This Week’s Forecast: 4.29.10

CONFABS
4/30 ALL THE MINGLE LADIES
The annual Simmons College Women’s Leadership Conference takes on a distinctly Hollywood feel this year, featuring marquee names like Mia Farrow and Angela Bassett. Aspiring media mavens may want to hit the lunch session to hear how former Vanity Fair and New Yorker editor Tina Brown made the transition from print to online with her new pacesetting site, The Daily Beast.
simmons.edu/leadership.

CONCERT
4/30 CORINNE BAILEY RAE
Ms. Rae performs with Daniel Merriweather at House of Blues Boston. She’ll be performing her sultry soul music in a set entitled “The Sea.” houseofblues.com.

LOOKIN AT LUCKY
5/1 KENTUCKY DERBY
However you choose your favorite horse or wherever you decide to watch the race, make sure you don your oversized hat and sip on a Mint Julep. Game On! Fenway and Redbones BBQ are just a couple of the venues in Boston that will be broadcasting the race.

BOOK TOUR
5/1-5/2 “THE MUSE AND THE MARKETPLACE”
Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk headlines this confab put on by the Grub Street creative writing center, making the Park Plaza Hotel the first official tour stop for his latest novel, Tell Al. Hopefully it’ll be inspiring enough to cheer up any aspiring writers who suffer ego bruises from critiques by on-site literary agents and editors. grubstreet.org.

PROJECT BREAD
5/2 THE WALK FOR HUNGER
The Walk for Hunger is the country’s oldest continual pledge walk and the largest one-day fundraiser to alleviate local hunger. Last year pantries and meal programs supported by Project Bread served 57.3 million meals. projectbread.org.

FESTIVAL
5/2 ANNUAL MAY FAIR
Harvard Square’s annual May Fair will feature six stages of live entertainment, over 30 restaurant vendors, hundreds of street vendors, hot air balloon rides, chalk on the walk and more. harvardsquare.com.

WHAT’S COOKIN’
5/3 JAMES BEARD AWARDS
Chefs Marc Orfaly (Pigalle), Tony Maws (Craigie on Main), and Michael Leviton (Lumiere) are three of five candidates vying for the “Best Chef: Northeast” title at tonight’s James Beard Awards dinner.

STORY TIME
5/3 EVAN THOMAS
The Newsweek staffer will read from his new book, The War Lovers: Roosevelt, Lodge, Hearst, and the Rush to Empire 1898, at Porter Square Books. A tale that should ring familiar to Glenn Beck fans, it’s about a time when the media could control the American psyche, no matter the truth of the story. portersquarebooks.com.

OPENING NIGHT
5/4 BOSTON POPS
The Boston Pops kicks off its 125th season tonight. Symphony-goers can expect lots of pomp and circumstance in addition to the music, with due respect paid to current conductor Keith Lockhart, as well as his two predecessors, John Williams, who conducted the Pops for 15 years, and Arthur Fiedler, who conducted it for 50. bostonpops.org.

LISTEN UP
5/5 SABERI VISITS BPL
A year after her release, journalist Roxana Saberi visits the BPL to tell the story of her kidnapping and imprisonment by the Iranian government.