Art: “Summer Solstice” 5:30-8:30 p.m., through August 13
Recently named Best Gallery in Louisiana by American Art Awards, New Orleans-based Octavia Gallery showcases modern masters alongside emerging and established artists from around the world, with an emphasis on Cuba. Set to open this month, the gallery’s Houston outpost will focus on forging relationships with Texas artists while providing members of Octavia’s international roster a platform in the Lone Star State. Offering a taste of the gallery’s unique curatorial slant, the pop-up exhibition “Summer Solstice” features paintings and sculptures by nine artists including SA’s own Waddy Armstrong, Jerry Cabrera and Rodolfo Choperena. Curated by Alice Carrington Foultz, the group show explores the balance between light and shade via works capturing forest canopies, golf courses, swimming pools and hot summer afternoons.
Location: Roosevelt Library, 311 Roosevelt Avenue
Music: Heather Go Psycho, Jared Putnam and Young Costello 11 p.m., Thursday May 15
Location: The Mix, 2423 N St Mary’s St
Music: Singer-Songwriter Night at Faust 11 p.m., Thursday May 15
Warming up for Local Music Week, Faust Tavern is hosting a singer-songwriter night featuring Marina Katalina, Kevin Sanchez from At War with Dust, and Nicholas Long of Lonely Horse (remember Lonely Horse played Maverick Music Fest in March).
Location: Faust Tavern, 517 E Woodlawn Ave
Event: 2014 Gospel and Soul Food Festival 6 p.m. to midnight, Fri, May 16 and noon to midnight, Sat, May 17 The African American heritage of South Texas is rich and vibrant encompassing music, food, cultural celebration community, and family. The La Villita Heritage Society held the first Soul Food Festival in 1999 and brought together all of these elements. Since then, the event has become an annual tradition. Local food vendors will serve popular ethnic foods such as Bar-B-Que, fried fish, collard greens, and peach cobbler. Artists, craft vendors, and performers will be present. Friday night is the Gospel on the Plaza featuring the best of gospel music and more. Saturday is family fun day beginning at noon with activities for the children such as a moon bounce and face painting.
Location: La Villita, 418 Villita
Art: Nicolás Leiva “Infinite Cycle Under Fire” 11 a.m. – 4 p.m, Tuesdays-Saturdays, through July 6
Nicolás Leiva’s work encompasses paintings, drawings, ceramics and high-gloss “pictorial interventions” on cars, motorcycles, guitars and surfboards. Leiva, prefers combining recognizable objects with vivid surrealist images. The Southwest School of Art’s “Infinite Cycle” showcases Leiva’s large-scale, two-dimensional works while Ruiz-Healy Art’s “Infinite Cycle Under Fire” highlights the sculptural side of his wild equation. Read more about Leiva’s ethereal style here.
Location: Ruiz-Healy Art, 201 W. Olmos Drive
Music: Zielin Live at Main Street Bar 9:30 p.m., Sat, May 17
Location: Main Street Bar, 13477 Wetmore Rd
Outdoors: Starry, Starry Night! 8 – 10 p.m., Sat, May 17
Mitchell Lake Audubon Center hosts a free evening of star gazing with the San Antonio Astronomical Association. Space is limited; RSVP by emailing mlac@audubon.org.
Location: Mitchell Lake Audubon Center, 10750 Pleasanton Road
Words: Lefty O’Neal Book Signing 10 – noon, Sat, May 17
Location: Twig Book Shop, 306 Pearl Pkwy, Ste 106
Special Event: SA Bike Beat Festival 3 – 11 p.m., Sat, May 17
Location: San Antonio Museum of Art, 200 W Jones
This article appears in May 14-20, 2014.