Lucy Kaplansky plays The West Theatre Wednesday, Oct. 2, 7:30 pm

The Dining Room
Sept. 27-Oct. 6
Encore Performing Arts Center, Cloquet
A.R. Gurney’s Pulitzer-nominated comedy of manners, first staged Off-Broadway in 1981 with William H. Macy, is set in the dining room of a well-to-do household, creating a portrait of a vanishing species, the upper-middle-class WASP.

Mercedes Escobar
Friday, Sept. 27, 7 pm
Minnesota North College - Vermilion Campus, Ely
Guatemalan singer-songwriter known for her fusion of blues, country and Latin music returns to the stage after a four-year hiatus due to visa restrictions. Her vocals have been described as a spellbinding mix between Linda Ronstadt and Howlin’ Wolf.

Karpeles 30-Year Anniversary
Saturday, Sept. 28, 10 am to 7 pm
Karpeles Manuscript Museum
There are six Karpeles museums in the U.S. including this one in Duluth since 1994. Face painting, kid’s crafts and scavenger hunt at 10 a.m., time capsule unveiling at 1 p.m., live music, history presentations and perhaps a mystery guest or two.

Duluth Does Motown
Saturday, Sept. 28, 7 pm
Sacred Heart
More than two dozen Twin Ports musicians will pay tribute to the Motown record label with classics like “Track of My Tears,” “Higher Ground” and “Baby Love” written by greats like Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Smokey Robinson.

Heck of a New Deal
Monday, Sept. 30, 3:30 pm
Mount Royal Library
Incorporating humor and history, Sue and Brian Matuszak talk about Minnesota’s artists and the public artworks they created in the Arrowhead Region through the Federal Art Project during the Great Depression.

Lucy Kaplansky
Wednesday, Oct. 2, 7:30 pm
The West Theatre
Kaplansky began in Chicago folk clubs as a teen, then moved to New York City, harmonizing with the likes of Shawn Colvin. She left music for a psychology career but was lured back by friends. She enjoyed playing the West so much last year, she asked to return.

Duluth Superior Film Festival
Oct. 3-6
Zeitgeist
Independent feature films and shorts from around the globe. Highlights include “Cash for Gold,” filmed in Chisholm, “A Good Wolf,” a documentary set in Denali National Park, and “Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted!” a documentary from Minneapolis.