There's hot, saucy fun in the Bay area land this weekend and next week — from sultry nightlife photos in Paris to a festival devoted to all things pepper in Pinellas.
Speaking of hot dish, comedy's fire engine-redhead-slash-gossip maven-slash-pain in the rear Kathy Griffin yuks it up at Ruth Eckerd Hall tonight at 8 p.m.
Peter Piper picked a peck of … whaaaat? Find out this weekend at Pinellas Pepper Fest. … While you're there, please ask them to explain what the heck a peck is. Oh, and be careful when saying "peck" out loud in the crowd as it is one syllable away from an embarrassing tongue twister. Says CL contributor Carol Cortright: "A flaming feast of fiery flavors that runs the gamut from barbecue to spicy lollipops, the fest includes an amateur kitchen, where mixologists can test their pepper mettle in the hot sauce and salsa competitions. Plus, visitors can sample and purchase a variety of pepper-infused goodies and take home a few jalapeño plants for the garden." Live music too.
The reliably high-caliber American Stage theater company will begin its run of Vanishing Point, a unique mishmash of musical, sci fi and history with a plot that centers on the disappearances of three famous women, who, um, time travel together. … Cue Twilight Zone theme.
Forget Paris? Nah. Instead see the stunning pics taken by a photographer who captured the streets of Paris’ bohemian Montparnasse neighborhood, documenting la vie nocturne in cafes, nightclubs, dance halls and houses of ill repute. Thirty-four of his photographs provide a titillating visual chronicle of the era in The Secret Paris of the 1930s: Vintage Photographs by Brassaï at the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts.
On Tuesday MOSI gives us a chance to observe a Venus transit as the planet of love passes in front of the sun, appearing as a black dot on the big solar system star, observable through telescopes, sun spotters and solar shades from atop the IMAX Dome Theatre and the Saunders Planetarium — where MOSI experts discuss Venus’ beauty and chaotic environment.
Also …
[Fri 1] The Marriage of Figaro See Mozart’s witty love masterpiece will be presented by St. Petersburg Opera, Chorus and Orchestra — under the direction of Mark Sforzini. Palladium Theater, Fri. and Tue. at 7:30; Sun. at 2 p.m. $21.50-$64.50. mypalladium.org.
[Sat 2] Saturday Downtown Indie Market Browse handmade jewelry, art, decor and vinage threads at an eclectic sidewalk sale held during hours friendly to young weekenders; 600 Block between Sixth and Seventh avenues, St. Petersburg, sixhundredblock.com.
[Sun 3] Neil Diamond Get your “Love on the Rocks” with “Sweet Caroline” — and if you’re lucky, bump into a choice Monkees tune penned by one of showbiz’s smoothest and most prolific lounge lizards. Tampa Bay Times Forum, 8 p.m., tampabaytimesforum.com.
[Wed 6] 20th Annual Southern Fried Poetry Slam Founded in Atlanta and hosted in Tampa by Sacred Sounds, the competition showcases more than 150 poets, at the CL Space and venues throughout Ybor. southernfriedpoetryslam.com.
[Thu 7] Harland Williams The dementedly clever actor-comedian-podcaster from the Great White North co-stars in Dumb and Dumber, There’s Something about Mary and other funny flicks, Tampa Improv, Ybor, 8 p.m. tonight; times vary through Sun. improvtampa.com.
This article appears in Jun 7-13, 2012.