Welcome to Your Three-Day Weekend: Things To Do in Local Arts

No Lady Gaga at Bumbershoot this year. But she does feature in this painting, Gaga Dada by Troy Gua

Mainstage

The festival we’ve been waiting for all summer long – one of the largest arts festivals in the nation – is finally here. Saturday through Monday, Bumbershoot’s 40th year is hosting a wide range of talents from Tacoma’s own Neko Case to Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros to Bob Dylan himself. In addition to music, you can trust there will be a cavalcade of art, comedy, dance, film, literature and craft programs. Read our Bumbershoot picks – and preview some of the visual art exhibits to help you plan your Bumberful weekend.

Visual Art

Brangelina by Mike Leavitt

Looking beyond Bumbershoot, Labor Day weekend is perfect for a road trip to Port Townsend, where the opening reception for Pop This is planned for tomorrow night (Saturday) at the Northwind Arts Center from 6:00pm to 8:00pm, featuring artists Troy Gua and Mike Leavitt and mixed forms that include paintings, photos, sculptures and unconventional wares. A bit closer to home, Paris sculptor Gérard Cambon’s exhibit opens at Hallway Gallery in downtown Bellevue tonight (Friday). The show will also feature figurative paintings by artist/gallerist Erik Hall.

Music

There’s a showdown tonight at the Nectar Lounge in Fremont: hear Prince vs Michael [Jackson] in a battle between DJs Dave Paul and Indica Jones. Just for fun: wear a raspberry-colored members only jacket – or a little red glove to show how the two pop geniuses are as exciting in collaborating as they are in battle.

Theatre

Molière may be a seventeenth century playwright, but Intiman seeks to prove his comedic genius has lasted well into the 21^st century with A Doctor in Spite of Himself that opens tonight (Friday) and runs through October 10. Molière’s satirical fire goes after the medical profession in thie play, with Tony-nominated actor Daniel Breaker leading the performance.

Film

Rumored to be one of Italian filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini’s greatest films, Mamma Roma is playing tonight (Friday) at the Northwest Film Forum at 7:00pm and 9:00pm, and plays through September 9. This 1962 film centers around a prostitute who leaves “the night” to make a better life for her teenage son in Rome; it is simultaneously hilarious and heartbreaking.