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Arts & Entertainment

Get Out: Knowledgeable Rabbits, Celebrity Mules and Human Bands, Oh My!

4-H Fair Opens This Weekend in Somers, Olof and Friends Show New Art in Stafford, Last of the Band Shell Season in Manchester, and Free Films All Over!

Time to get something solid on the soles of your boots. Kick off the local fair season this weekend, Aug. 19-21, with the 4-H Fair at the Four Town Fairgrounds in Somers.

Watch your favorite farm animals act naturally. See what's up at the rabbit knowledge competition in the Hospitality Tent. Catch Mr. K and his balloon art at 1 p.m. Saturday. Witness the celebrity mule show at 4 p.m. Saturday and the horse show at 9 a.m. Sunday.

Go on fair rides and visit the milk shake booth, just this once. Cheer for your favorite group in the Battle of the Bands competition at 6 p.m. on Friday and hear Gale County's country/classic rock on Saturday night and Bobby Carlson & The Stones River Band on the last day, Sunday, at 12:30 p.m.

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The fairgrounds are at 56 Egypt Road in Somers. For information, visit the 4-H Fair Web site.

Olof and Friends at the Middle Ground Cafe

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Stafford's indoor/outdoor artist Olof Aspelin and friends will showcase new artworks Friday, Aug. 19, at the Middle Ground Cafe on Main Street, Stafford Springs. Aspelin's work has recently been seen at Gallery 46 in Vernon, North End Artists Collective in Middletown and the Pump House Gallery in Hartford's Bushnell Park. He is also creating an art installation in rented space next door to the Middle Ground.

The art opening goes from 6 to 9 p.m. and features music from DJ Meatsock of WHUS 91.7 FM and body paint on live models. That alone should nudge you to go there, but the Middle Ground has great food and drink. And there's the art by Olof and friends.

For more information, call 860-851-8900 or visit the Middle Ground's Facebook page.

Final Notes of Season at Manchester Band Shell

You've been putting it off, even though you recall the 30-plus years of free concerts under starry summer skies at the Manchester Bicentennial Band Shell. It's the end of the season and the last week of concerts calling out to you: South Windsor Community Band on Friday, Aug. 19; Sharades (doo-wop group from New Britain) on Sunday, Aug. 21, or Heartbeat Dixieland Jazz Band on Wednesday, Aug. 24.

Concerts start at 7 p.m. at the band shell on the grounds of Manchester Community College, 60 Bidwell St., Manchester. Admission is free, but donations and volunteered help are welcome. Bring your picnic, blanket and/or lawn chairs. For information, visit the band shell Web site.

Midweek Farmers Market

Also at the band shell in Manchester, perk up your dietary week by hitting a Wednesday Farmers Market from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 24. Venders include Shayna B's Bakery, featuring gluten-free goods, Olivia's Garden, Beckett Farms, Sweet Pea Cheese, Bottomland Farms, Thompson Street Farm, LaBrioche Bakery, Mayflower Soaps, Claudia's Florals, and Naked Baking Ladies with their grilled pizza and veggie sliders.

Music and children's attractions, such as Lutz Children's Museum programs, pony rides and face painting, will be featured.

The Wednesday farmers market goes through Oct. 19. For information visit the MCC market's site.

Free Films for Young and Older

You think things are tough at work? Get a little perspective and see the ultimate backstabbing classic “All About Eve” in the free Tuesday night film series 6 p.m. Aug. 23 at Rockville Public Library. Bette Davis, as Margo Channing, is the established but aging stage actress undermined by fawning fan Eve Harrington, played by Anne Baxter. George Sanders is the critic; Celeste Holm, Margo's friend; Gary Merrill, the boyfriend; Thelma Ritter, the maid who doesn't miss a trick, and a mostly unknown Marilyn Monroe in a smaller role. This is the one film that can boast four actress nominations for Academy Awards – Davis and Baxter for best actress, Holm and Ritter for supporting.

The inflatable screen will be blown up Friday, Aug. 19, to show “Toy Story 3” in Rockville Bank Park at Evergreen Walk. Enjoy kid-friendly events starting at 6:30 p.m. The show starts at sundown, about 8:30 p.m.

In its salute to films with travel adventures, Hall Memorial Library in Ellington will show “Under the Tuscan Sun,” starring Diane Lane as a just-divorced writer, on Friday, Aug. 19, at 2 p.m. Free popcorn.

For “All About Eve” in Rockville, call 860-875-5892, ext. 21. For “Toy Story 3,” call 860-432-3398 or visit the Evergreen Walk Web site. For “Under the Tuscan Sun” in Ellington, visit the library Web site.

Puppet Show in Ellington

No strings attached. There's a free puppet show for children Thursday, Aug. 18, at Hall Memorial Library in Ellington. The show starts at 1 p.m. and finishes in under an hour. For information and tickets, call 860-870-3160.

Wicked at Bushnell; Daily Lottery for Discount Seats

Wicked, the untold story of the witches of Oz, flies on its broomstick into Hartford for performances August 24 through September 11 at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts. The musical that takes place long before Dorothy shows up features two other girls – one who is green and fiery and misunderstood, the other who is beautiful and popular. The show has been called “a cultural phenomenon” by Varietyand “the defining musical of the decade” by The New York Times. It features music by Stephen Schwartz (GodspellPippin, Disney’s Enchanted) book by Winnie Holzman (My So Called LifeOnce And Again and thirtysomething), and is based on the 1995 best-selling novel by Gregory Maguire. The production is directed by two-time Tony Award winner Joe Mantello and features staging by Tony Award winner Wayne Cilento. A day-of-performance lottery for a limited number of orchestra seats will be held daily. People who present themselves at the Bushnell box office 2 1/2 hours prior to show time will have their names placed in a lottery drum. A winner will be drawn 30 minutes later for a limited number of orchestra seats at $25 apiece, cash only. (This lottery is available only in-person at the box office, with a limit of two tickets per person.) Regular tickets start at $33 and range up to $150.

The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts is at 166 Capitol Ave., Hartford. For tickets and more information, visit www.bushnell.org or call the box office at 860-987-5900

Hedwig at West Hartford's Playhouse

For one weekend only, West Hartford's Playhouse on Park presents the rock musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Written by John Cameron Mitchell with music by Stephen Trask, the show focuses on a fictional rock and roll band fronted by Hedwig Schmidt, a transgendered East German rock goddess. The Playhouse production features Gene Dante and Lisa van Oosterum, stars of the critically acclaimed production that played Boston.

Hedwig runs August 25 through 27. Tickets cost $25. Audience members are invited to BYOB. Playhouse on Park is at 244 Park Road, West Hartford. For more information including curtain times, visit www.playhouseonpark.org or call 860-523-5900 x10.

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