THE ESSENTIAL A&E PICKS FOR AUG 22 - 28 

• Farris Gerard

Utah Renaissance Faire
Like a snake shedding its skin, any event that gets popular and successful enough is bound to outgrow its location. That's the happy situation facing the Utah Renaissance Faire, which has relocated for 2024 from its previous home at the Bastian Agricultural Center Polo Field in South Jordan to the Mt. Nebo Botanical Farm in Juab County.

These immersive events have continued to boom in popularity throughout the country, as lovers of recreating medieval and Renaissance-era Europe have visited other events and brought that spirit to their hometowns and home states, as Utah Renaissance Faire founder Rich Thurman did more than a decade ago. The headline entertainment includes the Knights of Mayhem, the Utah-based organization that demonstrates full-armor jousting in all its punishing glory, while armored combat league Invictus showcases combat using maces, axes and other period weaponry. Musical performances include headliners The Harp Twins, a Chicago-based duo performing both nights. And the grounds will otherwise be filled with entertainment like puppeteers and jugglers, demonstrations of period crafts like weaving and woodcarving, plus plenty of food options. Dress in your character attire and join the other guests getting into the spirit of a bygone era.

This family-friendly event takes place Friday, Aug. 23 and Saturday, Aug. 24 at the Mt. Nebo Botanical Farm (3700 N. Highway 91, Mona), 8 a.m. – 10 p.m. daily. Tickets are $18 adult/$13 ages 7-18 with advance purchase, $20 at the gate; special rates and bounce-back tickets for Saturday are available for school groups. Visit utahrenfaire.org for tickets and additional event information. (Scott Renshaw)

• Courtesy Photo

Margaret Cho
Margaret Cho has a richly-deserved reputation as a comedian, actress, author, entrepreneur and outspoken social advocate, as well as being an American Comedy Award winner and five-time Grammy and Emmy nominee, frequently cited by the media as one of the most influential female stand-up comics of the modern era. She's broken ground in turning cultural taboos on their proverbial head, forging a path that allowed others to follow. Her film and television roles and her various HBO and Netflix specials have found her courting controversy—but in a sense, that's only furthered her fame.

Yet, that familiarity factor aside, one never knows what to expect when Cho takes center stage. She frequently pokes fun at her Korean-American heritage, and when she starred in her own sitcom, the pioneering Asian-American-centric All-American Girl, some 30 years ago, the show was cancelled in part due to accusations the she was stereotyping. "They had to wait for an entire generation of Asian- Americans to be born and grow up without any memory of me," she insists in her typical self-effacing manner. Nevertheless, she's never reluctant to talk about her struggles with substance abuse, her relationship with her mother, her bisexuality, an obsession with gay men and certain other stereotypes. In this, Cho's still a champ.

Margaret Cho's "Live & Livid Comedy Tour" comes to Wiseguys @ The Gateway on Fri, Aug. 23 and Sat, Aug. 24 at 7 p.m. & 9:30 p.m. nightly. Tickets for this ages 21+, R-rated special event cost $35; visit wiseguyscomedy.com for tickets and additional event information. (Lee Zimmerman)

• University of Utah Press

Stephen Lottridge: The Book of Bauer
The history of the American West is filled with stories of people taking advantage of its untapped resources, and what's left behind when that exploitation of resources runs its course. Just as mining left behind ghost towns, it also left behind places that had to be abandoned because of the toxic consequences of mining activities. One of those stories is the tale of Bauer, Utah, from which the final residents left in 1979. It was a place that author Stephen Lottridge called home when he was a teenager circa 1950-1951, and it's a story he shares from a first-person perspective in The Book of Bauer.

While Bauer is now just graffiti-covered buildings, it was once home to workers and their families who got rent-free housing from Combined Metals. In The Book of Bauer, Lottridge recalls anecdotes from his time there with his parents and siblings, forced to create their own entertainment in a place that wasn't designed to keep kids happy. Nor was it a place particularly interested in the safety of its residents' drinking water, as Lottridge shared in an interview with Utah Public Radio's Tom Williams in March of this year. "You couldn't drink it and you couldn't cook with it," Lottridge said. "You'd risk showering with it, but we'd keep our eyes closed and our mouths closed."

Stephen Lottridge discusses and signs The Book of Bauer at Ken Sanders Rare Books at The Leonardo (209 E. 500 South) on Saturday, Aug. 24 from 6 – 8 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Visit kensandersbooks.com for additional event information. (SR)