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  Chess Club

  Everyone may have hopped on the chess trend when The Queen’s Gambit came out during the pandemic, but some have stayed there. For those who want to take their game off Chess.com and into real life, it may be hard to find a community of players – but fear not, one of the most pleasant spaces in town offers just that. First Light Books on Speedway transforms into a chill wine bar vibe at night, staying up till 9pm – and on Wednesdays, they bring out the boards for anyone to use. Sample their summer snack menu including crudité, charcuterie boards, and assorted sandwiches to nosh on while you ponder your next move. – Lina Fisher

  Wed., July 10

  First Light Books

• Qmmunity

  Nightlife & Parties

  Dyke Car Wash & Movie Night

  Two of the campiest summer staples are located in the eroticism of the car – the car wash and the drive-in movie – and who looks better covered in grease than a dyke? You can even bring your bike to this combo car wash/movie night at the Museum of Human Achievement. “While we can’t promise professional-level shine, we CAN guarantee cargo shorts, carabiners, and a cleaner car than when you rolled in,” writes MOHA. “No ride? No worries! It’ll be a spectacle!” Even better, the evening’s entertainment features one of the hottest handymen to ever grace the silver screen – watch Gina Gershon ripple and smolder sweatily at Jennifer Tilly in the Wachowski sisters’ neo-noir 1996 classic Bound. Car wash starts at 6:30, movie at 8:30; general admission is $5-20, and you can get a wash for $20-30 – all proceeds go toward supporting one of the few dyke-specific spaces in the country. As MOHA reminds, “With fewer than 40 dyke bars left in the country, these spaces are precious.” – Lina Fisher

  Sun., July 7

  The Museum of Human Achievement

• Arts

  Visual Arts

  Edition Variables 2024: New Austin Printmakers

  For the rest of this month and into the next, Flatbed Press, local bastion of multiple originals, is putting you on to the next gen of Austin printmakers. For the third year in a row, this annual exhibition features work from students receiving a printmaking degree from any college in the Austin area, including UT, ACC, St. Edward’s, Texas State, and Southwestern. The work ranges from traditional to experimental, both in form and process. Hot tip: While you’re there, make sure to step out of the gallery and check out the working press portion of the building. – Lina Fisher

  Through July 6

  Flatbed Press

• Arts

  Visual Arts

  First Saturdays at Canopy

  The first Saturday of every month from 1-4pm, the 72 artists housed at the Canopy complex on Springdale Road open their studios to the public, allowing an intimate look into Austin’s visual art scene. Ivester Contemporary and ICOSA Gallery are also open, giving people a chance to see work in progress and fully realized gallery shows, as well as buy or commission new artwork. Sa-Ten, which recently expanded its hours from 7am-9pm every day, provides tasty Japanese libations worth their own trip, so grab a yuzu lemonade to sip and wander. – Lina Fisher

  First Saturdays, 1-4pm

  Canopy

• Film

  Special Screenings

  Network (1976)

  The newsroom can be an exciting place in real life, but that adrenaline is kicked up to a thousand in Hollywood, which loves to twist the world of tips and deadlines to its lurid extreme. Network is one of the best films to satirize the bloodthirsty nature of the attention economy in its nascency – aka network news – as it follows the spike in ratings for an NBC surrogate after one of its veteran anchors threatens to kill himself on air post-layoff. Director Sidney Lumet assembles a classic Seventies cast of Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Ned Beatty, and Peter Finch to deliver one of the most enduring rallying cries against capitalist malaise: “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!” – Lina Fisher

  Wed., July 10, 4:15, 7:00

  AFS Cinema

• Music

  Samantha Fish

  Sun., Aug. 4, 7pm  

  get tickets

  Paramount Theatre