The week ahead: Aug. 31-Sept. 6

The Week Ahead is our hand-picked event guide to the next seven days in Sioux Falls and slightly beyond. For guaranteed placement or to promote your event ahead of time, email [email protected] about a featured event listing.

Sept. 1-2: Planetarium launch

The Sweetman Planetarium at the Washington Pavilion will open for the first time at 5 p.m. during First Free Friday. “Unseen Universe” will be shown at 5, 6 and 7 p.m. on a first-come, first-served basis. Aerostar will host the Sweetman Planetarium launch event from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. The day will include free admission to the Kirby Science Discovery Center and Visual Arts Center and to the new Wells Fargo CineDome & Sweetman Planetarium. “Unseen Universe” will be shown at 11 a.m., noon and 2, 3 and 4 p.m. Aerostar will offer a special presentation at 1 p.m. Admission to the CineDome & Planetarium showings are first-come, first-served. Check in at the box office to gain admission. Children 12 and younger must be accompanied by an adult. Regularly scheduled programming begins Sunday.

Sept. 1: East Bank Art Gallery

The featured artist for September at East Bank Art Gallery at the 8th & Railroad Center will be John Rychtarik, who works in various mediums such as  soil paintings, acrylics, oil paintings, colored pencil drawings, ceramic pieces and woodcarving. The featured member for the month is watercolor artist Julie Dent. A reception for both artists will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at East Bank.

Sept. 1-30: Pork showdown

Join downtown restaurants for the third annual Downtown Pork Showdown, a month of culinary competition presented by Downtown Sioux Falls Inc. and Smithfield Foods. You can dust off your food critic skills and rate each competing dish on a variety of categories within the DTSF Digital Passport App to make sure the best gets crowned champ. Voting categories are best use of pork, flavor, tenderness, presentation and customer service. You’ll find the list of participants here.

Sept. 2: From bees to butterflies

Celebrate monarch butterflies and their fellow pollinators at Good Earth State Park from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday. A beekeeping presentation will begin at 2:30 p.m. with a craft and scavenger hunt. You can help tag and release monarchs at 3:30 p.m.

Sept. 2: Art at the Levitt

Levitt at the Falls has made your summer better with free concert after free concert. Now, you can support the Levitt. Fifteen artists have come together to help raise money for the organization. The artists have donated artwork to be raffled off for $5 a ticket. It runs from 4 to 9 p.m. Saturday. It’s a great way to support the Levitt and local artists. The Vindys will perform with Lady and the Hound Dawgs opening the night of music at 7 p.m.

Sept. 3: LifeLight Festival

The Christian music festival LifeLight will offer 11 hours of performances, speakers, food, vendors and inspiration Sunday at 401 E. Eighth St. The main entrance is off Reid Street. Hours are noon to 11 p.m. A kids area with inflatables will be set up from noon to 7 p.m. Performers include Skillet, Jeremy Camp, Colton Dixon, Rhett Walker, Peter Furler, Phil Joel, Cade Thompson, Terrian, Hulvey, Rachelle Hope and Vota. For a complete schedule, visit this site.

Sept. 6: Gone to the Dogs

Bring your pup to the pool as it shuts down for the season. The city has scheduled the annual Gone to the Dogs swim event at Laurel Oak Family Aquatic Center from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday. Dogs are required to bring their owners and be current on shots. No registration is needed.