Here Comes the Summer

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Free Press staff pick your best summertime bets.

Hot.

That's the one word that encapsulates the hope of every Manitoban as we enter our too-short summer season, a (hopefully) sun-soaked Victoria-to-Labour-Day marathon of outdoor festivals, lakeside getaways, restaurant-patio get-togethers and backyard shenanigans.

"Hot" also describes the summer schedule of arts and entertainment options during the snow-free months, from supergroup concerts and blockbuster movies to the best new dock-reading titles and lazy-evening TV-viewing possibilities.

Here, as sort of a starter set of summertime diversion suggestions, is a top picks list compiled by the Free Press's arts and entertainment writers:

TV

2010 FIFA WORLD CUP (June 11-July 11 on CBC) -- Whether you're a fan of the beautiful game or not, there will be no avoiding the planet's biggest sports event hosted by South Africa .

MAD MEN (Sunday, July 25 on AMC) -- The show many consider to be TV's best drama returns for a fourth season, exploring the implosion of Sterling Cooper and the dissolution of Don and Betty Draper's marriage.

TRUE BEAUTY (Monday, May 31 on ABC) -- The second season of this vanity-themed reality show wouldn't be worth mentioning if not for the presence of a Winnipegger, retail manager Craig Franczyk, in the field of image-obsessed contestants.

Movies

INCEPTION (July 16) -- In the sci-fi thriller directed by Chris Nolan (The Dark Knight), Leonardo DiCaprio stars as a man who steals the ideas of others by invading their dreams.

TOY STORY 3 (June 18) -- In 3-D (!), Woody, Buzz and the rest of the gang have moved en masse to a day-care centre now that Andy has gone to college.

SEX AND THE CITY 2 (May 27) -- More lusty, exotic entertainment for the sophisticated female demographic when Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and the girls head to Abu Dhabi for a few saucy Arabian nights.

Concerts

EAGLES (June 22, Canad Inns Stadium) --The legendary country-rock icons are here for the second year in a row, this time with co-headliner The Dixie Chicks, who haven't toured together in four years.

SIMON & GARFUNKEL (July 8, MTS Centre) -- Winnipeg fans of these folk icons have waited a long time to hear them sing Sounds of Silence, Scarborough Fair and Mrs. Robinson again and have had to wait even longer due to Garfunkel's vocal strain postponed a May 5 appearance here.

BON JOVI (July 17, Canad Inns Stadium) -- The band's latest album, The Circle, is average at best, but it's by-the-book arena rock is tailor-made for big shows.

Books

SH*T MY DAD SAYS, by Justin Halpern (HarperCollins) -- The American comedy writer has earned a massive Twitter following for sharing the 140-character pearls of wisdom allegedly uttered by his 73-year-old Archie Bunker-like father.

THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET'S NEST, by Stieg Larsson (Penguin) -- In the final instalment (out on May 29) of the late Swedish writer's Millennium trilogy, famously begun with The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Lisbeth Salander must confront and destroy the demons of her past.

STILL MISSING, by Chevy Stevens (St. Martin's) -- The hype has been building for this B.C author's debut thriller, due in early July, about a female real estate agent who is abducted, raped and tortured.

Theatre

RENT (June 22-July 9, Kildonan Park) -- The musical cult favourite about struggling young bohemian artists comes to Rainbow Stage, marking the directing debut of Winnipeg-bred Broadway performer Jeremy Kushnier.

25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE (July 14, Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival) -- Members of the audience will be coaxed to join six student spellers on stage in the first professional revival of the popular musical comedy.

SOUND & FURY'S SPACESHIP MAN (July 14, Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival) --The box office behemoths from Los Angeles-based will premiere its new sci-fi parody this year only at fringe festivals in Hollywood, Winnipeg, Adelaide and Edinburgh.

Performance

STAR WARS: IN CONCERT (June 29, MTS Centre) -- A symphony orchestra and choir perform music from all six Star Wars movies in sync with footage on a giant screen in this multimedia touring show.

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL: ALEGRIA (July 22-25, MTS Centre) -- More than 50 aerialists, trapeze artists, acrobats, clowns, singers and dancers transform the arena into a giant circus tent.

ROBERT MUNSCH (June 9, Centennial Concert Hall) -- The beloved Ontario author of Love You Forever gives a storytelling performance after recently going public about his challenges with mental-health issues and addictions.

Exhibitions

DIANA THORNEYCROFT: CANADA, MYTH AND HISTORY, GROUP OF SEVEN AWKWARD MOMENTS SERIES (June 12-Aug. 22, Winnipeg Art Gallery) -- Winnipeg art star Thorneycroft appropriates iconic landscapes by the Group of Seven and creates, darkly funny commentaries on Canadian identity.

THE NUDE IN MODERN CANADIAN ART, 1920-1950 (June 28-Aug. 22, Winnipeg Art Gallery) -- The sometimes-controversial depiction of nude subjects in our nation's modern art is explored in an exhibition featuring more than 110 sculptures, paintings, prints and photographs.

SHAKIN' ALL OVER: THE MANITOBA MUSIC EXPERIENCE (July 1-Sept. 6, Manitoba Museum) -- This large exhibition of artifacts, photos and memorabilia -- also featuring live performances -- celebrates Manitoba musicians of all genres.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 22, 2010 c1