Beat the heat with art

Hot Sacramento summers bring with them sundry silver-lining pleasures: Who can blame you if it’s 105 out and the only practical option is to lie on the couch with the A/C on full blast, watching The Sandlot for the 900th time because it’s on TV and you can’t not? Or relaxing with an Aperol spritz at a bar where the A/C is on full blast, because you couldn’t bring yourself to watch The Sandlot twice in one day? But bear with me, for a second. A little heat can go a long way as far as releasing that creative current goes, and this week is full of opportunities to get out there in the community and sweat it out for the sake of art:

From Friday, June 24, through Sunday, June 26, hit up the Gold Lion Arts Summer Festival for some envelope-pushing performances by innovative musicians and performers. The show starts at 7 p.m. each day and features a lineup of four different acts, many of whom cite things like “free jazz,” “multiple movements,” “sound collages” and “improvisation” in their descriptions (read: some avant-garde stuff will be going down). Artists will often be local (Sacramento staple Ross Hammond will be performing with Vinny Golia on Saturday and side-project Nun Other Than on Sunday), though other acts hail from the Bay Area and Seattle as well. Tickets are $20 per day or $35 for a weekend pass; find out more at http://goldlionarts.blogspot.com.

For the younger set, Pence Gallery in Davis (212 D Street) is hosting Createfest: A Summer Celebration of Youth and Art on Saturday, June 25, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Teenaged visual artists, filmmakers and performers will showcase and sell their work at a makers’ fair and film screening, plus there will be live music from Audiowave and a dance performance by the Pamela Trokanski Dance Theatre. Attendees can also create their own work with tape collages, chalk-art murals, a photo booth, mask-making and other creative activities. Admission is free; call (530) 758-3370 or visit http://pencegallery.org for more information.

Lastly, test out whether a little booze loosens up your creative side with the Summer Crafts and Cocktails event at the Crocker Art Museum (216 O Street) on Thursday, June 30, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., wherein attendees will hang out in the courtyard, sip on some summery cocktails and create Fourth of July decorations. (No stress if you’re not gifted with a glue gun; that’s what the drinks for!) Tickets are $18-$25 and include one alcoholic beverage, two nonalcoholic beverages and crafting supplies; additional drinks will be available for purchase. Check out www.crockerartmuseum.org or call (916) 808-1182 for tickets and to find out more.