7 things to do: Watch ‘Heat’ in a cool theater, Latin jazz, cultural festivals, and more

Our weekly roundup is so piping hot off of our digital presses, your first event to check out is … TONIGHT. Here are seven things to check out in the arts and culture world this week, Aug. 21-27:

💃 Salsa Pacifica at the Farmers Market Pavilion: From 5-8 p.m. Thursday, the nine-piece salsa band Salsa Pacifica will play their signature mix of Cuban, Puerto Rican, Colombian and New York-style Latin jazz outside the Farmers Market Pavilion in downtown Eugene. The show is one of The Jazz Station’s outdoor concerts at the pavilion, which returned this year on the third Thursday of each month through October during the Thursday Night Market festivities. No need to snag tickets. The concert is free.

🎸 Tracy Bonham at the WOW Hall: Eugene-born musician Tracy Bonham is returning to her hometown to play a show at the WOW Hall in Eugene at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 22. I interviewed Bonham earlier this month about growing up here, how her music has changed with time and how her ’90s hit “Mother Mother” was used in the television series “Yellowjackets.” Tickets start at $25 in advance and $35 on the day of the show. 

🚔 “Heat” at the Art House, part of the Michael Mann series: If you go to only one movie in the Art House’s Kickstarter-funded Michael Mann screening series, go see “Heat.” It’s one of those movies where, if you hear someone hasn’t seen it, you have a moral obligation to tell them to drop everything and watch it. If you have seen “Heat,” you now have an excuse to rewatch the diner scene. Tickets are $11 for adults. It’s playing from Friday to Wednesday.

🌺 Oregon Aloha Festival: A big mahalo to the Oregon Aloha Festival as it prepares for a fourth year highlighting Pacific Islander culture and history. It begins with an opening ceremony at noon Saturday and continues until 8 p.m. in Eugene’s Alton Baker Park. The festival will have hula and fire knife dancing, island cuisine like kālua pork and poke, and more. It’s free.

🇯🇵 Obon and Taiko Festival: At the same time as the Oregon Aloha Festival, the Japanese American Association of Lane County’s Obon and Taiko Festival is at the Lane Events Center. The festival is a celebration of traditional Japanese drumming that is now in its 34th year.

🧚 Midsummer, a Musical: This is the third week in a row where one of our suggestions has been thanks to William Shakespeare. But the Bard had nothing to do with writing “Midsummer, a Musical,” which first premiered at Eugene’s Very Little Theatre in 2018. Expect a night of Shakespeare by way of James Taylor and The Indigo Girls that is, per the event description, “frankly? A little gay.” Performances are scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are available for $25 for adults and $17 for students.

🎥 What’s playing at the movies: A Coen brother-directed private detective flick, a paranoia thriller and a singalong screening round out this week’s list.

• Click-clacking heels meet a mystery in “Honey Don’t,” directed by Ethan Coen and co-written by Coen and his wife, Tricia Cooke. It stars Margaret Qualley as small-town private detective Honey O’Donohue, who begins to unravel a conspiracy involving a charismatic preacher played by Chris Evans, while also sparking a romance with a local police officer played by Aubrey Plaza. It’s Coen and Cooke’s second queer genre film starring Qualley following last year’s “Drive-Away Dolls,” in what the couple calls their ongoing “lesbian B-movie trilogy.” “Drive-Away Dolls” was a ton of fun, so I’ve been looking forward to “Honey Don’t.” (Playing at Broadway Metro, Regal Valley River Center and Cinemark Eugene Springfield 17.)
• For another genre throwback, “Relay” stars Riz Ahmed in a paranoia thriller in the vein of ’70s classics. It centers on a “fixer,” played by Ahmed, who helps facilitate illicit payoffs from corrupt companies, and a new client (Lily James) who makes things complicated. I haven’t heard much about “Relay,” despite being a pretty online film fan, but it got solid reviews coming out of the premiere at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival. (Playing at Broadway Metro.)
• Did you or a child in your household love the recent Netflix animated movie “KPop Demon Hunters,” about a Korean girl pop group that moonlights as guardians against soul-stealing demons? (I did.) Regal Cinemas at Valley River Center is having singalong screenings this Saturday and Sunday. Something tells me those vocals won’t be as clean as Huntrix’s.