NOW THROUGH AUGUST 1ST in San Antonio, TX
HIGH POINTS: The poppy visual tricks that first surfaced in the work of artists like Richard Anuszkiewicz and Victor Vasarely back when the use of psychotropic drugs was in full flower, are just a few of the "high points" on display in Psychedelic: Optical and Visionary Art since the 1960s. The exhibit, which notes that drug use was just the tiniest spark behind the creativity that manifested itself in a broad array of art and pop-culture items, includes artists as contemporary as 26-yr-old Albert Alverez. Albert is as turned on by the use of vibrant color, optical illusion and repetitive pattern as any of his hippie-era forerunners. You can be too— at the museum or by buying the hardcover catalog.

NOW THROUGH AUGUST 8TH in Munster, IN
GOOD LORD: When Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber brought Jesus Christ Superstar to Broadway in October of 1971 its hero was fairly well known. The way in which his story was told, however, was all new. Back then Ben Vereen played Judas in "the first rock opera," and we believe it may still be worth 30 pieces of gold (or so) to catch the play's revival at the Theatre at the Center for Visual & Performing Arts in Munster, Indiana

AUGUST 10TH THROUGH JANUARY 17TH in Boston, MA
RICHARD THE FIRST: The pages of Vogue and Harper's Bazaar were filled with lush images for decades before firebrand photographer, Richard Avedon, strode on the scene. But Dick shook things up in a way that none of the shooters who preceded him had. The evidence of his visual impact on the world of fashion photography can be witnessed at The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston exhibit, Avedon Fashion: 1944-2000. Somehow, the man just made things click.

AUGUST 19TH in Atlanta, GA
SIMONE SAYS: Legendary jazz singer, songwriter and civil rights advocate, Nina Simone, may have died in 2003, but she lives on in the hearts of her fans and on stage in the one-woman production, Nina Simone: In Her Own Words. Nina's sometimes tumultuous life is depicted through a melange of her music as well as through readings from interviews and of excerpts from conversations with friends who included James Baldwin, Miriam Makeba and Langston Hughes. The piece stars Lady Ozara Ode', and is narrated by CNN's Jon Goode.

SELECTED DATES FROM AUGUST 25TH THROUGH SEPTEMBER 5TH in Las Vegas, NV
GUITAR HERO: Ever since they made headlines as a breakout act at Woodstock, Carlos Santana and his band's fusion of salsa and jazz have maintained a following whose admiration has been rewarded with great new material through the years, some of which earned Carlos a personal 8 Grammys in 2000. Supernatural Santana: A Trip Through the Hits, at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel Las Vegas, should help keep the much-deserved love alive.

SEPTEMBER 4TH in Woodstock, NY
AT THE HELM: Speaking of Woodstock, residents of the tiny New York artists' enclave dubbed Levon Helm and fellow musicians The Band back in the mid-60s. Four decades of success as a musician and actor, and a frightening bout of throat cancer later, the now-healthy Helms remains in the village that helped name him. It's at his studio there that he performs monthly Midnight Rambles. Seating is on a first-come, first served basis. The gate opens at 6:00 PM, the studio at 7:00, and the show begins at 8:00.

NOW THROUGH SEPTEMBER 12TH in Toledo, OH
UP AGAINST THE WALL: Psychedelic 60s: Posters from the Rock Era is an exhibition of the paper genius that was tacked to the walls of nearly every Boom-Era teenager's room. The posters, for events by Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Cream, et al., are from the Houston Freeburg Collection, and include 50 glow-in-the-dark, black-light gems. Admission to graphics-fest is free.

NOW THROUGH SEPTEMBER 12TH in Hanover, NH
SEEING STARS: Until his untimely death in 1991, John Kobal managed to collect some of the most beautiful portraits of stars taken during Hollywood's "Golden Era." From roughly 1920 to 1960, photographers like George Hurrell, John Miehle, Clarence Sinclair Bull, Ernest A. Bachrach, (who took the 1952 photo of Marilyn Monroe at left), and others, artfully rendered the faces of Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, Orson Welles et al. with a unique talent that may have gone the way of the studio system itself. Reminders of the time and those who populated it can be seen at Darmouth College's Hood Museum exhibit Made in Hollywood: Photographs from the John Kobal Foundation through September 12th.

SEPTEMBER 18TH in Memphis, TN
ARE YOU A VALLI GIRL?: Those of us who live close to New Jersey know that it's generated more than its share of questionable byproducts, but there's no denying that Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons are among its more shining offspring. If your recollection of the group's output is the slightest bit rusty, visit the Orpheum Theatre in Memphis on September 18th to recall how it feels to say, "Oh, What a Night!". But if you miss the fun remember, "Big Girls Don't Cry."

NOW THROUGH SEPTEMBER 19TH in San Francisco, CA
ART-FULL: In February 2009 San Francisco's Museum of Modern Art announced that it would partner with Gap store founders, Doris and Donald Fisher, to house their collection of over 1,000 works of 20th Century art. From Calder to Warhol will exhibit some of the collection's most memorable pieces, and serve as a harbinger of things to come from the newly accessed stockpile of painting, sculpture, photography and video.

SEPTEMBER 21ST THROUGH 24TH in Jackson, OH
CORE(D) VALUES: Who knew that September was "Mom and Apple Pie" month? Well, it is, and nothing embodies the spirit of our early-50s upbringing as well as the shiny red orb. After all, "an apple a day" kept the doctor away and if someone really loved you, you were "the apple of his eye." To reacquaint yourself with these fruit-driven values, join the fun at the Jackson County Apple Festival in south central Ohio. The folks in Jackson have been celebrating the Adam-tempting goodie since 1937. Help them maintain the tradition this year.

SEPTEMBER 25TH THROUGH JUNE 19TH in Boston, MA
DRESS UP: He designed outfits for socialites, First Ladies and stars— perhaps most notably for Barbra Streisand who sported his see-through pantsuit to the Oscars the year she won Best Actress for her turn in Funny Girl. By the time he turned 30, Arnold Scaasi had won a Coty American Fashion Critics Award, and had seen his clothes grace the covers of Vogue and Harper's Bazaar. He remains an icon of fashion to this day. Scaasi: American Couturier at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston will show you why.

NOW THROUGH SEPTEMBER 26TH in San Diego, CA
COOL COLLECTOR: Graham Nash, (yes, that Graham Nash), has been an avid collector of photography for decades, and has snapped a few winning images himself. Taking Aim is a show of rock 'n' roll photos culled from the musician's considerable collection. At left is Bernie Wentzell's energetic rendering of Elton John playing Crocodile Rock at a North London concert in 1973, but everything from Elvis eating breakfast to Nash himself in a mirror await your eyes at the San Diego's Museum of Photographic Arts now through September 26th.

NOW THROUGH SEPTEMBER 26TH in Santa Fe, NM
STAR WITNESS: Photographer Bill Eppridge recorded some of the most seminal moments of our generation, not the least of which was when busboy Juan Romera tried to comfort Bobby Kennedy after the presidential candidate had been shot by Sirhan Sirhan in the kitchen of L.A.'s Ambassador Hotel in June 1968. But the exhibit of Eppridge's images on view at The Monroe Gallery in Santa Fe from July 2nd through September 26th also takes you from the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement to front stage at Woodstock, takes you backstage with stars from the Beatles to Barbra, and even puts you on the launch pad of Apollo 11. Flash back on the times with a master.

NOW THROUGH OCTOBER 17 in Rochester, NY
SUPER SNAPS: George Eastman House in Rochester, NY will literally be sharing the biggest Kodak moments from the 1950s through the 1990s in a show called Colorama. Over 500 enormous color images, originally installed as Kodak ads in Grand Central Station, will be on display to remind us that a pic, no matter when it was taken, is worth a thousand words.

OCTOBER 19TH THROUGH 24TH in Omaha, NE
TONIGHT: When West Side Story debuted on Broadway in 1957 it received mixed reviews from the critics, but audiences went wild for the Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim and Jerome Robbins take on Romeo and Juliet. This fall, the Broadway revival of the Tony-nominated show will be on tour. You'll find the find the Sharks and the Jets rumbling at the Orpheum Theatre in Omaha, NE October 18-24. Please give our best to Officer Krupke.

NOW THROUGH DECEMBER 31ST in Rochester, NY
ON BEYOND M.A.S.H.: Sadly, the most that many Americans know about the Korean War is what they may have seen on reruns of M.A.S.H.. But the police action, (it was never an officially declared war), took the lives of millions and became one of the seminal events of the Cold War era. Memories of Korea, an exhibit at the Harry Truman Library and Museum in Independence, MO delivers the personal impact of the conflict via film, photos and the words of those who lived through it.

NOW THROUGH FEBRUARY 28TH in Minneapolis, MN
THE FABRIC OF OUR LIVES: Post-WWII textile production was rich with pattern, color, and the influence of architecture and Space-Age design. Mid-Century Textile Design: Enlivening the Modern Home, at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, features domestic fabrics created by the likes of Lucienne Day and Angelo Testa. You may not recognize their names, but the cloth spun from their creativity most likely hung in your house, covered your couch or encased a throw pillow somewhere in the land of your youth.