This Weeks Day-By-Day Picks

February 27, 2003

Thursday, February 27, 2003

Ozzy Osbourne and Reese Witherspoon are among the trendsetting celebrities at today’s show put on by the Department of Fashion Merchandising and Design at Johnson County Community College. OK, so it won’t be the A-listers themselves but rather glammed-out impersonators sporting celebrity-inspired, student-designed ensembles and gear from local retailers. The fashion victims arrive via limo to strut their fine, Hollywood-worthy stylings at Rock the Runway, Rule the Red Carpet at noon, 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the Carlsen Center Theatre (12345 College Boulevard in Overland Park). For information about the free show, call 913-469-3357.

Friday, February 28, 2003

A suggestion for those important people who cannot risk turning off their cell phones in movie theaters: silent films. After all, no one can accuse Chatty Cathies of talking over the movie’s dialogue. The seventh annual Kansas Silent Film Festival shows three free films from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Washburn University’s White Concert Hall (17th and Jewell in Topeka), including Charlie Chaplin’s 1925 classic The Gold Rush. Live music from the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra complements the films. With all those annoying instruments clanging around, nobody will be able to hear anything else, so cell-phone whores should consider hustling their free weekend minutes elsewhere. For more information, call 785-580-4511.

Saturday, March 1, 2003

Apparently, horses can dance. Specifically, the Lipizzaner Stallions prance, march and weave a kind of ballet to classical music. The equestrian act goes on at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at the American Royal Hale Arena (1201 American Royal Court). While you’re there, you might bump into the Horse Girl from your third-grade class — the quiet one who drew horses in her notebooks, put horse stickers on her Lisa Frank folders and wore a purple unicorn backpack, ever since her great-aunt let her feed the pony at her ranch. Tickets cost $19.50 for adults and $17.50 for seniors and children. To see the funky white horses get down and boogie, call 816-513-4000.

The experimental jazz trio Malachy Papers unleashes its latest hooks at the CD-release party for its new album, Backbelly. The Papers continue to take an ambitious approach to jazz on this disc, using turntables to add pop and dance sensibilities. Backbelly is full of uncharacteristically steady beats, which is just what you need on the dance floor tonight at Davey’s Uptown Ramblers Club (3402 Main). Watch out for the alarming sax screams, though, which reach a level of intensity not unlike that of an oncoming, out-of-control semi’s horn. For information, call 816-753-1909.

Sunday, March 2, 2003

Mardi Gras isn’t just for college girls gone wild. An all-ages, presumably booby-flash-free celebration involves a Cajun buffet and Dixieland jazz from the New Red Onion Jazz Babies, to which grown-ups can shake a leg while their kids go wild playing carnival games. Meanwhile, a silent auction benefits the parent association of French charter school Academie Lafayette. The jamboree, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Temple B’nai Jehudah social hall (712 East 69th Street), costs $7 in advance and $9 at the door; children four years old and younger get in free. Call 816-333-1347.

Monday, March 3, 2003

Parents looking for ways to teach their children acceptance might want to call upon a large, leather-clad, middle-aged man with tattoos covering 80 percent of his body. The Scary Guy (that’s his legal name) talks to young and adult audiences around the globe about peace and tolerance — through gold-capped, rhinestone-studded teeth. He speaks at 7 p.m. at Blue Springs South Mid-Continent Public Library (2220 Southwest State Route 7). The former tattoo artist (and onetime baby photographer) has the rocks to publicly state that his mission is “eliminating hate, violence and prejudice worldwide.” Even more impressive: his soon-to-be-released bobblehead. To register for the free event call 816-229-3571.

Tuesday, March 4, 2003

Head to 18th Street for Mardi Gras goings-on at pretty much any time. More than twenty businesses between Main Street and Broadway commemorate the day of debauchery with floats, costumes, jazz and brass bands, and a demolition derby. As in previous years, people wearing cardboard cars wham into one another, but this year the derby involves real cars and real bent fenders, too. A Recycled Sounds-sponsored Flaming Lips tribute float is expected to be among this year’s highlights. The first parade blows through at 6:30 a.m., so you might as well mix your hurricanes Monday night and get an early start. The area is closed to traffic from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

To accumulate beads at as many venues as possible, try the Blues Society’s Blues Club Crawl. Buses start downtown at 8 p.m. at the Phoenix (302 West 8th Street) and hit more blues joints than you can shake a crawfish at, including the Grand Emporium (3832 Main) for a performance from the Bayou’s own Donna Angelle and the Zydeco Posse. Other bus hubs are the Levee (16 West 43rd Street) and B.B.’s Lawnside Bar-B-Que (1205 East 85th Street), where crawlers can catch Frankie Lee and the Blues Notions. Advance tickets get you into each stop for $10; tickets are $15 at the event. Call 913-649-0383.

Wednesday, March 5, 2003

Today is Ash Wednesday, and the church-inclined city-dweller might head for the chapel — or remain in bed with a “Kiss Me, I’m Cajun” button blinking on her chest and a package of frozen peas resting on her forehead. Surely she’ll be out of bed by 7 p.m., when St. Monica’s Catholic Church (1616 Paseo) is expected to be hopping with the Prayer Meeting: A Prayer Vigil and Songs for the Healing of AIDS. Don’t let the name fool you — the gathering is a boisterous concert for a cause (as opposed to last night, which was merely a boisterous boozefest). Several music groups will raise the steeple at the event, part of this year’s Black Church Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS. For information, call 816-235-6600.