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As the semester winds down and the blur of finals finally subsides, you’ll soon find yourself in the midst of a full-fledged summer break.
What will you do with all this free time? How can a broke college student afford to even have a summer break? Not to worry, as the Chuck’s Cheap Thrills team has assembled once again to answer these burning questions.
Summer Festivals:
There are several local festivals taking place this summer that should provide an excellent source of entertainment without breaking the bank.
Beginning June 11, Shakespeare in the Park returns to the Samuell-Grand Amphitheater.
This year will feature performances of the Bard’s classics, such as Othello, A Comedy of Errors and All’s Well That Ends Well. Tickets are $10 for adults. Visit shakespearedallas.org for specific times, dates and performances.
Celebrate July 4th in style at Cowtown’s Fort Worth Fourth. Taking place along the Trinity River, behind LaGrave Field, there will be jet skis, a battle of the bands and of course, fireworks. The (mostly) free fun begins at 5:30 p.m. on July 4. Visit streamsandvalleys.org for more details.
Aug. 15-23, the North Texas State Fair props up its tents in Denton. This year’s fair features a carnival, rodeo, original art work and lots of Texas food. Admission is $12 for adults. Visit northtexasstatefair.com for more details.
Summer Music Festivals:
Big concerts have become synonymous with summer, and this year is no exception. From the return of Lollapalooza to the Warped Tour, the summer of 2010 will rock.
Edgefest, which has a reputation for epicly sucking, will actually be decent this year. Taking place at Pizza Hut Park, this marks concert No. 20 for the radio station 102.1 The Edge, and it looks like the 20th time is the charm.
This year’s lineup features 30 Seconds to Mars, Deftones and Phoenix. Visit kdge.com for more details.
The Warped Tour, the “anti-tour,” which has since become exactly what it opposed (a commercially sponsored, capitalistic consumer machine), kicks and screams its way into Dallas this summer. Bands such as Alkaline Trio, Face to Face and Suicide Silence are set to rock the Superpages.com stage. Visit vanswarpedtour.com for more details.
Lollapalooza returns, though this time the traveling circus of touring concerts won’t be traveling. Grant Park, all the way in Chicago, will be its only destination this year.
If you can make the drive, it should be a great event. Soundgarden, Green Day and Lady GaGa headline this year’s tour with an array of other bands in the lineup. Visit lollapalooza.com for full lineup and ticket information.
Summer Movies:
Dropping $30 to $50 on a concert not your idea of a cheap thrill? There’s plenty of other summer entertainment courtesy of Hollywood.
Iron Man 2: That’s right, Tony Stark and his metal suit of mischief are back and ready to explode onto the big screen once again. What’s that? You still haven’t seen the cinematic sensation that swept the nation only two short years ago?
The only legitimate excuse you could have for not seeing it is if you’re a Quaker – and I think most of them have seen it as well. Do yourself a favor and check it out before the sequel comes out May 7.
The A–Team: For those of us old enough to remember, a remake of the A–Team is pretty exciting. The rogue band of ex-militants load up their big black van for a blazing, big screen adventure. Starring Liam Neeson and Bradley Cooper, this should be one of the summer’s biggest adventures – despite the fact that “Rampage” Jackson is B.A.
And, for all you who like your vampires on the cuddly, non-threatening side, there will be another installment of the Twilight series (commence eye rolling sequence… now). Girls and the very girly alike will love the new chapter in the saga of vampire love, coming out on June 30.
In the mean time, the rest of us will just have to shake our heads in confusion as to how someone managed to make a nocturnal, shape-shifting, fanged monster so lame.
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