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“Blackground” brings Black characters from classic films into the spotlight with improv comedy

Have you ever watched Ferris Bueller’s Day Off or The Wizard of Oz and thought, “Where are all the Black characters?” Dad’s Garage is answering that burning question in their show “Blackground,” which is on stage through Sept. 27. WABE arts reporter Summer Evans sat down with Jon Carr, the artistic director of Dad’s Garage and one of the show’s participants, to learn more.

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‘GULCH’ contributors spotlight five art events, including ABV Gallery’s global group show in East Atlanta

City Lights Collective members Jasmine Hentschel and EC Flamming, the creatives behind Atlanta’s visual art print magazine, “GULCH”, want you to get out and engage with the city’s art scene.

Each week, they spotlight five standout happenings, and today their mix includes: SCAD in 4D with Atlanta Photography Group, Trees Atlanta, and Lost in the Letters collaborating to bring us stories of Atlanta’s canopy, and a global group show at ABV’s headquarters in East Atlanta.

Five arts events to check out this week:

Georgia Tech Library’s interactive media zone has an exhibition by T.W. Pilar and Ivan Reyes titled “Technoterria: A Symposium.” It examines the future of labor and technology 100 years from now.

The Atlanta Photography Group SCAD Fash Tour is Aug. 16 at SCADstory. After the immersive 4D cinematic experience, the tour will explore two current exhibits, “Campbell Addy: The Stillness of Elegance” and “Jeanne Lanvin: Haute Couture Heritage.”

ABV Gallery’s global exhibition “One by One” showcases over 50 artists. It opens Aug. 16 in an old church in East Atlanta off Moreland.

Atlanta Contemporary is hosting Stokley’s Records Pop-up with LeShawn Taylor on Aug. 16. While at the gallery, you can see the retrospective exhibit “Landmarks: Inside the World of R. Land.”

Lost in the Letters and Trees Atlanta presents “An Evening of Story and Sound” on Aug. 16 at the Trees Atlanta headquarters near Adair Park. The event includes live readings from local artists and soundscapes.

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“Sounds like ATL” spotlights Atlanta hip-hop and R&B artist Rex Evans

WABE’s Sounds Like ATL documentary series explores the vibrant Atlanta music scene. Each week, it either introduces or reintroduces you to a local artist, sharing their creative process and a few live performances. You can watch, dance, and sing along to new episodes every Wednesday on the WABE YouTube channel. Today’s episode features Atlanta hip-hop and rap artist Rex Evans.

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Circus Vazquez returns to Plaza Fiesta in Atlanta with global talent and astounding acts

Originating over 50 years ago in Mexico City, Circus Vazquez has presented death-defying acts and mesmerizing entertainment since 1969.

Their all-human cast of performers has come together from locations around the globe, including Italy, Africa, and even Ukraine. The Circus is returning to Atlanta on Aug. 22, and they’ll be pitching their tent at Plaza Fiesta on Buford Highway through Aug. 24.

When City Lights Collective co-host Kim Drobes caught up with ringmaster and performer Yan Vazquez and aerialist Valeria Koshova, Yan began by explaining why his grandfather originated the Circus over five decades ago.

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Co-author Chef Kevin Mitchell explores Georgia’s culinary history one recipe at a time in new book, “Taste the State: Georgia”

When you think of iconic Georgia foods, pecan pie, peach cobbler, or boiled peanuts might come to mind. But a deeper dive into the state’s culinary history reveals a much richer—and sometimes surprising—story. “Taste the State Georgia: Distinctive Foods and Stories from Where Eating Local Began” offers just that.

Co-authors Dr. David Shields and Chef Kevin Mitchell take readers on a delicious trip through the state’s food history—one recipe, one story at a time. City Lights Collective producer Josh Thane spoke with the duo about the dishes that define Georgia and the deeper stories they tell.

“ Food and taste does have a history. Something like possum and taters is central at one time, and then there’s a moment in the 1950s when possum gets too associated with roadkill. And the possums you’ve seen are these squished rodent-looking things on the tarmac. And your appetite for them disappears,” said Shields.

“The old hunting tales of taking a pack of dogs out into the woods to tree a possum vanish, and it’s like the meaning of a possum alters over the course of the 20th century.”

The older recipes in the book were updated with modern approaches. “ Just taking some of those recipes and updating it, whether it’s a technique, whether it’s using other ingredients, but still being able to kind of hold true to where that recipe comes from. As a chef, we like to kind of flex our culinary muscles and we write about the Coca-Cola cake, and I wanted to look at the Coca-Cola cake in a different way, and I just connected it to me personally,” said Mitchell.

His twist on the Coca-Cola cake was a play on Cherry Coke.

“I thought, ‘why not use cherry Coke, bourbon, and ginger beer in this recipe and see how it comes out. And it came out really well. I mean, those who have tried it, tasted it, love it.”

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