PICK OF THE WEEK
Jewish Federation presents Andy Sweet documentary, exhibit
SOUTH BEND — The Jewish Federation of St. Joseph Valley celebrates the work of the late Jewish photographer Andy Sweet (1953-1982) with a film screening Aug. 29 and photo exhibition that opens Aug. 30.h Sweet was a pioneer in color photography and street photography whose work captured the eccentricity, fun, glamor and kitsch that were a part of the lives of older Jewish immigrants, many of them Holocaust survivors, who lived in the South Beach area of Miami, Fla., in the 1970s.h His photographs have been exhibited in museums and fine art galleries across the United States and in Europe. This will be the first time his work will be shown in South Bend.h At 7 p.m. Aug. 29, the Jewish Federation screens the documentary “The Last Resort” at the St. Joseph County Public Library, 304 S. Main St.h An exhibit of Sweet’s photographs opens with a reception at 7 p.m. Aug. 30 and continues through Nov. 17 at the Jewish Federation, 3202 Shalom Way. Exhibit hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.h Ed Christin, the archivist of Sweet’s work and a South Bend native, will be on hand at both events to provide his unique insight into the life and work of the photographer and participate in an audience Q&A.h Admission to the screening and the exhibit is free.h For more information, call 574-233-1164 or visit thejewishfed.org.
Acting Ensemble rolls the dice on live-action ‘Dungeons and Dragons’
MISHAWAKA — The Acting Ensemble presents a live action round of “Dungeons and Dragons” at 7 p.m. Aug. 28 at 602 E. Mishawaka Ave.
Welcome to Arcanicus, a world where the line between magic and technology is blurry at best.
A unified empire under the rule of the King in Gallea. Under his rule, the edges of the map have been stretched, drawn in, leaving no corner unmarked.
However, it’s not the edges of the map that are cause for concern, rather the gaps throughout.
Four adventurers find themselves falling into such a gap, an island in the middle of the Arcane Sea. An island that does not appear on any map. An island where the line between magic and technology isn’t blurry. It doesn’t exist.
The story unfolds through the collaborative work of Tiemen Godwaldt, Patrick Sweeney, Ken McCoy, Andi Creasbaum and Phil Jones. And, of course, the Dice.
Tickets are $10.
For more information, call 574-217-8873 or visit actingensemble.com.
Mi Gente Live headlines Lerner on the Lawn in Elkhart
ELKHART — Mi Gente Live headlines August’s Lerner on the Lawn event Aug. 31 as part of the city’s ArtWalk event.
ArtWalk takes place throughout downtown and begins at 5 p.m.
Mi Gente Live performs at 6 p.m. on the Central
Green in downtown.
Produced with authentic Latin performers, the show offers iconic hits of Selena, Ricky Martin, J-Lo, Enrique Iglesias, Shakira, Maluma, Pitbull, Gloria Estefan, Romeo Santos, Carlos Vives, Prince Royce and more.
Admission is free.
For more information, call 574-2934469 or visit thelerner.com.
YA author Kekla Magoon holds discussion at IUSB
SOUTH BEND — Indiana Authors Awards Tour and the Civil Rights Heritage Center present a conversation with Kekla Magoon and Kathy Burnette of Brain Lair Books at 6 p.m. Aug. 30 at Northside Hall at Indiana University South Bend.
Magoon will discuss her work and her experience as an Indiana writer with Burnette.
Also while in South Bend, Magoon will deliver talks to the students of Clay International Academy, a K-8 multilanguage immersion school.
A native of Fort Wayne, where she will speak Aug. 31, Magoon earned a bachelor's degree in history at Northwestern University and has incorporated history and current events into many of her award-winning novels and nonfiction books for children, middle grade readers and young adults.
Her novels include “The Rock and the River,” How It Went Down,” “Fire in the Streets,” “Light It Up,” “The Season of Styx Malone,” the Robyn Hoodlum adventure series and “X: A Novel,” a fictionalized account of Malcolm X formative years that she co-wrote with his daughter, Ilyasah Shabazz.
Her nonfiction books include “Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party's Promise to the People,” “The Highest Tribute: Thurgood Marshall's Life, Leadership and Legacy,” “She Persisted: Ruby Bridges” and “Today the World Is Watching You: The Little Rock Nine and the Fight for School Integration 1957-58.”
She also has a master's degree in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts, where she now teaches, and serves on the Writers' Council for the National Writing Project.
The Indiana Authors Awards Tour features a prominent Hoosier author in conversation with local writers and thought leaders with the goals of both highlighting Indiana's national literary status and inspiring more residents to pick up a pen and write.
Admission is free, but tickets are required.
For more information, visit keklamagoonsouthbend.eventbrite.com and indianaauthorsawards.org.
Kotlowitz discusses ‘The Other Side of the River’ at One Book | One Buchanan
BUCHANAN — Author and journalist Alex Kotlowitz joins the discussion of his book “The Other Side of the River” for the third annual One Book | One Buchanan at 6 p.m. Aug. 30 on the Buchanan Common, 122 Days Ave. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss the book in small groups and then be part of a conversation with Kotlowitz, led by Buchanan Community Schools Superintendent Patricia Robinson.
One Book | One Buchanan chose “The Other Side of the River” because it is the 25th anniversary of its publication and because of its setting.
In the book, Kotlowitz takes readers to two towns in southern Michigan, St. Joseph and Benton Harbor, separated by the St. Joseph River. Geographically close, but worlds apart, they are a living metaphor for America's racial divisions.
When the body of a Black teenage boy from Benton Harbor is found in the river, unhealed wounds and suspicions between the two towns' populations surface as well. The investigation into the young man's death becomes, inevitably, a screen on which each town projects their resentments and fears.
"The Other Side of the River" portrays the lives and hopes of the towns' citizens as they wrestle with this mystery — and reveals the attitudes and misperceptions that undermine race relations throughout America.
For 40 years, Kotlowitz has been telling stories from the heart of America, deeply intimate tales of struggle and perseverance. He is the author of four books, including his most recent, “An American Summer: Love and Death in Chicago,” which received the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize, and the national bestseller “There Are No Children Here.”
A former staff writer at The Wall Street Journal, Kotlowitz's work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine and on “This American Life.”
For more information, call 269-6953681 or visit buchananlibrary.org.
Raku and wood firing ceramics exhibits open at Fire Arts Inc.
SOUTH BEND — The exhibit “Beau Bilenki and Len Cockman: A Contrast of Methods, Raku and Wood” opens with a reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Sept. 1 and continues through Oct. 27 at Fire Arts Inc., 305 E. Colfax Ave.
The exhibit focuses on the artists' firing techniques in their creation of ceramics works: raku for Belinki and wood firing for Cockman.
In the West, the two processes are considered opposites, comparable to a 100-meter dash versus a marathon.
The raku firing process comes from Japan, wherein pots are fired and then pulled from a kiln while at the top-end temperature, usually between 1750 and 1900 Fahrenheit.
After removal from the kiln, the hot pottery is often placed in a container and rapidly cooled with the addition of combustible materials.
Glazes used in this process are formulated to shrink upon cooling, resulting in a network of cracks infused with carbon monoxide for a one-of-a-kind finish.
The entire process takes no more than 90 minutes.
In wood firing, pots are loaded in the kiln and the temperature is slowly raised over the course of hours, days, sometimes as long as three weeks, with rotating shifts.
The idea with wood firing is to slowly build up ash that eventually melts on the surface of the pottery, making unique surfaces that are usually orange to various browns.
An artist talk takes place at 7 p.m. Oct. 6.
Hours are noon to 9 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays; noon to 5 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays; and by appointment.
For more information, call 574-2822787 or visit fireartsinc.com.
After Ours celebrates vinyl release of ‘Music for Cats’
SOUTH BEND — After Ours celebrates the vinyl release of its new album, “Music for Cats,” with a performance at 8 p.m. Sept. 1 at Rocki Button, 435 S. Michigan St.
Self-described as a head nod jazz band that combines modern jazz, grunge, instrumental hip-hop, experimental music and other influences, After Ours consists of Eli Kahn on guitar and Arthur Schroeder on drums.
The band describes “Music for Cats” at its heaviest and most psychedelic album.
The show also includes performances by Chuck Fry, NSGTS, & ECSO, as well as visual artists Terrible Tony, Jeff Nawrocki, Tony Melser, and Jacob Garvin, who did the artwork for “Music for Cats.”
Admission is $5.
For more information, visit afterours.band.
Mariachi band Flor de Toloache performs at Goshen College
GOSHEN — Flor de Toloache performs at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 1 at the Goshen College Music Center.
The Latin Grammy-winning, allfemale mariachi group Flor de Toloache mixes tradition and innovation, breaking boundaries with its edgy, versatile and fresh take on traditional Latin American music.
Like the legendary love potion that the Toloache flower is used for in Mexico, the New York ensemble casts a spell over its audiences with soaring vocals and physical elegance. The members' diverse ethnicities and musical backgrounds transcend culture and gender by forging new paths.
With a total of five studio albums to date, Flor de Toloache recently released “Motherflower,” described by the artists as a fiercely feminist mosaic of genres inspired by mariachi.
Tickets are $35-$20.
For more information, call 574-5357566, visit gcmusiccenter.org or email boxoffice@goshen.edu.
History Museum talk explores the life of Schuyler Colfax
SOUTH BEND — The History Museum presents “Insights in History — Schuyler Colfax: Speaker for Freedom” at 1:30 p.m. Sept. 6 at 897 Thomas St.
In the talk, Deputy Executive Director Kristie Erickson explores the life of Schuyler Colfax, one of the most notable political figures in the history of the St. Joseph River Valley.
An ardent abolitionist, Colfax is best known for his roles as Speaker of the House under Abraham Lincoln and Vice President under Ulysses S. Grant. He was instrumental in many political achievements, including the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery in the United States.
On March 23, 2023, The History Museum opened a permanent exhibit dedicated to the one-time South Bend businessman, “Colfax: Speaker for Freedom,” to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Colfax's birth.
Admission is $3; $1 for members. Reservations are required by Sept. 4.
For more information, call 574-2359664 or visit historymuseumsb.org.
Potawatomie photo exhibit continues at The Depot
BEVERLY SHORES — The exhibit “Dancing for Our Tribe: Potawatomie Traditions in the New Millennium — Photographs by Sharon Hoogstraten” continues through Oct. 1 at The Depot Museum & Art Gallery, 525 S. Broadway at U.S. 12.
In the heyday of the Anishinaabe Confederacy, the Potawatomis were spread across Indiana, Illinois, Canada, Michigan and Wisconsin.
Hoogstraten is a photographer of Potawatomi descent who creates formal portraits of present-day tribal members in traditional dress, all sewn incorporating the old arts of ribbonwork, beading and quillwork.
Hoogstraten's large-format canvas portraits of the Potawatomi have been exhibited in museums and institutions, including the Smithsonian Institute, National Museum of the American Indian and the State Museum of Illinois and are included in the permanent collection of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Center.
Hours are noon to 4 p.m. CDT Fridays through Sundays through Sept. 3 and noon to 4 p.m. CDT from Sept. 9 to Nov. 12. Admission is free.
For more information, visit bsdepot.org or email gallery@bsdepot.com.