With the UC Davis school year starting, most events actually are happening next week, so we thought we should give you a preview in the Weekender.

Award-winning author to appear at Ground and Field Theatre Festival Sept. 26

K.L. Going, the award-winning author of the novel at “Fat Kid Rules the World,” will be at the opening night performance of the musical adaptation of her book at UC Davis on Thursday, Sept. 26, and will participate in a post-show talk back after the show. (See below in "Upcoming" for an earlier art grand opening on campus that same day.)

The free performance at 7 p.m. and talk afterward are at the Wyatt Pavilion Theatre on campus and are part of the Ground and Field Theatre Festival. Reservations can be made here.

Going is an award-winning author of numerous books for children and teens.

The musical centers on troubled, overweight Troy who nearly throws himself under a subway train, but is stopped by punk rock guitarist Curt. The duo begins an unlikely kinship by forming a band as a distraction from their challenging personal problems.

The Ground and Field Theatre Festival is presented in conjunction with the UC Davis Department of Theatre and Dance which is part of the College of Letters and Science.  See the full story from Michael French, in the College of Letters and Science, here.

This weekend...

• The Manetti Shrem Museum of Art is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday for its current exhibitions, Kathy Butterly|ColorForm and Landscape Without Boundaries.
• Davis Craft and Vintage Fair Square Tomatoes in Davis Central Park, Sunday Sept. 22, 11 a.m. 
  • Support local artists at the Davis Craft and Vintage Fair. Artists sell a variety of handmade wares, from original stickers and prints, quilted bags, and stained glass, to skin care products and goat’s milk soap. The fair also features vintage items like clothing, jewelry, watches and pins. 

• Upcoming

• Fall opening celebration, Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, Thursday, Sept. 26, 5-8 p.m.
  • The event features the opening of the West Coast premiere of The Manetti Shrem Museum Presents NEW ERA, an Installation by Doug Aitken. Come enjoy an evening of vibrant art, live music, games and activities, and a talk by exhibition artist Kathy Butterly. More about the opening event and exact times here.