 Phillips Lane
$25; 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Perhaps it’s the “Big Bang Theory” effect, or perhaps it’s just natural selection, but whatever the case, nerd culture seems to be at its zenith. Suddenly, it’s cool to be uncool. (Shame this couldn’t have happened when I was in seventh grade.) WonderFest, which happens this weekend at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, is a shining example of nerd culture at its best. From artists to writers to designers to actors, you can rub elbows with folks such as visual effects artist Lee Stringer, who has worked recently on “Iron Sky” and “Star Wars: The Clone Wars.” Also scheduled to appear are Lee Meriwether, who played Catwoman in 1966’s “Batman: The Movie,” and Sara Karloff, granddaughter of Boris Karloff, will show rare home movies and behind-the-scenes footage of the man who brought Frankenstein’s monster to the big screen. There will also be vendors, workshops and much more. —Kevin Gibson
Catherine Irwin
•‘Vera Causa — From Nick With Love’
Sunday, May 19
Irish Rover
2319 Frankfort Ave. • afsp.org
$8; 3 p.m.
The fourth annual “Vera Causa” (“true cause”) fundraiser to benefit suicide prevention, education and awareness features some great music, food and drinks, in addition to a silent auction and raffle. The music starts at 4, with performances from Oscar Parsons, Scott Carney, Catherine Irwin, Silver Tongues and the Junk Yard Dogs (and sound by Zanzabar’s Joe Seidt). Money raised will go to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, which places educational materials and programs in Kentucky schools, in tribute to the life of Irish Rover server Nick Weisen. So head down to your local tavern to enjoy some of the finer things while also making an impact on this otherwise uneventful Sunday afternoon. —Peter Berkowitz
•Mary Gauthier
Sunday, May 19
Uncle Slayton’s
1017 E. Broadway
$15; 8:30 p.m.
Singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier counts the likes of Bob Dylan and Tom Waits as fans of her work, and with one listen you know why — her music carries incredible emotional weight, often speaking to us collectively as much as individually. And then there are her characters: “nuns in blue jeans” (“Drag Queens in Limousines”), murderers (“Karla Faye”), orphans (“Blood is Blood”) and bums (“The Last of the Hobo Kings”), all of whom are featured on her latest release, Live at Blue Rock. She’ll have the whole lineup with her, along with her own searing voice, topped off with some “Mercy Now.” Just be sure to bring your hanky (and an extra for the poor wretch next to you who forgot his) — and better make that G&T a double while you’re at it. —Jason Howard
Friday, May 17
Green Building
732 E. Market St.
Free; 4 p.m.
The fifth annual Louisville Loves Mountains Festival, hosted by the now 30-year-old Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, takes place at the Green Building this year (due to rain). It provides Louisvillians with many of their favorite things all in one place: beer, food, coffee, live music and talking about saving mountains. (Throw in a Cards game and you’re all set.) The booze comes from New Albanian, BBC and Against the Grain, food is from Grind and Morels, and the family-friendly fun tunes come via the Americana of Hog Operation, Potluck Ramblers and the Slow Charleston, plus the percussively focused River City Drum Corps, and more. Funds raised benefit KFTC’s work to help end mountaintop removal mining, so tell your boss you need to leave work early for a good cause. —Peter Berkowitz