For those who are picking up this issue early, here’s what’s going on at the Brady Street Artisan Food Festival on July 30. The festival runs from 10 am to 10 pm, and is a celebration of local and regional agriculture, arts and crafts.

A partnership with the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute will bring area farmers to sell their produce and talk about the challenges and joys of being a modern farmer.

Author Anna Lappe (Hope’s Edge: The Next Diet For A Small Planet and Grub: Ideas For An Urban Organic Kitchen) will be discussing and signing her books. There will be a food-themed fashion show featuring local retailers, and a vintage Ferris wheel will be located on the west end of Brady Street.

The music stage features headliners The Etiquette playing at 7:30 and Plasticland at 9. The PBS documentary “Living On The Wedge” about Wisconsin cheese artisans will premier at 11 am and repeat at 1 pm and 4pm. The Astor Street Theatre located in the Brady Street Pharmacy will host a variety of entertainment, co-sponsored by Undercurrents.

Duos Americas will be performing Latin and North American folk music at 3 and 7 pm, and Jump-Down- Turn-Around will perform a single show of Delta-style blues featuring the music of Leadbelly at 2 pm. Jump-Down- Turn-Around’s lead singer and autoharpist Katherine Smith was immediately “grabbed” by the honesty and simplicity of early blues artists, some of whom, like Leadbelly, recorded many songs while in prison. Katherine’s brother Hupp accompanies her on vocals and guitar...

Last month, I noted the changes on Brady Street with some businesses closing or moving elsewhere. A couple new businesses have popped up in the area worth mentioning. At 1422 E. Brady Street, Venetian Nails opened in May and offers a full line of manicures, pedicures, nail styling as well as facials and waxing.

Up around the bend from Brady Street at 1652 N. Water Street, Riverwester Bill Weslow has opened Moto-Scoot. He describes himself as “a guy from the 70’s who always liked vintage bikes, and always had a dream of owning his own bike shop”. Moto-Scoot is Milwaukee’s exclusive TGB dealer. TGB stands for “Taiwan Golden Bee,” a scooter related to the Italian Vespa. All the scooters for sale are street-legal, and you don’t need a motorcycle license to ride them, just a regular automobile license. With gas prices continuing to rise and parking scarce, a scooter may be the way to go…

The Bike- In Movie at the Marsupial Bridge Media Garden for July 28 will be The Real Dirt On Farmer John, a film about an Illinois hippie who became the owner of one of the nation’s first co-operative farms. It won the audience award for best documentary at the 2005 Milwaukee International Film Festival last year…

On August 25, the Bike-In Movie will be From Tugboats To Polar Bears, a collage of found and original sounds and images to fashion abstract and witty observations…

The Waterford Wine Company hosts “A Primer For The Thirsty: How To Taste” class on Wednesday evening, August 2 from 7 to 8pm. $25 per person, RSVP recommended at 289- WINE (9463)…

A walking tour of Brady Street takes place at 10 am every Saturday until October 14. Guides lead you on a tour that lasts about 90 minutes. You will walk about half a mile. Meet in front of St. Hedwig’s Church, 1702 North Humboldt (& Brady). The tour is $7 ($2 students). Call 277-7795 for information…