Micah Blatt hopes the combined bar and art gallery he’s opening on Fourth Avenue will put a little bit of money in the pockets of local artists.

Mr. Head’s Art Gallery and Bar is a joint venture between Blatt and his father, David Blatt. It will fill a vacant space and patio that stretches from 509 N. Fourth Ave. to the younger Blatt’s other business, Fathead Glass, at 513 N. Fourth Ave.

Blatt said he turned glassblowing into a living by starting Fathead Glass four years ago. Now he wants to help other artists do the same through the new bar and gallery.

He won’t take a commission on artwork sold there, and he’s designing it so art in all mediums can be showcased. He'll also hold regular art walks to help draw attention to other downtown galleries.

“The inspiration for doing the bar was to give other artists a chance to make a living doing what they love,” says Blatt. “The business plan was built around building a fail-safe art gallery.”

Mr. Head's will feature a 40-foot, curvaceous glass bar that will double as a display case. The walls will be lined with art by local artists, and televisions will allow for screenings of locally produced films.

Blatt says Mr. Head's will also have the largest food selection on Fourth Avenue, although it doesn’t even have a kitchen. He's worked out deals to serve items from Chocolate Iguana, Lindy’s on Fourth, Magpies Pizza, Delectables and World Wide Wrappers. Patrons will order at the bar, and a runner will put the order in, pick it up and deliver it.

As for the bar: Expect 20 beers on tap, beer and wine.

Blatt said he's also renovating the patio area and fixing up the surrounding landscaping.

Mr. Head’s is expected to open in November.

A couple of weeks ago, Mari Herreras brought us a video interview with Tucson Meet Yourself co-founder and folklorist Big Jim Griffith.

Here's another part in that interview series, where we sit down with Tucson Meet Yourself board member and steel-drum player Richard Noel.

The latest Etcetera production starts tonight, 10:30 p.m., at Live Theatre Workshop, 5317 E. Speedway Blvd. The David Largman Murray play, directed by Christopher Johnson, takes place in the year 6000 when robots have almost replaced humans. Tickets are $10. Call the box office at 327-4242 for reservations.

3D Fest-Drum.Dance.Didge ... Heal will take place this weekend in Prescott at Watson Lake Park. Music and dance performances, workshops, a bazaar and a food court will be offered, as will more than 20 hours of modern and traditional world music.

Details from a press release:

PRESCOTT, ARIZONA — Endless Breath Entertainment LLC presents the 1st annual 3DFest - Drum.Dance.Didge...Heal! at Watson Lake Park to take place over 3 nights and 2 days, August 20, 21, and 22, in 2010. The festival, will feature more than 20 hours of modern and traditional world music and dance performances and over 50 group drum, dance, didgeridoo, and sound healing workshops delivered by local, national, and international rhythm and dance artists. Participants can drum, dance, play and listen to music from African, Brazilian, Cuban, Middle-Eastern, Aboriginal, Indian, Asian, Native-American cultures and more. Classes will take place for all ages and skill levels, including an Interactive Youth Area.

The festival will kick-off Friday with Reggae Night, featuring Native American Reggae Goddess, and sound healer, Tchiya Amet and the Light House Band from Mendocino County, California. Other acts and performances will include Indian and Middle-Eastern style music, trance and ambient didgeridoo, Japanese Taiko drumming, didgeridoo funk fusion, Reggae/Jungle dance music, and a lively fire performance. Friday Night Only Tickets will be sold for $10 each, although all 3 nights are included in the $55 Weekend Pass.

As part of the Tucson's 235th birthday events and 2nd Saturdays Downtown, there will be a concert at the Fox Theatre honoring the late Cele Peterson at 7 p.m., tonight, Saturday, Aug. 14. The event will include a screening of a short film by former Tucson Citizen staffer Daniel Buckley, Cele Peterson: La Doña del Pueblo. The film includes interview Buckley did with Peterson, as well as parts of her 100th birthday celebration from last year (above).

The 7 p.m. show at the Fox, 17 W. Congress St., is free. Salvador Duran will perform, as well as Gabriel Ayala, Olga Flores, Gospel Workshop of America (Tucson chapter), Tucson Chinese School Lion Dancers, Los Gallegos, Mariachi Sonido de Mexico and Sticks & Fingers Caribbean Review.

For more info on the month-long Tucson birthday offerings, go here.

Does Christopher Johnson at Live Theatre Workshop’s Etcetera ever take a break?

If you missed The Eating Disorder Talent Show last weekend, the latest offering from the late night theater series continues two more weekends on Fridays and Saturdays, through Saturday, Aug. 21, at 10:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the box office. The house opens at 10 p.m., and you can call 327-4242 for reservations.

Johnson, artistic director of Etcetera, is in almost every show, and if he's not performing, he's probably directing. This time, he's performing in a biographical play he wrote, joined by Kristi Loera, playing the Mother character, and Danielle Dryer (who played a fantastic Riff Raff in Etcetera's The Rocky Horror Picture Show), playing the Sister. The show is directed by Leslie J. Miller.

An autobiographical memory play written and performed by the author, The Eating Disorder Talent Show, chronicles his misadventures in growing up gay, bulimic and bipolar in the American Theatre. Hilariously tragic and painfully hopeful, this honest and sometimes extremely gritty look at how hard it can be to stomach a chaotic and abusive childhood examines the roots of addiction and sexuality in a time when mental health physicians are handing out prescription drugs like Halloween candy.

What goes into making those murals on the sides of Bookmans and the Rialto Theatre? Here's a time-lapse video artist Joe Pagac shot of his latest one on the side of the Rialto.

An alert reader, Travis, tipped us off to the fact that the city of Seattle has banned exhibits—like the Bodies display currently at the Rialto building—unless the exhibitor can prove it has the consent of the deceased or the families of the deceased.

According to The Seattle Times:

Seattle residents — from anatomy professors to museum directors — have voiced concern over the ethics of such exhibits, specifically because Premier Exhibitions, which sponsors the "Bodies" exhibit, says it can't verify where the bodies are from or that the deceased on exhibit consented to such display.

Read the full article here.

The Ghosts Among Us
By Blair Kurland

Many unearthly visitors populate the Old Town Artisans. Hear another snippet from storyteller Eddie Gallego.