<BENEFIT>
Aug. 16-18
Brides Against Breast Cancer
Bridezillas will turn out en masse this weekend at the Brides Against Breast Cancer Charity Wedding Gown Sale. Based in Portland, the national organization takes donations throughout the year from bridal shops, designers and individuals for its fundraising sale. The event offers brides-to-be a chance not only to snag a great deal on gowns but to support a worthy cause in the process.
Event organizer Joyce Inman says the Louisville event will have more than 1,000 gowns to choose from, more than half of them new designer gowns. Some of the selections are used, but unless you’re Elizabeth Taylor, how much wear and tear does a wedding dress go through?
The first day of the event is a VIP preview day. For a $35 donation, you can be the first to peruse the merchandise and find that dream dress. The next two days will be a first-come-first-served gown battle for the goods, priced from $89-$799. All funds raised go to the Making Memories Foundation, which grants “wishes” to terminal breast cancer patients. —Erin Clephas
Holiday Inn
1325 S. Hurstbourne Pkwy.
426-2600
www.perfectweddingguide.com
Free ($35 for Thu.); 6-9 p.m. (Thu.), 10 a.m.-8 p.m. (Fri.), 10 a.m.-6 p.m. (Sat.)
<ART>
Aug. 16-Sept. 13
‘Pearls and Beads and Bling! Oh My!’
Bring your wallet on the Aug. 16 Third Thursday Barret Zone Gallery Hop, where you can empty it in exchange for “Pearls and Beads and Bling! Oh My!” This exhibition at Chez Moi Art Gallery will have you artistically decked out in no time.
The jewelers featured are Kentucky’s Katherine Autin, Charlene Burke from Indiana and Arizona artist Michael Skrentny. Autin specializes in silver, enamel and pearl designs, including a fleur de lis pearl enhancer perfect for Louisvillians. Burke does off-loom beadweaving with seed-beads, and she will conduct seed-bead workshops while the show is up (contact Chez Moi for more details). Skrentny, also a photographer, designs with semi-precious stones. Carol McLeod will showcase jewelry with her new colorful acrylic paintings. The artists’ reception is from 6-9 p.m. during the Gallery Hop. —Jo Anne Triplett
Chez Moi Art Gallery
974 Barret Ave.
561-6206
www.geocities.com/chezmoiartgallery
<MUSIC>
AUG. 16-25
Free concerts at KY State Fair
What? No Warrant. No Poison. Aw, forget it. I’m not goin’. Wait … hold on … Alice Cooper? OK, all right. Not half bad. Mr. King of Shock Rock can jam. Wait, getting something else … Saliva. Maybe not. Uh, p’tooey! Kool & the Gang? OK, OK. Not too shabs. Danced to “Celebration” at a few hundred weddings. Kinda sweet. Eric Church? Thinking-man’s country. I can dig it. And it’s free? All of it? Every last seat. More cash for beer? Yes! —Mat Herron
Cardinal Stadium
Kentucky State Fairgrounds
937 Phillips Lane
www.kystatefair.org
Free (with Fair admission); 8 p.m.
<FILM>
Friday, Aug. 17
District 5’s Friday Movie Nights
Friday nights during the summer are best spent outside in a park, reclining in a lawn chair and looking at the stars. Stars from Hollywood, that is. This week, the “Friday Night at the Movies” outdoor film series returns for some good, clean, popcorn-infused family fun.
The star-studded “Dreamgirls” will serve as the first installment of three film screenings held every Friday at the Shawnee Park Sports Complex. District 5 councilwoman Cheri Bryant Hamilton organized the event as a way to begin a family tradition for her district when the kids unwillingly return to school.
Next week’s screening will be Terrance Howard and Bernie Mac’s swimmers-overcoming-racism flick “Pride” (Aug. 24), followed by the Will Smith heart-warmer “The Pursuit of Happyness” (Aug. 31). In case of rain, the movies will show the Shawnee Golf Course Clubhouse. There’s no cost and all moviegoers get free popcorn. At the very least, it’s certainly a better deal than “Rush Hour 3.” —Ryan Real
Shawnee Park Sports Complex
Southwestern Pkwy. & Market St.
574-1105
Free; 9 p.m.
<HORROR>
Aug. 17-19
Fright Night Film Fest
Louisville will become a horrific bloodbath when the Fright Night Film Fest sets up camp this weekend. A juried film festival, Fright Night features more than 50 independent films from around the world battling for the Silver Scream Award. In addition, there will be an exhibition hall with vendors of horror memorabilia, comic books, toys, etc., and a number of horror/sci-fi film stars from the past will make appearances as well. Come to the festival and you can meet Kane Hodder (the murderous Jason from the “Friday the 13th” series); Gunnar Hanson (Leatherface from the original “Texas Chainsaw Massacre”); Tony Moran (Michael Myers in “Halloween”); zombies from George Romero’s original “Dawn of the Dead”; Michael Berryman (Pluto from “The Hills Have Eyes”); and Bob May (voice of the robot from “Lost in Space”). There’s a kick-off party Friday night at Coyote’s to get things moving in the right direction. Bring your crucifix. —Kevin Gibson
Clarion Hotel
9700 Bluegrass Pkwy.
638-2557
www.frightnightfilmfest.com
$15 (one-day pass) and $25 (weekend pass)
<FILM/DANCE>
Saturday, Aug. 18
‘Moving Pictures’
My version of a bright idea is renting a movie instead of seeing one in the theater. A flash of inspiration for the Louisville Film Society is to show “Earnest Goes to Camp” in Bernheim Forest or to screen rare 1930s films at the Nachbar. They just seem to be thinking about movies on an entirely different level than the rest of us.
Now, they’re teaming with the Louisville Ballet to screen Guy Maddin’s “Dracula: Pages from a Virgin’s Diary”; it is free at the 21c Museum Hotel. The movie is an adaptation of Mark Godden’s revered 1998 ballet interpretation of the Dracula myth. Maddin is probably best known for his prolific body of neo-silent art house movies. —Alan Abbott
21C Museum Hotel
700 W. Main St.
www.louisvilleballet.org
Free; 8 p.m.
<MUSIC>
Saturday, Aug. 18
Trace Adkins
Country star Trace Adkins is a connoisseur of county fairs. On occasion, and often in the mornings, he’ll tuck his ponytail up under his cowboy hat, pop on some shades and walk through the livestock barns. It’s his way of kicking back, and surprisingly, fans barely notice he’s even there.
In the evening, it’s business time, and Adkins’ goal is to floor audiences. “You can tell if you did a good job, or if you did what you wanted to with the crowd. They’ll be a little exhausted, you know, just like we are.”
Adkins’ spare time, sans cows, is eaten up listening to demos for his upcoming album, guest appearances on TV shows like ESPN’s “Cold Pizza,” the FOX network blatherfest “Hannity & Colmes,” as well as a recurring role on “King of the Hill.” It’s a wonder he even sleeps. The ticket price includes gate admission to the Kentucky State Fair. Dierks Bentley and Kellie Pickler open. —Mat Herron
Freedom Hall
937 Phillips Lane
367-5001
$35; 8 p.m.
<MUSIC>
Saturday, Aug. 18
Dirt Poor Robins
Headlining can be a drag. You go on late and you’ve got the added pressure of closing out a night on a high note (pun intended). For Neil and Kate Robins, their brand of carnivalesque, catchy pop will be put to the test Saturday night when they play their first headlining show at the Hill. The two describe their debut album, The Greatest Show on Earth, as a concept record that describes a carnival sideshow in which the characters aren’t freaks, but exploited by pain and loneliness. “We want our music to hit people the same way any song does when they turn on the radio,” Kate opines on dirtpoorrobins.com. “But at the same time, we want them to get the sense that we’re drawing from a deeper well.” —Mat Herron
Phoenix Hill Tavern
644 Baxter Ave.
589-4957
$10 (adv.)/$12 (door); 8 p.m.
<ART>
Through Aug. 31
Louisville Artisans Guild
The Louisville Artisans Guild began in 1956 as a craft organization. Formerly the Louisville Craftsmen’s Guild, the group changed its name in 2002 because its membership has grown to include creators of a wide variety of the visual arts as well as collectors and educators.
As a result of the group’s longevity and scope, there are always pleasant surprises in any Louisville Artisans Guild exhibit. This show of nine Guild members has a little bit of everything: oil paintings by Jane Morgan, textured wood vessels by Buddy Riley, Janet Bailey Burch’s colorful wood horses, Roxy Lentz’s metal jewelry, stained glass and geode lamps by Marlene Dennis, Jana John’s playful ceramic wall figures and much more.
This exhibition is a terrific sampling of the versatility of Louisville-area artists. —Jo Anne Triplett
Mad About Art
625 Baxter Ave.
568-4916