Arts and Culture

This weekend might be a heat wave, but skip your plans to sit in front of the fan. Instead, go to the Maplewood Barn or check out Columbia’s community gardens. Then plan your Fourth of July. Follow our guide. 

Embrace the warmth this weekend--Summer has officially begun! Check out shows from the Hot Summer Nights series. Take a trip to Boonville Heritage Days. Drink wine for puppies or catch a few flicks. Celebrate my favorite season. Here’s how:

Jon Ingram ventured out to Hermann on a beautiful Sunday morning for a fiddling competition. He came back with more than music in his ears; he uncovered much about the culture in this mid-Missouri town. 

On this 4040 Project KBIA's Darren Hellwege takes us on a visit to the little town with friendly people and a name that's easy to bungle. Auxvasse is home to about 900 people, two convenience stores, one friendly bar and grill, and for Missy and her neighbors it's the love of those other people that makes Auxvasse a special place. For them, no matter how you pronounce it, they call it "home."

But, let's try to be respectful and get it right: it's "uh-VAWS."

No getaways needed here. This town has you covered. Take a trip to India or Hogsmeade without having to deal with expensive summer airfares or pesky imaginary worlds. Dance in the street. Showcase your beer snobbery. Skip those June weddings and hit up the plays instead. You'll see what I mean.

Summer doesn't technically start for another week and a half. Check your solistice calendar.  But, it sure does feel like summer. So, do summer-y activities this weekend. Watch a soap box derby downtown. Eat too many elderberries. Go to a state park. I don’t pay much attention to the axis of the Earth in relation to the Sun anyway.

This weekend is all about supporting artists and charities. Explore Art in the Park. Hop rummage sales. Or take some me-time by heading to a cocktail party or concert. Start the month of right. Here’s how:

Art in the Park (Sat-Sun, 10 a.m.)

How do documentary film directors avoid censorship in countries like Egypt and China?

Darren Hellwege visits Mexico, Missouri.

Celebrate the long weekend, even if you don't get Monday off. Soak some sun on the Katy Trail at the Pedaler's Jamboree. Watch plays that you haven't seen since that middle school field trip. Check out some Native American art or an indie rock show. There’s plenty to do!

The Maplewood Barn Theatre put on its first live show on Thursday evening in a newly rebuilt barn.

In poor areas of South Africa, trainers from a small organization called the Umuzi Photo Club give disposable cameras to high school students and teach them basic photography.

To mark the one-year anniversary of the Joplin tornado, tonight Columbia’s Ragtag Cinema is screening a documentary that relives the days following the disaster.

Have you heard our Sonic IDs on KBIA? They are short audio portraits of life in and around mid Missouri in the form of stories, anecdotes and sounds of the community.