The lights are back on in the Newsstand space. Artist Francis X. Donovan will have paintings and sculptures on show there all month. I took a quick stroll through this afternoon and was struck by Donovan's contrasting approaches to the media. The paintings are very energetic, dense and textured. The sculptures are satiny smooth wood in blobby rounded forms. And then there's a rowboat with the inside painted to look like Victorian wallpaper. If you figure that one out, let me know. There's a writeup on Donovan in the current Weekly, www.cascadiaweekly.com.

Director Alex Cox will be at the Pickford tonight. You've got about 20 minutes! Here's the note from the Pickford's Michael Falter:

Hey folks,

I'll be back in the morning with this week's update (did you see our
spanking new DOCTOBER program, in today's Cascadia Weekly?) But it's not
every day we have a guest like Alex Cox coming to spend a couple of
hours at The Pickford. That's right, the director of Repo Man, Sid &
Nancy, Walker, and many others, is bringing his newest work, Searchers 2.0,
and will stay for a Q&A and book signing (he has a new book out too, X
Films: True Confessions of a Radical Filmmaker).

No free passes, regular ticket prices apply. One show only @ 7pm.

See you there...

Michael

Another unkillable beast on the downtown circuit is the former Fantasia/present Anker Cafe. They now have yummy looking scones and pastries. One of the scone flavors is jalapeno-cheddar, which sounds damn good.

Owner Bill Anker says he wants to show local films on the big back wall some nights. I can't find the phone number, so you aspiring filmmakers might as well go buy a coffee and a nosh and find out the deal from Bill in person.

Jinx Art Space is -- I think -- the newest establishment on the Art Walk tomorrow. Not sure what they will have but definitely worth a look. They are at 306 Flora, which I location I cannot picture even when I google map it. But I will track it down tomorrow.

Now that Allied Arts has bowed out of the downtown Gallery Walk, it's been renamed the Art Walk and happens on the first Friday of each month. I don't know why they didn't call it First Friday. I guess because the one in October is on the second Friday. I'm going to call it First Friday anyway. So there.

The focus of the new event is off the galleries and onto art presented in stores, restaurants and bars. For instance, the Temple Bar is doing a paella demonstration with Bar Tabac providing music. See the map for a full listing of events.

The Bellingham School of Comics is a drop-in, table-in-the-back sort of affair that meets at the Black Drop Coffeehouse. BSC Dean Fenmere the Worm has announced an open show in October, presumably at the Drop but I don't know that for sure. Artists can submit up to three pieces. For info, email artshow@grassdogsstudio.com or come to a BSC meeting at the Black Drop, Saturdays at noon and Mondays at 5pm.

The downtown chalk art festival was postponed until tomorrow because of the rain this morning. I heard that today's Bella Strada was well attended despite the crappy weather. With any luck tomorrow will be clearer for Chalk Art and Bella Strada. There will be an Art Bar with tasty product from Boundary Bay Brewery, Honey Moon and Mt. Baker Vineyards.

Lucky Brown (Joel Ricci's latest confunktion) is playing the alley by the Wild Buffalo tonight. Probably in about 15 minutes. This is the last Downtown Renaissance Downtown Sounds show of the season, and it oughta be a good one. Normally I would like to Lucky Brown's site, but there's no time, hurry, hurry!

The revolving door at Fantasia Coffee took another spin today, when the beleaguered coffeehouse reopened as the Anker Cafe. This is your chance to see what's been going on in there since the most recent incarnation of Fantasia closed about a month ago.

According to the story in today's Bellingham Herald, the new place is run by Bill and Katy Anker of the Whiskey Wailers and Hot Roddin' Romeos, respectively. But there'll be no rockabilly rumbles in the coffee shop. They say there might be live music eventually, but it will be a at conversation-friendly level of volume. In the meantime, tonight marks the revival of Poetry Night in the space, so check it out.

The Pickford Traveling Picture tomorrow (Thursday, 7/17) will be Napoleon Dynamite. Last week I posted that Juno was playing on Friday, and did not realize my mistake until Thursday night when I was enjoying a cold one or four at Boundary and they started setting up for a movie. Here are the rest of the dates and movies: Traveling Pickford Show.

And here's something to hold you over: