A former Tri-Citian is coming home with dreams of wowing a hometown crowd again.

The Tri-City Independent Fan Film Festival on Oct. 17 will feature 15 short-form films from around the world.

Art in briefs for Friday, Oct. 16, 2009.

Bringing some Las Vegas nostalgia to the Tri-Cities, the new age Rat Pack is on tour and on top of their game.

Good gracious! Miss Nelson is missing, and by golly, there'll be heck to pay if she isn't found.

The Community Lecture Series 2009-10 season will begin with some funky storytelling when Eva Abram weaves an engaging tale of where stories come from at 7 p.m. Oct. 15 in the Richland Public Library.

The Mid-Columbia Mastersingers open the 2009-10 season Oct. 16 with a concert that will offer audiences a little bit of heaven on Earth.

Get ready for some musical entertainment featuring four hunky guys who call themselves the Canadian Tenors.

Arts in brief for Friday, October 9.

Pianist Alexander Bernstein will be the featured guest at the Walla Walla Symphony's opening concert Oct. 13 in Cordiner Hall at Whitman College.

Art in briefs for Friday, Oct. 2, 2009

Rising up from their ashes, L.A. punk rock group Orange is heading on tour to promote their third album, Phoenix -- and no, it's not named after a Harry Potter book.

YAKIMA -- The Brubeck Brothers Quartet, with guest Imani Winds, will open the Seasons Performance Hall's fall festival on Oct. 9.

I was recently in Japan. This is a total fabrication, but please bear with me. While in Japan I was able to check out the new fighter exclusive to the Nintendo Wii: Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes. Capcom is responsible for such titles as Street Fighter, Mega Man and Viewtiful Joe. Tatsunoko is responsible for Battle of the Planets aka Gattchaman and ... an anime about a giant golden lighter that presumably fights crime. Or causes the crime. I'm not 100 percent sure on this one. Needless to say that in America the popularity of the Tatsunoko team might not be as strong as it is in Japan. Why the Samurai Pizza Cats aren't represented in this game I'll never know. That would have been a guaranteed success.

This is how much I love you people: at this moment, it's 3:30 on a weekday morning, and I've spent the last three hours watching a 40-year-old western musical that features an intermission, two distinct forms of polygamy, and a singing Clint Eastwood. The unlucky among you will have already guessed I'm wrapping up Western Month with Paint Your Wagon, one of the most bizarre movies I've ever stumbled across.

The Academy of Children's Theatre will take audiences off to see the wizard with its first show of its 2009-10 season.

The International Folk Dancers of Richland are breaking in their clogs and other cultural attire at the 55th annual Richland Folk Dance Festival from Oct. 2-4 at the Richland Community Center and Kennewick First Methodist Church.

The Mid-Columbia Symphony will kick off its 2009-10 season performing a concert with a flair for the dramatics.

The International Folk Dancers of Richland are breaking in their clogs and other cultural attire at the 55th annual Richland Folk Dance Festival from Oct. 2-4 at the Richland Community Center and Kennewick First Methodist Church.

The Academy of Children's Theatre will take audiences off to see the wizard with its first show of its 2009-10 season.

Rising up from their ashes, L.A. punk rock group Orange is heading on tour to promote their third album, Phoenix -- and no, it's not named after a Harry Potter book.

I was recently in Japan. This is a total fabrication, but please bear with me. While in Japan I was able to check out the new fighter exclusive to the Nintendo Wii: Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes. Capcom is responsible for such titles as Street Fighter, Mega Man and Viewtiful Joe. Tatsunoko is responsible for Battle of the Planets aka Gattchaman and ... an anime about a giant golden lighter that presumably fights crime. Or causes the crime. I'm not 100 percent sure on this one. Needless to say that in America the popularity of the Tatsunoko team might not be as strong as it is in Japan. Why the Samurai Pizza Cats aren't represented in this game I'll never know. That would have been a guaranteed success.

The Brubeck Brothers Quartet, with guest Imani Winds, will open the Seasons Performance Hall's fall festival Oct. 9.

Feel like experiencing a bit of Halloween this weekend?

Fans of drumlines, horns, flag dancers and intricately positioned human patterns can cheer on their favorite high schools at the 28th annual Southeastern Washington Cavalcade of Bands.

The Greater Prosser Balloon Rally lifts off Sept. 25-27 at the Port of Benton's airport in Prosser.

Actress Scarlett Johansson lends her vocals to indie rocker Pete Yorn on his latest album Break Up, released earlier this month.

Art in briefs for Friday, Sept. 25, 2009

Get out your Big Gun, take the Highway to Hell and prepare to be Thunderstruck at 97 Rock's second annual Rocktoberfest.

Camerata Musica has lined up a season of music like no other.