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More than 200 skin artists from around the world converge on the heart of Austin to celebrate the centuries-old art form. Book an appointment with a local or traveling artist to get a new tat or find an artist taking walk-ups. You might even walk away with the Tattoo of the Day award. The needle-averse can observe the pros practicing their craft and appreciate the varied styles and finished products. Day passes cost $30, or pay $65 for a three-day weekend pass. – Aaron Sullivan

Psh: Just when you thought your wallet was safe post-June. Think a-f*cking-gain, girly pop. The Little Gay Shop returns with another massive mega market featuring over 70 queer-owned businesses, makers, and artists all within Distro’s slightly air-conditioned walls – and outside of ’em too. But you won’t just be browsing. There’ll also be local author book signings and a drag dunk tank with proceeds benefiting Equality Texas. Ease off the credit card by enjoying free biz, too, like a gallery wall decorated with art from Out Youth participants, and free bevies of both spirited and non- varieties. – James Scott

Yes, you could stay home alone and mindlessly scroll Reels in the hopes that the Algorithm Gods serve you cat content. Or you could leave the house for the CatVideoFest’s guaranteed 75 minutes of feline filmic action – everything from home videos, animated shorts, music videos, and classic memes. That’s a lotta lulz to enjoy in the company of other cat fans. Even better, a portion of ticket proceeds are pledged to local shelters and other animal welfare orgs. – Kimberley Jones

Does your youngster have a flair for writing and the dramatic – a creative talent that cannot be tamed? This might be the ticket: Them’s aged 5-18 are invited to showcase their creativity at the youth new works festival Manifest the Future, with entries inspired by Xavier Alvarado’s painting I Was Given a Tree by a Wizard. While the festival isn’t until fall, entries are due Aug. 12, and professional artists are available to coach prospective entrants this Saturday. Get all the details at newmanifest.org. – Kat McNevins

For one of my earlier birthdays, I insisted on a cat theme and required attendees to bring me a cat-themed gift or don’t bother showing up. These poor souls would’ve been wise to shop for me at Pop Cats, an immersive feline festival offering unique cat merch galore as well as adoption catios, cattoos, art, workshops, vintage video games, arts & crafts, and so much more for fans of the four-legged furballs that have captured our hearts. You can bring your tiny tiger or house panther if they meet the guidelines for cattendance, and cosplay is more than welcome. Come watch the fur fly at Paw-mer. – Kat McNevins

A recent cover of early Devo rarity “I Think I’m Fallin’ in Luv Again” clocks in at only 57 seconds, which means Snõõper’s playing it at x3 speed. So “super fast Devo” could be a workable comparison to the Nashville quintet’s style, but so is “imagine the sound of a dragonfly’s brain after it drank from a puddle of Mountain Dew.” The lovable and lively new wave/psych punk revelers, wrangled by tremolo-voiced wild one Blair Tramel, possess a bonkers live show that includes curling novelty barbells and papier-mâché insects in the mosh pit. Sonic brain surgeons Blank Hellscape and glacial drone artiste’s Water Damage open. – Kevin Curtin

You imagine a line and it’s probably straight the way a manufactured ruler is. Yet nature shows lines curved in all manner of ways. Born in 1980 within a 120-year-old house, the Wally Workman Gallery presents two artists whose work engages the myriad manner of lines. In his sculptural work, Joseph Janson utilizes bailing wire to make pieces that “ebb and flow like marks on a page to create recognizable forms: people, animals, and objects such as tables and lamps,” according to the gallery’s description. Stephanie Strange’s graphite drawings are more concerned with making seeable the invisible: communication. “In her work,” the gallery says, “she seeks to express the beauty of how energy is a communication running through all existence.” Both artists use curving lines, but attend this show’s opening reception on Saturday, Aug. 3, to see how they do so in their own materials. – James Scott

Timed to the release of new documentary Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger, AFS Cinema revisits three of the duo’s very best. They’re all consumed with crazy, in their own bewitching ways: 1948’s The Red Shoes, about a ballerina torn between art and love; 1947’s Black Narcissus, about a sect of nuns in Nepal going a little mad (from the isolation? the altitude? their suppressed sexual urges?); and 1945’s perfectly wonderful romance I Know Where I’m Going!, about a pragmatic woman in danger of derailing her best laid plans when bad weather puts her in the path of a charming naval officer. Catch one or all of ’em – you can’t go wrong. – Kimberley Jones

I first saw Dana Younger’s art at the Blue Genie Bazaar, and even those smaller pieces were enough to make me a forever fan. His sculptures were realistic with slight exaggerations to capture interest, bits and pieces of humans and nature etched in wood and bronze. When placed alongside the popping portrait paintings of partner Felice House, their work becomes even more powerful. House plays with feminist rewritings of history, showing glowing cowgirls and vibrant desert settings, settings where Younger’s comedic cowboys and stately cacti comfortably dwell. A West that never was, but is intensely alluring. – Cat McCarrey

Drag? Yes, good. Wrestling? Oh, hell yes. Musicals? … wait. Well, I’m no enjoyer of the staged song-and-dance, but I trust the folks of Total DOMination to bring the pain, the pleasure, and the pathos of all the best Broadway hits. Enjoy lip-synch battles to show tunes from drag artists like Arinna Dior Heys, Bobby Pudrido, Diamond Dior Davenport, Sinful Purchase, and ring girl Baldie Loxx; stand-up comedy by the hilarious and Best-of-Austin winning Aira Juliet; and the guiding hand of host Lucy Fur keeping it all going smoothly. Will these girlies end up “defying gravity”? Will they end up on the heaviside layer? Answers await just a curtain call away. – James Scott

The organizers at the Cathedral ATX implore you to “fly again” with the fourth iteration of their Night Birds ballet experience. Described as “an avian-themed, 360-degree performance featuring nine dancers, three cellists, and vibrant art from the atxGALS collective,” Night Birds allows the freaky and fanciful of Austin to fully immerse themselves, becoming one with the birds with themed cocktails and bites. A pleasant surprise for the event, this year includes two children’s interactive matinee performances – giving kids fantastical visions before being tucked in for the night – as well as a youth art show, featuring select works from kids under 18. – Cy White

Hundreds of comics enter, only one comedian leaves … with the crown that means they can call themselves the Funniest Person in Austin. Who will ascend to the throne currently being kept warm by last year’s winner Dylan Carlino? We won’t find out until the finals later this year, but there are still plenty of chances to discover your favorite new funny-hilarious local talent in these opening rounds. With as many as 16 of Austin’s best funsters on any night, it’s all jokes, no waiting. – Richard Whittaker

Hoo-wee! Does anything feel better than a dip in the pool during a hot Texas summer? While some among us may be privileged to own private watering holes, most of us get to enjoy the great Austin PARD’s work at the 44 public aquatic facilities to choose from this summer. You’ve got regional, neighborhood, and community pools; a wading pool; splash pads; and the crown jewel: Barton Springs. Check austintexas.gov/pools-splashpads for up-to-date info on which pools are open, what their entry fee is, and whether you have what it takes to be a public pool lifeguard. Now, outta the way if you don’t wanna get wet: I’m gonna do a cannonball! – James Scott

Thanks to Seventies funk band War, the word “lowrider” often calls to mind the unforgettable sax riff of the band’s 1975 No. 1 single. But lowrider can mean a snazzy customized car with hydraulics or a person who works on such a vehicle, and the culture around these cars has strengthened Mexican American communities in the Southwest since the Forties. Learn more about them at this exhibit featuring an interactive touchscreen mural, cars and bikes on display, and stories about the people who make lowriding a community. A member reception takes place May 18. – Kat McNevins

Running till August 16, Xavier Alvarado’s solo exhibition at 2324 Gallery features one of the most enduring themes in art: love. Raised in Texas “with deep Trinidadian roots,” as he notes on his website, Alvarado has collaborated with big names like Austin FC and Louis Vuitton, and his work spans multiple different media from painting to installation. With both new and old pieces in the show, Alvarado emphasizes “the transformative power of sharing in relationships and communities,” the exhibition text reads. Alvarado says this body of work “represents the heart’s capacity to connect, give, and enrich others” and “invites reflection on how sharing shapes our experiences of love and deepens our understanding of the heart.”– Lina Fisher

We’re in that liminal space of summer, where life is lush and blooming, right before it succumbs to death by heat. Big Medium’s curator Coka Treviño has collected an exhibit full of garden scenes representing that magical explosion of garden growth. In her own words, it’s a way “to forget how heavy it feels to be a human.” There’s constant discovery in the wide variety of works, from dozens of artists like the established Dawn Okoro and up-and-comers MuthaGoose. Join the opening reception this Friday to view interpretations of glorious greenery. – Cat McCarrey

A special program for visitors ages 0-3 and their families, providing caregivers and early learners the chance to experience the children's museum together. Thinkery will host two storytimes and free play that support the social, emotional, and cognitive development of the earliest learners.

Carole King is one of those once-in-a-generation songwriters, the kind who absolutely deserves not just a jukebox musical, but this type of theatrical biography on stage. A lot of folks know her seminal album Tapestry and her collaboration with longtime platonic soulmate James Taylor. But she had a thriving songwriting career beforehand. Beautiful tracks her stunning girl group anthems (“One Fine Day” or “Loco-Motion,” anyone?) and her fraught relationships with male collaborators. Can they keep this “natural woman” down? Of course not, but watch her rise while grooving to King’s victorious anthems.