The Best Things To Do in Dallas, Feb. 22–28

Wednesday, Feb. 22

Katherine Schwarzenegger at Interabang Books and Reunion Tower
As we smug-watched Season 2 of The Home Edit and begrudgingly admitted that our granola bars could indeed be better stored, we found ourselves drawn to a woman who immediately gave off the “it’s OK to ask for help” vibes we find especially comforting. She needed The Home Edit team to help her organize about 80% of the garage for her stuff and leave a tiny workspace for her husband Chris Pratt (the actor), and he was happy to get it. We like this. We also like that Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt’s stuff was primarily books. Books she wrote. Some of them for kids. Like, Good Night, Sister, her latest about two close sisters learning to sleep in “big girl rooms” all on their own. You and the littles have two opportunities to enjoy her sweet prose (inspired by her own sister) and Lucy Fleming’s illustrations as Pratt visits Interabang Books at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 22, and Reunion Tower’s GeO-Deck at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 24. Storytime at Interabang is free, and books are available online. Tickets ($25–$40) are required for the Reunion Tower event, available online.

Thursday, Feb. 23

Deep In The Art of Texas at PDNB Gallery
Sometimes, just being from Texas is enough. Living here can bond you to someone you’ve never seen or met. For PDNB Gallery (150 Manufacturing St.) and its latest exhibition, Texas is the key. Deep In The Art of Texas runs 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays through March 25 and spotlights an array of photographers from the Lone Star State. Portraiture, landscape, abstract, documentary and more — the styles are all different, as is the viewing experience. With artists including Keith Carter, Carlotta Corpron, Michael O’Brien, Earlie Hudnall Jr. and so many others, we’re grateful to the gallery for giving us a reason to celebrate this troubled state. Find out more online.

Friday, Feb. 24

1619 PROJECT, ONE-ACT FESTIVAL at Bishop Arts Theatre Center
An epic journalistic effort, The 1619 Project led by Nikole Hannah-Jones and other writers from The New York Times reframes this country’s narrative of slavery. While it gained Hannah-Jones the Pulitzer Prize, it also sparked controversy in certain circles. Named for the year marking the arrival of enslaved people from Africa to the Virginia Colony, it has inspired televised and additional published efforts and, naturally, artistic ones. Bishop Arts Theatre Center (215 S. Tyler St.) presents 1619 PROJECT, ONE-ACT FESTIVAL directed by Gabrielle Kurlander. The production offers commissions by playwrights (some local) that explore the legacy of slavery in this country today. See it 8 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 24, 3 and 8 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 25, and 3 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 26. Tickets are $40, available online.

Texas Ballet Theater's Modern Masterpieces at Wyly Theatre
Eclectic art continues with Texas Ballet Theater’s productions of Modern Masterpieces Friday through Sunday at the Wyly Theatre (2400 Flora St.). This staging is a bit of a personal victory for the company, as the show was intended to be performed back in March 2020, but was postponed due to the pandemic. Three years later these artists finally get to show off their neo-classical and contemporary ballet chops. Take in the three different ballets in each performance 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $20, available online.

Saturday, Feb. 25

Peelander Yellow event at Kettle Art Gallery
Fun at an art gallery? Yes. Big, bold and weird fun? Absolutely. Don’t hesitate. Proceed directly to Kettle Art Gallery (2650-B Main St.) from noon to 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 25, for a family-friendly event that will have you seeing yellow. Peelander Yellow, that is. Kengo Hioki is a Japanese-born, Austin-dwelling artist and musician known to most as Peelander Yellow (or just Yellow), the frontman of punk band and absolute entertainment explosion Peelander-Z. But Yellow is also an accomplished artist — his murals are prolific and vibrant, as his name would suggest. Saturday’s event is legitimately don’t-miss. The artist is hysterical to watch and to be around, and he might even appoint you one of his collaborators for a live paint session. Plus, rumor has it he’ll perform some tunes. It’s his third time at Kettle and everytime is see-to-believe, so we suggest you do. The event is free. Find Kettle online.

Saints, Sinners, Lovers, and Fools: 300 Years of Flemish Masterworks at the DMA
The Dallas Museum of Art (1717 N. Harwood St.) is the final destination for a robust touring exhibition celebrating art created from the 1400s through the 1600s. Saints, Sinners, Lovers, and Fools: 300 Years of Flemish Masterworks offers audiences more than 130 works of art from The Phoebus Foundation’s collection, with six distinctive sections addressing themes of religion, travel and exploration, folly and humor, emotion and wonder by artists including Jan Gossaert, Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck and others. The exhibition runs through June 25. Admission to the museum is free, but Saints, Sinners, Lovers, and Fools requires a separate entrance fee, available in advance online.

Sunday, Feb. 26

Favor the Kind Warehouse Wipeout
If you missed sales shopping since the post-holiday rush, Favor the Kind has retail therapy for you. The Knox-Henderson gift and clothing shop is having one of its epic Warehouse Wipeout sales this Saturday, Feb. 26, from 10 a.m. (sharp! No early birds!) to 2 p.m. The warehouse, at 4405 Belmont Ave., is just a hop down from the FTK storefront and clothing shop Esther Penn, which will also be participating in the wipeout, so there’s double the sales to be had. But to get the goods, you gotta be cool and follow the rules: First and foremost, be kind. DUH. Then, it’s cash or Venmo only; no credit cards (to give you an idea, most clothing will be $10–$25). Don’t park in neighboring parking areas; use the street or school parking only. And again, no early peeks. Find Favor the Kind online.

Girl Scout Cookie Box Creations returns to Galleria Dallas
Those savvy, savvy Girl Scouts. Not only do they create young entrepreneurs with those cookie sales, but they use the boxes from the sweet addictive treats to build STEM success. Cookie Box Creations returns to Galleria Dallas (13350 Dallas Parkway, Level 1, near Sephora) after a 3-year pandemic-y hiatus, and it brings with it the beauty of National Parks. Six teams of Girl Scouts (grades 6–12) fortify their skill sets with the help of local architects and engineers to build structures from cookie boxes and inspired by National Parks from 8 a.m. to noon on Sunday, Feb. 26. Experts judge the efforts based on creativity, difficulty, use of materials, and rules, but the public can watch them build and vote for the People’s Choice Award Sunday through the close of the exhibition March 26. Find out more online.

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra at Highland Park United Methodist Church
Fifty years is a long time to have the band together. But Orpheus Chamber Orchestra has been blurring the lines of orchestral repertoire by playing it as if it were intimate chamber music all that time, gaining followers and fans and bringing up young visionaries with them. Celebrating the big 5-0, Orpheus performs a free concert at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 26, at Highland Park UMC (3300 Mockingbird Lane). The OCO performs Schubert's Chamber Symphony in B-flat Major, as well as Chopin’s Concerto No. 1, Op. 11 accompanied by pianist Alessio Bax. Find out more or register for Kidcare online.

Tuesday, Feb. 28

Works by Jessica Smith at J. Erik Jonsson Central Library
When Jessica Smith introduced herself to us, she said she was a single mother of five who dealt with the pandemic not by befriending a starter and making loaf after loaf of sourdough, but by becoming what she calls an “unlikely artist.” She started out painting portraits of people she loved: musician Elliott Smith, columnist and hellraiser Molly Ivins, actor Wes Studi. And she didn’t stop. Now about 30 of her portraits — many influenced by her being from Texas — hang in the gallery on the 4th Floor of the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library (1515 Young St.). The exhibition was delayed due to the ice storms, but the closing date is still March 1. We’ll just have to hope we get a couple extra weeks to gaze at Smith’s pieces. For more on Smith and Good Earth Art, visit Facebook. For more DPL events, visit the website.