Many Lawrence residents will be treating ALL of next week like an extended weekend as the massive Free State Festival launches on Monday. We’ve got a preview below, along with Weekend Picks full of campy movies and “offbeat sports.” It’s a good time to be in LFK.

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“Our Centron Hero: Buck Newsom,” (pre-Free State Festival screenings), 7 p.m. Thursday, Liberty Hall

Looking for a funny/unusual/nostalgic way to kick off your weekend? Get a jump on next week’s Fest with this official pre-Fest event sponsored by Lawrence Public Library. Liberty Hall will host a screening of short educational and industrial films from Centron Corporation, an award-winning film company founded in Lawrence in 1947. Centron produced 1,000+ films during its run through the late 1980s, and the films are now housed in KU’s Spencer Research Library. Read a great LJ-World piece on the company’s history here.

Centron film curator George Gibbs and Centron employee Buck Newsom (97 years old and still a rascal!) will be on hand to provide commentary.

“I lie and I exaggerate,” says Newsom in the official event press release, “so it ought to be an interesting evening.”

Visit the Facebook event page here and look for other upcoming “Everyday Hero” programs at LPL throughout the summer, including a cool “History Hero” day with Katie Armitage on July 12.

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Tiki Night at Cinema A Go-Go, 7 p.m. Friday, Liberty Hall

How about another night of silly films? The popular Cinema A Go-Go event sponsored by KPR’s Retro Cocktail Hour returns to Liberty Hall on Friday night with a double-header of “tropical delights”: Elvis Presley in “Blue Hawaii” and John Wayne in “Donovan’s Reef,” a film that revolves around the odd premise of Wayne and Lee Marvin engaging in an annual brawl!

Tickets are $7 but the first 10 people “garbed in tiki wear” will get in free. The Facebook event page is here.

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Larryville Offbeat Sports Day, 10 a.m. Saturday, East Lawrence Recreation Center

Well, we don’t often showcase events involving exercise (not really our thing!), but this intriguing event sponsored by Watkins Museum allows spectators to watch or participate in many of the odder elements of LFK sports culture, from Kansas Quidditch to Scary Larry Bike Polo to Kaw Valley Kickball. But isn’t everyone ALREADY on a KVKL team?

The Facebook event page is here and the flier above provides a convenient list of sports, times, and locations.

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JEFF the Brotherhood, doors at 7 p.m., show at 8 p.m. Sunday, the Granada,

Pitchfork isn’t a big fan of Jeff the Brotherhood‘s new album “Wasted on the Dream,” but you’ve got to love this blurb from their review: “This is likely to be the only album ever to feature members of Jethro Tull and Best Coast and a guy who worked with Poco.”

Personally, we still get a kick out of the beer-drenched “party rock” of this Nashville duo. Throw opening act Josh Berwanger into the mix (just back from tour with a bag of new tunes) and you’ve got a recipe for a raucous Sunday night. For more on JEFF the Brotherhood, check out Fally Afani’s Lawrence.com interview with drummer Jamin Orrall here.

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Free State Festival, June 22-28, Lawrence Arts Center and throughout downtown

Over the last few years the Free State Festival evolved rather quickly from a modest film festival at the LAC to a week-long community showcase of film, music and comedy. This year’s impressive slate kicks off on Monday with a (near) sold-out comedy set from Tig Notaro.

Other high-profile Festival events include Tuesday’s Liberty Hall Q&A with Jon Ronson, whose new book on “public shaming” is riding high on best-seller lists, and Wednesday’s centerpiece event: a free street concert from George Clinton and P-Funk that’s likely to draw a MASSIVE crowd in front of the Arts Center. Seriously, most of Lawrence will be at this street concert.

We’re particular fans of the Fest’s tendency to combine film and music: this year brings documentaries on Elliot Smith and The Damned, followed by bands performing songs from those artists. (Matt Pryor from Get Up Kids will tackle Smith’s repertoire on Tuesday while none other than Mike Watt of Minutemen fame will take the stage after Thursday’s film on The Damned. The Damned’s Rat Scabies will also be on hand for a post-film Q&A.

In next week’s columns we’ll offer some recaps of what we’ve seen and zero in on some worthy but lower-profile festival events that deserve attention, such as the “Lightning Round” presentations and the Free State Frolic scavenger hunt, both on Saturday, June 27.

Visit the official website here for schedules and ticket information and the Facebook page here for handy links to individual event pages. Also be sure to check out individual LJ-World pieces on the Fest’s art and ideas, food, films and music events.

We’ll be live-tweeting from the Festival @LarryvilleLife. The official festival hashtag is #freestatefest.