Entertainment Best Bets CLASSICAL NOTES ON THE STAGE A concert devoted to the works of Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival Composer-in-Residence John Harbison will be performed 8 p.m. Monday, June 24, at Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Township. $17-$22. For tickets or infor- mation about concerts being performed through June 30, call (248) 559-2097. The fourth annual Treetown Performance Festival at Ann Arbor's Performance Network stages the Chimera Theatre Company's production of Tennessee William's Streetcar Named Desire 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays, June 27-July 7. $15-$18/pay what you can Thursdays. (734) 663-0681. Pop/ Ro cKIJAzz GAIL ZIMMERMAN Arts ciP Elltertahmeut Editor A mini-folk festival benefiting The Ark and featuring Chris Smither, John McCutcheon, Tret Fure and Danny Bret, takes place at the Ann Arbor fiilk club 7 p.m. Sunday, June 23. $15. (734) 761-1451. Queen of the '80s and '90s alternative-folk-rock scene, Michelle Shocked performs 8 p.m. Thursday, June 27, at the Royal Oak Theatre. Doors at 7 p.m. $23. (248) 645-6666. Going solo, Ben Folds and a Piano takes the stage at Clutch Cargo's in Pontiac 8 p.m. Tuesday, June 25. $20. (245) 645-6666. The award-winning country/bluegrass music sounds of Down from the Mountain, music from the film 0 Brother, Where Art Thou?, fills the air at DTE Energy Music Theatre 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 26. Featured artists include Alison Krause and Union Station, Emmylou Harris, Ricky Skaggs, Ralph Stanley, Patti Loveless, Bob Neuwirth and more. $49.50 pavilion/$25 lawn. (248) 645-6666. Also coming to DTE Music Theatre are singer/songwriter Kenny Loggins, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 25, $20432.50; and rocker Melissa Etheridge, 7:30 p.m. Friday, June-N, $30.50- $82.50. (248) 645-6666. THE BIG SCREEN Friday Flicks provide an outdoor view- ing experience of classic 1930s movies with a wine, cheese and dessert picnic amid Meadow Brook Hall's beautifully restored rock gar- den 9:30 p.m. Fridays through July. Doors at 9 p.m. Tonight's feature is The Gay Divorcee. $22 per person/includes picnic. (248) 370-3140. Offstage, Onstage: Inside the Stratford Festival, a "Cinema Canada" presentation capturing the cre- ative spirit behind the scenes at the Canadian the- ater company, will be shown 7 p.m. Monday, June 24, at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Among the guests introducing the film and answering questions following the screening is Paul Soles, who portrayed Shylock in last year's Stratford production of The Merchant of Venice. Admission is free. FAMILY FUN The Hilberry Summer Children's Theatre pres- ents a music and dance-filled version of Hansel and Gretel, 10:30 a.m. June 26-28, July 1-3, 8-13. $4 adults/$3 children. (313) 577-2972. Scholastic's Magic School Bus Live presents The Traveling Sound Show 1 and 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 26, at Meadow Brook Music Festival. $10. (248) 645-6666. INDEPENDENCE INTERLUDE he celebration of Independence Day In Detroit has been extended this year with the return of the International Freedom Festival in Hart Plaza. Running Fine 26-30, the event goes beyond fireworks by starting with a Children's Carnival and moving into Heroes Day and Family Days. "This festival is all about traditions, and as a Jewish woman, I know the importance of traditions," says Susie Gross, president of The Parade Company, which organizes the events. "Our activities will bring families and generations together." Before the fireworks display, titled trki 6/21 2002 66 The Judaica of Orna Armani is featured at the West Bloomfield Art Festival. "True Blue Summer" and beginning at 10:06 p.m. Wednesday, June 26 (rain date is June 27), there will be entertainment for children that includes an inflatable playground, balloon sculptures and Nickelodeon's Arnold and Sponge Bob Square Pants, all on hand noon-5 p.m. The Army's Airborne Parachute Team will land at Hart Plaza at 5 p.m. During Heroes Day, noon-10 p.m. Friday, June 28, there will be demon- strations by members of the military and emergency crews, band perform- ances and face painting in patriotic designs for youngsters. The THE ART SCENE The eighth annual West Bloomfield Art Festival , welcoming more than 200 artists to the grounds of Henry Ford Medical Center on Maple Road, returns 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, June 22-23. Free. (248) 626-3636 or wvvw.artfestival.com Ferndale's Revolution Gallery pairs one artist's work with another, drawing conceptual, formal and philosophical connections between the work, in Pas De Deux, running through July 27. Among the 30 artists featured is former Detroiter Brenda Goodman. (248) 541-3444. WHATNOT Yiddish scholar Ruth Wisse presents a video and lec- ture tided Daughter of Vilna: The Jewish Music Scene in Poland Between the Wars 2 p.m. Sunday, June 23, at Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield. Free and open to the public. (313) 577-2679. International Tug Across the River, a tug-of-war with teams of firefighters and police officers, starts at 6:10 p.m. During Family Days, noon-10- p.m. Saturday, June 29, and noon-6 p.m. Sunday, June 30, there will be many of the activities from the first day as well as a petting zoo and the Pied Piper Parade at 3 p.m. A balloon ballet troupe, stomp group, jugglers and clowns add to the show between noon and 6 p.m. Ditty in the City, a dance party from 6-10 p.m. Saturday, June 29, features Detroit DJs. Aerial acrobatics of Modern Skate and Surf's Extreme Team, a combi- nation of in-line skaters and skate- boarders using a portable 8-foot = ramp, entertain between noon p.m. Sunday, June 30. "Celebrating our nation's inde- pendence is always special, but this year will be even more spectacular with heart-warming, patriotic moments and wonderful new fire- works shells," Gross says. "The cool part is that every activity is free. We're setting the stage for even more events and entertainment in future years." -- Suzanne Chessler The International Freedom Festival runs June 26-30 in Detroit's Hart Plaza. (313) 923-7400 FYI: For Arts and Entertainment related events that you wish to have considered for Out & About, please send the item, with a detailed description of the event, times, dates, place, ticket prices and publishable phone number, to: Gail Zimmerman, JN Out & About, The Jewish News, 30301 Northwestern Highway, MI 48334; fax us at (248) 539-3075; or e-mail to gzimmerman@thejewishnews.com Notice must be received at least three weeks before the scheduled event. Photos are appreciated but cannot be returned. All events and dates listed in the Out & About column are subject to change.