February romance doesn’t end with Valentines Day in Chicago.  The Windy City hosts the annual Chicago Flamenco Festival, geared to inspire rhythm and sultry moves. The month-long event included lectures, workshops and film screenings as well as live music and dance celebrating the Andalusian art of flamenco.  Tonight, the incomparable Concha Jareno performs her whirling blend of traditional and contemporary flamenco dance at the Insituto Cervantes Auditorium at 7PM.   She’ll  perform her new work, ” Simplemente Flamenco,” a dance suite which includes Rondena, Guajira and Cantinas. Read More »

Buddy Guy on stage at his club, Legends

Catch the excitement of live Chicago blues bands competing to win the International Blues Challenge at Buddy Guy’s Legends on November 15.   Over the last few months, local acts have belted out their best blues performances in four  rounds of contests to represent Chicago in the International Blues Challenge, held in Memphis in January.  Sponsored by the Windy City Blues Society, the event supplies a great opportunity to hear the best up and coming blues performers in one night.  The line-up kicks off at 7:30PM and includes 12 acts battling to be the best in blues. Read More »

Like any good fish story, this one got away.  That’s right, you just missed Salmon Days in Issaquah, WA and you should be ashamed of yourself.  Go ahead and cry it out.  I’ll wait.

Okay, enough.  You brought it upon yourself.  Now sit still and let me tell you what you missed, aka, rub it in.

Every year about this time the salmon leave the deep, salty waters of Seattle’s Puget Sound and they start swimming.  They swim through lakes and streams and wind their way to Issaquah Creek, where the water is shallow and clear.  They swim all the way to the hatchery in which they were born, they do their thing with the eggs and the stuff and then they die.  Needless to say the salmon don’t find the occasion as festive as we do.  I watched them for hours and never saw a single party hat. Read More »

School

Officially, summer does not begin for a few more weeks.  June 21, I believe, is the Summer Solstice and it marks the official beginning.  Unofficially, summer begins in just a few days—when school lets out!  In about two weeks though, parents all over the country who have been looking forward to the academic reprieve that summer affords and the opportunity to renew quality bonds with their children will be wondering what the heck they were thinking!

Summertime can be draining on parents.

Fortunately, summertime also marks the beginning of concert season in Columbus and there is nothing better than a good show to recharge tired minds.  It’s a chance to let your hair down (if you still have any), soak up some local flavor and quite frankly, act like a kid again.  Away from the kids.  Call the sitter and make plans for a night out.  You owe yourself.

Concert Photo by AndiH

There are many local venues with excellent local and regional acts making their way through our fair city this summer.  The larger venues:  Value City Arena, Nationwide Arena, and Lifestyles Community Pavilion (The LC) have some great artists lined up.  Here’s a brief rundown.

Value City Arena

June 2009

Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood

June 15

August 2009

American Idols Live! ’09

August 25 at 7PM

August 26 at 7:30PM

Nationwide Arena

June 2009

Yanni Voices Tour

Sunday, June 7 at 7:30 p.m.

Skate for Hope

Saturday, June 20 at 5 p.m.

July 2009

Billy Joel and Elton John Face 2 Face Tour

Tuesday, July 14 at 7:30 p.m. – Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

August 2009

Cirque du Soleil presents Saltimbanco

August 12-23 (14 performances)

Keith Urban with special guest Jason Aldean

Friday, August 14 at 7:30 p.m. – Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Jonas Brothers World Tour 2009

Wednesday, August 26 at 7 p.m. – Doors open at 6 p.m.

Lifestyles Community Pavilion

June 2009

July 30

August 2009

Lynyrd Skynyrd

August 18

Summer will be here before you know it so start planning now.  A good concert and a night on the town can make for the perfect local escape.

Concert Tickets Photo by planteschwa

(Photos courtesy creative commons by pixiesticks23, AndiH and planetschwa.)