July 31-Aug 2 in Progressive Nashville

Things are pretty quiet on Friday — go out and support local musicians! — but plenty is happening on the Music City prog front Saturday and Sunday. As always, contact organizers in advance to make sure the event is on; sometimes things change. And don’t forget: If you want to vote early for the 2015 Metro Nashville election, you’ve got until Saturday. The official Election Day is next week, Thursday, Aug. 6. Make your voice heard, progressive people. On to the weekend’s events…

FRIDAY JULY 31

• One Friday music and art suggestion:Fridays at the Frist presents a performance of David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust featuring  The Long Players. The performance is free for Frist Center for the Visual Arts members and $12 for noon-members. That ten-spot plus two gets you access to the exhibitions — be sure and check out the breathtaking installation Italian Style: Fashion since 1945. The night runs from 6-9 pm. For more info, contact the Frist at 615-244-3340; the museum is at 919 Broadway, in downtown Nashville.

SATURDAY AUG. 1

• Aug. 1 is the first Saturday of the new month, which means it’s time for the bimonthly Edgehill Free Store. Come out for breakfast and household-item shopping at the world’s best price. Membership is a two-way street here: By all means, buy, but also bring unwanted items to donate to the effort. The Edgehill Neighborhood Partnership has all the rules and restrictions; check it out before you go. The Free Store runs every first and third Saturday from 9 am-noon at 1502 Edgehill Ave.
• From 11 am-1 pm, Transition Nashville‘s Citizens’ Climate Lobby will present its first-Saturday gathering on sustainability issues. This month, featured speaker Sam Daley-Harris of the Center for Citizen Empowerment and Transformation will present a lecture via live teleconference  on making activism count. Specifically, Daley-Harris will address how best to maximize efforts to persuade our congressional representatives through media and action. Given the CCL’s mission to convince Congress to enact legislation that would reduce carbon emissions and cut energy costs, this topic should be especially useful for lobby members, but it would be just as informative for prog activists seeking to make their work more effective. The event takes place in Room 118 of the Goodwill Lifsey Center at 937 Herman St. If you plan on attending, you’re asked to RSVP.
• Democratic Socialist presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is a major topic in and around progressive circles these days. The Vermont senator is expected to be the primary focus at Saturday’s gathering of the Socialism Discussion Group as it takes up the topic of “Bernie Sanders? Friend? Foe? Somewhere in Between?” Other subjects may be discussed as well. The meeting is scheduled from 2-4 pm at the Bellevue Branch Library, 720 Baugh Road.
• Support Arte de Libertad‘s first art event. The UPRISING Art Show will highlight works that relate to the concept of struggle and should fascinate. Issues to be covered include social and economic justice, class, Black liberation and the ‪#‎BlackLivesMatter‬ movement, gender equality, LGBT equality, housing rights, workers’ rights, ending violence against women, and health care rights.  The event also features a major installation by high school students addressing the Cradle-to-Prison Pipeline that puts so many African-American and Hispanic-American youth behind bars. More details are available at the group’s Facebook event page. The exhibition, which organizers say is for those artists excluded from the mainstream Art Crawl (see the next blurb), will be at the Martha O’Bryan Center, 711 S. Seventh St., 37206 from 4-7 pm.
• As promised: The Nashville Downtown Partnership‘s monthly First Saturday Art Crawl is on for Aug. 1. From 6-9 pm, enjoy a cost-free night out: Visit art galleries along Fifth Avenue and in the historic Arcade, enjoy wine and refreshments, and see works by new and established arts in a variety of media.  throughout downtown host receptions and art openings! Over 1,000 people attend this very popular monthly event. It’s fun and festive; you’ll really get a kick out of it. And for lovers of art and justice, it is possible to do both UPRISING and the crawl.