1. AREA 51 FEST CANCELED OVER FEAR OF ‘HUMANITARIAN DISASTER’: Organizers have pulled out of the planned AlienStock music festival in Rachel, Nevada, which spawned from a mock Facebook event encouraging people to storm Area 51. In a statement on the event website, creator Matty Roberts and his team cited concerns over “lack of infrastructure, poor planning, risk management, and blatant disregard for the safety of the expected 10,000-plus AlienStock attendees.” Roberts is now promoting a free Area 51 celebration at the Downtown Las Vegas Event Center on September 19, which will feature E.D.M. artists initially slated to play the AlienStock festival. CNN: “It seems an event of sorts may still go ahead, though it's unclear how many people will still turn up in Rachel the weekend of September 20. … The Rachel, Nevada website has been updated with the announcement that Roberts has pulled out, stating, ‘If any event still happens it is going to be a pretty sad affair with no bands, very little infrastructure, and a lot of unhappy campers.’"
2. INTEL TO HOST OLYMPICS-SANCTIONED ESPORTS TOURNAMENT: Intel, a sponsor of the 2020 Olympics, and the International Olympic Committee will host a $500,000 esports tournament ahead of the games in Tokyo. Titled the Intel World Open, the event will kick off with online qualifiers in early 2020 for Rocket League and Street Fighter V. A live qualifier event will take place in Katowice, Poland, in June to decide the teams that will move on to the championship tournament in Tokyo from July 22-24, 2020. ESPN: “The live finals in Tokyo will take place at the Zepp DiverCity venue, with a $250,000 prize pool for each tournament. … ESL will produce the World Open, which builds on the collaboration between Intel and the IOC on Intel Extreme Masters (I.E.M.) PyeongChang esports event that took place ahead of the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. That event was built around Blizzard Entertainment's StarCraft II.”
3. CHICAGO’S NEW INTERNATIONAL FAIR HIGHLIGHTS MINIATURE ART: A new art fair in Chicago is dedicated to artwork that can fit in your pocket. The Barely Fair, which is organized by artist-run space Julius Caesar, will showcase contemporary miniature works of art in a traditional art fair layout, but reduced to a 1:12 scale. The inaugural event is slated to feature more than two dozen international exhibitors, and will serve as an affordable alternative to other art fairs happening in the city this season. The New York Times: “Barely Fair coincides with a series of heavy-hitting fairs occurring this month in Chicago, from the eighth edition of Expo Chicago to the inaugural Chicago Invitational, presented by the New Art Dealers Alliance. The timing is intentional. With a booth rental fee of $25, the mini fair pokes fun at the exclusivity of its companion fairs, for which galleries must spend thousands of dollars to attend. ‘We’re giving these spaces a chance to be seen with very minimal barriers to entry,’ said Kate Sierzputowski, a co-director at Julius Caesar.”