Young Mozart / Public Domain

Everyone I know plays chamber music. We sit around for hours in powdered wigs cranking out Mozart and Beethoven on antique violins and Wurlitzer practice pianos—just like the ones at Interlochen, mind you. JK. In reality I continue to struggle with Bartok's simplest compositions, dreaming of one day mastering the first eight bars of Saint-Saën's Les cloches del Las Palmas. Others in the community have been more successful than me. Discerning Dirt City denizens have an opportunity to hear the fruit of that labor on Sunday, Sept. 17, when Chamber Music Cooperative of the Southwest presents ChamberCHOPS featuring local amateur musicians performing heady tuneage like Mozart's Divertimento #9 and Poulenc's Piano Sonata for Four Hands. I'll say this: performing chamber music demands dedication, tenacity and a sort of musical intensity that transforms players and concert-goers. All of that and more awaits at this free recital. (August March)

The parts of our nation’s history that we’d rather forget are the parts that we need to remember the most. The Holocaust & Intolerance Museum of New Mexico understands this. On Sunday, Sept. 17, they’re launching the first phase of a new permanent exhibit called The African American Experience: Slavery 1619-1866. The exhibit illustrates the hardships that Africans endured as they were transported across the sea and into slavery in America. The exhibit opening happens at 2-5pm on Sunday, Sept. 17. Feel free to tear down a Confederate statue on your way there. (Robin Babb)

via Pixabay

The historic KiMo Theatre has been a landmark in downtown Albuquerque since 1927. The venue is kicking off its 90th anniversary celebration in earnest this weekend with several “signature events.” This Sunday, Sept. 17, for example, there's a screening of the Academy Award-winning 1959 drama Ben-Hur. The film itself starts at 2pm. But Weekly Alibi film editor Devin D. O'Leary is at the theater beforehand, starting at 1pm, delivering a lecture and presentation on the early history of movie theaters in Albuquerque—including the birth of the KiMo itself as well as a brief introduction to the film and its iconic New Mexico author, Lew Wallace. Admission is free! (Devin D. O'Leary)

Looking for a little chile? The 2020 Bosque Chile Festival, a celebration of food, art, and culture on the Rio Grande, is happening Saturday, August 15 and Sunday, August 16, with times waiting to be officially announced. But due to COVID-19 and the State of New Mexico public health order, the festival will be presented virtually! There will still be entertainment, art activities, a virtual artisan market, chile-chef demonstrations, educational workshops and more. This free, all-ages event is meant to give those stuck at home a chance to see what the state has to offer. If you are a high-quality chile-inspired and authentic New Mexican business with an e-commerce website and want to be a vendor, there is still time. Applications are being accepted until Wednesday, August 5. For more information email bosquechilefestival@bernco.gov.