Readers, the heat wave is on and seems to be lingering for the weekend. Will you brave the temps for sweet bargains at the Sidewalk Sale or sweaty rock shows at Love Garden? Or hide out in a dark theater in Murphy Hall with a good mystery? Either way, we’ve got you covered.

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Sidewalk Sale, all day Thursday, all over downtown

At the time of this writing (Monday), Lawrence is under excessive heat warnings. That can only mean one thing: one of the summer’s biggest outdoor events is right around the corner!

Yes, the annual Lawrence Sidewalk Sale arrives Thursday and many of you have surely spent weeks planning the best ways to either make the most of this event or avoid it altogether (the crowds! the heat! the hassle!).

The good folks at Sunflower Outdoor and Bike Shop host their 11th annual pre-sale on Wednesday for those who want to get a true jump on the action. Others will no doubt take to the street before sunrise on Thursday to wait for stores to open.

While most of the sales take place (obviously) on the sidewalks of Mass. Street, bargain-seeking scenesters who loathe the sunlight can take comfort in the fact that certain clever businesses such as Liberty Hall and Love Garden often host their sales indoors. These are always essential stops for us, along with Wonder Fair for a dose of sidewalk weirdness.

Stay well-hydrated (many businesses offer free water) and good luck to us all! If you survive the sale, consider the Downtown Lawrence Sidewalk Sale Social afterward (details here).

The Sidewalk Sale has an official Facebook event page here. And for a bigger rundown of what’s happening on each block, check out this LJWorld piece.

http://www.lawrence.com/users/photos/2015/jul/10/294155/

Brian Hawkins and the New Printographers ragtime show, 8 p.m. Thursday at Gaslight

It’s easy enough to find most kinds of music in Lawrence these days (even jazz, if you wander into 5 Bar and Tables on the right nights). But where’s all the ragtime piano at??

Head to the Gaslight after the Sidewalk Sale and you’ll find it.

Brian Hawkins, a veteran ragtime piano player who has recently played at Wonder Fair events, will perform his third annual Gaslight show accompanied on guitar and percussion by members of a band of local printmakers called A la Poupee and the Chine-Colles. No, we’re not making this stuff up: you may have also seen these merry printmakers performing at Wonder Fair. Combined, Hawkins and crew are calling themselves the New Printographers (if you catch their New Pornographers reference!).

Hawkins tells us that the crowds have danced at his last two Gaslight shows, so come prepared and don’t let him down.

The Facebook event page is here.

http://www.lawrence.com/users/photos/2015/jul/10/294157/

Bummer album release show, 7 p.m. Saturday, Love Garden

Olathe’s Bummer has been making “rock and roll for the future cavemen of America” since 2012, and they’ll be serving it up at Love Garden at Saturday’s EP release party for “Spank.”

The EP is out this week via High Dive Records, which has recently provided a home to such LFK luminaries as Psychic Heat and Rooftop Vigilantes. Bummer is releasing the EP on vinyl, cassette and digitally, so choose your desired format and join them at the show.

LFK’s Gnarly Davidson open the festivities with their brand of “beer rock.”

You can check out the track “Dude Baby” via Bummer’s Bandcamp, and the Facebook event page is here.

http://www.lawrence.com/users/photos/2015/jul/10/294164/

Class of Astra, 6 p.m. Saturday, Bottleneck

One of the more intriguing/unusual events of the weekend can be found at the Bottleneck Saturday evening as “a collection of LFK-cultivated creators” calling themselves Class of Astra host a “pop-up event” combining the culinary, the visual and the musical.

There are a whole host of “creators” involved (find a list at the Facebook event page), among them Adam Lott (the visual!), Hank Charcuterie (the culinary!), and SUB URBAN (a mysterious new group providing a bit of musical oddness, or so we hear).

The event itself kicks off at 6 p.m. and musical acts begin around 9 p.m.

http://www.lawrence.com/users/photos/2015/jul/11/294205/

“Sherlock’s Last Case” and “The Mousetrap,” July 17-Aug. 2 at KU University Theatre

Looking for a few good mysteries but too lazy to pick up a book? Head to campus over the next few weekends and catch this summer’s offerings from the Kansas Repertory Theatre.

This marks the second year of existence for the Kansas Rep, which is composed of a mixture of “professional actors, B.F.A. and M.F.A. actors from nationally recognized training programs, [and a] select group of KU students.”

These productions, which “share the same casts but are distinguished by designs, directorial concepts and texts,” should combine to offer audiences a good mix of the traditional (Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap” is a staple of theater reputed to have the longest initial run in theater history) and the modern (“Sherlock’s Last Case” promises a modern update on the venerable detective).

Visit the Facebook event page for more info along with dates and times for the plays, which are running concurrently. Order tickets via KU University Theatre.

http://www.lawrence.com/users/photos/2015/jul/13/294268/

“Science: Boom! You’re Welcome” presented by Summer Youth Theatre, 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 3 and 7 p.m. Saturday, Lawrence Arts Center

Or how about a different kind of mystery, geared for young audiences?

The Arts Center’s Summer Youth Theatre program will explore the mysteries of science in “an eclectic mix of humor, science and theatrics” written by local mischief-maker Will Averill of Card Table Theatre. The Facebook page suggests that the show operates in a similar vein as the LAC’s wacky and informative “The History of Kansas in 60 Minutes” from a few years back.

With “live science” courtesy of Card Table’s Will and Jacqueline, our guess is that this show will be as entertaining for adults as it is for younger audiences.

The Facebook event page is here.

Tweet us @LarryvilleLife with pics of your best finds from the Sidewalk Sale.