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A SHORE THING This sand sculpture depicts imaginative, “unzipped” minds.
Events
Beauty and the Beach
The entries at the U.S. Open
Sandcastle Competition make your
childhood creations look like puddles
of mud (no offense). For 30 years
master and amateur participants have
flocked to Imperial Beach, California,
to build sand sculptures that can get
bigger than SUVs. Visit August 7 and
8: you can see silly sea creatures and
elaborate castles (619-424-6663;
usopensandcastle.com).
Clothes Encounters Today’s alien
impersonators have quite the fashion
sense. At The Amazing Roswell UFO
Festival in New Mexico—which celebrates the supposed 1947 landing of
that “flying disk”—visitors channel
extraterrestrials, wearing everything
from bright pink wigs to silver jumpsuits. Join them from July 1 through 4—
the costume contest is July 3 (888-
767-3378; ufofestivalroswell.com).
A Change of Art So Baltimore’s
annual Artscape event is just another
festival, right? Wrong! It’s billed as the
largest free arts festival in America,
attracting 350,000-plus people to
the city’s Bolton Hill area. Visit July 16
through 18 to hear live music and catch
more than 150 artists showing off their
works (410-752-8632; artscape.org).
Four Score and 200 Artifacts
If you’re more into Lincoln the family
man than Lincoln the legend, check
out “With Charity for All,” a new exhibit
from the Indiana State Museum’s Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection
in Indianapolis. A highlight is dozens of
photos from the former prez’s family
album. A rare addition: Mary Lincoln’s
collection of cartes de visite—
photographic calling cards—featuring one
from, of all people, John Wilkes Booth.
Go soon; the exhibit ends July 25 (317-
232-1637; indianamuseum.org).
COURTESY OF BRETT ALAN PRODUCTIONS
Paris in…Milwaukee? If you relish
historical events, you’ll love this race at
Milwaukee’s Bastille Days, from July 8
(race day) through 11. First held in 1982
to spur interest in the business district,
the event draws around 200,000 Francophiles. Bonus: the downtown area
boasts a 43-foot replica of the Eiffel
Tower (414-271-1416; easttown.com).
A Blast From the Present The latest exhibit from the National Portrait
Gallery in Washington, D.C., showcases
people who’ve been prominent during
the past ten years. Open August 20
through June 19, 2011, “Americans Now”
includes images of Barack Obama and
Martha Stewart (202-633-8300;
npg . si.edu). —Greg Pelkofski
