Priority list includes Gen Con, IndyFringe, more

Gen Con 50

The unprecedented sale of tickets for the 50^th edition of the gaming convention giant means that if you don’t already have your badges, it’s unlikely you’ll get in. Still, there’s plenty of fun to be had with events all around downtown, including special menus at restaurants, festivities on Georgia St., and people watching everywhere. Me, I’ll be hunkering down in the dealer hall most of the time doing active research for my annual Best Games of Gen Con column. Aug. 17-20 Indiana Convention Center, Lucas Oil Stadium, and environs  Details

Indy Fringe Festival

With 72 different, uncurated shows at eight different venues, the logical question is: Where to start? My sight-unseen advice: Anchor our fringe experience with a safer bet, such as Tom Horan’s adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s “Mother Night” or the chat show parody “The Gab” from the reliable Zach & Zack team. Mix in one of the many one person shows—perhaps Dick Wolfsie’s riff on Jewish jokes or Tymisha Harris’ look at Josephine Baker—then roll the dice on something completely different (Plenty of choices in that department). Aug. 17-27 Various theaters on and around Mass Ave. Details

“Cultural Journey: India”

The Heartland Film Festival folks offer the first of what promises to be an annual exploration of world cultures. Events for the premiere edition include an opening night screening of “You are My Sunday” surrounded by a festival of Indian food, Bollywood dancing, and more. Aug. 17-20 Indiana History Center Details

Also this week:

Earth, Wind & Fire creates a musical party inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse Aug. 15.

Green Day plays Klipsch Music Center Aug. 16, followed by Hank Williams Jr./Lynyrd Skynyrd Aug. 18 and Kings of Leon Aug. 19.

The Klingon Music Project pays the Artsgarden Aug. 18

The cult favorite science fiction film “Serenity” gets a screening Aug. 18 as part of the IMA Summer Nights film series.