The Juliet Dagger: Sunday, 9:30pm, North Stage

You know it’s festival season in Buffalo when you get to the second weekend in June. That’s when the King of the Hill, Big Kahuna, Grand Poobah, Grand Dame of them all—the Allentown Art Festival—rolls around, claiming the territory bordered by Elmwood to the west, Virginia to the south, Main to the east and North to the, well, north. Presented by the Allentown Village Society, the festival is in its 49th year. And this year again it will run simultaneously with both the Allen West Festival (on Allen between Elmwood and Hudson), presented by the Allentown Association, and the Music Is Art Festival (on Franklin between Allen and North), brainchild of Goo Goo Doll Robby Takac.

McCarthyizm, Sunday, 3:15pm, North Stage, and Sunday, 7pm, Nietzsche's

What you get is a perfect storm of festivals converging in the beautiful old Allentown neighborhood—and this is what makes the weekend such an overall blast for attendees. In the past, “stormy” could also describe the relationship among the three events. But each has its own identity, each its own vibe, and Takac is hopeful that this year’s event will run smoothly with a spirit of peaceful coexistence.

“It’s been okay. [Ellicott District Councilmember] Brian Davis has been awesome this whole time,” Takac says. “The city’s been great. We went in and had a meeting at the mayor’s office with everybody…and so we’ll see how it goes. Everything’s in place. We just finished up with the fire commissioner…so yeah, I think it’s gonna be great.”

Lisa Loeb, Saturday, 4:15pm, Allen Stage

This is the fourth Music Is Art Festival and the event continues to evolve and grow. New this year is the Girlz Rock Clinic, in which girls ages 13 to 17—who’ve been chosen based on a short essay—will receive a music lesson from Lisa Loeb and the Juliet Dagger. Loeb comes on board as a friend of Takac’s. “She’s a friend of mine here and we were just talking about doing this, and Daisy guitars is helping out so that’s gonna be something new and fun,” Takac says. “And Lisa’s gonna play Saturday.”

The Corrections, Saturday, 1:15pm, North Stage

Also new at MiA this year is the Kid’s Village running Saturday and Sunday, 1-6pm both days. Here, festival-goers can participate in activities with a broad range of organizations including the United Way, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, the Community Music School, the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society, Literacy Volunteers of Buffalo & Erie County, the Red Cross, the Boy Scouts & Girl Scouts and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Fresh-squeezed lemonade, popcorn, ice cream and other treats will be available and kids can cool off at the “Superstar Car Wash” misting tent. Sunday will also feature live music at the Kid’s Village stage. And, catering to the littlest at the festival, there will be a place to park the stroller near a changing station—an altogether revolutionary feature at a well-attended outdoor event.

Noa Bursie, Saturday, 3pm, Nietzsche's

Franklin Street will light up with the works of visual artists and you’ll also be able to eat, drink and be merry thanks to food vendors and a wine and beer garden. The performances at MiA will come at a constant flow as more than 80 bands and 16 dance troupes take the stage in 15-minute intervals. This year will feature many new names, as special attention was given to the selection process in an effort to keep the event fresh. For a complete list of performers and more information on the event, visit www.musicisart.org.

Scott Celani, Saturday, 7:30pm, North Stage, and Saturday, 11pm, Nietzsche's

At the other end of this swirling festival of a neighborhood, music will also be taking place at Nietzsche’s, where, while not technically a part of the Allen West Festival but geographically within its territory, the 14th Annual Allentown Art Fest/Music Fest will be taking place Saturday and Sunday starting at 2pm. A long lineup of great local performers like Tom Stahl, Noa Bursie, Sun of Memphis, Scott Celani, Lazlo Hollyfeld, Mike Meldrum, McCarthyizm, the Ifs and many more will be rocking the house all weekend for a $2 cover.

While the behind-the-scenes wrangling between festival organizers is an unfortunate side-note to this great weekend for Buffalo, all sides should be commended for working through their various differences. As Takac says of his event, “This is nothing but positive vibes, man…smashed up against one of the most amazing things that happens in Buffalo every summer. It’s the one event that I looked forward to every summer as a kid—and that’s the Allentown Art Festival. I love it! But we’ve tried to keep our identity so that we don’t compromise what they do.”

So there you have it. In my book, this is when summer arrives in Buffalo. Time to get out, look at, listen to and purchase some art. Go to Allentown. Be a participant in one of the great people-watching events of the year in this, the City of Good Neighbors.

For more information on the forces of nature that will come together in Allentown this weekend, also visit the following Web sites: www.allentownartfestival.com, www.allentown.org, www.nietzsches.com.