Home Events

Eager to watch a tragic, thought-provoking, sociopolitical tragedy? Experience the student-performed, professionally directed classic (which feels like an understatement), in a replica Elizabethan theatre space by Lake Austin.

Based on a true story, this Japanese slice-of-life film by Nobuhiko Obayashi (Hausu, Seven Weeks) tells of a grocer named Shunzo, played by Japanese comic Bengal, who shows compassion and offers a discount to poor Chinese exchange students. A simple gesture leads to helping the students more and more, and tensions arise in his family as Shunzo risks his own well-being to help others. A recent restoration preserves the 1989 gem, which captured the culture of the time that included the Tiananmen Square Massacre and feelings around the longstanding issues between China and Japan. – Kat McNevins

As part of the larger Sunbird Festival, the fit & fierce among our queer community contribute a total body workout – your buns, your legs, and your soul. Inside Chups’ will be DJ Majesty spinning a “divine feminine twerkshop” set before ceding the stage to Olamide. Outside, you’ve got tunes from DJ Veneer followed by a dance workshop from Rebekah Rhinehart and a classic Workout with Erica Nix. Cool off while watching hot drag by Bobby Pudrido, Brigitte Bandit, Sinful Purchase, Puja Purchase, and JonBenet C. Quin, then work up a second sweat to DJ La Morena’s set. Oh, and about that soul workout I mentioned: All proceeds from the $10 cover charge and drag show contribs will go toward humanitarian aid in Palestine. – James Scott

School’s out for summer! And out forever, at least in Beyond August Productions’ Exit Strategy. The story of a run-down high school finishing up its final year before eradication, Exit Strategy follows students and staff on the edge of displacement. Education is a hellscape in the best of times. One can only imagine the anarchy within a school on the brink of annihilation. In cases like that, does anything matter? Get ready to test those limits with Exit Strategy, showing the humor and madness in dire circumstances. – Cat McCarrey

For the rest of this month and into the next, Flatbed Press, local bastion of multiple originals, is putting you on to the next gen of Austin printmakers. For the third year in a row, this annual exhibition features work from students receiving a printmaking degree from any college in the Austin area, including UT, ACC, St. Edward’s, Texas State, and Southwestern. The work ranges from traditional to experimental, both in form and process. Hot tip: While you’re there, make sure to step out of the gallery and check out the working press portion of the building. – Lina Fisher

It’s the second coming of surrealism at Ivester Contemporary. Josias Figueirido aptly updates the legacy of Dalí and Chagall with his vivid dreamscapes. His exhibit presents spirit guides Piri the Dreamer and Flying Coyote in increasingly absurd settings, smoothly bubbled characters possessing hypnotic shininess. Paintings of them hang in eerily vivid flashe paint, existing harmoniously beside their animated counterpoints in an immersive, interactive reality. It’s the wondrous love child of Cartoon Network and modernism. You don’t want to miss it.: – Cat McCarrey

In her affirming “Don’t Touch My Hair,” Solange demands respect for her crown. “Don’t touch my hair/ When it’s the feelings I wear,” she says. For Black women and femme folx, in particular, hair is never “just hair.” It’s history; it’s trauma; it’s self-esteem and self-preservation. When someone reaches to cop an unsolicited feel of our tresses, it’s a violation. However, when touched by the hands of a professional, it’s a spiritual experience. On Sunday, June 23, Kinky Curly Coily Festival allows for Black and Brown folx to feel the healing restorative power of gettin’ they hair did. A celebration of Blackness with performances from cultural icons such as Blackchyl, Noella Grey, J Rich, and Tameca Jones. – Cy White

Nine years ago, a Supreme Court ruling made same-sex marriage legal in the U.S. of A. While progress has been up and down since then – oof, actually it’s been more down than up – the historic moment marked a turning point for the queer community legislatively. As the office who issued Texas’ first gay marriage license, the Travis County Clerk’s Office celebrates the 2015 ruling with a whole week of free wedding ceremonies. Check countyclerk.traviscountytx.gov for further details on marriage license deadlines, specific locations, and other bureaucratic minutiae – and I’ll bring the rice! – James Scott

I discovered Meet Me at the Altar on one of those days when I needed an outlet for my fevered state of pissed off. These Black punks crashed into my nearly dead, cold heart and gave me the energy injection I needed to just walk it off – well, more like stomp it out like a cockroach. The East Coast trio reminded me of everything I loved in the early Aughts: Lolita dresses and black lace, anime, and music that could blow out my speakers. Following the release of their first full-length LP – last year’s Past // Present // Future – the pop-punk brats join rockers Mother Mother and Cavetown on their summer tour. – Cy White

Drink up without losing your head: Local nonalcoholic space Sans Bar – in partnership with mood-booster N/A bev brand Kin Euphorics – sets sail for a spirited yet spirit-less Pride boat party. Four hours on the lake means you’ve got plenty of time to socialize, dance, and party. Gothess Jasmine performs drag; DJ Reesh brings the hot hits; and yes, Kin pours complimentary bevs to keep you in sober heaven. Clink, clink, and all that. – James Scott

The host herself – Erica Nix, star of screen, sweating, and shows in MASS Gallery’s yard – warns that this pool party sells out quick. That means if you’re interested in getting wild and weird in the water, if you’re a real aqua aerobics all-star, if you love to get really really wet, then don’t spend another second reading this event listing! Jump on that wheezing ol’ laptop of yours and log on to Austin Motel dot com to claim your spot. If you’re too slow, well. Lucky you this is an every-Sunday type of deal. – James Scott

In Link & Pin’s Summer Exposure series, they’re presenting three artists for two weeks each. Kicking it off are Jan Pomeroy, Denise Elliott Jones, and Kristy Battani. Their work perfectly complements each other, exhibiting worlds full of vibrant colors and rich, evocative texturing. Play along with their vivid sightscapes this Thursday, in conjunction with East Austin Arts District’s Third Thursday walks. Or wait for the artist reception on Saturday, for wining and dining and art aplenty. – Cat McCarrey

This multimedia convergence feels like a direct response to this year’s South by Southwest, which invited the U.S. Army and various Israel-supplying defense contractors to speak in the midst of the Palestinian genocide. Named after the region’s native passerine, Sunbird Fest showcases local music, art, film, comedy, and poetry, with all proceeds benefiting the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund and Gaza families. Check Instagram for the complete schedule, but just a few of the musical offerings include a cumbia show at Hotel Vegas, a Two-Step Dance-a-Thon at Sagebrush, and a Die Spitz pit at the Far Out Lounge. – Carys Anderson

Calling all lovers of intergenerational family tales – maybe a niche crowd, but definitely a good one. Zach presents to you The Lehman Trilogy, winner of five Tony Awards. One of those Tonys? Best Play. Decide whether it deserved the honors, all while following the infamous Lehman family from their arrival in America through the 1900s until their infamous financial firm (spoiler alert) collapsed in 2008. If you miss Succession but wished it had just a smidgen more early 20th century immigration struggle and concrete financial crisis, you’ve got to check this out. – Cat McCarrey

Over 70 local queer vendors gather for your shopping pleasures under Distribution Hall’s shady cover with free drinks, coffee, food, fun activities, and more to entice even those most grouchy of gay.

Hoo-wee! Does anything feel better than a dip in the pool during a hot Texas summer? While some among us may be privileged to own private watering holes, most of us get to enjoy the great Austin PARD’s work at the 44 public aquatic facilities to choose from this summer. You’ve got regional, neighborhood, and community pools; a wading pool; splash pads; and the crown jewel: Barton Springs. Check austintexas.gov/pools-splashpads for up-to-date info on which pools are open, what their entry fee is, and whether you have what it takes to be a public pool lifeguard. Now, outta the way if you don’t wanna get wet: I’m gonna do a cannonball! – James Scott

Thanks to Seventies funk band War, the word “lowrider” often calls to mind the unforgettable sax riff of the band’s 1975 No. 1 single. But lowrider can mean a snazzy customized car with hydraulics or a person who works on such a vehicle, and the culture around these cars has strengthened Mexican American communities in the Southwest since the Forties. Learn more about them at this exhibit featuring an interactive touchscreen mural, cars and bikes on display, and stories about the people who make lowriding a community. A member reception takes place May 18. – Kat McNevins

Summer seems a natural time for lightness, airiness. There’s a freedom the soul craves. Diana Greenberg’s latest exhibit, on display at Wally Workman, utterly fits those summer vibes. Inspired by nature, her art evokes the breeziness of a hammock in the sun, a picnic in a meadow, the possibilities of a bright sunny day. That’s perfectly complemented by the art’s pastel palette, pearly pinks and hazy yellows adding to the seasonal feeling. Welcome nostalgia and hope of longer days with Greenberg’s impressions of the world around us. – Cat McCarrey

Vessel: a container that holds things. Vessel: a person infused with a quality. What quality? Any. Feel free to interpret it yourself when basking in Diane Chiyon Hong’s exhibit “Vessels – Handle with Care.” Her architectural sketches, part function, part form, part object, part person, part humor but all thought-provoking, currently grace the halls of the Asian American Resource Center. It’s Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Month, so why not pay the AARC a visit. I mean, if not now, when? – Cat McCarrey