A guide for arts and cultural entertainment for the entire family

Visual Arts

Piedmont Park Arts Festival: Head to Piedmont Park for a weekend of visual arts with nearly 250 painters, photographers, sculptors and glass blowers. There will also be live acoustic music and children’s activities. August 16 and August 17. Free. affps.com

A Visual History of AIGA: 19142014: Andy Warhol, Paul Rand, Saul Bass and Michael Vanderbyl are just a few of the famous talents responsible for the American Institute of Graphic Arts’ groundbreaking designs over the last century. Opens August 17. $5 to $10. museumofdesign.org

Whales: Giants of the Deep: Plunge into the mysterious world of whales at Fernbank Museum of Natural History. Meet two massive whale skeletons longer than a school bus, climb through a replica of a whale heart the size of a VW Beetle, and design your own dolphin. Closes August 24. $16 to $18. fernbankmuseum.org

Be Here Now: Atlanta sculptors Mike Black and Andrew Boatright challenge gravity and beauty with their site-specific installations at this Atlanta Contemporary Art Center exhibit that also features Wisconsin’s Sandra Erbacher. Closes August 30. $5 to $8. thecontemporary.org

Vivian Maier: Summer: Vivian Maier was a professional nanny in the 1950s, but her secret passion was street photography. Her 100,000 negatives were discovered in 2007, and this exhibit highlights some of her summer-themed photos. Closes August 30. Free. jacksonfineart.com

Mid Century Modern: Works on Paper: Oglethorpe University Museum of Art displays works by mid-20th century artists, including Alexander Calder, at this new exhibit featuring OUMA’s permanent collection and pieces on loan from Emory’s Woodruff Library. Closes August 31. $5. oglethorpe.edu

Dream Cars: Innovative Design, Visionary Ideas: Don’t miss the last full month of the High’s innovative exhibit that features 19 concept cars from 1930s Europe to 21st century U.S. that push the limits of imagination. Daily. $12 to $19.50. high. org

Extreme Dinosaurs: Discover dinosaurs from the “Golden Age” of paleontology with life-size animatronic models, skeletons and fossils at Atlantic Station. Daily. $11 to $18. premierexhibitions. com

Kongo Across the Waters: This exhibit, the anchor for Africa Atlanta 2014, explores connections between AfricanAmerican art and Africa’s Kongo peoples through artifacts from the Royal Museum of Central Africa in Belgium. Daily. $6 to $8. jimmycarterlibrary.gov

Scott Ingram: Blue Collar Modernism: Scott Ingram’s minimalist paintings, sculpture and photography at Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia was selected as one of MOCA’s 2013-2014 Working Artist Projects. Tuesday through Saturday. $1 to $5. mocaga.org

Performing Arts

Bare Essentials Play Readings: The Essential Theatre annual festival continues with readings of new plays, including “Miss Adelia’s Garden” by Gerry L. Bartholmai on August 5 and “Christ America” by Bill Gibson on August 12 at the West End

Elvis Royale

Fernbank Whale

Performing Arts Center. August 5 and August 12. Free! essentialtheatre.com

The Very Hungry Caterpillar and other Eric Carle Favorites: Eric Carle’s beloved stories “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” “Little Cloud” and “The MixedUp Chameleon” are brought to life with black light and fanciful puppets at the Center for Puppetry Arts. August 5 through August 17. $16.50. puppet.org

Texas Tenors: From Alabama to Puccini, John Hagen, Marcus Collins and JC Fisher bring their unique blend of country, gospel, classical and Broadway to the Atlanta Symphony Hall stage. August 9. $29 to $69. atlantasymphony.org

The Rocky Horror Picture Show: The original horror musical comedy comes to Actor’s Express this summer for a rollicking good time complete with a few exciting midnight performances and of course, the “Time Warp.” Closes August 9. $26 to $47. actors-express.com

Gipsy Kings: The Grammy Awardwinning Gipsy Kings consist of two bands of brothers: the Reyes and the Baliardos, families who both grew up roaming the south of France, working harvests and making music. They return to Chastain as part of their 25th anniversary tour. August 15. $35 to $79. classicchastain.com

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee: Six young people in the throes of puberty learn that winning isn’t everything in this musical about the unlikeliest of heroes: a quirky cast of outsiders. Closes August 16. $12 to $23. onstageatlanta.com

Big Mike Geier’s Elvis Royale: Big Mike Geier’s Elvis Royale at Variety Playhouse is a Vegas-style extravaganza with a live band and the Dames Aflame Showgirls celebrating the music and culture of Elvis Presley. August 16. $26.50 to $28. variety-playhouse.com

Shreya Ghoshal: One of Bollywood’s top singers, Shreya Ghoshal is best known for her chartbuster hit songs from Indian films sung in Hindi as well as several other languages. August 17. $39 to $129. cobbenergycentre.com

Unplugged in the Park: Park Tavern celebrates more than a decade of free live music with the David Mayfield Parade, an eclectic band led by a songwriter who has collaborated with musicians ranging from The Avett Brothers to country star Dierks Bentley. August 17. Free! parktavern.com

Tori Amos: Tori Amos brings her “Unrepentant Geraldines” tour to the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in support of her 14th studio album release. August 19. $42 to $67. cobbenergycentre.com

When We Were Seven: Fireflies light the outdoor Skwhirlhaus stage in this combination of personal storytelling through dance and live-music soundscape by Crossover Movement Arts as they invite audiences to remember when they, too, were seven. August 22 through August 24. Free! skwhirlhaus.com

The Mentor: The Heath Brothers Quartet with Jeremy Pelt: Join NEA Jazz Master Jimmy Heath and rising star trumpeter Jeremy Pelt at the Rialto Center for the Arts for an evening of classics from the American Songbook, as well as signature compositions by Heath himself as part of the National Black Arts Festival. August 23. $28 to $58. nbaf.org

Bob Weir & RatDog: The Grateful Dead founding member and rhythm guitarist Bob Weir performs with his band RatDog at the Fox Theatre. The Chris Robinson Brotherhood opens. August 26. $46.50 to $56.50. foxtheatre.org

Rhythm & Brews: Athens’ bluegrass quintet Packway Handle Band closes out Sandy Springs’ summer concert series with this outdoor performance. Blankets, picnics and coolers are allowed; no pets. August 28. $2 to $5. heritagesandysprings.org

2014 National Puppet Slam: Experience the beauty, ingenuity and hilarity of the best puppet slams from across the country at this adult puppet theater show at the Center for Puppetry Arts. August 28 through August 30. $12. puppet.org.