Third Thursdays at Nick’s English Hut
A benefit for Stepping Stones
423 East Kirkwood
Thursday, July 19
5–8 p.m.

Once a month Nick’s throws open its doors to aid a local not-for-profit. The brainchild of Natalie Cabanaw, a fave wait staffer of yours and mine, “Third Thursdays” has brought in hundreds upon hundreds for our area agencies.

“It’s a great way for people who don’t have a lot of cash to help donate,” says Natalie. “It adds up!”

Natalie donates all of her tips the night of the event – as does bartender Andrew Hilton. Additional wait staff pitches in, and 20 percent of the total food bill goes straight to the agency. The not-for-profit is asked to take the reins in advertising the event.

Bloomington's abuzz about more than parking this summer.

The IU Summer Music Festival kicked off June 17, showcasing once again the phenomenal musical skill that floods this landlocked city through the Jacobs School of Music.

Running through Aug. 4, this 30-event festival blends the sounds of summer with the flair of students, faculty, conductors and internationally renowned alumni alike.

Hosted by the music school, this annual event will satisfy the pickiest music connoisseur's hunger with a combination of diverse performances, from orchestral concert bands to solo artists to opera theater productions.

Circle Singing Workshop
with Janiece Jaffe
Blooming Spirit Retreat Center
Sunday, June 24
1 - 3 p.m.

"Sound has been used in healing practices among indigenous cultures throughout time," Janiece Jaffe says. "The premise of this work is that everything in the universe is in a state of vibration and that we are constantly changing."

JUNE

Sun 06/17
Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio
Auer Hall, 4:00

Mon 06/18
Biava Quartet
Auer Hall, 8:00

Tue 06/19
American Chamber Players
Auer Hall, 8:00

Wed 06/20
Ann Schein, piano
Auer Hall, 8:00 FREE!

Fri 06/22
Yong Hi Moon, piano
Auer Hall, 8:00 FREE!

Open House
Dagom Gaden Tensung Ling
Buddhist Monastery
102 Clubhouse Drive
June 10, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

One of the great gifts of Bloomington is the opportunity to immerse oneself in Tibetan culture. Without leaving town (let alone the continent), spend your morning and/or afternoon enjoying a guided temple tour. Then view a photo exhibit of faraway lives dedicated to mission and service. Finally, get that jump on holiday shopping at a bazaar.

Boogie-Woogie in Bryan Park
June 2
5-8:30 p.m.

A promise comes to life in Bryan Park when two exalted piano players arrive in Indiana next week. Local pianist Craig Brenner was recently awarded a grant from the Indiana Arts Commission to study with Bob Seeley and Big Joe Duskin -- among the greatest boogie-woogie and blues piano players, ever.

"I promised to use what I learned and help stage a large, outdoor concert and bring the artists to Bloomington, and to collaborate with other local organizations to make it happen," Brenner says.

Susan Swaney hopes to build on some Hoosiers’ knowledge about the historic labor leader Eugene V. Debs, a man whose time she argues has returned.

“People have either never heard of him or barely heard of him,” the artistic director of the Bloomington-based Voces Novae chamber choir says. “They’ve read about him in their high school government textbooks, along with the muckrakers and Theodore Dreiser. You know, it was kind of a paragraph in my high school text.”

Indeed, history written in the post-McCarthy era, she argues, has all but forgotten Debs, at best, or maligned him, at worst.

“He was kind of tainted,” she says. “The implication was he was one of those pinkos who was always stirring up trouble,” which, as those who attend the May 19 Voces Novae performance of Eugene V. Debs: An Indiana Original will learn, is an apt description.

Craig Brenner Trio
tutto bene
Wednesday May 2, 8 p.m.

After a final or large project is completed, I always treat myself to something fun, be it a new pair of shoes or dinner out with friends. The end of another semester is no different.

Now that the year is winding down and the insanity of class and work is finally wearing off, take a cue from me and reward yourself. And what better way to unwind than with some good wine and jazz?

My world, the world, is a little less brilliant today. Two of the brightest lights ever produced in the state of Indiana – novelist Kurt Vonnegut Jr. and former Congressman Jim Jontz – died within four days of each other this month. And the planet will never, ever be the same.

To say that both of these men profoundly influenced my life would be understatement of monumental proportions. Long before I laid eyes on either, their spirits tapped me on the shoulder whispered, “That way, young man. That way.”

By the time I finally did see them in person – the mid-80s for Jim and mid-90s for Kurt – I was well down that path and couldn’t have been more grateful.

Breaking Away
Dunn Meadow
Wednesday April 18, 8:30 p.m.

Breaking Away, the 1979 triumph that won an Oscar and won IU some serious recognition, makes an appearance in Dunn Meadow this year. The Little 500-centric sleeper hit about breaking away from the crowd and following your dreams is a downright classic movie, and perfect to watch right around this time of the year.