'American Fiction' at Ragtag, TEDxWalnut and more: What to do in Columbia this weekend
Perhaps the most dynamic (long) weekend of the year arrives next Thursday, Feb. 29, when the True/False Film Fest returns to downtown Columbia. But the prelude isn't too shabby.
From a best picture nominee finally finding its arthouse home to music across downtown, and local thinkers and creators sharing their visions for Columbia, this weekend is practically packed.
Here are just five of the many possibilities awaiting you.
Starting Friday night: 'American Fiction' begins at Ragtag Cinema
"American Fiction" just feels like a Ragtag Cinema film. The five-time Oscar nominee, including for best picture, digs around the act of storytelling itself. The film focuses on a novelist and professor (best actor nominee Jeffrey Wright) who leans into literary tropes about Black people to prove a point, then becomes a massive success.
Does filmmaker Cord Jefferson pull all the nuance from "Erasure," the Percival Everett book the movie adapts? Reviews vary. Whatever your opinion, "American Fiction" certainly is a conversation-starter.
Rated R. Visit https://ragtagcinema.org/ for showtimes.
More: St. Louis native Sterling K. Brown could bring an Oscar back to the Show Me State
Friday night: 'The Last Starfighter' at Witches and Wizards Arcade
Enjoy some '80s adventure goodness with director Nick Castle's 1984 interstellar action flick. Lance Guest, Robert Preston and Catherine Mary Stewart star in a film the late, great Gene Siskel once called the greatest of all "Star Wars" clones, according to Variety.
Rated PG. 7 p.m.; free admission. Visit https://www.facebook.com/WitchesAndWizardsArcade for more information.
Friday night: Steddy P and DJ Mahf at Rose Music Hall
Two of the great forces in Kansas City hip-hop — really, the Midwest and beyond — will celebrate more than 10 years of their "Breakfast with Doctor Gonzo" record, which was recorded in St. Louis and here in Columbia. Baby BKC, Sergio Slayer, DJ Nick Biggs and others will share the stage.
Music at 8 p.m.; tickets are $8-$10. Visit https://rosemusichall.com/ for more details.
Saturday evening: TEDxWalnut at The Blue Note
Grow more enlightened as a number of local luminaries gather to give their own takes on the theme "Foster Inclusive Communities." Among the participants: Mayor Barbara Buffaloe, law professor David Mitchell, photographer Valerie Berta, musician J.ARTiz and entrepreneur Adonica Coleman.
7 p.m.; tickets are $45. Visit https://thebluenote.com/ for more information.
Sunday night: Tigercub at Rose Music Hall
From Brighton, United Kingdom to the middle of Missouri's map, Tigercub "utilizes alternative rock, post-grunge, punk, and stoner metal elements to craft their dense and distinctive maximalist hard rock," as AllMusic's James Christopher Monger notes. The trio tours behind last year's "Perfume of Decay," which received a serious stamp of approval, coming via Loosegroove Records, the label co-founded by Pearl Jam guitar guru Stone Gossard.
The show begins at 8 p.m.; local legends The Many Colored Death share the bill. Tickets are $20 advance, $22 day of. Visit https://rosemusichall.com/ for more.
Aarik Danielsen is the features and culture editor for the Tribune. Contact him at adanielsen@columbiatribune.com or by calling 573-815-1731. He's on Twitter/X @aarikdanielsen.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: From 'American Fiction' to Midwest hip-hop, 5 Columbia weekend musts
