Moon Day, a seven-hour celebration of the other moonwalk, happens Saturday.
Art superfans, stretch now: this is a marathon weekend. We've got Dallasites: Available Space kicking off at the DMA Friday just next door to 'Til Midnight at the Nasher; Design District Gallery Day blocks out Saturday afternoon and there's a Webb Gallery opening at Julie and Bruce Lee's Waxahachie odditorium on Sunday.
Not your thing? No worries. There are burlesque, a beer dinner, Star Trek parodies, sketch comedy at a bar, a day-long wordabration at Oil and Cotton, movies galore and a giant party for the moon. Somewhere in there you'll find weekend satisfaction. Now, make a plan, click the event titles for more information and share this list with your rowdiest friends. I'll see you out there. (I'll be the one demanding that the moon howl back.)
Thursday 7.18 Asian Film Festival of Dallas -- After eight days of narrative features, docs, shorts and anime, AFFD wraps this evening. They're going out strong though, with a last day of great movies and a party at Saint Ann Court Tower from 8 to 11 p.m. Go see a film, then shake a thang.
Plimpton! at Texas Theatre -- This documentary tackles the immersive, baffling and star-studded life of celebrity writer and The Paris Review founder George Plimpton. While other journalists attempt to hold space between themselves and their subjects, Plimpton did the opposite.Watch his life via archival clips in this one-night-only screening.
2013 Boat Expo -- Can't afford a boat? You can still grab some bikini'd video babes, a Captain's hat, a leather canteen of rum and go get your Rogers Jollied at the 2013 Boat Expo, which runs through Sunday. Hijack that thing. Throw ragers on sample vessels and embody the word "showboat." Remember the first rule of maritime law: The only thing better than a party on your boat is a party on someone else's. Star Trip II -- Hats of Horror at Pocket Sandwich -- You're probably thinking, "Will I be able to follow this Star Trek parody centered around evil-natured hats if I haven't seen Star Trip I?" Do not panic, this melodrama ode to intergalactic voyages, extra-terrestrial haberdasheries and popcorn throwing IS FREESTANDING. Observer Happy Hour at Quarter Bar -- Here at the Observer we like spots that generate their own vibe: Quarter Bar is that kind of scene. A hideaway tucked in Uptown, this bar's got it all: history, a super friendly staff, a rooftop, drink stations on each floor -- and tonight only, they've also got us. That means $2 wells, domestics and booze pops from 6 to 9 p.m. (You can get so Thursday drunk off that!) Let's clink a glass.
Friday 7.19 Cirque du Burlesque -- There's no mention of tiny car antics in the press release for Cirque du Burlesque, Viva Dallas Burlesque's sexy sideshow offshoot project happening at Lakewood Theater. That isn't to say there won't be any, but you're more likely to see those pulse-racing projects, like contortion, aerial dance, hula hooping and naturally, some circus-y burlesque numbers.
Mayborn Kicks Off -- It's the literary conference that launched a thousand shots, and this installment of Mayborn brings guest speakers Susan Orlean, Ben Fountain and Texas Monthly writer Skip Hollandsworth, to name a few. Day passes are available. As is scotch. Lots and lots of scotch.
Four Corners Beer Dinner at Cook Hall -- Teenage You dreamed of beer dinners and even attempted a beer sundae once, which came out terrible. That's because you weren't then, and still aren't Cook Hall chef Rick Graff. Homeboy's a culinary monster and he's creating a course-by-course, drink-by-drink dinner featuring brew from Four Corners, complete with a beer sundae. You need a resie for this $55 experience.
Dallasites: Available Space Opens at the DMA -- This is one of the most exciting museum projects focused on local talent of the year. If you've been to the DMA in the last couple months [nod here], you've seen Hotel Texas, the exhibition that culled the artwork the Kennedys slept beneath on their final night in Fort Worth. You also saw an offshoot project called Dallasites, which reflects contemporary art made in Dallas since the assassination. Both are cool, but this month amps up with "Available Space," a more performative adventure where we'll see site-specific work by Forth Worth's Homecoming! Committee and Dallas collective, The Art Foundation. You'll get local video art by decade, thanks to Bart Weiss and the Dallas Video Fest. You can catch performance art that peaks in a thumb wrestling throwdown with PerformanceSW. And all are invited to engage with free classes like basket weaving, compliments of Oil and Cotton. It starts Friday during the museum's Late Night series, so make sure to check it out.
'Til Midnight at the Nasher -- Hop back and forth between the Nasher and the DMA Friday, with both flexing late night options. Nasher's got that amazing Katharina Grosse installation downstairs, so if you haven't walked on Mars yet, now's your chance. They've also packed the night with programming, a band and a movie in the sculpture garden. Take it all in. Ladies Stay Crazy at Texas Theatre -- Wear a weird outfit, get thirsty, then roll your sweet cheeks over to Texas Theatre for this XX-centric dance party. There's drink specials, hot beats and a shake-it-damnit attitude that you won't get anywhere else. (Bonus: TT is self-policing, so you won't get dry humped by some bodysprayed creeper, unless you're into that.)
Saturday 7.20 Read-Rite Market -- Billed as "A celebration of the written word and the social practice of reading," Read-Rite market has already won your heart. Now wait, it gets better: This day-long, free event incorporates a pop-up shop of limited-pressing books, a Skype poetry session, hands-on projects, readings, a text-based art show, a book dissection workshop, an exquisite corpse fishbowl story chain, kid zines and paella. Yeah, it's badass, and it kicks off with Coffee, Cigarettes and a Newspaper, where other people read excerpts aloud from the morning paper while you sip Oak Cliff Coffee Roaster java. DECADENCE. Stay all day.
Design District Gallery Day -- It's back, and holding the doors open of your favorite Design District spots, and a couple that exist along its fringe. That means you can (and should) spend time with the work currently up at Conduit, Cohn Drennan, Cris Worley, Galleri Urbane, Goss-Michael, Circuit 12, Red Arrow, RE Gallery and more. (Psst: There's a food and wig mini city over at Cohn Drennan.) This runs from noon to 8 p.m.
Moon Day at Frontiers of Flight Museum -- Hands down, the geekiest holiday of the year. This day-long moon party brings together every niche heaven-angled science community in the metroplex for a day of nerdery. Added bonus: For an additional fee you can join a two-day space hacking workshop where Citizens in Science teaches the public how to create experiments to launch into a suborbital mission. More bonus: Eventually they'll choose 100 experiments and 10 people to send into said suborbital flight missions and you could be part of it.
Fourth Wall Comedy -- Performing sketch comedy takes balls, light props and usually a couple chairs. On Saturday it also takes margaritas as Fourth Wall Comedy performs at Ozona Bar and Grill. They're a newish troupe that blends sketch, improv and music in the schtick, and who knows? Maybe that's great. Go see 'em to find out.
In the Heat of the Night -- This casino party at the Dallas Contemporary is a chance for you to wear that Vegas dress -- you know, the one that's collecting dust on the sequins -- and shoot craps like the baller you are. It's also an opportunity to support Legal Hospice of Texas, which provides legal assistance to low-income folks who've been diagnosed with a terminal illness or HIV.
Sunday 7.21 Peep Show at Webb Gallery -- Julie and Bruce Lee Webb are everywhere right now. They've got an art show at Oil and Cotton on Saturday, Bruce leads a memory jug workshop at the DMA on July 27 as part of Oil and Cotton's programming for Dallasites: Available Space, and this Sunday the pair offers up a charming, throw-back exhibition of amateur photography from the keyhole era. I mean, that's going to be great. Don't miss Sunday's opening party.
Samurai Drunk's Comedy Live-Stream -- Sketch troupe Samurai Drunk hosts a free "telethon" event called "Later Tonight Live" on Sunday from 7:30 to 10 p.m. at Dallas Comedy House that combines stand-up (Chris Darden, Clint Werth, Josh Johnson, Paul Varghese), sketch, improv and ...Kickstarter? Yes! They're filming a pilot episode of their sketch project and that costs money. Check out their Facebook page for more information.