The Dragon Festival is returning to St. Paul’s Lake Phalen from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday — the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic.

The festival, which celebrates Asian and Pacific cultures, features Dragon Boat racing in which teams propel ornate long boats across the lake. The history of dragon boat racing dates back 2,400 years ago as a time to commemorate the death of a poet, minister and counselor to the emperor during the Chu dynasty.

There’s also ethnic foods and a variety of cultural activities. A beer garden, a bean bag toss tournament and a fashion show are among the many new additions this year.

Varieties of food from different Asian countries will be available, jewelry and handmade arts and crafts from a variety of Asian backgrounds and ethnicity will be showcased, according to a spokesperson from Dragon Festival.

The aim of the festival is to foster trust and a sense of community among Asian-Pacific communities, enhance pride and honor Asian-Pacific history and culture, according to organizers.

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Anyone who has struggled to turn their art — the thing about which they are most passionate — into a career likely will relate to aspects of “Dandelion.”

While the largely charming and effective film’s titular figure is a young Black woman attempting to make it as a singer-songwriter, it is inspired largely by writer-director Nicole Riegel’s experience of trying to make it as a filmmaker.

She is most interested in exploring what it’s like to be the frustrated female artist, Riegel offering in her director’s statement: “I wanted to share how it feels to go through my artistic process in a world that quietly tells me each day that my voice does not matter. In a world and industry of male hero worship: men are mentors. Women, their muses. Men with strong visions are moody auteurs. Women with strong visions are stubborn nightmares. Men pick up guitars and film cameras. Women inspire and are filmed.”

Whereas Riegel is from small Jackson, in south-central Ohio, and a graduate of Wright State near Dayton, Dandelion (KiKi Layne) lives in Cincinnati, where she earns a few bucks playing three nights a week at a hotel bar. Bringing with her an electric guitar and its acoustic counterpart, she performs originals and covers such as Gin Blossoms’ “Hey Jealousy” to a small, ever-changing crowd that seemingly couldn’t care less. She attempts to hide how utterly deflating it all is, but her eyes tell the tale.

KiKi Layne portrays Dandelion, a struggling Cincinnati-based singer-songwriter, in “Dandelion.” (Courtesy of IFC Films)

Her scrolls through social media feeds add to her sadness, as musician peers have gone onto greater levels of success than she has, gathering scores of likes and loves on the daily. Dandelion has had to sacrifice to help care for her mother, Jean (Melanie Nicholls-King), who lives with a pulmonary condition that comes with high expenses.

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Dandelion’s breaking point comes when, upon arriving home earlier than expected, catches Jean smoking. The former hits the road, acoustic guitar in two, for a desperate stab at winning a battle of the bands at a bike week celebration in South Dakota — despite previously telling a bar employee that the contest would be for her only if she wanted to make music about drinking beer in her Silverado.

At the stage, following a well-received act, Dandelion bravely takes the mic but is treated disrespectfully by the largely white, male crowd — it’s bad enough BEFORE a man swipes her leather guitar case from the stage and runs off with it. She gives chase but to no avail.

Her apparent white knight, Scottish singer-songwriter Casey (Thomas Doherty) brings her the case before she can flee the scene. He takes an immediate interest in her and, eventually, convinces her to stick around.

She meets his musical pals and makes a little music with them, appearing to see musical possibilities she never had before.

Dandelion and Casey go off on his bike and write together, almost effortlessly turning a song of hers into something stronger as a duet and, sooner than later, giving into their mutual attraction. She is alive in a way we have never seen her — passionately and creatively.

Thomas Doherty’s Casey and KiKi Layne’s Dandelion make a connection in “Dandelion.” (Courtesy of IFC Films)

Quickly, though, comes the obligatory bickering, which is subsequently reflected in their songwriting. Seemingly, the full Fleetwood Mac-inization of their dynamic takes only hours.

You’d be forgiven for expecting “Dandelion” to be a music-fueled romance, at the end of the day an update of sorts of 2007’s “Once.” However, the free-and-easy times for Dandelion are few and far between.

More often than not a portrait of pain, the film never feels suffocating, thanks both to the assured direction of Riegel that boasts myriad nice touches. (Her 2020 debut, “Holler,” which also featured a young woman as its lead character, was well-received, so what we see here in her sophomore effort isn’t surprising.)

However, perhaps even more credit for “Dandelion” goes to “If Beale Street Could Talk” star and Cincinnati native Layne, whose credits also include “Native Son” and “The Old Guard.” In her hands, Dandelion is alternately hard-shelled and vulnerable, hateful and loving — a mix of relatable qualities that make her feel very real.n

On the other hand, the performance of Doherty (“The Invitation,” “Gossip Girl”) is uneven as the underwritten Casey, who swings a little wildly among dramatically different personality traits. That said, he has chemistry with Layne, which is paramount for the movie to work as well as it does.

Thomas Doherty portrays Scottish singer-songwriter Casey in “Dandelion.” (Courtesy of IFC Films)

It’s difficult to end a film like “Dandelion,” one interested in offering something more genuine than feel-good. Without going into much detail — other than to say the final moments may have you itching to visit Cincinnati’s oh-so-cool-looking Ghost Baby music venue — the climax of “Dandelion” is lovely but also feels unearned.

It stumbles at other times, too, but, in all, this is a film that deserves to be seen — and heard — thanks to all the talented artists involved in making it.

‘Dandelion’

Where: Theaters.

When: July 12.

Rated: R for sexuality/nudity and language.

Runtime: 1 hour, 53 minutes.

Stars (of four): 3.

Cocktail influencer Julianna McIntosh isn’t your typical broody bartender. During the pandemic, she started sharing her journey to learn the art of mixology on social media, inviting others along for the ride from her San Diego home and teaching her viewers how to make bright, seasonally-inspired, beautiful drinks. We’re talking Fro-Secco for summer and icy Prosecco Pops and more.

The enterprise — which includes a cocktail blog, Join Jules, as well as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube — has since become a family project. Her sister, Lucianna, takes photos, while McIntosh and her uncle, Brad Sutton, cohost The Art of Drinking podcast.

McIntosh’s debut cocktail cookbook, “Pretty Simple Cocktails” (Clarkson Potter, $25), will hit bookstore shelves on July 23. We recently chatted with her to learn more.

Pretty Simple Cocktails by Julianna McIntosh, mixologist and cocktail blogger with the handle @join_jules, is set to debut July 23. (Courtesy Clarkson Potter)

Q. What inspired you to start @join_jules?

A. Online, there weren’t a lot of recipes that felt approachable and attainable — and were not going to break my budget. I’m not going to go buy this antique vermouth to make an insane Negroni.

I felt like there was a need for something that was a little bit easier. I also felt like there needed to be beautiful drinks out there, and I didn’t see too many. I want to have a pretty little drink in front of me that is beautifully garnished and tastes great. That’s why I started posting.

Q. There’s a seasonality element here too, isn’t there?

A. A lot of this stemmed from how I was raised. My family’s been farming in Northern California for over 100 years, so I grew up knowing when cherries were in season, or when they were harvesting walnuts — because my allergies were terrible.

Making approachable drinks doesn’t mean you have to buy top-shelf spirits. You can use fresh seasonal produce — it’s cheaper when you buy seasonally, it tastes better, and it’s easy to whip up at home.

Q. What audience were you aiming for?

A. I wanted it to be the starting place for people who want to get into home bartending. One of my favorite parts of the book is in the “Tools” section, where we have an “In a Pinch” section. Say you’re at an Airbnb or don’t want to commit to buying all this gear — you can use a mason jar instead of a cocktail shaker. I just want people to get excited about their beverage-making and not feel intimidated.

Q. Tell me about your background and your connections to the food and beverage world…

A. I always said that I was never going to be like my mother, but here I am. My mom has a cooking show called “Bringing it Home with Laura McIntosh” on PBS, and she has been doing that ever since I can remember. She covers food, but most importantly, she covers the farmers behind our food. She would go into the fields, bring a local chef from the area and highlight a different commodity each episode.

I also have to take my hat off to my uncle. When I had this budding interest in cocktails — I loved going to happy hour with my friends — he was the one who taught me the science behind it and (how) to save money by making it myself.

Q. How have people responded?

A. In the beginning, it really was a community, where we would all collaborate along the way. Professional bartenders would comment and say “Hey, when you do an egg white cocktail, don’t serve it over an ice cube.” My followers and I would read that, and we would all learn together.

It showed me that people wanted to know how to do this, but there wasn’t someone that they felt comfortable asking questions, or who they saw making mistakes, correcting them and being okay with doing something wrong. A lot of times on social media, people feel like they have to be perfect. I think a lot of people gravitated towards the fact that we aren’t perfect, and we are going to make mistakes, but at the end of the day, we’re making cocktails. It doesn’t have to be rocket science. People want to make fun drinks, and they want to serve their guests fun drinks, whether they contain alcohol or not.

Q. What’s your process for developing a new cocktail?

A. I start by going to the farmers market or my grocery store. I don’t have a recipe. I don’t know what I’m doing. I just go in and see what’s out there and what’s in season — and from there, I get inspired. This week, I did a whole Cherry Week, taking inspiration from spirits that go with cherries.

For me, it’s about taking what’s in season and understanding the makeup of a classic cocktail. Once you understand that, you can really start to plug and chug. That’s how I started, and it’s how I think a lot of people should start when they make cocktails.

Once you know how to make a cocktail the right way, like an Old Fashioned or a classic Margarita, then you can start playing with what’s in season. Once you’ve really gone through the book, it’s my hope that people can then riff on the recipes with their own seasonal substitutions.

Q. Parting thoughts?

A. Be okay with making mistakes. Garnish the cocktails — because we deserve it. And have fun creating happy hour.

Details: Pretty Simple Cocktails (Clarkson Potter, $25) hits bookstores July 23.