Colombia is one of the most violence-ridden countries in the world with its drug cartels, militias, human-rights violations and internal refugee problem created by the "war on drugs." The InterReligious Task Force on Central America will be educating people about the issues at an event it's calling Stories from the Other War: A Coffeehouse for Peace in Colombia. It will feature local folksinger Deborah Van Kleef, a display of photos (right) taken in Colombia by noted photographer/social activist Steve Cagan and an address by keynote speaker Kelly Lundeen of the Cleveland Catholic Worker talking about what she's seen in her work in Colombia with the International Peace Observatory. It's at St. Paul's Community Church (4427 Franklin Blvd.) from 7-10 p.m. Go to irtfcleveland.org for more information. - Anastasia Pantsios

Thursday, JUNE 21

Windworks dedication

Solar modeling - projecting how shadows will fall from an object as the sun travels through the sky - is used to figure out what effect new buildings will have on the neighbors. Cleveland Public Art Executive Director Greg Peckham says artists Allan and Ellen Wexler used it to determine exactly the position and shape of the shadow cast by the wind turbine at the Great Lakes Science Center on the spring and fall equinox. Commissioned last summer to create a public art installation there, the Wexlers cast the shape of the shadow in concrete, making a walkway leading from the base of the tower out - very much like the architect and artist did beneath a wind turbine in Hamburg, Germany in 2000. At the base there's a more traditional sculpture - the shape of 4,440 100-watt light bulbs in cartons, cast in concrete, stacked like bricks. Just in case you're wondering, that number of light bulbs, burned for 24 hours, would roughly equal America's annual electrical consumption. Cleveland Public Art will dedicate the sculpture at 5:30 p.m. with comments by the artists, and others who helped make it happen. To RSVP, call 216.621.5330. - Michael Gill

Student Film Festival

Soulless summer blockbuster movies full of digital fx based on kitschy superhero comic books lay waste to viewers' minds across the nation. Where are the Chosen Ones who will save us? Or, more realistically, from whence will come the young filmmakers doing all the soulless blockbuster digital-fx comic-book movies of tomorrow? Get an early glimpse of them at the Student Films Across America tour, pulling into the Cedar Lee Theatre (2163 Lee Rd.) at 7 tonight. This is the first student-run traveling film festival, showcasing cutting-edge cinema, live-action and animation, narrative and documentary from high school and college students, founded by brothers and student filmmakers Brian and Steven Amos of Iowa's Drake University and judged in part by Ohio actor Bob Clendenin and big-name screenwriter Bob August. It's complemented by local contributions from a representative student filmmaker. In this case the local hero is University of Akron animator Dustin Grella, with his 9-minute Glimpse. Admission is $10. For information go to sfaa07.com. - Charles Cassady Jr.

One Laugh at a Time Comedy Tour

SERENITY Now - well, Saturday.

Akron's Bang and The Clatter Theatre Company got started last year in the converted factory that is Summit ArtSpace (140 E. Market St.). Long before then, Alcoholics Anonymous got started in the same region. Mix 'n' shake those two ideas and you have something of the spirit of the One Laugh at a Time Comedy Tour, 12-step stand-up riffing on sobriety by comedians Alan Marx and Patrick Fisher. Fisher is the founder of the infamous Off The Wall Improv Troupe. His credits include Second City, the Funny Bone, the Improv and Hilarities. Marx has done the Comedy Stop at the Trop, Caroline's on Broadway, Catch a Rising Star and Hilarities. Together they co-hold the coveted Guinness Book of World Records title for World's Longest Running Comedy Show (a 50-hour comedy bender performed at Pickwick & Frolic in Cleveland in 2004). They'll present their tales from on and off the bar stools at 8 tonight, tomorrow and Saturday. Tickets are $13. Call 330.606.5317 to find out whether it's BYOB and other information. - CC

FRIDAY, JUNE 22

Cleveland Grand Prix

Thank God for the man who painted the white lines on the Grand Prix racetrack! Cleveland's own Michael Stanley performs his classics with the Resonators after a full day of Grand Prix races and qualifying tomorrow night at Burke Lakefront Airport. We all know that the only thing more powerful than a turbo-charged Champ Car with a four-cycle, overhead camshaft, eight-cylinder Ford-Cosworth XFE Engine that delivers 750 horsepower and reaches speeds of 230 mph is the opening cord of "Lover." Make it an all-day event. Paddocks are open to all ticket holders this year, so you can see the race teams up close and personal. There's also plenty of fried food, a beer garden and Go-Kart racing for the kiddies. Then stay for Stanley's greatest hits and tell your kids about the time you sang along to "He Can't Love You" at Blossom with 20,000 other hardcore fans. Alex Bevan and the Armstrong-Bearcat Band open the show at 6 p.m. Gates open today at 9:30 a.m.; the flag goes down for the big Grand Prix race at 1 p.m. Sunday. Tickets range from $20-$115, depending on how hardcore you really are. Call 216.241.5555. More at grandprixofcleveland.com. - James Renner

SATURDAY, JUNE 23

Serenity

Joss Wheadon, wonder-boy scriptwriter of TV hit Buffy the Vampire Slayer, had a follow-up project called Firefly, a network space western. It tanked. Undaunted and buoyed by a cult-audience following, Wheadon took it to the big screen, as a 2005 movie called Serenity. It tanked too. Maybe Whedon will yet resurrect the property as a ballet, Broadway musical or breakfast cereal, but meanwhile, the franchise has found new life as a human-rights fundraiser. Worldwide screenings of Serenity, set up by rabid fans, have been scheduled on or near Wheadon's birth date. (Now we're afraid. Very afraid.) Cleveland's tribute happens at the Centrum Theater-Johnny Malloy's (2781 Euclid Hts. Blvd., Cleveland Hts.). Come at 7 p.m., enjoy the pub food, watch a free screening of Serenity, participate in a costume contest and raffles, and help raise money for Equality Now and Cleveland's Domestic Violence Center. Question, though: What happens to people who show up in Spock ears and Yoda masks and get beaten? For info go to cantstoptheserenity.com. - CC

Cavaliers Girls auditions

Given that floor tickets to a Cavs game cost more than I make in a month, I'm half-tempted to show up at the auditions for the 2007-2008 Cavalier Girls that take place at 8:30 this morning at St. Edwards High School Gymnasium (13500 Detroit Ave., Lakewood). Don't worry, I know I'm too old and out of shape to make the cut. But all you athletic women over the age of 18 can give it a go. Heck, the opportunity to be courtside when LeBron lifts off will be worth the hassle of learning the choreography and keeping toned. And last season, the Cavalier Girls did a bit of globetrotting, travelling to Iraq to entertain those poor guys doing GW's dirty work. They tell us judging will be based on "dance ability, crowd appeal, showmanship and individual resumes." Other items from the press release worth noting: "Cuts will be made during combination passes performed throughout the afternoon. Finalists chosen in the preliminary round will be invited back Sunday, June 24 for an interview and final audition." For info visit cavs.com or call 216.420.2977. - Jeff Niesel

JEFF BLANCHARD - Performing with the Irregulars at the Improv.

Mulberry Creek HerbFair

There's no better time to enjoy the beauty of herbs - their luscious aromas and tastes and their wildly diverse size and appearance - than when Mulberry Creek HerbFarm (3312 Bogart Rd., Huron, Rye Rd. exit off Rt. 2, 419.433.6126) holds its annual HerbFair. You can browse through the greenhouse where the farm sells its herbs you won't find anywhere else - dozens of thymes, a profusion of lavenders, a multitude of mints plus things you've probably never heard of - and stroll through the gardens where they're grown, either on your own or on a guided tour. Owners Mark and Karen Langan bring in area vendors with herbal and gardening products, speakers, workshop leaders, entertainment and food concessions. Since one of the farm's specialties is miniature plants and accessories to create "fairy" gardens, they create a lavish fairy garden for the occasion; this year, there'll also be a model train set-up to keep the boys engaged. This year's theme is Germany, and anyone wearing lederhosen gets a free ice cream. Admission is $5 (kids free) and includes a free herb. - AP

SUNDAY, JUNE 24

The Bang and the Clatter Benefit

Akron's new little ensemble, the Bang and the Clatter Theatre Company, is nothing if not ambitious. Only in its second season, it has one of the fullest schedules of any area theater. And it's made a deal to open a second location on E. 4th St. in Cleveland. That will take serious money so the company's holding benefits at Nighttown (12387 Cedar Rd., Cleveland Hts.) at 3 and 7 p.m. Attendees get a four-course meal and performances by singer-songwriter Thomas Ian Nicholas and company co-founder Sean Derry, previewing the Eric Bogosian show Pounding Nails in the Floor with my Forehead, to be performed this fall. Derry's co-founding partner, Sean McConaha, will host along with comedian Patrick Fisher. Gold ticket-holders get a "Guinness and Goose Party" at 5:30 with "The Seans" hosting. Gold ticket: $125; show and meal: $80. Call 330.606.5317 for reservations. - AP

TUESDAY, JUNE 26

The Irregulars

Want to see some floating-around-the-edge-of-the-radar comics who have been cracking 'em up in the smaller comedy venues and improv ensembles around town? Dubbing themselves "The Irregulars," they've joined forces to present a series of shows at one of the area's biggest comedy venues, the Cleveland Improv (The Powerhouse, 2000 Sycamore St., 216.521.4677), alleging that some of the "funniest, edgiest and most promising Cleveland area comedians" will "offend and delight every audience member." This month, the lineup includes Mike Baker, Mike Polk, Mike Wypacek, Bill Squire and Jeff Blanchard. Tickets are a mere $5; call club for reservations. Go to clevelandyuks.com for more info. - AP