Pop Culture Checklist

Happy Thursday to you all. Here again is your weekly dose of upcoming shows, movies and events coming up. 

UPCOMING LOCAL EVENTS
There are plenty of events going on this weekend. I have a few listed here, but for a complete list of festivals and events in Monroe County, check out the calendar in our Arts & Entertainment section in today’s paper.
–“Chamberfest” carnival for all ages will be at Frenchtown Square mall this weekend. Being held today through Sunday, it will be located in the mall’s parking lot.
Rain or shine, rides, games, Kiddie Land, and carnival food and drinks will be offered. Tickets will be sold at the carnival. Times are 3 to 10 p.m. today; 3 to 11 p.m. Friday; noon to 11 p.m. Saturday, and noon to 10 p.m. Sunday.
–The “Maybee Day Festival” will be held from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday in downtown Maybee. Live entertainment will be held all day long, as well as a parade, rides, dunk tank, bake sale, ice cream sale, and more. New this year is a dining tent with full-course dinners to be served.
–Monroe KOA will hold “Customer Appreciation Weekend” on Friday and Saturday.
Bring old receipts and dated artifacts (trophies, awards, etc.) from past Monroe KOA events and you will get a discount. Also, there will be a continental breakfast, spaghetti dinner, games, trivia, a magic show, and more. It’s located at 15600 Tunnicliff Rd., Petersburg. 856-4972.
–Saturday is the annual “Samaria Day.” The festival begins at 9 a.m. Events include a parade, a car show, a yard sale, and rummage and bake sale. For more information, call 856-3609.
UPCOMING REGIONAL EVENTS
–“LatinoFest 2007” will be held from 1 to 11:30 p.m. Saturday at Promenade Park, Toledo.
Cost is $10, with ages 12 and younger free. There will be free admission from 1 to 3 p.m. Besides bands performing throughout the day, there also will be clowns, magicians, a petting zoo, and more.
–Auto racing will be held on Friday at the Toledo Speedway, 5639 Benore Rd.
Gates open at 5 p.m.; qualifying at 6:30 p.m.; racing begins at 7:30 p.m. Cost is $8 admission for adults, and $3 for kids ages 6 to 14. Free for kids ages 6 and younger.
–Comedian Steve Sabo will be performing this weekend at the Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase, 314 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor.
Two performances will be held on Friday night, and two more on Saturday. Shows are at 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. each night. Advance tickets are $8, and $10 at the door. For more information, or to buy tickets, call (734) 996-9080.
–The “Frankenmuth Bavarian Festival” begins today through Sunday. The festival, in its 47^th year, is for all ages. It includes Bavarian music, parades, rides and games, and more. For more information, call 800-386-3378.
–The “Battle Creek Cereal Festival” also begins today through Sunday. Samplings of breakfast foods will be available for free, featuring the world’s longest breakfast table. Other events include a parade, a charity sale, a family bike event, a craft show, and more. For more information, call (269) 962-4076.
MOVIES
“Ocean’s Thirteen,” starring every hot Hollywood star, opens on Friday. Hopefully, it will be better than the second installment. Besides “Ocean’s Thirteen, other movies opening this weekend are “Hostel: Part II” and “Surf’s Up.”
“Ocean’s Thirteen” also has to contend with other blockbusters that are still hanging in the top 10, such as “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Shrek the Third,” and “Spider Man 3.” And don’t forget about the surprising hit, “Knocked Up,” that’s getting good reviews.
MUSIC
 –The Roots will perform at the Royal Oak Music Theatre on Aug. 5. Tickets go on sale at 5 p.m. Friday. Tickets are $39.50 and $75.
–Portishead is making a comeback. The band is currently working on their first new album since 1997’s “Portishead” album.
–Sonic Youth is releasing a special two-disc edition of “Daydream Nation.” It contains live versions of every track on the album, plus studio recordings of some cover songs. It comes out Tuesday.
Here’s what else is coming out on Tuesday, June 12:
–Toby Keith, “Big Dog Daddy”
–Enrique Iglesias, “Insomniac”
–Sinead O’Connor, “Theology”
–Paula Cole, “Courage”
–Fabolous, “From Nothin’ To Somethin’
–Queens of the Stone Age, “Era Vulgaris”
–DJ Khaled, “We The Best”
–Mark Ronson, “Version”
–The Mission U.K., “God Is A Bullet”
–John Doe, “A year in the Wilderness”
TELEVISION
Lots of new summer shows are premiering this week. Like I said before, there is no such thing as summer reruns anymore!
Also this week, you can check out Hollywood’s biggest stars when they participate in the 9^th annual Michael Douglas & Friends Celebrity Golf Event. Among the celebrities are his wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Donald Trump, Heather Locklear, Alice Cooper, Josh Duhamel, Mark Wahlberg, and Martin Sheen.
It will air Sunday, June 10 on NBC, immediately following the men’s final of the French Open.
According to my co-worker, Marge, this is more entertaining than you would think. She said it’s worth watching – thanks for the tip, Marge!
Here’s some other shows starting up this week:
–“Speeders” includes real-life stories of cops pulling over unhappy motorists. It airs at 8 p.m. Thursdays on Court TV, beginning tonight.
–On Fox, “Standoff” returns. It’s about two FBI crisis negotiators paired professionally and romantically. It airs at 9 p.m. every Friday.
–On Animal Planet, catch “Planet’s Best With Terri and Bindi.” They host specials from their home in Australia. It begins at 8 p.m. Sunday. (Terri and Bindi are surviving family members of the late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin).
–Sundays on HBO, “John from Cincinnati” will air. Set in California, a dysfunctional family intersects with new arrivals in the community: a dumb, but wealthy, surfer, and a man spurned by the family years ago. It premieres at 10 p.m. Sunday, but regular time will be at 9 p.m.
–“The Loop” returns at 9:30 p.m. Sunday on Fox.
–“Big Love” follows the fictional life of polygamist Bill Henrickson. 9 p.m. Mondays, HBO
–“Miami Ink” returns on TLC at 10 p.m. Tuesdays
–“Rescue Me” begins a new season on FX on Tuesday.
–Bravo’s “Top Chef” returns next Wednesday.
–“Rescue Me” starring Denis Leary begins at 10 p.m. Wednesday on FX
–“Last Comic Standing” searches for the next top comedian at 9 p.m. Wednesday, NBC
–“AFI’s 100 years 100 cheers.” It ranks the top 100 movies of all-time. 8 p.m. June 14, CBS

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