June Events for Creative Business People

By: Theunis Bates, Clay Dillow, Bianca Bosker, Anya Kamenetz, Abe Lebovic, Beth Adams, Ellen GibsonFri May 9, 2008 at 5:06 PM

Bridge Pavilion | courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects

What's happening in June, from Wal-Mart's annual meeting to the World Barista Championships.

Enlarge

June 2008 | illustration by Paul Sahre

Related Content

Call it what you will: a pep rally, an old-fashioned Arkansas revival, a Peoples Temple brimming with Kool-Aid and those creepy Wal-Mart smiley faces. We still can't wait to see what kind of hoopla the WMT annual meeting generates this year, with the company's investors and employees expected to pack an 18,000-seat arena near its Bentonville headquarters. Sure, company executives will talk about revamping stores and boosting sales at a time when Wal-Mart's low- and middle-income customers are enduring rising gas prices and plunging consumer confidence. But the real draw of this five-hour-plus affair, which contrasts with Target's 30-minute in-and-out express meeting, is the special entertainment, never announced until just before the show. Think J. Lo (last year's surprise guest), Beyoncé (the year before), and a 90-minute "Wal-Mart: The Musical." No, really. -- KR

Week 2

wednesday, june 11
Blast Off
51st Meeting of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space
Vienna, Austria

It may not yet have achieved peace on earth, but the ever-ambitious United Nations is still confident that it can make outer space a bit safer. Representatives of the world's 69 space powers -- including galactic giant Bolivia -- will gather for 10 days of talks to set rules for the exploration and commercial exploitation of the cosmos. Another universal concern expected to be discussed: clutter. Thousands of objects, including disused satellites, remnants of rocket motors, and even a camera lost by U.S. astronaut Sunita Williams during a space walk last year, are now floating above the earth. -- TB

friday, june 13
Watch
The Incredible Hulk
Directed by Louis Leterrier

Last time around, in 2003, the Hulk wasn't incredible -- not at the box office, not to fans, not to Marvel. The comic-book giant has since reacquired the film rights to the not-so-jolly green giant, produced this new big-screen version independently, and restored the title character's incredibleness. The 2008 version has Bruce Banner (played by Edward Norton, who also cowrote the script) desperately torn between fully curing his overexposure to the gamma rays that transformed him into the raging Hulk, and harnessing its powers to protect humanity, instead. We have no idea what he'll choose. -- Abe Lebovic

saturday, june 14
Tap
Expo Zaragoza 2008
Zaragoza, Spain

Drought and desertification may not be your typical tourist lure, but this summer, some 5 million people are expected to flood into the Spanish city of Zaragoza for Expo 2008, which is dedicated to the theme of "water and sustainable development." More than 100 countries will be participating in the $1 billion Expo, the modern-day descendent of the World's Fair. The exhibition will also feature Europe's largest freshwater aquarium -- stocked with aquatic life from five of the world's great rivers -- and H₂O-themed buildings and bridges by architects including Enrique de Teresa and Zaha Hadid, whose Bridge Pavilion is shown in the photograph above. "Never before has the world talked about water for 93 days in a row," says Eduardo Mestre, one of the Expo's directors. "This summer could be the turning point in the way we use this vital resource." -- TB

saturday, june 14
Pledge Allegiance
Flag Day

Though surveys show that just 40% of Americans know when it is, Flag Day, which Woodrow Wilson first established by presidential proclamation in 1916, still spurs more than a quarter of the population to send their patriotism up the flagpole. The still-not-over war on terror has been a boon to the $350 million-a-year stars-and-stripes industry, although the post-9/11 bump has moderated lately (how many flags does one person need?). Here's one bright spot for American manufacturing: Nearly 99% of American flags are still made right here at home. (The rest? You guessed it. Almost all in China.) USA! USA!-- KR

Week 3

monday, june 16
Research
Bio International Convention
San Diego