Events July 2009

This month's top events

July 2-14
Celebrate Champlain Burlington International Waterfront Festival
BURLINGTON, VT
This year marks the 400th anniversary of the moment explorer Samuel de Champlain set foot in Vermont, the first European ever to do so. Celebrate with Vermont history forums, a parade, kids' workshops (drumming and circus arts), and live performances by Tony Bennett, hip-hop legends The Roots and rebellious country singer Steve Earle. www.celebratechamplain.com

July 1-31
Contemporary Art Month
SAN ANTONIO
This annual, citywide, monthlong celebration of contemporary arts-the only one in the country-features more than 400 exhibitions at around 100 galleries, museums and businesses. Check out everything from sculpture and experimental installations to photography and video. www.contemporaryartmonth.com

July 4 through Oct. 31
"An Antiquity of Imagination: Tullio Lombardo and Venetian High Renaissance Sculpture"
WASHINGTON, DC
From the city of canals to the city of the Capitol, this is the first exhibition in the US dedicated to Venetian sculptor Tullio Lombardo, a leader of High Renaissance art. Taking cues from Northern Italian painters like Titian, he moved away from traditional devotional images into forms that evoked ancient mythology and poetry. This exhibit at the National Gallery of Art includes A Couple and Bacchus and Ariadne, his double-portraits in high relief, along with 10 other works. www.nga.gov

July 8-12
Tales of the Cocktail
NEW ORLEANS
The Big Easy celebrates the three Cs this month: culture, cuisine and, most importantly, cocktails. Sip spirits with some of the top names in the liquor industry, and enjoy more than 100 events, including an On the Fly Bartender competition and The Great Whisk(e)y Debate. As the saying goes, what whisk(e)y will not cure, there is no cure for. www.talesofthecocktail.com

July 9-12
Bastille Days
MILWAUKEE
Like Independence Day, Bastille Day commemorates a flash point of a revolution that began a modern nation. Celebrate France's major holiday with impromptu street performances, roaming minstrels, mini-French lessons and the 5K "Storming of the Bastille." Don't forget to check out the signature 43-foot-tall Eiffel Tower replica. www.bastilledaysfestival.com

July 17-19
Seafair Indian Days Pow Wow!
SEATTLE
The rich history of Native Americans comes alive at this Pow Wow, put on by the United Indians of All Tribes foundation. There are usually 400 to 600 dancers, 25 drum groups, and more than 60 vendors selling a variety of Native American arts and crafts including jewelry, intricate beadwork and carvings. www.unitedindians.org

July 20-25
Kingfish Tournament & Festival
JACKSONVILLE, FL
The largest recorded size of a kingfish, aka a king mackerel, was 6 feet long and 99 pounds. While you may not catch one that size (and your friends may not believe you if you claim to), join the 30,000 people who come out for this 28-year-old tradition, the largest kingfish tournament in the country. Up to 1,000 boats fish the waters around Jacksonville for hundreds of thousands of dollars in prizes. For the young fishermen, there's a Junior Angler tournament. www.kingfishtournament.com

July 29 through Aug. 2
National Black Arts Festival
ATLANTA
This festival is one of the premier national and international celebrations of the art, music and culture of people of African descent. At the Woodruff Arts Center, check out the Coretta Scott King Book Fair and the Children's Education Village, featuring a multimedia "Growing the Dream" project that includes a child-size replica of Martin Luther King Jr.'s home, along with performing arts and musical events taking place throughout the city. www.nbaf.org

July 23 through Aug. 10
Jewish Film Festival
SAN FRANCISCO
Audiences have called this celebration of Jewish history, culture and identity "the Bay Area's favorite Jewish holiday." Founded in 1980, it's the world's first and largest Jewish film festival, and is a leading advocate for independent movies involving Jewish themes. The screenings take place in San Francisco and other nearby locales. www.sfjff.org

The Jazz Age

Hot, cool, smooth or free-find the festival that fits you.

With the nation's birth this month, it's the perfect time to honor a truly American art form: jazz.

Legendary 1920's cornetist Bix Beiderbecke may have only lived for 28 years, but his influence was much more vast than his short life. A tribute to his contributions runs from July 23-26 at the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival (www.bix.society.org) in Bix's home-town of DAVENPORT, IA. Nine top bands and the Bix Jazz Society Youth Band will perform at four venues.

For 30 years, the Jazz & Rib Fest (www.hotribscooljazz.org) in COLUMBUS, OH, has shown that the best accompaniment that jazz music can have is the smell of barbecue and the taste of hot ribs. From July 24-26, artists like the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and Pucho and the Latin Soul Brothers perform while five diff erent awards are up for grabs in the ribs competition.

In the birthplace of jazz, NEW ORLEANS, beloved trumpeter Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong's life is commemorated at the Satchmo SummerFest (www.fqfi.org), July 30-Aug. 2. Both traditional and contemporary jazz will be performed, and there will also be an art show and a children's stage.