Jacksonville Today Arts and Culture Editor Matt Shaw shares his top 3 arts and culture picks for the weekend.
Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday
Sleeping Giant
Sun-Ray Cinema | Five Points
Sun-Ray Cinema’s annual celebration of the avant-garde of film and music returns, kicking off Thursday night with a viewing of The Room, which includes live, in-person commentary from Greg Sestero, who played Mark in the film that is inarguably one of the strangest movies to ever earn cult-classic status. Highlights from the rest of Sleeping Giant’s four days of programming include Nam June Paik: Moon is the Oldest TV, the documentary chronicling the life of the trailblazing Korean-American artist, on Friday; a packed Saturday, which includes cartoons for the kids, a documentary on jazz drummer Max Roach and a performance by Athens indie band Elf Power; and a Little Richard doc and performances by experimental notable Rhode Island noise duo Lightning Bolt and Seattle experimental rock group Earth on Sunday. More information, plus individual screening/performance tickets and all-access passes: sleepinggiantfest.com
Saturday
Free Saturdays at MOCA
MOCA Jacksonville | Downtown Jacksonville
Between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, there’s VyStar Free Saturdays at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Jacksonville. In fact, MOCA guests enjoy free admission every Saturday. Of note, a viewing of Blame It On the Zen, which features the work of composer John Cage and his equally avant-garde contemporaries, UNF Artist-In-Residence Brennan Wojtyla’s Cathedral of Love and the current, and extremely colorful, Project Atrium exhibit Milagros: Flutter Zone are each worth more than the price of admission – which, again, is free. More info here.
Saturday & Sunday
Mandarin Art Festival
Mandarin Community Club | Mandarin
One of the longest-running arts gatherings in Jacksonville, the Mandarin Art Festival returns this weekend. On Saturday and Sunday, the Mandarin Community Club presents more than 100 juried artist exhibitors, along with a host of other activities – green market, bake sale, children’s art show, prize drawings, etc. Proceeds from the event go to support the work of the nonprofit preservation group. The festival is free to attend. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Sunday. More info here.