Almost 40 food trucks have the city permits needed to roll around Dallas serving up tacos, banh mi and the like, so isn’t it about time some of the city’s best-known trucks square off to see who’s really the best mobile munchies provider? Enter Ten for 10: Water for Africa’s…
Earlier this year, The Mixmaster, the Observer’s arts blog, took part in the 24-Video Race at the Angelika. The stay-up-all-night battle results in one super-fun weird piece of cinema. Feeling left out? Don’t. Now comes 48 Hours of Hell, which, surprisingly, does not involve sitting in a windowless room with…
The unfamiliar consider dance a scary thing anyway, so why not shake up expectations with a dance performance both original and modern, all the while ghoulishly delightful? That’s what Contemporary Ballet Dallas had in mind when it created Danse Macabre, a collection of themed performances from company dancers and guest…
Upon arrival at the Kessler last year for the inaugural Blues, Bandits & BBQ shindig, there was little doubt it would become an annual event. Sure enough, it’s back, this time at Lake Cliff Park (1200 N. Zang Blvd.). Enter the barbecue competition ($100 entry fee per team) to compete…
There may have been six flags over Texas, but the Lone Star state has attracted immigrants from even farther abroad, so it doesn’t seem right to stop the celebrations with Oktoberfest. Addison and the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth host WorldFest, a two-day multi-ethnic festival featuring the groups representing…
Books take kids to a land far, far and away. They can fall down a dark, damp hole, eat green eggs (maybe with a side of ham?) and conquer Booger Boy in their underwear. Celebrate this collection of the imagination with the production of Read Like A Rock Star, in…
In 2004, Tammy Pescatelli tap-danced her way into the hearts of Americans everywhere with her loud-mouth, ballsy-broad comedy on Last Comic Standing. Seven years later she still spends the better part of her life in front of a mic dishing out her opinion on everything from motherhood to Snuggies. She’s…
It’s 1933 and gooey slug monsters from the planet Zygon have found their way to Earth. Our fate is in the hands of Molly Sloan (reporter), her assistant and Ben Wilcott (librarian). Will Judgment Day rear its ugly head, or can the three unlikeliest of people save us from total…
If the rumors are to be believed, the incidences of fainting during readings of the Chuck Palahniuk short story “Guts” are now up to 73. Some folks, it seems, just can’t handle their Chuck. If you think you can — or if you think passing out in a big museum…
Those who might have been avoiding the Dallas theater scene because it’s too talky or Sam Shepard-y, Level Ground Arts presents a play to draw in the skeptics of the stage (or anyone who snoozes in the back after one martini): A Samurai Nosferatu. That’s right; it’s real. All you…
The undead tend to leave a lasting impression, whether it’s a spine-chilling commercial for a midnight showing of George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead or The Cranberries’ hit protest song or Target’s “Kids’ Heartless Zombie Costume” for boys. Or, maybe, it’s watching young adult zombies slowly stagger across the…
If you want to get truly terrified this Halloween, hop on Interstate 30 and head west. Worse than the traffic on Woodall Rodgers, your destination, Hangman’s House of Horrors, is a three-acre scream-fest featuring one overly ghouled house and three side attractions — McDagenville, The Labyrinth and 3-D Wonderland. All…
I know Julia Roberts’ Pretty Woman character was enchanted by the opera from the start, but the reality is that most people start out feeling very special about being at such a fancy event and then figure out about 15 minutes into it that they’re not supposed to bring wine…
Usually the word bootleg isn’t something that artists take kindly to. But downtown’s Plush Gallery has no problem with the word — at least as it relates to Eric Doeringer’s Cowboys. Doeringer doesn’t actually copy other artists’ works, but their process — scanning, cropping and retouching to make something that…
For art seekers looking to test their understanding of memory and the irreplaceable imprints of past experiences, an exhibition of new works by Gael Stack may be a decent place to start. Stack uses brief messages and overlapping sketches to reflect memory’s complexity, and uses the concept of Sigmund Freud’s…
As the early-’90s poets Boyz II Men so helpfully remind, it’s hard to say goodbye to yesterday. But like most things, it’s easier with food. The Mexican tradition of Día de los Muertos, a centuries-old celebration of honoring and remembering ancestors, makes sure to include the dead’s favorite food items,…
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s kaleidoscopic musical Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is going small, taking a run on the intimate 150-seat Artisan Center Theater (418 E. Pipeline Road in Hurst). The 43-year-old musical, about the Old Testament Joseph’s journey, is presented through lively song and dance, dazzling costumes and colorful…
Dallas painter Joey Seeman specializes in portrait caricature and has drawn inspiration from rock ‘n’ rollers, Bonnie and Clyde, Mexican wrestling and other pop-culture treasures. He has an exhibition of new works entitled Masquerade at the Magnolia Gallery, which is located inside the Magnolia Theatre in West Village, 3699 McKinney…
Back in the 1960s, there was a Milton Bradley board game called Mystery Date. Advertised during Saturday morning cartoons with a nifty jingle — “Open the doooooor for yooooour mystery date” — it was aimed at girls age 6 to 14. The game went like this: You took turns picking…
What do clocks, a desk, logs, cardboard boxes, equipment of one kind or another, buildings, a train, meters, fans, a chair, radios, a tractor, a bed, blocks, toy trees, a dollhouse, a telephone, an electrical outlet, Saturn, record players, cut pages from a children’s book,a grandfather clock, train cars, cash…
In honor of Paranormal Activity 3’s release this Friday, I’d like to take a look back to 2007 for the film that started it all: Oren Peli’s Paranormal Activity. It may be hard to separate the film from the phenomenon only four years later, but I actually believe the series…
Welcome to another edition of Geek-Offs , where you’ll find the perfect distractions to help you muddle your way through hump day each week. Sometimes boys screw up pretty badly. Sure, they could buy some flowers, send a singing telegram or even grovel like there’s no tomorrow, but with this…
