STAY IN THE KNOMAHA! Art Music Festivals

Summer in the metro is jam packed with tons do—art, concerts, theater, festivals—we’ve got you covered with our comprehensive list and highlighted picks!

JENNIFER LING DATCHUK; EAT BITTERNESS

Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts

September 17

Admission: Free

724 S. 12th St. bemiscenter.org

“To eat bitterness,” or chi ku, is a Chinese idiom that describes enduring hardships without complaints. Both an art and a virtue, “eating bitterness” makes one tenacious—but also, submissive. Jennifer Ling Datchuk uses this concept as a vehicle for examining the complicated and sometimes overwhelming aspects of growing up in a blended family. Her combined identity as a Chinese-American woman, an American, and a third-culture kid—a child raised in a culture diff erent from that of her parents’—has led her to build an artistic practice that discusses fragility, beauty, femininity, identity, and her personal history. Trained in ceramics, Datchuk works with porcelain and other materials often associated with traditional women’s work like textiles and hair. Porcelain in particular allows her to describe dualities, because the material is simultaneously fragile and resilient. She uses adornment, blue and white patterns, reflective surfaces, and both synthetic and human hair to explore the global inequalities of labor, girlhood, and protest. 11am to 5pm Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday; 11am to 9pm Thursday. 402.341.7130.

Holland Performing Arts Center

July 28

Admission: Ticket Prices Vary 1200 Douglas St. ticketomaha.com

Diana Krall is the only jazz singer to have eight albums debut at the top of the Billboard Jazz Albums chart. To date, her albums have garnered two GRAMMY awards, 10 Juno awards, and nine Gold, three Platinum, and seven multi-Platinum albums. Her 1999 release “When I Look in Your Eyes” spent an unprecedented 52 weeks in the #1 position on Billboard’s Jazz chart, won two GRAMMY awards, and went Platinum in the US and Canada. Her most recent release, “Th is Dream Of You,” has garnered critical acclaim from fans and press alike. Krall’s unique artistry transcends any single musical style and has made her one of the most recognizable artists of our time. As Th e New York Times recently noted, she possesses “a voice at once cool and sultry, wielded with a rhythmic sophistication.” 402.345.0606.

NEBRASKA BALLOON & WINE FESTIVAL

Ta-Ha-Zouka Park

August 18-19

Admission: $15-21

20828 Elkhorn Dr., Elkhorn showofficeonline.com/NebraskaWineBalloon

Few sites are as majestic as a Nebraska sunset. Pair that with the glow of over a dozen hot air balloons ascending in unison, and you have one of the most breathtaking skylines of summer. Add wine, beer, food, and family activities, and it becomes one of the most memorable events of the season. Th at’s thanks to the Nebraska Balloon & Wine Festival, happening this year at Elkhorn’s Ta-Ha-Zouka Park. The annual aff air, held by Mid-America Expositions and now entering its 17th year, attracts thousands of hot air balloon and wine enthusiasts for a reason. Aside from the main attractions in the festival title, the popular event off erings include skydivers, paragliders, a KidZone with pony rides, infl atables, bungee jump bouncing, face painting, and other family-friendly activities, as well as live music that includes: the island rock, funk, and reggae band the Fishheads, the rhythm and blues group Front Ro, and High Heel, a band that covers everything from classic rock to country.

Tickets: $15 general admission for adults; $8 for kids aged 6 to 11; 5 & under free. Wine tasting packages include admission, fi ve wine tastings, and a souvenir glass: $17 in advance; $21 at the gate. VIP packages and food tasting experiences also available.