Riverfront Times April 19, 2012 : Page 16
continued from page 15 ensembles go head to head to battle for a $10,000 cash prize for their school’s drumline program. The event begins on Market Street and Jefferson Avenue this Saturday at 9:30 a.m. with the Showdown Parade, as percussionists pound the pavement west to Saint Louis University’s Chaifetz Arena (1 South Compton Avenue). From 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m, the arena will host a free college-recruitment career fair, leading up to the 2 p.m. showdown. Tickets for the battle are $15. To see a list of participating teams and to snare your seats in advance, visit www .showmesound.org. — M ARK F ISCHER Seven high school drumlines battle for a $10,000 cash prize on Saturday. SUND AY | 04.22 [FES TIV AL] | ANCIENT CULTURE, NEW YEAR Celebrating a special event with a country’s expats is the best way to explore that part of the world without so much as leaving the city. Sure, there are plenty of travel channels accessible from your couch, but Anthony Bourdain can’t teach you everything . Through holidays and similar important happenings, we learn what beliefs and traditions other people hold dear, and also what they like to eat and watch and hear while making merry and commemorating a notable occasion. For such a glimpse into Thailand, plan to attend the Traditional Thai New Year Festival , or Songkran Festival, held at Wat Phrasriratanaram, a Thai Buddhist temple located at 890 Lindsay Lane in Florissant. Admission to the fest is free, but be sure to bring money for traditional food and drink. Plus, expect to see a drum parade, classical dances, a beauty pageant and even Thai boxing before the revelry concludes. The festival runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; check out the full schedule at www.stlthaitemple.org. — A LISON S IELOFF [L GBTQ] QUEER AS FILM Sure, T.S. Eliot thought it the cruelest month, but April in St. Louis is downright gay — the fifth annual QFest St. Louis brings 21 films celebrating a spectrum of LGBTQ voices to the Tivoli Theatre (6350 Delmar Boulevard, University City; 314-995-6270) this weekend. Three of the films feature St. Louisans, including My Best Day , the directorial debut of Clayton High School grad Erin Greenwell, Jamie and Jessie Are Not Together , starring local girl Jacqui Jackson, and Jan’s Coming Out , an uproarious documentary with interviews from St. Louis-based partners Jane Ibur and Sondra Seiler. Other highlights include Sundance favorite Love Free or Die: How the Bishop of New Hampshire Is Changing the World and the subtly titled Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same . Tickets are $10 to $12 and can be purchased at the Tivoli box office or at tickets.landmarktheatres.com. — D IANA B ENANTI MOND AY | 04.23 [FLASH MOB] | READ BOOKS Monday, April 23, the birth and death day of William Shakespeare, has been designated World Book Day. In celebration, Left Bank Books and the St. Louis Independent Bookstore Alliance are coordinating ReadMOB , a flash mob designed to get readers and non-readers alike on the same page. With a book in hand, participants should flash flood the steps of the Arch (200 Washington Avenue) at 12:30 p.m., dressed in everyday attire to prevent unwanted attention. The mob’s mission is to do the Village People’s “YMCA” one better by spelling “Read Books” with their bodies on the Gateway Arch steps. The event will be filmed and immediately posted on the Internet, so mobsters continued on page 19 MAY 23 | FOX THEATRE | 314-534-1111 or MetroTix.com 16 RIVERFR ONT TIMES APRIL 1 9-25, 2 012 riverfronttimes.com