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The Union Terrace will be the venue to see the Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night" on Monday. - File photo

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Show at Artisan Gallery

Animal images in contemporary art -- wild and woolly, tame and tender, mysterious and malevolent -- are on display in a summer show opening Friday, June 27 at the Artisan Gallery, 6858 Paoli Road in Paoli. The show will run through August 3.

The group exhibition, including work by Kelli Hoppman (whose work is pictured), S.V. Medaris, Audrey Christie, Jonathan Wilde, Gene Reineking and Randy Richmond, among others, features diverse media, from sculpture to ceramic art, paintings and works on paper to stained glass.

A number of the artists will be on hand for the opening reception on June 27, from 5 to 9 p.m.

Eat smart, Sicilian style

Joan Peterson, author of guide books advising tourists how to navigate foreign food culture and menus, will sign copies of her newest book, "

Eat Smart in Sicily," at Bunky's Cafe, 2827 Atwood Ave., on Saturday, June 28, from 1 to 4 p.m.

The signing will include a food tasting of homemade cannoli, made from a recipe that has been in Bunky's Cafe owner Teresa Pullara-Ouabel's family for many years. The food of Sicily reflects Greek, Norman French, Tunisian and Italian influences, and is a sun-drenched mix of seafood, citrus, olives, almond sweets and savory sauces.

An amazing Madison race

Mix brain power and endurance with a little bit of adventure and you've got the Great Urban Race, which comes to Madison on Saturday, June 28.

Similar to TV's "The Amazing Race," the Great Urban Race will pit teams of two against each other to solve clues and complete challenges by walking, running or using public transportation. The first teams to successfully complete the race will win cash prizes and free entry into the national championship race in Las Vegas in November.

The cost is $59 per person until Friday, then $70 per person on race day. The race is open to everyone, but competitors under 13 must be accompanied by an adult. Registration begins at State Bar & Grill at 118 State St. The race begins at noon.

For more information and to register, go to www.greaturbanrace.com or contact race director Joe Reynolds, 800-487-6817 or joer@greaturbanrace.com.

Fab four on film

On Monday, June 30, twist on down to the Memorial Union Terrace, 800 Langdon St. to see John, Paul, George and Ringo in the Beatles' classic, "A Hard Day's Night," the latest Lakeside Cinema offering. Before the movie starts at dusk, Madison's own British retro band The Invaders bang out a set of Beatles covers at 7 p.m. It doesn't matter if you're a mod, a rocker or a mocker, bring the whole family (even grandpa -- but only if he's "very clean" like Paul's grandfather!). The movie starts at dusk.

Drink up

Yahara Bay, Dane County's only microdistillery, is hosting a night of music, theater and liquor sampling Thursday, June 26, 8 p.m. at the High Noon Saloon. Local playwright Karen Saari and a troupe of actors will perform "cheesy product placements" for Yahara Bay between sets from ATF, Stephanie Rearick and the ManSisters, Heather Abney and the Catalog Babies, STINK TANK and D.L.O. of dumate. Expect a lot of musical bases to get covered -- surf punk to hip-hop to Ani DiFranco-style folk. Actors Monty Marsh and Matt Schrader also premiere "Bangers and Mash" -- Saari's latest about two Irish cops fighting crime in the North Woods.

Direct from Dakar

La Fete Du Marquette doesn't take place until July 10 to 13 at 50 S. Baldwin St., a temporary switch this year from its usual home in the planned Central Park. But for an early taste of the festival's globe-trotting, multi-cultural flavor, catch the warm-up show at the Barrymore Theatre, 2090 Atwood Ave. at 8 p.m. Sunday with Senegal's Orchestra Baobab.

The 12-piece band originally launched in 1970, at a time when the capital city of Dakar was a crossroads for Afro-Cuban music from all over.

Tickets are $18 in advance through the Barrymore and its outlets, online at www.barrymorelive.com, or by phone at 241-8864, or $20 at the door.

Oooh! Aaah!

The sky lights up and the music swells as Rhythm and Booms, one of the largest fireworks displays in the country (and one of the few synchronized to music) takes over Warner Park on Saturday, June 28. The show begins at 9:30 p.m., and you can get a great view of the pyrotechnics either at the park or at locations around Lake Mendota (James Madison Park and the Memorial Union Terrace are favorites).

If you're at the park, the fireworks culminates a day full of food and entertainment, including two stages of live music, carnival rides, and even a Mallards game scheduled for 5:05 p.m. Visit www.rhythmandbooms.org for more details, and the rain date is Sunday, June 29, just in case.

The arts in Spring Green

Over 200 artists will gather on Jefferson Street in downtown Spring Green for the 39th annual Spring Green Arts and Crafts Fair, taking place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 28 and Sunday, June 29. The fair was started in 1969 to support the arts in the River Valley region, and has donated money every year to local projects and groups in and around Spring Green. For more information, visit www.springgreenartfair.com.

Pulitzer Prize-winning composer

Minnesota-based composer Aaron Jay Kernis will spend the weekend in Madison performing -- and being performed -- by the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society.

Kernis, whose "100 Greatest Dance Hits" and "The Four Seasons of Futurist Cuisine" will play piano and be featured in performances Friday, Saturday and Sunday, is one of the youngest composers ever to win the Pulitzer Prize.

"Dance Hits" will begin at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Stoughton Opera House with a second performance at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the Hillside Theater at Taliesin in Spring Green. "Futurist Cuisine" will begin at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Playhouse in the Overture Center with a second performance at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at the Hillside Theater. Tickets cost $29 and can be purchased on the Web at www.bachdancinganddynamite.org.