Night & Day Events

Thursday, June 17
There’s a reason why Curious George is a bit of a hipster. The monkey created by Hans A. Rey can swallow puzzle pieces, knock over huge dinosaur displays at the science museum and get shot into outer space in a rocket and still make it back to the Man in the Yellow Hat in one piece. Ry Kincaid and Damron Russel Armstrong take the stage for Curious George and The Man in the Yellow Hat at 10 a.m. and noon, respectively, today at the Theatre for Young America (5909 Johnson Drive in Mission). To reserve tickets, which cost $6.50, call 913-831-2131.

Friday, June 18

Seeing downtown come to life on First Fridays helps us picture what it might have been like back in the day, kinda like in those documentaries on KCPT Channel 19, but without all the suits and fancy hats. The downtown population booms temporarily again tonight as the Urban Culture Project and the American Institute of Architects combine forces for a slew of Third Friday events (see Urban Experience and See/Be Seen). The local office of the AIA (104 West Ninth Street) hosts a 5 p.m. opening for a traveling photo exhibit called Structures of Our Time: 31 Buildings That Changed Modern Life, which celebrates the enduring power of good design. There’s nothing like good design, but we’re also down with all things zombie. And so are Sean Ward, Jon Peck and Seth Johnson, as evidenced by Thanks for Not Being a Zombie at Paragraph (23 East 12th Street). There’s something about seeing a Peanuts character drawing a scary-as-hell monster that really delights our twisted side. For details, call 816-221-5115.

Saturday, June 19

Finally, a One Night Stand we don’t have to feel guilty about! The annual event of the Kansas City Independent Filmmakers Coalition takes place today, starting at 8:30 a.m. at the Westport Coffee House (4010 Pennsylvania). One theme (for instance, “people who make bad choices” or “misery loves company”) and one object (say, a foul smell, a broken heart or a toilet plunger) will be pulled from a hat. Each of the 25 teams then has 10 hours to shoot and edit a 5-minute film using these variables. Most groups are at least partially assembled in advance, but innocent bystanders are usually drafted at the morning’s drawing, so it’s not too late to participate. The finished products screen at 7 p.m. at Club 151 at 22 North James Street in the West Bottoms. Admission is $5. For more information, call 816-728-8647.

Sunday, June 20

The story of a soldier who comes home from war only to be murdered by his wife and her lover (the soldier’s cousin, for crying out loud!) might sound like the plot of a highly entertaining Lifetime movie, but it’s actually a classic Greek tragedy written by Aeschylus in 458 B.C. And if you can get out of bed by 7:30 this morning, you can see it performed at Wheeler Amphitheater in Theis Park, just north of Brush Creek Boulevard and west of Rockhill Road. The run of Gorilla Theater’s annual Sunrise Greek Show started yesterday and continues next Saturday and Sunday, with an added performance at 7:30 p.m. Monday, June 21, in honor of the summer solstice. This year’s play is The Libation Bearers, the second in a trilogy called The Oresteia. The performance is free. Call 816-500-5590 for more information.

Were you disappointed when passionate Howard Dean‘s now-infamous I Have a Scream speech sealed his fate? Tell him yourself at 4 p.m. today at Benjamin Ranch (6401 East 87th Street, one block east of Interstate 435), where he’ll be at a rally for Missouri State Representative Vicki Walker. A $50 donation is suggested, but she’ll take whatever you’ve got; call 816-213-6891 for more information.

Monday, June 21

The venerable institution known as the Rural Grit Happy Hour celebrated its last hurrah on May 31 after more than five years of memorable Mondays at the Grand Emporium. But Brother Ike can’t be kept down for long! The Happy Hour has relocated to Mike’s Tavern (5424 Troost Avenue), one of our favorites. So if you find Wednesday’s abundance of fake IDs beyond annoying, and Thursday’s supercheap 32-ounce High Lifes make you feel much too awful the next day, help brand Monday the new day to celebrate old-time country and bluegrass. Did we mention dollar draws and dollar tacos? It’s from 6 to 9 p.m. (or later) and costs $3. Call 816-444-3399 for more information.

Tuesday, June 22

Watching election debates on television can be fun, especially when a candidate gets flustered and tries to belabor a point well after his or her time has run out. Observing that moment when the mediator cuts in is like watching a window to one’s soul, revealing the candidate as a pushy whiner, an unrepentant blowhard or an unflappable potential leader. See what unfolds today when Emanuel Cleaver and Jamie Metzl, both congressional candidates for Missouri’s 5th District, go head-to-head in a match sponsored by the Jackson County Committee for County Progress. The doors of the Science and Technology Building’s Little Theater at Penn Valley Community College (3201 Southwest Trafficway) open at 7:30 p.m., and the sparring starts at 8. For details, call 816-759-4000.

Wednesday, June 23
The Kansas City, Kansas, Public Library (625 Minnesota Avenue, 913-279-2032) is, for lack of a better term, the shit. Aside from all the books, it has the best selection of hard-to-find VHS tapes and DVDs as well as, check this out, graphic novels, CDs, magazines and comic books. And we mean hard-to-find as in, “Holy shit! Where’d you find this?” It’s like going into your favorite bookstore, only everything is free (just due back in a few weeks). The library continues its reign of cool with its summer concert series, when blues musician D.C. Bellamy plays a free set in the courtyard at noon. Visitors can bring their own lunches or try something from Boss Doggs, which will be in the house.