At the center of the concrete landscape that is downtown Dallas sits a cozy little urban green space that regularly hosts food trucks, concerts, art installations and various other activities on the cheap. Klyde Warren Park, 2012 Woodall Rodgers Freeway, is no doubt a local favorite for lazing around on a warm afternoon. It also doubles as an outdoor dance studio for those who want to work up a little sweat at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8, when pros from Studio 22: A Ballroom & Social Dance Club, host Salsa in the Park. Join others on the park’s main stage at the Muse Family Performance Pavilion (facing the lawn) for a cool evening of salsa music and dancing. Can’t find a partner to tag along? That’s OK; no partners or experience is needed. For more information, including parking directions and nearby restaurants, visit the event’s Facebook page. Klyde Warren Park, 2012 Woodall Rodgers Freeway, 6:30 p.m., free, see Facebook. — Diamond Victoria
Beer is a miracle. It turns a bad party into something somewhat tolerable. It makes hot days more bearable. It transforms boring concerts into reasons to head bang. Beer is also more than just a magical, transformative liquid. It comes in many varieties, styles and flavors. Discover your new favorite transformational liquid at one of the most anticipated beer gatherings of the year. The seventh annual Dallas Observer BrewFest brings together local favorites such as Deep Ellum Brewing Co., Humperdinks and Tupps Brewery with national brands including Shiner, Modelo, Fat Tire and Guinness. BrewFest will be from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, at the Dallas Farmers Market, 920 S. Harwood St. Each $42 general admission ticket comes with 12 beer samplings, 2 ounces each, and a commemorative glass. VIP passes are $75 and come with everything in the general admission package, as well as access to the fest an hour early; admission to the VIP lounge and restrooms; and food from Bucky Moonshine's, Chiloso Mexican Bistro, Full Circle Tavern and Pollo Campero. Tickets can be purchased at ticketfly.com. Dallas Farmers Market, 920 S. Harwood St., 7-10 p.m., $42, ticketfly.com. – Danny Gallagher
It’s brown, it’s silky, it’s delicious and it has a festival dedicated to it. Sink your teeth into the Dallas Chocolate Festival from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, at the Fashion Industry Gallery, 1807 Ross Ave. Enjoy expert demos and educational talks and a section just for the little ones. The really, really good part: dozens of vendors offering samples of chocolatey goodness (and even more for purchase). Whether 72 percent dark is your bag, or the smoothest of milk, or any kind as long as it’s speckled with crunch — hell, even white “chocolate” — this festival will have it all for the tasting. It kicks off with a Midway Cocktail Party ($50) at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8, and concludes with a day of workshops ($60 to $200) from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Passes for all events are $275. Tickets to Saturday’s main event are $35 to $75 ($5 for children) and must be purchased at dallaschocolate.org. Fashion Industry Gallery, 1807 Ross Ave., 7 p.m., $35 and up, dallaschocolate.org. — Merritt Martin
Saturday
Colin Hay first found success as the lead singer for Australian band Men at Work. After the band's break up in 1985, Hay embarked a solo career but didn't quite receive the acclaim he was hoping for until much later. In 2004, his song "I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You" was featured in the film Garden State, reviving Hay's career tremendously. Hay's live sets are filled with anecdotal breaks, familiar hits from his time with Men at Work and new material off this year's album, Fierce Mercy. Majestic Theatre, 1925 Elm St., 8 p.m., $88 and up, liveatthemajestic.com. – Diamond Victoria
It is both strange and inspiring how two entirely different styles of painting can reflect upon and speak to one another. Take, for instance, Elsewhere, the exhibition featuring the works of Danny Rose and Haylee Ryan at Jen Mauldin Gallery, 408 N. Bishop Ave., Suite 103. The show, opens with an artist reception from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, and runs through Oct. 7. It showcases Ryan’s exploration of the human figure and Rose’s distinctive approach to color and shape. Although Ryan’s forms are much more realistic, they and their color-blocked backgrounds hold a natural aesthetic conversation with Rose’s bold graphic movements, which have as much an organic, breathing quality to them as a human body. Gallery hours are noon to 6 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays. Visit jenmauldingallery.com. Jen Mauldin Gallery, 408 N. Bishop Ave., Suite 103, 6-9 p.m. Saturday, free, jenmauldingallery.com. — Merritt Martin
Letitia Huckaby bypasses Twitter fights and Facebook narratives to present a complex, sobering and historical perspective on race, the American South, and the intersection of past disappointments and current realities. Her exhibit at Liliana Bloch Gallery, 2271 Monitor St., titled 40 Acres Gumbo Ya Ya puts images of Southern landscapes and homesteads in vintage embroidery hoops — framing Deep South agrarian scenery once promised to freed slaves in a way that makes the disappointment and the gap between dreams and actualities palpable. The term “gumbo ya ya” is a colloquialism that means everyone is talking at once. Southern racial heritage is a screaming match these days, but when it’s framed and presented this way, it becomes a quiet contemplation and a singular, solemn reality. This timely and thoughtful exhibit kicks off with a reception from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, and continues through Oct. 7. Liliana Bloch Gallery is open from noon to 5:15 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays; find the event page on Facebook or visit lilianablochgallery.com. Liliana Bloch Gallery, 2271 Monitor St., 6-9 p.m. Saturday, free, lilianablochgallery.com. – Jennifer Davis-Lamm
The Oak Cliff Cultural Center presents an exhibit showcasing a spectrum of eclectic local artists. From DFW mainstays to locally grown international talents, Voice has the potential to be a serious snapshot of Dallas’ underground art scene. Sam Lao, Jeremy Biggers, Sammy Rat Rios, Drigo, Hatziel and Odessa Buggs are all contributing to this exhibit. Voice kicks off with an artist reception at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, and runs through Oct. 13 at the Oak Cliff Cultural Center, 223 W. Jefferson Blvd. The reception and exhibit are free to the public. For more information, visit occc.dallasculture.org. Oak Cliff Cultural Center, 223 W. Jefferson Blvd., 5:30 p.m., free, occc.dallasculture.org. — Jonathan Patrick
Robocop will screen at Dallas City Hall (one of the filming locations) Sunday. The actor who played Robocop, Peter Weller, will participate in a Q&A following.
Robocop still
Houston-based visual artist Melinda Laszcsynski is fascinated by liminal spaces. Process and the concept of art as a journey, not an endpoint, animates\her work. The artist’s latest exhibition, A Hole A Pool A Moon, takes place at local Galleri Urbane, 2277 Monitor St. A sculptor, a painter and everything in between, Laszcsynski makes art imbued with a colorful, absurd sense of play that examines the contrasts between low and high art. (“I'm partial to shiny stuff, bright colors, and everyday things from the dollar store,” she explains on her website.) Like the abundance of textures, surfaces and mediums she explores, Laszcsynski’s pieces speak to the oversaturation of modern, internet-enhanced living — 21st century commerce, media and cultural detritus. The free exhibition opens with a reception at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, in Galleri Urbane’s Gallery 2 and ends Oct 7. For more information, visit galleriurbane.com. Galleri Urbane, 2277 Monitor St., 6 p.m., free, galleriurbane.com. – Jonathan Patrick
Art Beef presents Cleaver, an exhibition of fresh material from Dallas’ Cassandra Emswiler Burd and Lucia Simek — the former best known for transforming opulent tile work into miniature masterpieces, and the latter an essential figure in nearly all facets of the Dallas art community. After sharing adjacent cubicle space, the two visual artists sparked up a friendship in 2014. On the bedrock of family, art-as-lifestyle and a shared experience of deep political turmoil, their art-making became indirectly intertwined. Cleaver runs Sept. 9-30 at Beefhaus studio, 833 Exposition Ave., starting with a reception at 7 p.m. opening night. For more information, visit facebook.com/artbeeftx. Beefhaus, 833 Exposition Ave., 7 p.m., free, facebook.com/artbeeftx. – Jonathan Patrick
There’s no end to the fascination that surrounds Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, the Texas duo that somehow managed to conjure a legacy of romance and mystery that persists 83 years after a cruel rampage that left people across four states dead. Bonnie and Clyde were outlaws who photographed well, which cemented their history as proper American rebels despite the bodies they left in their wake. PDNB Gallery, 154 Glass St., presents a collection of images of the pair as they flamed out, reducing the notorious fugitives to flesh and blood and documenting other elements of the final ambush that claimed their lives. In Bonnie & Clyde: The End, see graphic photos of the police ambush that put a two-year crime spree to an end, including the lawmen involved, the getaway car and postmortem shots, as well as earlier photos of the couple in, er, happier circumstances. The exhibit, which opens with a reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, will be on view through Nov. 11. PDNB is open from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays; visit pdnbgallery.com for more information. PDNB Gallery, 154 Glass St., 5-8 p.m., free, pdnbgallery.com. — Jennifer Davis-Lamm
Sunday
Have you ever driven by Dallas City Hall and wondered where you’ve seen that neatly angled building somewhere else? Well, if you read our cover story last month, you’d know that the Dallas City Hall building played a key role in the classic 1987 action sci-fi film RoboCop as the headquarters of the OCP corporation, the private military firm that builds the metal crimefighter. Thirty years later, Dallasites can see the film on an outdoor screen in the shadow of Dallas’ iconic center of local government, thanks to the Alamo Drafthouse, Birth.Movies.Death and SYFY, followed by a Q&A with the film’s star, Peter Weller. The event runs from 7:30 to 11 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 10, at Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St. Tickets are $50 to $150 and can be purchased at eventbrite.com. Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St., 7:30-11 p.m., $50-$150, eventbrite.com. — Danny Gallagher
[content-1] Just over a month ago, Atlanta-based Manchester Orchestra released its fifth full-length studio album, A Black Mile to the Surface. Critics hail it as the band's most emotive record, filled with grandiose narratives. The indie rock band also wrote and recorded the almost-entirely a cappella soundtrack for the 2016 film Swiss Army Man, receiving two nominations the same year at the International Film Music Critics Association. House of Blues, 2200 N. Lamar St., 6 p.m., $40-$86, houseofblues.com. – Diamond Victoria
