This weekend in Jacksonville: Cosplay, New Kids and a turtle's birthday party

Tom Szaroleta, Florida Times-Union
·2 min read
A display of stoneware and porcelain from Korea, Thailand and Vietnam dating back to the early 12th Century to the mid-18th Century on display at Jacksonville's Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens.
A display of stoneware and porcelain from Korea, Thailand and Vietnam dating back to the early 12th Century to the mid-18th Century on display at Jacksonville's Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens.

Summer at the Cummer

Admission is free to the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens from 4-9 p.m. every Friday this summer, through Sept. 2, as part of Summer at the Cummer. Check out the excellent new Asian art show or pieces from the Cummer's permanent collection, stroll the riverfront gardens, grab a beer or glass of wine and enjoy live music, a perfect way to end the week and kick off the weekend.

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New Kids On The Block headline the Mixtape Tour, which comes to Jacksonville on Friday.
New Kids On The Block headline the Mixtape Tour, which comes to Jacksonville on Friday.

Mixtape Tour

Expect an '80s/'90s pop music overload when New Kids on the Block, En Vogue, Rick Astley and Salt-N-Pepa take the stage for the Mixtape Tour Friday night at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. Earlier stops on the tour have been using two stages, with each group doing a few songs, then stepping back and letting another get a turn, then coming back to perform again later until all of the hits have been played. 8 p.m. $30-$380.

Tonca, an Alligator snapping turtle, has been at Jacksonville's Museum of Science & History since 1994.
Tonca, an Alligator snapping turtle, has been at Jacksonville's Museum of Science & History since 1994.

Tonca's 56th

What do you get an alligator snapping turtle for its birthday? Tonca, the huge turtle that lives at Jacksonville's Museum of Science & History, celebrates his 56th birthday at noon Saturday, leaving his enclosure for his annual weigh-in and physical. VIT (Very Important Tonca) tickets for the celebration are $35 for adults, $32 for kids, and include museum admission, a party hat, an animal show and ice cream treats.

Winter's coming

Jacksonville-based act Dean Winter & the Heat is starting to make waves in the country and Americana music scenes, and here's your chance to say you saw them before they made it big. They're playing a hometown show Saturday at Jack Rabbits, with Garrett Wheeler and Jessica Pounds opening the show. 8 p.m. $10.

Bold Matsuri

It's a big weekend for Jacksonville-area fans of cosplay and anime. The Bold Matsuri festival, with panel discussions, a video game room, a cosplay contest, trading card vendors and celebrity voice actors, is at the Prime Osborn Convention Center from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Kids 10 and under are free, tickets for everyone else are $40 for Saturday, $35 for Sunday, $50 for both.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: This weekend in Jacksonville: New Kids, cosplay fest, Tonca's birthday