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Tour the Tobin, paint some cowboy art, attend a Texas crooner's last San Antonio concert this weekend

Here are some of the biggest happenings around the Alamo City as August arrives...

SAN ANTONIO —

Catch a movie, or dozens of them, at the San Antonio Film Festival

Nearly 50 features and 175 shorts continue to screen at downtown's Radius Center as part the 28th San Antonio Film Festival, which features local stories as well as movies from across the world. 

Running through Sunday evening, this weekend's events also includes four free-to-attend panels, the topics ranging from animation to the business side of filmmaking. Single-day tickets are available, as are tickets to individual blocks of short films; there's sure to be something for every kind of movie-lover. 

When: SAFF 2022 runs through the weekend, and will close out with "The Life & Times of Dimas Garza" at 5 p.m. Sunday

Cost: Tickets range from $7 for short-film blocks to $61 for all-day passes. 

Where: Radius Center (106 Auditorium Circle). 

Get a backstage look at the Tobin Center

Most families have only seen the downtown venue’s lobby and performance spaces. They’ll have the chance to explore even more during Sunday afternoon’s Tobin Center Open House, which will feature guided tours, the chance to interact with artists and pop-up performances ranging from ballet to opera. Kids will also have the opportunity to go home with prizes if they embark on the Tobin Scavenger Hunt Challenge.

When: Sunday, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Cost: Free to attend.  

Where: Tobin Center (100 Auditorium Circle). 

A Texas crooner rides into the sunset

After a nearly-40-year career entertaining audiences with his kaleidoscopic brand of music, Houston native Robert Earl Keen will make one more San Antonio stop this weekend as he continues his final tour. Alamo City played a pivotal role in jumpstarting Keen’s career; the singer-songwriter has credited a former local DJ with giving him the exposure he needed to take off in the ‘80s. 

Keen has since released over a dozen albums and several more live compilations, and was inducted into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2019. The 66-year-old announced in January that his next tour would pull the curtain down on his performing career.

When: Friday, at 8 p.m.

Cost: Tickets start at $49.50; buy here.

Where: H-E-B Performance Hall at the Tobin Center (100 Auditorium Circle).  

Dance to your favorite boy band anthems

Another summer of Jungle Boogie Nights comes to a close at the zoo with Boy Band Night, and the opportunity to bask in your favorite guilty-pleasure music.

The zoo will extend its hours once again while enlisting DJs to get the party going and interactive performers to entertain families in between stops at their favorite animal exhibits. (Frosted tips are optional).

When: Saturday, from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Cost: Included with general admission. 

Where: San Antonio Zoo (3903 North St. Mary’s St.).  

Try your hand at painting a masterpiece

Cowboy Artist of America member Chad Poppleton will lead a Briscoe workshop where visitors of all experience levels can create and take home their own painting, whether it be of a Western vista, image of ranch life or cowboy portrait. The registration fee covers easels, canvasses, brushes, paints and other necessary supplies, but aspiring artists are welcome to bring their own materials as well.  

When: Saturday, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Cost: $45 for non-members, $35 for members. Pre-registration is required by Thursday.  

Where: Briscoe Western Art Museum (210 West Market St.).  

Plus...

A new month means a new round of gallery openings and exhibitions debuting at Blue Star Arts Complex. This First Friday, visitors to Southtown can check out new art exploring the contemporary feminine experience, hot-wax paintings and a solo exhibition by local artist Albert Alvarez. More information on this month's events can be found here.

 Saturday also marks the latest Basilica Bazaar fair, where vendors will be on hand with their latest art, crafts, jewelry and other creations for sale at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Little Flower. If you're by downtown, you can always stop by what a new study has called one of the most beautiful sighs in the world. And, if you're a teacher, remember you get free admission into downtown's LEGOLAND Discovery Center all month long. 

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