As a former projectionist who worked the antique carbon arc equipment at the Riviera Theatre, I’m always delighted to hear that the jewel of North Tonawanda, now home to theatrical productions and concerts featuring its historic Mighty Wurlitzer organ, is back in the business of showing movies, even if on a limited basis. Throughout the summer, the 1,150-seat movie palace will offer The Women of Hollywood, a weekly series of films featuring some of the most memorable actresses of the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s. Undeterred by a fire earlier this week to a neighboring building, the Riviera opens the series tonight (June 21) with with Billy Wilder’s Sabrina (1954), starring Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart. Next week brings a special treat, a screening of the silent classic Wings (1927) with accompaniment on the Wurlitzer organ. Let me emphasize this: A silent classic with live accompaniment from an original Wurlitzer theater organ is something film buffs in most parts of the country will never have a chance to attend. Other films in the series include All About Eve, Mata Hari, The Women, Philadelphia Story, Some Like It Hot, Adam’s Rib, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, How to Marry a Millionaire and Grand Hotel.

Originally a marathon-type race for both men and women, roller derby has morphed into the all-female sport that’s making a huge comeback today. First televised in the 1950s, the sport’s popularity led to the peerlessly campy sexploitation films of the 1970s and 80s (see Racquel Welch in 1972’s Kansas City Bomber, or the perfectly cast Linda Blair in 1979’s Roller Boogie). Perhaps in a bit of a backlash the derby fell off in the last decades, until the roller rink itself began to seem like a thing of the past. Not so in this millenium. Thanks to athletes like the women who make up the Queen City Roller Girls, roller derby is now fodder for a successful reality show on A&E, with a resurgence of leagues popping up all over the country. Sunday’s final bout, the “Battle Royale,” will include all three QCRG teams—Devil Dollies, Suicidal Saucies and Nickel City Kockouts—in a round-robin format. Don’t worry if you don’t know what that means, because informative pamphlets on “How to Watch Roller Derby” explain it all, with tips like “Pick a team to root for. If not already a fan, base your decision on something completely arbitrary such as ‘‘That girl looks totally insane.’” The spirit at this event is pure adrenalin and fun, a spectator sport where spectating is the sport and where crowd-watching couldn’t get better. There are punk rock babies here, Betty Crocker look-alikes, priests and men in business suits. It’s as toungue-in-cheek as can be yet at the same time it’s one of the best family activities around. Come early enough to figure out how it all works, then get up as close as you can and cheer your head off.

Artist Carrie Dashow and shape-note singer Jesse Pearlman Karlsberg are on a two-month tour of the Erie Canal, gathering local history in all its imaginable forms—folkloric, mythological, physical, biographical, industrial, etc. From these, the two create a series of locally inspired shape-note songs, as well as a two-channel video installation, the footage for which is shot by a diverse web of locals. Honestly, I’m not sure what that means—but they’re in Lockport for a week, and on Sunday they’ll conduct a workshop on shape-note singing at Rust Belt Books. (The price of admission is a handful of local twigs, which, at the end of the project, will be woven together to make a map of the state’s waterways.) Meanwhile, 12 Lockport participants in the project will use synchronized video cameras to collect video and further fodder for songs. The culmination of the weeklong stay will take place at the Niagara County Historical Society in Lockport on Wednesday, June 28, time to be announced. Visit subliminalstate.org for more information—or, better yet, visit Rust Belt books on Sunday and find out in person.

In support of her new album Sermon on Exposition Boulevard, bohemian poetess and angel-headed hipster Rickie Lee Jones will be making a rare Buffalo appearance. Jones arrived on the national scene via Los Angeles in 1979 with a self-titled debut full of jazzy tunes and clever wordplay that earned her a Grammy for Best New Artist—notably for the song “Chuck E.’s in Love.” Early on, she was a favorite performer on Saturday Night Live and has remained active over the years by contributing songs to feature films like Jerry Maguire and, more recently, Friends With Money. Ricky Lee Jones is a style icon—a perfect representation of her time. Almost never photographed without a jaunty hat, her look, voice and attitude make up the epitome of gritty, groovy seventies sexiness. She’s been in the spotlight lately with appearances on David Letterman and Conan O’Brien, and when she straps on her guitar and steps up to the microphone you can prepare to be transported to a place where the diners never close, and the jukebox has all the right songs.