Selections: Our picks of the week's best events, June 22-28

Kate DiCamillo

LITERARY

Kate DiCamillo, the author of celebrated children's novels Because of Winn-Dixie, The Tiger Rising, The Tale of Desperaux and more, is no stranger to writing from a personal place. Her new book, Raymie Nightingale, is one of her most autobiographical to date. Like many of DiCamillo's novels, Raymie Nightingale draws from her own personal experiences to create something relatable and new. With this novel, DiCamillo comes home – much like Raymie Clark living in Central Florida, DiCamillo hails from Clermont, and has a father who left her at a young age. "Setting the book in Central Florida wasn't so much a conscious decision as something that happened naturally," DiCamillo says. "My father left when I was young, and all my books have autobiographical elements, they all have missing parents. It was much more of an emotional decision." DiCamillo stops by the downtown library to read from Raymie Nightingale, sign copies and take questions from the audience. "It's been very rewarding, seeing how people have embraced and connected to this book," DiCamillo says. "I've had people on this tour coming up to me telling me their own personal stories about these matters. It's been a raw and intimate experience, and a very moving one." – Harry Sayer

6 p.m. | Orlando Public Library, 101 E. Central Blvd. | 407-835-7323 | ocls.info | free

Corpus

ART

The photographs in this frankly amazing group show at Snap Space hearken back to a time before Photoshop, when creating visual effects was an art of the eye and the lens, although some of these works do use modern technology to achieve their aims. The Dilatations series by Roger Weiss (above) fragments and reassembles hundreds of photographs of each subject into something monolithic and frighteningly beautiful, abstracting them into hypermodern Venuses. Jörg Heidenberger's images, as shockingly distorted as they are – it's almost difficult to visually reassemble the human body in the portraits – seem to use only perspective to achieve maximum impact. Photos by Marwane Pallas and Nicolas Senegas and paintings by Cristina Troufa are lighter, cheekier, with more humor and decorative aesthetics, while David Catá's embroidered portraits – sewn directly into his skin – offer a grimmer sort of humor, an acknowledgment of the beauty but also pain of love, and the marks and sometimes scars it makes on those who dare to commit. – Jessica Bryce Young

opening 7-10 p.m. | through Sept. 24 | Snap Space, 1013 E. Colonial Drive | snaporlando.com | free, RSVP at website requested

Baby Anne

MUSIC

I was introduced to Baby Anne's music as an opening DJ at one of her early Savannah, Georgia, shows. I didn't know the first thing about running the decks, but I did fit the dELiA*s catalog cut-out look of a raver girl, complete with Björk buns and UFO cargo pants. I quickly got schooled when she commanded the floor by opening her set with "She Said." Baby Anne, a fixture of the Southern dance scene in the late '90s, was a different kind of performer, DJ and producer. At a time when Britney Spears was a subversive pop icon, Baby Anne was a real counter-culture superstar. Her music, heavily drawn from Miami bass, spanned classifications from drum and bass to dubstep, but has always been breakbeat at its core. After more than two decades performing in clubs and at festivals, Baby Anne will complete her farewell tour this weekend at the Social. Whether you want to relive the golden days of club music or just want a chance to party Hackers-style, attendance is mandatory. – Sarah Capps

9 p.m. | The Social, 54 N. Orange Ave. | 407-246-1419 | thesocial.org | $10-$20

Los Van Van

MUSIC

Legends! Though founding member Juan Formell passed away in 2014, his ensemble Los Van Van ("The Go Gos") continues touring and making music, in honor of Formell's singular musical vision and in service to the unmistakable rhythms of Cuban music. Los Van Van, with Formell at the helm, formed in 1969 with the goal of hybridizing traditional Cuban music with then-current rock and pop influences, a style they dubbed "songo." Los Van Van has consistently evolved their sound over the years, seamlessly absorbing contemporary influences into an already heady mix. (They were early adopters of synthesizers in Cuba, too.) For several decades now, they have been hard-touring ambassadors of Cuban music, including at a show in Miami in 1999 where thousands of Cuban exiles surrounded the arena in protest, while riot police protected concertgoers. Watching footage from this show, we get teary every time: The atmosphere was so charged and the music was just so fucking alive. The only shouts at Los Van Van nowadays are fervent cheers, though. Step out for the evening and dance already. – Matthew Moyer

9 p.m. | Hard Rock Live, 6050 Universal Blvd. | 407-351-5483 | hardrock.com | $28-$38

Edo G.

MUSIC

Boston rapper Edo G. is a hip-hop artist who embodies the term "O.G." (it's right there in his name) in all the best possible ways. He's been rapping since he was 15 – starting with F.T.I. in the late '80s – tirelessly producing albums both solo and in various groups (Da Bulldogs, Special Teamz), continually honing his boom-bap flow and staying one step ahead of the trends, becoming a rapper's rapper and a cult figure in the broader hip-hop universe. He's collaborated with everyone from D.J. Premier to KRS-One to RZA but stays unmistakably himself on wax. No sellout. This will be Edo. G's second trip down to Florida this year, and for the Orlando show there's the added treat of Paten Locke from Asamov/Dumbtron acting as the house DJ. – Matthew Moyer

with SplitSoul, C.M.R., Dub, MC Freak, Naasty Made, Paten Locke | 7 p.m. | Backbooth, 37 W. Pine St. | 407-246-1419 | backbooth.com | $12

Cocktail Series/Lil Lakeside Tiki Party

EVENTS

Summer is officially here, if you weren't tipped off by your eyeballs melting. In many parts of the country, people find this to be a cause for celebration, but here in Florida, we simply follow a primal instinct to get as close to the nearest body of water as possible, just in case it dries up. The well-trained bartenders of Will's Pub and Lil Indies are no exception, and they prove it this weekend with two lakeside parties to kick off what will hopefully become a series of off-site events. On Saturday night, grab your best cocktail attire (for us, this means the pants without stains) and enjoy a 1950s-themed party at a beautiful midcentury mansion on the shores of Lake Holden. Swine & Sons Provisions caters the hors d'oeuvres while Johnny Dee & the Starlights play the best in pre-British Invasion rock & roll and the bartenders serve up special period-specific cocktails. If you lack unblemished garments, however, the tiki party the next afternoon at the same location might be more your speed. Day-drinking jams are provided by the Sh-Booms, the Wildtones and the Uke-A-Ladies, while Da Kine Poke Truck and Lil Indies serve up island-themed delights perfect for those of us who have enough flip-flops to designate a particular pair as the "fancy ones." – Thaddeus McCollum

UPDATE: Due to some permitting issues, these events are no longer taking place at Lake Holden Gardens. The Saturday night Cocktail Party will take place at xx p.m. Saturday, June 25, at Lil Indies, 1036 N. Mills Ave. The Tiki Party takes place at 6 p.m. Sunday, June 26, at Will's Pub, 1042 N. Mills Ave. The Saturday night Cocktail Party is now free and the Sunday Tiki Party has been reduced to $10.

9 p.m. Saturday, 6 p.m. Sunday | Will's Pub, 1042 N. Mills Ave.; Lil Indies, 1036 N. Mills Ave. | willspub.org | free Saturday, $10 Sunday

Central Florida Yoga Mass

SPORTS

In honor of International Yoga Day, come out to Lake Eola for Central Florida Yoga Mass, Orlando's "largest outdoor yoga practice ever." Sunday's class is taught by the founder of the weekly Yoga in Lake Eola Park, Amanda Reh. Bring your own yoga mat and help them make history by showing up and practicing your downward dog in the park with a whole bunch of strangers. Or friends, if they're also into yoga, or if you're forcing them to come along. – Jarleene Almenas

11 a.m. | Lake Eola Park, East Robinson Street and Eola Drive | facebook.com/yogainlakeeolapark | $5

Shady Brunch Comedy Show: Farewell to Larry Fulford

COMEDY

In a year rife with loss, the Orlando comedy scene is about to experience another one. Larry Fulford, who has been practicing stand-up since before there was such a thing as an Orlando comedy scene, has been seduced by the warm, balmy weather of Chicago and is leaving for the tropical shores of Lake Michigan. Whether you know Fulford as a comic, the Will's Pub door guy or as the sometime drummer for acts like Matt Woods and Big Shoals, his departure leaves a pretty big hole on multiple fronts. So for his last show in town (until he gets sick of the Second City's famous piña coladas and sunshine and returns home for a visit), Shady Brunch is letting him close out with a farewell solo set followed by the hit Life's a Gift extravaganza with local comedy giant Alex Luchun. There will be laughs and there will be tears, but there will also be prizes – mostly because Fulford can't fit all of his stuff into a U-Haul. Good luck, Larry. Don't forget to take a jacket. – TM

2 p.m. | Will's Pub, 1042 N. Mills Ave. | willspub.org | $5

Monday, 27

Bite Night

EVENTS

After a long, delicious month of feasting at some of Orlando's favorite restaurants, you can't tap out now. Hop out of your sweats and head downtown for a foodie paradise at the grand finale of Bite30 and the premiere of the 2016 edition of our annual dining guide, Bite. Don your best cocktail attire, drink yourself happy at the open bar, revel in live entertainment and enjoy bite-size samples from 20 of O-town's best restaurants and chefs. Some of these top-notch local restaurants include Kasa, Artisan's Table, Smiling Bison, Rusty Spoon, K, Cress and more. This event may leave you in a food coma, but it's a risk you must be willing to take, because this just isn't something you should be OK with skipping. – Bridgette Norris

7-10 p.m. | The Orchid Garden, 126 W. Church St. | bitenightorlando.com | $35-$75