KhushFest, Kung Fu, and Clueless in Our Recommended Events

Juno Birch: The Probed Tour

Thursday 29, Parish

Her hair? BIG. Her dress? CHROME. And her skin? Uh, YEAH: It’s freakin’ blue as hell. Drag star Juno Birch spins on over to Austin in her space-age saucer, carrying with her tales from the cosmos (Manchester). Having performed drag since 2018, Juno claims her inspiration sources include – but are not limited to – Sixties housewives, the Muppets, and Squidward. That offbeat inspo base blends perfectly with opener Roxy Castillo’s comedy, which features more than a few references to getting weird with it.   – James Scott

Top Gun: Maverick

Thursday 29, Mozart’s Coffee Roasters

Where better to enjoy Tom Cruise running than on the chill waters of Lake Austin? Obvi you’d be roaming the lakeside sips and seating Mozart carries year-round anyway, but with on-the-water viewing options like paddleboard rentals ($20) or two-person floater chairs ($30), this’ll make for splish-splashing time at the movies. Plus, Mozart’s offers concessions so your hunger for popcorn will be satisfied as well as your hunger for indistinct patriotism.   – James Scott

Clueless

Friday 30, Lou’s Eastside

If you’re a virgin who can’t drive, get a friend to take you to Clueless – director Amy Heckerling’s take on Jane Austen’s Emma. This Nineties classic will draw you out of our 21st-century hellscape and back to a time when you and your friends dreamed of riding around in a 1994 Jeep Wrangler blasting “Rollin’ With My Homies” by Coolio. Imagine missing this opportunity to see total dreamboats Alicia Silverstone, Paul Rudd, and Brittany Murphy on the big screen. Ugh, as if!   – Julianna Plewes

When Harry Met Sally...

Friday 30, Alamo South Lamar

Canadian director Celine Song’s stunning debut, Past Lives, cleaned up at all the award ceremonies in 2023, meaning a hotly anticipated follow-up with this year’s Materialists. The New York-set A24 rom-com finds a matchmaker (Dakota Johnson) facing a tough choice for her own match: someone perfect on paper (Pedro Pascal) or the one who got away (Chris Evans). Catch a special sneak peek along with Song’s selection for a film that shares DNA with this new release, the classic Nora Ephron rom-com that made Meg Ryan America’s sweetheart and had us all saying “I’ll have what she’s having.”   – Kat McNevins

The Psych Ward and Other Misadventures

Friday 30, Sterling Stage Austin

I’m predisposed to enjoy comic Brian Dryer as he’s made jokes about Petoskey, Michigan – a place I assumed only existed to be where my nana got her heart surgery when I was 8. Nay, that mitten-set city also produced Dryer himself, whose Frontera Fest-featured solo stage show follows his mental health journey. A thrilling one-man march through “two unforgettable stints in the psych ward, an unexpected journey to Guatemala, and a whole lot of questionable choices,” Dryer’s comedic touches keep the mayhem from ever turning too melancholy.   – James Scott

Grand Hotel: The Musical

through June 15, Whisenhunt at ZACH Theatre

Alchemy Theatre continues their quest to present shows away from the beaten path. They’re keeping musical history alive with restagings of past pieces that may be gone but will not be forgotten. Grand Hotel is the latest in that journey, an extravaganza packed wall-to-wall (and room-to-room) with showstopping numbers. (Seriously, if nothing else, please head over to YouTube to watch Michael Jeter – aka Sesame Street’s Mister Noodle – earn his well-deserved Tony.) Set in 1928 Berlin, Grand Hotel balances joyful music with bitter truths, letting the audience snoop into the lives of the hotel’s sometimes-nefarious guests, whose secrets reveal themselves over the course of their stay. So check in to check out what lurks in such luxurious lodgings.   – Cat McCarrey

Different Stages: For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again

Through June 14, The Vortex

Mother’s Day might have made some folks sentimental. Did you reflect on what you’ve inherited from your mother? The sacrifices she made and the support she gave? Keep that ruminative mood going with Different Stages, as they present a classic mother/son dynamic in Quebecois king Michel Tremblay’s For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again. Tremblay’s mother was apparently a force to be reckoned with. She shared her creativity and love for literature with him, but died before he gained writing success. Pleasure explores their history and relationship while paying homage to an indomitable, inspirational woman.   – Cat McCarrey

Black Panther

Friday 30, Music Meadows

Hard to remember, but in 2018, Marvel couldn’t miss, and Ryan Coogler was just a promising indie director coming off his first studio hit with Creed. Smash cut to 2025 and Marvel’s star has plummeted while Coogler’s Sinners is one of the year’s bright spots – and more or less for the same reason Black Panther is so great: Because Coogler knows how to make genre films feel deeply personal and how to make entertainment indistinguishable from art. Chadwick Boseman – irreplaceable – plays the newly crowned King of Wakanda; Michael B. Jordan – irresistible – is Killmonger, his cousin and challenger for the crown. When you’re talking the very best of the superhero movie canon, this one’s leading the conversation.   – Kimberley Jones

“Sacred Journeys: Religious and Spiritual Lives of Trans and Intersex People”

Saturday 31, First Unitarian Universalist Church

Just one day before June, when the unrelenting energy of Pride joins forces with the unrelenting Texas heat, come to church to experience two of the city’s summer hallmarks at once: indoor air conditioning and art. At a time when religious spaces continue to make absent the presence of queer and trans people, this exhibition opening reception hosted by Gender Unbound features trans and intersex artists involved in spiritual life and fills the sacred space to the brim.   – Levi Langley

Splash Day

Saturday 31, Area YMCAs

Every year, the summer heat seems to settle in a little earlier. Beating a fast path to the nearest swimming pool is the only thing our heat-cooked brain is thinking about. Here’s where Greater Austin YMCA steps in, with their annual Splash Day event. The pool party takes place 1-4pm at all eight Y locations across Travis and Hays counties and is free and open to the public – no membership required. On the docket for the day: cannonball contests, facility tours, water safety lessons, community vendors, and – oh yeah! – sweet relief from the unbearable heat. That soft sigh you hear is our heat-cooked brain saying ahhhhh.   – Kimberley Jones

TechKermés by Latinitas

Saturday 31, HEB Eastside Tech Hub

Nonprofit Latinitas unveiled a new mission and vision statement in January, reframing the mission “To empower girls and their communities through culturally relevant education,” envisioning “A future where Latinas lead with confidence.” To that end, they’re throwing a free afternoon community festival celebrating all things technology and arts, featuring interactive, hands-on activities with drones, 3D printing, virtual reality, robotics, and more. Radio-star emcees Karla “La Guerita” Alonso and Ana Caremi present live performances from Danzas Folklóricas, Roy Lozano’s Ballet Folklórico de Texas, Estilo Peruano, and more at the noon-4pm fest.   – Kat McNevins

Metropolis With Live Score by David DiDonato

Saturday 31, Hyperreal Film Club

By playing original music live in a movie theatre to accompany the action onscreen, David DiDonato isn’t reinventing the wheel here; that’s just how things were done back in the silent film era. But they weren’t doing it on a double-neck electric guitar, that’s for sure. (Point DiDonato!) The Austin musician cycles through synthwave, dream pop, black metal, and more in his lively score for one of the all-time greats: Fritz Lang’s enduring sci-fi vision of a world where autocrats and automation conspire to keep the working class down. Hmm. If only there were some contemporary resonance there...   – Kimberley Jones

Lonesome Wolf Pop Up Market

Saturday 31, Chalmers Austin

Coastal cowboy June? Lana del Rey Americana July? Whimsigoth, dark-cottage core August? Whether your aesthetic falls in an ill-defined TikTok-based category or you dress, decorate, and enjoy life free of labels, Lonesome Wolf Pop Up has the vintage clothing, jewelry, antiques, and art you need to dress up your summer. Ditch the Amazon boxes and Walmart bags, and elevate your aesthetic with the authenticity and taste available only to those locals who seek out style above the noise.   – Julianna Plewes

Severed: A Severance Fan Fiction Improv Show

Saturday 31, the Hideout

Fan fiction is the adult equivalent to playing with dolls – an expression of creativity through objects made by another. Director Courtney Hopkin has, over the month of May, invited cast members like Derek Sims, Lahari Dunn, Grace McQueeny, Asaf Ronen, and many other talented improvisers to be those dolls for audience members eager to see what their favorite Lumon buddies might be up to offscreen. This show’s no different, with all your theories, headcanons, romantic ships, and otherwise invited as fun, fanfic-y stage fodder. It’s a step up from a late-night Archive of Our Own binge read, if you know what I mean.   – James Scott

“The In-Between”

Saturday 31, the Future Front House

What often scares all flavors of ’phobes (homo-, trans-, arachno-, etc.) are the nuances unveiled by people questioning the strict norms governing our society. How dare someone suggest you can love the same sex, perform and claim a gender other than what was assigned at birth, or have eight legs rather than two. Wait, wait: I’m getting away from the point on the last one. Presented jointly by the Gallery ATX and Future Front Texas, this exhibition “celebrates the messy, powerful in-between” through a group show featuring 13 Austin-area artists. Their work explores the place “where identities shift, relationships bloom, and connection defies convention.” Opening night also celebrates a new edition of the Gallery’s zine, Mujer Manifesto, which focuses on women and non-binary creative voices in Texas.   – James Scott

Austin’s Archives & You: Preserving City & Community Histories

Saturday 31, Southeast Branch Library

No matter when you got here, you were too late, as Austinites love to say. It was always cooler 10 years ago. Fortunately, we’ve got the Austin History Center so we can catch up on what we missed and preserve our memories as they happen so we can show newbies what they missed. Learn more about the center’s work at a session with activities to help them decide the direction of future programs, exhibits, and spaces. A survey from the Austin History Center asks the community for feedback on the plans, and your reward for in-person completion will be a free coffee mug or historic map as well as light refreshments. Find the survey at publicinput.com/ahc through July 13 if you can’t make it.   – Kat McNevins

“Finding Our Way Home”

Saturday 31, MotherShip Studios, San Marcos

On account of our current political landscape, “home” implies not so much a physical space as it does a governed site, defined by a barrage of social regulations and massive human displacement. This exhibition, including the work of multiple artists tied to Texas, visualizes the often dehumanizing experience of those attempting to call the United States home. Curator Casie Lomeli says the art featured is an “exploration of the shared dread of losing a place, searching for belonging, and the celebration of the spaces we uncover when we find our way home, whatever that may be.”   – Levi Langley

KhushFest

Saturday 31, Republic Square

Khush means “happy” in Hindi, which is one of the goals for the fest. And couldn’t we all use a bit of unfettered joy right now? Admission gets you two bags of brightly colored powder that fills the air in a celebration of unity, equality, and respect. Dance to a mix of Bollywood music, plus English- and Spanish-language hits while surrounded by clouds of color. There will also be food trucks to keep you fueled for fun and activities for the kids (under 12 get in free). Be prepared to leave more colorful than you came.   – Blake Leschber

Christopher Cascio: “Portals”

Saturday 31 - Thursday 5, Ivester Contemporary

Patterns. Repetition. The compulsory need for the same, over and over, until you’re led somewhere else. In second-time Ivester gallery artist Christopher Cascio’s newest solo exhibition, he explores both the pattern and the escape – a portal within every piece. His paintings combine aerosol and acrylic paint with more textural elements like masking tape, found fabric, and concert wristbands to form various repeating images anchored by centralized portals both obvious and obscure. And so, Cascio’s canvases “[invite] viewers to consider these moments as thresholds, interruptions in the pattern that offer space for reflection, transformation, or escape.”   – James Scott

Spring Tree ID Walk

Saturday 31, Central Library

Does the legend of Austin’s 600-year-old Treaty Oak ring a bell? If not, your vaguely granola Austin parents might have failed you. But don’t fret – there’s plenty more Texas tree facts and fiction to go around, thanks in part to Texas A&M’s very own tree-identifying portal, a site I discovered this past semester while conducting research in an ecology seminar. Whether you’re a tree hugger, tree neophyte, or like me, a part-time cohort of copses, joining arborist Keith Babberney will help anyone interested identify the Austin oaks that have seen – and survived – the city’s manifold eras.   – Levi Langley

Indonesian Angklung and Dance Performance

Saturday 31, John Gillum Branch Library

Ah: the angklung! This Sundanese percussion instrument is formed by carving multiple bamboo tubes, which, after being attached to a frame, produce a particular pitch when struck. Each instrument is carved for one specific pitch, so often players form angklung ensembles in order to play multiple pitches. As AANHPI Heritage Month comes to a close, Indonesian cultural society Rumah Budaya Indonesia di Austin brings the instrument to the library where not only will you be able to enjoy the music that once honored rice goddess Dewi Sri but also take in traditional dance.   – James Scott

Kung Fu & Coffee

Saturday 31, Master Gohring’s Tai Chi & Kung Fu

Kicks will be flying both on and off the screen as Galaxy Theatre and Master Gohring’s Tai Chi and Kung Fu host a one-two punch event. First, Master Gohring will teach an introductory kung fu class available to kids over the age of four. Adults can sip on some coffee from the aptly named Kick Butt Coffee next door. Finally, everyone heads over to Galaxy Theatre to watch the new Karate Kid: Legends. (N.B., the movie is rated PG-13 for some reason.)   – Blake Leschber

Lone Star Farmers Market

Sunday 1, Springdale General

Flowers, fruits, and fennel – all these F words and more await at the Lone Star farmers’ market, which is making its Springdale General debut this Sunday. Here’s another F word for ya: Fresh, as in how stinkin’ fresh all the food these vendors are slinging will be. But there’s not just eatables here. Local jewelry, crafts, and other handmade goods feature, so make sure you bring your biggest tote bag so all the new delights you buy don’t spill out from your arms.   – James Scott

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Want to see all of our listings broken down by day? Go to austinchronicle.com/calendar and see what's happening now or in the coming week.