The Monroe County Fair, running from July 28 to August 5, features a wide variety of fun for all ages and interests – from livestock shows (rabbits, goats, cows, pigs, horses, and more) and auctions to flower exhibits, motorcycle and kart racing, craft shows and live music. Food and drinks will be available from numerous vendors, and a carnival will be held in the evenings on July 31 and afterwards. Visit the fair website for more detailed information about the many different exhibits and activities.

This exhibit at the Mathers Museum of World Cultures examines history on a large scale, through exploration of cosmic, biological, and human origins. It is open weekly on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from May 8 to August 26, 2012, and is free.

Mathers Museum hours are:
Tuesday-Friday: 9 am-4:30 pm
Saturday-Sunday: 1-4:30 pm

This exhibit at the Mathers Museum of World Cultures examines the nature of culture through the exploration of cultural traditions surrounding life stages and universal needs. It is free and open to the public during regular museum hours, and will run until August 27.

Mathers Museum hours are:
Tuesday-Friday: 9 am-4:30 pm
Saturday-Sunday: 1-4:30 pm

This exhibit at the Mathers Museum of World Cultures is a companion piece to the book by Eric Sandweiss, and presents a survey of Cushman’s extraordinary work, an archive of photographs that is the largest known body of early color photographs by a single photographer—14,500 in all, most shot on vivid, color-saturated Kodachrome stock. It will run until August 27.

Mathers Museum hours are:
Tuesday-Friday: 9 am-4:30 pm
Saturday-Sunday: 1-4:30 pm

The Farmer House Museum will be featuring the work of Jane Briley, a contemporary painter on porcelain. Ms. Briley began painting on china in 1972. On moving to Bloomington, Ms. Briley became active in teaching and promoting china painting, particularly through the activities of the Blooms of Bloomington china painting club. Ms. Briley’s work is traditional in style, timeless in its grace and charm. Her work is also currently on display at The Venue, Fine Art and Gifts. Exhibit runs until September 2.

The Farmer House is located at 529 N. College Ave. in downtown Bloomington, right across College Ave. from the Waffle House. The museum is open Wednesday-Sunday 10 am-1 pm, with additional hours until 4 pm on Saturday. Admission is free. The telephone number is 812-336-5597.

“Ephemeral Ink”, an exhibit at Indiana University’s Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction, features a selection of tattoo art from the Kinsey collection. Two century’s worth of tattoo-inspired art will be on display, including flash art (i.e. stereotypic tattoo designs collected in binders or painted on parlor walls), paintings of tattoos, and photographs by anonymous and fine art photographers, notably Michael Grecco, Jess T. Dugan, Chas Ray Krider and George Platt Lynes.

Runs July 9 – September 21

The Kinsey gallery is open Monday through Friday, 1:30 pm – 5 pm.

Gallery Walk takes place on six special Friday evenings each year. Eleven downtown galleries, conveniently located within walking distance of one another, are open to the public and host special events and receptions to highlight new exhibits by artists who range from local to international. Visit the website for more detailed information on the galleries and their exhibits.

“Paper Art Quilts—2012” “The August exhibit features new works combining quilting and paper by Mary Hambly, MFA graduate of the Indiana University Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts. Exotic papers from around the world are carefully crafted by the artist into one of a kind “Paper Quilts,” each work uniquely rich in color, pattern and texture.”

Race at Bloomington Speedway, featuring World of Outlaws sprint cars.

Sprint cars are high-powered race cars designed primarily for the purpose of running on short oval or circular dirt or paved tracks. Sprint car racing is popular in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Sprint cars have a high power-to-weight ratio, making speeds in excess of 140 miles per hour possible on some tracks. 630 horsepower is commonplace for these machines.The safety record of sprint car racing in recent years has been greatly improved by the use of roll cages to protect the drivers. Many IndyCar Series and NASCAR drivers used sprint car racing as an intermediate stepping stone on their way to more high profile divisions

Pit Gates open 4:30 p.m. Grandstands open 5:30 p.m. Hot Laps 6:30 p.m. Racing 7:30 p.m. Special Event Gate Times will be on the website schedule.

An original musical written and presented by the Youth Musical Theatre Ensemble as part of the Ivy Tech/BPP Youth Theatre Education program. The production is based upon the theme of dreams and nightmares.

Showing August 2-4 at 7 pm & August 5 at 2 pm
Tickets $15 General Admission, $8 Children Under 13.