Wednesday, Sept. 28
The Moth Pop Up Porch at Latino Cultural CenterIf you’re a fan of public radio, chances are you’re familiar with The Moth Radio Hour. The Moth is all about storytelling, the art of storytelling, and naturally, the people behind the stories. There are podcasts dedicated to old episodes and authors, and now, a traveling event. The Moth brings its Pop Up Porch Tour to Dallas for a special experience. From 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, experience the tiny house specially built for stories at the Latino Cultural Center (2600 Live Oak St.), then follow it to Klyde Warren Park (2012 Woodall Rodgers Freeway) on Saturday and Sunday. Meet Moth directors and producers, learn about crafting your story, listen to beloved Moth stories and more. It's free. At 7:30 p.m. Thursday, the LCC will host The Moth’s StorySLAM, an open-mic event open to the public with the theme of “Crossroads.” Tickets are required and available online, along with a Texas story playlist and more cool Moth material.
AHT 3D Studio LightSquad members Eduardo Garcia, Koby Wheeler and Daniel Sample work on the projection mapping for 20 Years in 20 Minutes.
Photo by Professor Roxanne Minnish
Much credit is given to artists and material for creating an area’s cultural landscape, but without venues, we’d never have a place to experience art. Dance, theater, visual art — for 20 years the Eisemann Center (2351 Performance Drive) has been a hub for cultural experiences in Richardson. The UT Dallas School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology (AHT) 3D Studio LightSquad has created 20 Years in 20 Minutes, a projection exhibition that is both a tribute to what the Eisemann has provided for the community and an immersive experience. See it 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through the final day on Friday, and during all public events. Tickets are $20, available online.
Thursday, Sept. 29
Safety Last! at Texas TheatreYou don’t have to get loud about it or anything, but Thursday, Sept. 29, is National Silent Movie Day. Texas Theatre (231 W. Jefferson Blvd.) is celebrating with a screening of the Harold Lloyd classic Safety Last! at 7 p.m. The lovable everyman striving for success is the gag and stuntman we need need no matter what decade. Many will cite Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton as a favorite, but Harold Lloyd is a true legend. Tickets are $10, available online.
Qian Julie Wang discusses Beautiful Country: A Memoir of an Undocumented Childhood.
© Brendan Wixted
A child so comfortable with their community and family. A child who sees kids like them every day. A child told they’re now fleeing to America. Beautiful Country is not just the story of Qian Julie Wang; she tells it in a way that pulls at every relatable element for those who have been there and offers incredible insight for those who haven’t. Traumatic coming of age, racism, watching her parents demoted from their professional expertise to a life of poverty, they’re all there. But so is finding a new means of communication via PBS and elsewhere. It’s a full, gloriously haunting memoir, and the author discusses it 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 29, at the Dallas Museum of Art (1717 N. Harwood St.). Tickets vary for in-person or virtual and with book purchase, all available online.
Friday, Sept. 30
PolaCon 7: An Instant Film Convention at various locationsSeven years and still growing, the Instant Film Society is back with its annual celebration of all the instant film currently available and all the best ways to shoot it. PolaCon 7: An Instant Film Convention officially kicks off Friday, Sept. 30, with a #PolaWalk through the State Fair (get all the rain-or-shine meet-up deets on the site), before moving to Denton for a welcome party, concert, karaoke and more at Rubber Gloves. Things stay in Little D, and Saturday is full of walks, talks, demos and even the Zines & Things Swap Meet before more live and highly photographable performances take over. Sunday continues the impressive selection of events and shutter fodder. Get to the Instant Film Society’s website post-haste for the full itinerary (PSST! Including the Thursday events for early-birds!).
State Fair of Texas
A terrifyingly giant mascot. Corn dogs. Crazy Mouse. Live music performances including but not limited to the amazing Lucinda Williams. Cooking demonstrations that will make you doubt all of your pans. Swan boats that offer no breeze whatsoever. Salt water taffy worth risking your fillings for. Giant stuffed animal prizes that you should give to a child if you win because there’s no way in hell you should take them home if you’re an adult. People of Dallas, Friday, Sept. 30, is the opening day of the State Fair of Texas. We’ve given you the really important attractions to note, but find out all the details, purchase tickets and figure out which DART route to take to get there through Oct. 23 at bigtex.com.
Saturday, Oct. 1
Gibney Company at Moody Performance Hall
New York’s progressive dance tour de force, Gibney Company, makes its Texas debut this weekend at Moody Performance Hall (2520 Flora St.). The company offers new, exciting choreography while also bringing home something (or someone) a little familiar. Welcome back Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and Dallas Black Dance Theatre alum Eleni Loving. Check out the TITAS/DANCE UNBOUND presentation by Gibney Company at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Tickets start at $56, available online.
Oktoberfest at Flag Pole Hill
There’s still time for bier and brats and a little closer to the Dallas skyline than some of the more suburban celebrations. Dallas Oktoberfest, presented by the volunteers of the Exchange Club of Lake Highlands, opens up at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 1, at Flag Pole Hill (8015 Doran Circle). Enjoy a variety of live performances by DJs, musical acts and Lake Highlands spirit groups, plus a variety of yums from local vendors. Parking is available at Norbuck Park, KayCee Club and Lake Highlands High School with shuttles running all day. Tickets start at $20 for adults. Find out more online.
Dallas Opera People’s Choice Concert at Winspear Opera House
It’s time to kick off the Dallas Opera’s new season. The Opera offers up the People’s Choice Concert 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1. Audiences can enjoy pieces from Carmen, Don Giovanni, La fille du regiment and Rigoletto. But what is this people’s choice, you dare ask? That choice closes the show because audiences vote for the encore. Free tickets are available through 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30, with more available for walk-up the day of the show as long as they last. Find out more online.
Sunday, Oct. 2
The Cake at Theatre Arlington
At first blush, we want to cheer really hard for Della in Theatre Arlington’s production of Bekah Brunstetter’s The Cake. The small-town baker is so good she gets to compete on the Great American Baking Show. And then her may-as-well-be daughter comes home to get married, and her fiancé turns out to be her fiancée. All hell breaks loose as Della is torn on what to do. We find ourselves pissed and sad, and still we want to find out if she comes through for sweet Jen. She'd better. Find out what happens at Theatre Arlington (305 W. Main St.) Thursdays through Sundays through October 16. Tickets are available online.
The Gazillion Bubble Show at Coppell Arts Center
Fan Yang is a master of bubbles. That’s a legit thing, and he’s been one for 20 years. If there’s artistry to be done with bubbles, he’s the man to do it. But it’s also a family affair, because joining him are his wife, son, daughter and brother in the Gazillion Bubble Show. It’s a fascinating stage performance for all ages, and if you don’t oooh and aaah over bubbles great and small, and lasers, what is wrong with you? Shows are 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1, and 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2, at Coppell Arts Center (505 Travis St.). Tickets are $36, available online.
Monday, Oct. 3
Arts & Letters Live: Fredrik Backman at Wyly Theater
He’s behind A Man Called Ove, Beartown, Anxious People, My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, and so many other heartrending, devastating and absolutely beloved books. It’s not fair to be that good an author, with so many knock-outs in such a short career, not to mention lifetime, but we’ll forgive it because it’s Fredrik Backman and we don’t really want him to stop, even if we’re jealous. Fortunately, he has another to offer: The Winners. Join him as he discusses his latest, the conclusion to the Beartown series, as part of Arts & Letters Live, at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 3, at the Wyly Theater (2400 Flora St.). Tickets vary based on in-person and virtual; all are available online.
