Keeping cool in New Orleans in the summer is a challenge. But sweet relief comes courtesy of the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas this summer, which hosts FIN FEST, an expansion of aquarium attractions that delivers air-conditioned fun for the whole family, including specific activities to educate and occupy school-free kids. Fin Fest, which runs between the traditional summer bookends of Memorial Day and Labor Day, offers a new program daily with aquarium staff sharing their knowledge about a variety of marine creatures. From watching the unique birthing process of unisex seahorses to jellyfish eating to penguin feedings, the programs are ripe for repeat visits over the summer. Staff divers feeding the fish in the Caribbean Reef exhibit explain their work, and experts detail the steps involved in caring for sharks. Dive shows, art carts, gallery chats, arts-and-crafts activities and interactive stage shows are all on the list of regular attractions. Falling under the vast Fin Fest umbrella is the aquarium's "Behind the Scenes Tour." Offered Wednesdays at 2:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 10:30 a.m., the tours give an up-close-and-personal look into the aquarium's operations and inner workings. (Tour groups are limited to a maximum of 15 people.) Guests on Behind the Scenes Tours can visit with husbandry staff members in the prep kitchen as they prepare the animals' food, have close animal encounters, and enjoy the vantage point above replicas of the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico by walking on raised platforms. Behind the Scenes Tours last around 90 minutes and cost an additional $10 for adults and $5 children ages 2-12. Aquarium members receive a $2 discount on the cost of the tour. Advanced reservations are encouraged. All other Fin Fest attractions are free with paid admission to Audubon Aquarium of the Americas: $14 adults, $6.50 children 2-12 and $10 seniors 65-plus. Four hours of discounted parking are available at the Hilton Hotel's "Whale Lot" on Convention Center Boulevard. To learn more about Fin Fest, visit www.auduboninstitute.org. -- Frank Etheridge

Musiq with Jaguar Wright 8 p.m. Sunday, May 25 House of Blues, 225 Decatur St., 529-BLUE Musiq (pictured) gets soulful along with Jaguar Wright on Sunday at House of Blues. Neo-soul crooner Musiq has been on a roll ever since perfecting his technique with his second album, Juslisen, a follow-up to his promising debut, Aijuswanaseing. He's taking a break from recording his third album to try out some of the new material onstage, such as his latest single "Dontchange." Soul diva Jaguar Wright opens for the first leg of the tour. One of the most powerful, if least familiar, voices on Philly's resurgent soul scene, Wright has spent recent years singing for a range of projects from Coca-Cola commercials, to Jay-Z joints, to the title track from Femi Kuti's 2001 opus Fight to Win. Lauding music as empowerment therapy, Wright has set herself up as a modern-day Tina Turner, complete with a history of domestic violence and relationship trauma. Now grounded in marriage and motherhood, Wright released her solo effort, Denials, Delusions, and Decisions, in early 2001. Admission $30.-- Diettinger

Pete Yorn 8 p.m. Wednesday, May 21 House of Blues, 225 Decatur St., 529-BLUE Singer-songwriter Pete Yorn has changed his tune since his 2001 solo debut, Musicforthemorningafter. While that album processed the aftermath of a relationship break-up, his latest, Day I Forgot, deals with new beginnings and pleasant memories. Recorded in a garage, the album boasts impeccable production and contributions from R.E.M.'s Peter Buck (Yorn plays most of the instruments himself). Yorn's performance is likely to include a crop of songs from the new album, released last month, such as the nostalgia-filled "Burrito," which chronicles his teenage days hanging out at 7-Eleven. He picked some of his favorite bands to join him for this North American tour, including California alt-rock favorite Grandaddy, but mixed reviews from the first leg of the tour suggest that Yorn (aka "Pete Yawn") shopped a shelf too high for support. On many dates, observers said that Grandaddy's powerful performance outshone Yorn's mellow collection of songs about everyday life. The Year of the Rabbit opens. Admission $24. -- Cristina Diettinger

John Graubarth: Moving Still Through May Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, 841 Carondelet St., 522-5471 Remember psychedelic posters, tripped-out light shows at rock concerts and the surreal, mentally confounding graphics that appeared on certain album jackets in the days of vinyl LPs? The throwaway ephemera of a long gone age, you say? Think again. In Moving Still, photographer Jon Graubarth redefines his images through digital layering and manipulation to explore a world both seen and unseen, a shamanistic world where Carlos Casteneda's Don Juan meets the techno-harmonic undulations of a Tangerine Dream or Pink Floyd. In graphics reminiscent of layered electronic music, Graubarth uses mythical icons and cultural symbols to stretch the imagination with the infinite possibilities that arise when photography and modern technology come together. His work appears with Rod Lindauer's Ship of a Thousand Years series of no-less-trippy sculptural abstractions constructed with stainless steel, copper, marble and bronze. -- D. Eric Bookhardt

My Way or the Highway Tour 9 p.m. Thursday, May 22 The Parish at House of Blues, 229 Decatur St., 529-BLUE After nearly a decade of up-and-coming status, Los Angeles-based rapper Murs is finally making a break out of the alt-rap world. An unsung hero of the underground, Murs began the Living Legends collective in the mid-90s as a stronghold for the non-commercial West Coast hip-hop community. The ultimate rapper's rapper, Murs is revered by his fellow cult MCs, and especially by members of the West Coast underground scene headed up by rapper El-P and his exploding Definitive Jux label. Murs' album The End of the Beginning, released in February on Dex Jux, is his first full-fledged solo effort. Before now, his career consisted of strategic cameos and world tours. The End of the Beginning includes a plethora of guests from the fertile under-the-radar scene that shaped Murs' unfaltering MC skills. For the My Way or the Highway Tour, he is joined by Brother Ali and fellow Living Legend PCS. Admission $12.-- Diettinger

Basin Street Sheiks 10 p.m. Friday, May 23 Neutral Ground Coffee House, 5110 Danneel St., 891-3381 They bill themselves as a "crude amalgamation of Skunkbucket LeFunque, Spinal Tap and the Rutles," but the Basin Street Sheiks take their music seriously. The band's sound is based on the pre-World War II jug bands that crossed the country with such names as the Beale Street Sheiks, Cannon's Jug Stompers, and the Memphis Jug Band. Some of the best jug band music is born out of the genre's humble DIY aesthetic, and the Sheiks have that in abundance, stomping away and gleefully singing the blues. This will be the band's first gig after a two-month sabbatical, and band members such as Snappy Piranha Fish on jumbo djembe, Salty Bean Morgan on washboard, and Whisperin' Lu on jug are chomping at the bit. The Sheiks will be playing their hits such as "Mr. Jazz Don't Like It" and "Old Jim Canaan's" ("where they drink good whiskey and they snort cocaine/I wish I was back at Old Jim Canaan's"), among other jug-gernauts. No cover. -- David Kunian

Roland Guerin CD-release party 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. Friday, May 23 Snug Harbor, 626 Frenchmen St., 949-0696 Bassist Roland Guerin celebrates the release of his new CD on Friday at Snug Harbor. In the past decade, Roland Guerin has become one of Louisiana's most in-demand jazz bassists. Besides playing regularly with guitarist Mark Whitfield and pianist Marcus Roberts, Guerin has performed and/or recorded with the likes of Jimmy Scott, Ellis Marsalis, Gerry Mulligan and George Benson. That diverse background has helped him make a smooth transition to bandleader, and Guerin has just released his fourth CD, titled Groove, Swing & Harmony. It's Guerin's strongest effort to date, with a serenity and underlying spirituality that lifts his rare and softly crooned vocal turn on his original "Growing," and backing support like the beautiful piano melody from Mike Esnault on a cover of the Stylistics' "People Make the World Go Round." Wayne Shorter's "Fall" and the standard "My Romance" receive similarly elegant treatment, with superb arrangements, Guerin's light touch on acoustic bass, and the contributions of drummers Jason Marsalis, James Alsanders and Troy Davis. Admission $15. -- Scott Jordan

Seventh Annual Back to the Lake Fishing Rodeo Saturday-Sunday, May 24-25 Lake Pontchartrain and surrounding waters, 836-2215 Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation's Back to the Lake Fishing Rodeo illustrates the group's complementing missions of cleaning up the lake of environmental hazards and promoting it as a great recreational resource. The fishing rodeo opens up Lake Pontchartrain, Maurepas, St. Catherine and Borgne, Breton Sound and other bayous and tributaries to competition. Contestants thinking they've landed a winning catch can take it to designated weigh stations of both shores, including the event's headquarters at The Dock at New Orleans, Busy B Bait and Tackle, Rigolets Bait & Seafood (Slidell), Williams Boulevard boat launch in Kenner and Gulf Outlet Marina in Chalmette. Prizes are awarded for adults and kids, and if anyone lands a record-breaking speckled trout, they win a Chevrolet Avalanche SUV. Rodeo tickets cost $20 adults, $10 kids 15-under, and include admission, hat and two passes to May 31's Back to the Beach Festival featuring food, family fun and live music. For more info, call 836-2215 or visit www.saveourlake.org. -- Etheridge

The New Orleans Wine & Food Experience Wednesday, May 21, to Sunday, May 25 Various venues, 529-WINE (9463) A weeklong party celebrating the good life and its requisite great food and wine, the New Orleans Wine & Food Experience (NOWFE), now in its 12th year, rolls out the red carpet for both visiting and local gourmets. NOWFE kicks off at 7 p.m. Wednesday with "Vintner's Dinners" held at 34 area restaurants with winery representatives pairing their selections to chefs' menus. On Thursday evening, the "Royal Street Experience" features a stroll down Royal Street from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. with art galleries and antique shops opening their doors to offer wine and food. Two days of "Grand Tastings" will be held at the Ernest M. Morial Convention Center on Friday (5 p.m. to 8 p.m.) and Saturday (1 p.m. to 4 p.m.), featuring food from more than 100 top local restaurants and wine from more than 250 producers. Seminars are also held Friday-Saturday at the Convention Center, and a champagne jazz brunch is offered Sunday. Full registration $395, ticketing to individual events sold separately. Visit www.nowfe.com or call 529-WINE for tickets or more info. -- Etheridge

Harrah's Beach Party with Frankie Avalon Noon to 10 p.m., Saturday-Sunday, May 24-25 Harrah's Casino, Canal Street entrance, 533-6170 For nearly two generations now, carefree fun-in-the-sun has been influenced by the image of actor and singer Frankie Avalon, thanks to his role in 1965's Beach Blanket Bingo -- pop culture's intro to mass-marketed flesh and goofy beach fun. Beating the coming summer heat, Harrah's Casino is throwing its own free beach party, complete with a Hawaiian theme punctuated by a musical performance by Avalon. The very-post-teen idol will perform a free concert on Canal Street at 7 p.m. Sunday, after meeting with fans in Harrah's Jazz Court for pictures and autographs from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. In addition, Avalon lends his image, along with that of Beach Blanket Bingo co-star Annette Funicello, for the nickel video slot machines titled "Frankie & Annette Beach Party." The weekend at Harrah's also offers Hawaiian food and drinks, luaus and more. -- Etheridge