Last weekend's 17th annual Basilica Block Party suffered hellfire heat at first. "I never take off my jacket," Fitz and the Tantrums' stylish frontman Michael Fitzpatrick said onstage, "but Minneapolis, you just broke me."

Things were also more heated than usual outside the gates. A small contingent of gay rights supporters handed out stickers and carried signs to protest the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis' support of a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

"Let's party as if we already have marriage equality" read one of the signs belonging to Catholics for Marriage Equality, whose stickers ("I support marriage equality") were plastered all over concertgoers. Co-founder Michael Bayly said his group did not want to discourage people from attending. "We want people to feel welcome and know that there are many, many Catholics who believe in equality," Bayly said.

A Facebook page that drew 15,000 "yes" responders did call for a boycott of the party before its creator took it down three weeks ago. The page did not seem to affect ticket sales, which neared 12,500 on Friday. It did draw the attention of organizers and performers.

One headliner, Michael Franti, met with members of the gay rights group OutFront.org and pledged his support to them. Local rockers the Jayhawks dedicated a new song, "Hide Your Colors," to "free choice in marriage." The Drive-By Truckers hilariously used Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" as their walk-on music. And Illinois songstress Lissie drew cheers when she said, "It's really not anyone's business how people choose to love one another. Love is always a good thing."

Basilica representatives said they support everyone's right to respectfully speak out on the issue, but they believe the block party was unfairly singled out. "All of the money this event raises stays entirely within the walls of the beautiful Basilica buildings to preserve them, and preserve the good work that is done here," said Emily Carlson Hjelm, the church's director of development.

The block party started in 1995 to help pay for the church's structural upkeep. Money still goes to that as well as to St. Vincent de Paul's charity efforts.

Wilson, best known these days for playing paranoid Dwight Schrute on "The Office," returns the favor this weekend by sitting down with his mentor at the Guthrie for a wide-ranging matinee discussion. "My Minneapolis experience was really an important part of my creative journey as an artist," said Wilson. "Joe started off as an actor, so he very much respects the performance. A lot of directors want to know early on what you're going to do so they can paint a pretty picture around it, but Joe is all about playing and excavating."

Wilson said he still applies the lessons he learned from Dowling to his sitcom and movie work, which has included "Juno," "Super" and "The Rocker." "You can take that attitude and be really demanding in exacting your exploration," he said recently from Los Angeles.

Was there enough magic at the Guthrie to lure Wilson back for another performance? The actor says he loves the idea, but the summer hiatus from "The Office" is too short. Despite the scheduling conflicts, Dowling isn't about to give up. At one point, he tried talking Wilson into doing an updated version of "The Inspector General."

"We'll keep talking," Dowling said. "And he'll keep saying no."

Beloved Twin Cities fashion designer Danielle Everine will appear on Season 9 of "Project Runway." Everine, 26, has been a part of the local scene since the mid-'00s, with her work showcasing her background in fine art and sculpture while displaying a sense of history, craftsmanship and whimsy. She first made a name for herself at Voltage 2010 and went on to co-star in a lauded MNfashion Week show, "Pale Rider," in fall 2010. Her spring 2011 line, which debuted at Voltage in April, was a dreamy, all-sheer collection of separates. Past Minnesotans on the reality show include Ra'mon-Lawrence Coleman and Christopher Straub (Season 6) and Katherine Gerdes (Season 3). Season 9 premieres July 28 on Lifetime.

A longtime club/events listings editor for the Twin Cities Reader and later City Pages, the Star Tribune and Vita.mn, Smith died at home in Minneapolis on July 5, just two weeks after being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. She was 60. In the pre-Internet era -- and even well afterward -- Smith withstood the tedious work of tracking down club owners, concert promoters and other music staffers to assemble the lists that determined where many local music fans wound up on any given night. She worked at the now-defunct Reader for 17 years.

"In those days, the music calendar was everything," said veteran promoter Sue McLean, who called Smith a "fixture" behind the scenes. "She loved the music and loved being such a big part of keeping all the events straight."

New York Times columnist and author David Carr, who worked with Smith at the Reader in the 1980s and early '90s, said her "quiet power" served the arts community well. "In every place of business, there's always someone who knows the score and knows exactly what's up, and that was always her," Carr recalled.

Smith will be memorialized Friday at the Parkway Theater (4814 Chicago Av. S., Mpls.). Visitation will be at noon and service at 1 p.m. A fund to help pay for arrangements has been created in Smith's name at the Star Choice Credit Union.