August Events For Myth Lovers
"A MOST FAMOUS SOFA: SIGMUND FREUD'S SOFA" by roberthuffstutter is licensed under CC BY 2.0 and "Sigmund Freud" by Sebastian Niedlich (Grabthar) is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Virtual Events
August 1-8, you can attend the online convention CrossingsCon, which is founded on Diane Duane’s Young Wizards.
On Saturday nights this August (EST), take a free online course about stargazing.
On August 2, learn about how dogs were represented in classical art ranging from Hades’ pet Cerberus to the hunting dogs of Rome. Both online and in person at the Woodbridge Public Library in New Jersey.
On August 4, there will be a live feed on instagram in which author Tehlor Kay Mejia will discuss Paola Santiago and the River of Tears, a Rick Riordan presents young adults book in which a 12 year old girl tangles with her mother’s superstitions about La Llorona, the wailing ghost woman who wanders the banks of the Gila at night, looking for young people to drag into its murky depths.
On August 11, the Roman history and classics expert Steven Saylor will give an online talk about his new book, Dominus.
On August 15, Robin LaFevers will hold an online conversation with Leigh Bardugo about her new book Igniting Darkness, in which two assassins risk their divinity to save the people they love.
August 20-21, the science fiction and fantasy convention Bubonicon 52: Take Two will take place online.
On August 25, participate in teachings, breathwork meditation, writing, and discussion about archetypes and archetypal journeys.
Antonio Tempesta’s illustration of Cerberus is in the public domain.
New York City Events
On August 1, 2, or 3 you can watch Lady Macbeth in McCarren Park.
On August 1, you can watch an outdoor performance of Much Ado About Nothing on the Upper West Side.
From August 1-October 31, you can play mini golf inspired by the stories, characters, and icons from some of Pixar’s most beloved films including Toy Story, The Incredibles, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, Coco, A Bug’s Life, Wall-E, and Inside Out.
Every Monday at 5 pm, participate in tarot, dream interpretation, reiki, lectures, music, and sharing circles in Tompkins Square Park.
Starting August 5, you can see costumes for Broadway shows including the Lion King, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Frozen, and more at the new exhibit Showstoppers.
On August 5, 6, 7, 13, and 14, you can watch a performance of the Adams Family in Bloomfield New Jersey that will raise funds for a resident who has high medical bills.
On August 10, E J Wenstrom will speak at the Science Fiction Association of Bergen County in New Jersey. She’s the author of three fantasy novels, co-host of the Fantasy+Girl Podcast, and regular contributor to diyMFA and BookRiot.
On August 10, you can play trivia about Disney movies at the Chelsea Bell in Manhatttan.
On August 11 and 12, you can watch the ballet Swan Lake.
On August 14, take a behind-the-scenes tour of the National Arts Club, a beautiful mid-19th century building that contains sculptures and art pieces inspired by mythology, among other things.
On Tuesday evening August 31, gather outside with psychics, authors and tarotists for readings, craft cocktails, magical shopping, and paranormal fun at Barrow’s Intense Tasting Room in Brooklyn.
Anytime this month until September 12, you can see the “Mid-Summer Night’s Dream” art exhibition, which they say “offers a magical tribute.”
"NORMAN MILLS PRICE (American, 1877-1951), 'The Great God Pan'" by sofi01 is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
Check out the dragons, kings, pirate ships, Merlin’s flying machines and other spectacles at the new Legoland in Goshen, New York.
Get Butter Beer at the new Harry Potter-themed store and bar at 935 Broadway near the Flatiron Building.
Until October 31, see Yayoi Kusama’s exhibition Cosmic Nature, which features monumental sculptures such as “I Want to Fly to the Universe” at the New York Botanical Garden.
Miss going to the movies? Watch a socially distanced one outside with your friends at Sidewalk Cinema on Thames Street in Brooklyn.
Watch a string quartet perform the soundtracks from movies such as Aladdin, the Little Mermaid, Cinderella, and more in candlelight at the Mondrian Hotel Terrace. Tickets available on different days.
Check out the images of buddhas, bodhisattvas, tantric deities, protectors and more at the Rubin Museum’s Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room.
U.S. Events
"Myth.Slide1.16" by c.a.francese is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
August 5-8, you can attend CONvergence 2021: The Stuff of Legends! in Minneapolis. Make your own viking oil lamp, learn about folktales that inspired Bible stories, watch a live performance of Beowulf, and more.
Readercon, a conference in Boston for readers and writers of science fiction, takes place virtually August 13-15.
DisCon III, the 79th World Science Fiction Convention, no longer takes place August 25-29, 2021. Instead, it will be held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington DC on December 15-19, 2021, with both virtual and in person components.
The conference Anime Los Angeles 17 has been postponed for a year. Instead of this month, it will take place from January 6-9, 2022, in Long Beach California.
World Events
Explore Ireland’s ruins and mythology in by taking a tour in a group of no more than 12 travelers.
FantasyCon will take place on September 24- 26 in Birmingham, the United Kingdom. It is the national fantasy convention run by the British Fantasy Society.
Recurring Virtual Events
Nina Allender’s 1915 cartoon “Fairy Godmother Wilson: 'The pumpkin shall be a coach; the mice will be the horses to pull it; and YOU shall go to the polls!'" is in the public domian.
Starting May 1 until November 22 at 7 pm U.K. time, twice a month you can attend Fairy Tales and Therapy: “group discussion spaces exploring fairytales and mythology stories to expand our understanding of individual and collective psychology.” £17.50
If you would rather be in France right now, view a selection of thematically-themed works from the Louvre online, including the ones in the Sully Wing, which includes major works of Greek and Egyptian art such as the Venus de Milo.
Take an online course with Stanford research scholar Adrienne Mayor in which you will “uncover the natural origins of stories about dragons. . .; ponder whether the Amazon horsewomen-archers of myth existed; consider the dilemmas of using poison weapons in myth and ancient historical times; and marvel at robots and other science fiction tales from the time of Homer.” $120.
Take an online mini-course about Rome, seeing how it exists not only in brick and mortar, but also in the realm of ideas, and through the eyes of locals and visitors. Topics will include Rome’s urban and architectural development, as well as its representation in maps and artworks from across the city’s exceptionally long lifetime. $99.
On Sunday mornings, Krista Lea will present an online meditation class that uses sound, aroma, poetry, and goddess mythology to focus on the archetype of the Divine Feminine. Tickets $11
The NY Mythology Group, which is associated with the Joseph Campbell Foundation, holds presentations and discussions about mythology related topics ranging from the Greek goddess Hecate to Carl Jung. Their events usually take place on Tuesday evenings at 8 pm EDT, and have been online since the pandemic started.
BSFW, or Brooklyn Speculative Fiction Writers, meetings take place mostly online currently, but pre-pandemic were in the homes of writers mostly in Brooklyn but also on occasion Manhattan or Queens. Check out their calendar on meetup to attend their numerous writing workshops, social gatherings, meetings with editors/agents/authors, book clubs, and more. The group includes many published writers and has its own audio fiction magazine, Kaleidocast. If you post about your fetish for Olympian gods on their Facebook group feed, they (probably) won’t judge.
EREWHON BOOKS, a publisher focusing on novel-length works of speculative fiction: science fiction, fantasy, and related genres, holds readings usually on the second Thursday each month virtually for now and in a pre-apocalypse world at its high ceilinged office of many windows in Manhattan.
Fantastic Fiction at KGB is a monthly speculative-fiction reading series held on the third Wednesday of every month virtually for now, and in a pre-apocalypse world at KGB Bar in Manhattan. Ellen Datlow and Matthew Kressel host the event. As one might expect from a communism-themed bar, admission is free.
The NYC Greek Myth & Classical Lit Meetup meets every third Thursday of the month at the Cloister Cafe in the East Village to discuss the work of mostly long dead authors (e.g. Aristophanes, Dante.) The group has existed for more than a decade, so the long-term participants have already earned their unofficial classics PhD’s, and we already know that anybody who would do this for fun is as hip as a person can get.
Marcantonio Raimondi’s “A Bacchanal”. CC01.0 Public domain.
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