Tim’s Picks: GermanFest, Civic’s main stage opener and more
Five ideas to start lining up your week.
By Tim Brouk / For Based in Lafayette
México in the Heart, 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5, Long Center for the Performing Arts, 111 N. Sixth St., Lafayette — Sponsored by the North American Institute for Mexican Advancement, México en el Corazón — also known as México in the Heart — returns to downtown Lafayette with a free show full of traditional Mexican dance, folktales and mariachi, all in lavish and colorful costumes. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, México en al Corazón’s mostly annual show at the Long Center is the perfect prelude to Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct. 15) and Mexican Independence Day, Sept. 16. The performing arts group recently gigged in New York’s Times Square, at the foot of Mount Rushmore and in Chicago’s Millenium Park.
NAP DNB, 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5, The Spot Tavern, 409 S. Fourth St., Lafayette — Indianapolis drum, bass and jungle DJ collective NAP DNB will swing up for the September edition of The Spot’s Patio Friday dance night. A host of DJs will spin inside the club and outside of it. Among the Indy talent will be Lafayette native Steady B making his first hometown appearance in years. Steady B will be joined by fellow NAP DNB talents in Rin Tin, Rich Lather, Antik One and Grimey Kids. Also on the bill will be Karabella, who has risen to be one of Lafayette’s top DJs throughout 2025. $5 in advance, $10 day of show. Tickets.
GermanFest, 5-11 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 6, St. Boniface, 318 N. Ninth St., Lafayette — Tacos and bratwurst is a duet of pleasures only found at downtown Lafayette’s popular GermanFest, which can be framed as summer’s last outdoor festival or the fall’s first one. No matter the season, the event of mucha cerveza and a plethora of pilsners is always a blast. As usual, there will be kiddie amusement rides, games for children and the ever-challenging beer stein hoisting challenge for adults older than 21, and live music from Indianapolis’ Der PolKatz and Lafayette’s own The Big Swing Band. And don’t wait until leder(hosen), get there early for all the best eats. $5.
“Steel Magnolias,” 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, Sept. 4-6; 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 7; 7:30 p.m. Sept. 11-13; and 2:30 p.m. Sept. 13, Civic Theatre of Greater Lafayette, 313 N. Fifth St., Lafayette — Civic Theatre’s main stage season opens with some Southern charm. “Steel Magnolias” is most remembered for the 1989 film version which featured a legendary cast of Julia Roberts, Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis and Dolly freakin’ Parton — six powerhouses of the 1980s and ’90s (and some still today). However, the film version of “Steel Magnolias” was based on a 1987 play of the same name by Robert Harling. Civic’s take will feature six strong actresses, including the arts organization’s producing artistic director Raquel Lopez as M’Lynn Eatenton. The show takes place in closeknit Chinquapin, Louisiana, primarily within the friendly — and often catty — walls of a beauty salon owned by Truvy Jones (played by Julie Baumann) on the eve of M’Lynn’s daughter Shelby’s (Ellie Macias) wedding. While the barbs fly, drama and hardships are unveiled, and the women must come together for the greater good of family and togetherness. “Steel Magnolias” is directed by the great John Collier and features the acting chops of Delany Jones, Marcella Holmes and Meg Foley. $17.50-$26.50. Tickets
“Murder at Civic,” 9:45 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 6 — After Saturday night’s “Steel Magnolias” showing, stick around to help solve a murder most foul in Greater Lafeyette’s community theater most awesome. Local improv comedy troupe One Size Fits All will star in the interactive show where the audience must help the players solve the crime. Free for Saturday night “Magnolias” ticket holders, $5 for those without tickets.
“SANTÉ!” by Cirque Kikasse, 12:30 and 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 10, South Lawn, Purdue Memorial Union, Purdue University — Cirque du Soleil isn’t the only French Canadian circus arts troupe to dazzle Americans. There is another that is kickass, er, Kikasse. Cirque Kikasse will make its West Lafayette debut with a pair of free, gravity-defying performances of its “SANTÉ!” show to help usher in Purdue Convocations’ new season. The 30-minute, whirlwind display of acrobatics, slapstick and audience interaction centers around the most whimsical food truck in town and its athletic staff, who might be a little messy and unorthodox but they always get your order for death-defying stunts and leaps correct.
Tim Brouk is a longtime arts and entertainment reporter. He writes here (almost) weekly, tracking things to do for Based in Lafayette.
BONUS CUT: The World Film Forum, an annual series hosted by Purdue’s School of Languages and Cultures, opens Tuesday, Sept. 19, with the first of three movie-and-discussion evenings in Stanley Coulter Hall, Room 239, at 640 Oval Drive on campus. “This year, we chose the theme ‘global animation’ to celebrate this important and popular genre beyond Disney that our forum has yet to explore,” Hongjian Wang, an associate professor of Chinese at Purdue, said. The films will include a pre-screening introduction and a discussion afterward. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with films starting at 7 p.m. each night. Here’s the lineup:
Sept. 9: “Funan” (2018) tells the story of a family torn apart and sent to different labor camps during the Khmer Rouge revolution in Cambodia. Presenter: Emma Ben-Hadj, lecturer of French at Purdue.
Sept. 16: “Song of the Sea” (2014) is the second installment of director Tomm Moore’s “Irish Folklore Trilogy.” Presenter: Hongjian Wang.
Sept. 23: “A Silent Voice” (2016) is a Japanese romance/drama about a young man trying to make amends with a deaf girl he bullied in grade school. Presenter: Marina Ishii, Senior Lecturer of Japanese.
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Tips, story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com.