10 Things to Do in Dallas for $10 or Less: February 24-26

True South
PDNB Gallery
154 Glass St., Suite 104
11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Free
There are many colors to the South, specifically True South, a group exhibition at PDNB Gallery that runs through April 15. The show features diverse works — landscapes and environmental and classic portraits — on Southern subjects ranging from the Mississippi Delta to Texas. Artists include Keith Carter, Earlie Hudnall, Jr., Brandon Thibodeaux, Shelby Lee Adams and more. The show runs in conjunction with Jeanine Michna-Bales’ exhibition Through Darkness to Light: Seeking Freedom on the Underground Railroad, which covers approximately 1,400 miles of paths, crossings and sites used by abolitionists and slaves seeking freedom. — Merritt Martin

"Start a Pollinator Garden"
Denton Clear Creek Natural Heritage Center
3310 Collins Road, Denton
10 a.m. Saturday
Free
No joke: Just this morning we were sent an email forward that claimed if honeybees go extinct, humans will only survive four years. Once appreciated only as a threat to exp;osed skin, the value of bees is getting better known and thank goodness for that. Denton Clear Creek Natural Heritage Center is doing its part to spread bee awareness by hosting "Start a Pollinator Garden — Give Back to the Bees and Butterflies!" at 10 a.m. Saturday. Janet Laminack, AgriLife Extension horticulture agent for Denton County, will lead the workshop, which is free. — Merritt Martin

Elliot Ackerman Author Talk
The Wild Detectives
314 W. 8th St.
1 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday
Free
Elliot Ackerman is a veteran, author and journalist who has covered the Syrian civil war for publications such as The New Yorker and The Atlantic since 2013. That's when his second novel, Dark at the Crossing, is set. Published in January, it tells the story of an Iraqi-American eager to join the fight and a Syrian couple who has already suffered great losses as a result of it. It's one of the first works of fiction to center on the ongoing strife in Syria. Dallas author Ben Fountain (Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk) will join Ackerman in conversation.

World Sword Swallower's Day
Ripley's Believe It Or Not
601 East Palace Parkway, Grand Prairie
1:45 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday
Free
If you've been driving by the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum on your way to Ft. Worth for decades and you've never paid it a visit, this weekend is a good time to change that. In partnership with its sister museums across the country, the Grand Prairie Ripley's will host a celebration for World Sword Swallower's Day — yes, there's a holiday for that, too — featuring sword-swallowing by some of the top people in this 4,000-year-old field.

10th Annual Texas Independence Day Charity Chili Cook-Off
Ginger Man
2718 Boll St.
Noon to 5 p.m. Saturday
$10
Texas Independence Day is traditionally celebrated March 2, but the Ginger Man is celebrating a wee bit early by hosting its 10th Annual Texas Independence Day Charity Chili Cook-Off from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday. Presented by Deep Ellum Brewing Company, the throw-down benefits SPCA of Texas and will feature its new Mobile Adoption Unit. Aside from the obvious grub and brews, there will be live music, giveaways, a silent auction and more. Meet adoptable potential best friends and prove your chili is the best. Tasting cups and raffle tickets will be for sale the day of the event (while supplies last), or register to cook at the pub (spaces are limited). — Merritt Martin

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls
Texas Theatre
231 W. Jefferson Blvd.
8 p.m. Saturday
$6 to $14
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls is a 1970 film directed by Russ Meyer and co-written by Meyer and Roger Ebert. And the fever dream of an exploitation film is almost exactly what one would expect from an inexperienced screenwriter, Ebert, and an independent X-rated filmmaker, Meyer. The colorful, campy cult-classic film — about the risqué misadventures of three young girls in a rock band who head to Hollywood and enter a scene filled with sex, “dolls” (slang for drugs) and rock 'n' roll — was initially given an X rating, but the film was later reclassified as NC-17. The film screens Saturday at Texas Theatre, with a “Behind the Screen” concert following the film at 10 p.m. Appropriately, the bill features three local all-girl acts: Pearl Earl, Rat Rios and Afu. George Quartz will also be deejaying in the Texas Theatre Saloon. Tickets for the film are $10, and tickets to the concert are $6 — with a discounted bundle price of $14 available for both. — Daniel Rodrigue

The 24-Hour Plays
WaterTower Theatre
15650 Addison Road
8 p.m. Saturday
$10
It takes about 24 hours for us to wind up just to wash our sheets, so it's practically unfathomable that the creative minds involved in WaterTower Theatre's play festival this weekend will conceive, write and produce a 15-minute play in that span of time. Of the local playwrights who submitted to the competition, Janielle Kastner, Brigham Mosley, Shelby Allison-Hibbs and Steven Young were selected. On Friday they'll each be paired up with a director and actors from a crew of WaterTower regulars. Show up Saturday night and you can see what genius each crew has whipped together.

Oak Cliff Mardi Gras Parade
Windomere Avenue at Davis Street
4 p.m. Sunday
Free
If you're from Louisiana, Oak Cliff's Mardi Gras parade may not be quite what you're used to. (There are beads, but no boobies.) This is a family friendly event. But it's still one of the most hotly anticipated days for the neighborhood each year, when about 10,000 people gather in Bishop Arts District to watch a 50-group parade made up of service and community organizations, churches and schools wind a route from Windomere Avenue at Davis Street to end on Melba Street. This will be the parade's ninth year, so put on a silly hat, bring a few boozy beverages and stake out a good people-watching spot. Just keep your shirt in place.

Materialism and Theism
The Door
2513 Main St.
6 p.m. Sunday
Free
The Bible & Beer Consortium hosts monthly theological debates and lectures around the DFW area in beer-soaked bars and music venues. This month’s event features Dr. Luke Barnes and Dr. Matthew Titsworth debating "Materialism and Theism: Do Fine-Tuning Arguments Succeed?" Barnes is a postdoctoral researcher at the Sydney Institute for Astronomy, University of Sydney, where he specializes in topics ranging from cosmology to galaxy formation, and Titsworth teaches physics for majors and non-majors at University of Texas at Dallas and at Collin College. The debate starts at 6 p.m. at The Door. — Daniel Rodrigue

Oscars Watching Party
Angelika Film Center
5321 E. Mockingbird Lane
6 p.m. Sunday
Free
Sunday is the big night; the night when we finally learn which films and actors the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences have decided to bestow with shiny gold Oscar statues. Who will win? Will the makers of throwback musical La La Land grace the stage first? Or will the more difficult coming-of-age story Moonlight get its due first, and then La La Land? There are so many possibilities. You can watch how the 89th Academy Awards, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, play out at a free watching party at Angelika Film Center. There will be free snacks, giveaways and drink specials. Tickets are available at 11 a.m. the day of, and there's a two-per-person limit.