Chug Along
ONGOING
Once we were content just to drink beer. Then we wanted to brew our own. July is American Beer Month, a celebration dedicated to home brewing and the camaraderie that goes with it. For the Lawrence Brewers Guild, nothing could be better, unless it fermented for two weeks in a barrel. The Guild provides members with a vault of techniques and ingredients. At monthly meetings, members exchange brewing stories and backyard chemistry, concluding with a home-brew tasting. You’ll have to wait until August to catch a meeting, but this is American Beer Month, so it’s time to get geared up for brewing. You could at least start drinking.
Membership costs $16 for individuals and $24 for families. In exchange, members get lots of perks. Use of the Guild’s lending library — boasting the classics of home-brewing lit — is only one of them. See sunflower.com/~homebrew for more information.— Christopher Sebela
Art
Ottoman Interrupted
7/24-8/28
Any of our readers who get a kick out of analyzing furniture should hold on tight, because Dick Henderson is about to blow their minds. He takes pieces of salvaged wood and constructs objects that evoke a sense of use. Henderson’s one of those guys who gets into stuff like the way a cabinet is nicked in the same spot every day after breakfast and how that changes the cabinet’s shape. On display at Red Star Studios (821 West 17th Street), his salvaged items are a good fit for the Summit neighborhood, where residents’ resourcefulness makes even the lawns look like galleries. For information, call 816-474-7316. — Gina Kaufmann
Rock, Steady
SUN 7/27
This week’s free Blue Sunday concert offers a chance to see the Hipnotics, a Kansas City blues band that made it to the prestigious International Blues Challenge in Memphis this year. Only 64 bands worldwide qualified for the competition, where the Hipnotics played two nights on Beale Street with legendary blues musicians. They came home without a win, but — as member Joe Pascarelli is quick to point out — they missed the finals by only three points. Maybe the band’s hard-rocking style alienated purists on the judging panel. “We’re a little on the edgier side of the blues,” Pascarelli says. Future Blue Sunday shows include Scottyboy’s Steady Rollin’ Band on August 3, and Lawrence Wright and the Outlets on August 10. Concerts run from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Washington Square Park, on Pershing Road between Main and Grand streets. For more information, call 913-649-0383.— Sarah Smarsh
