Comedians must hear this all the time: “I’ll bet you’re really glad Donald Trump is president right now. The jokes must write themselves!” Comedian Chris Rock knows enough about telling the truth as he sees it and making people laugh that he could mine material from the world even if we didn’t have things to worry about like leadership that embarrasses the nation daily. The revered stand-up comedian will perform for at 8 p.m. Thursday at the Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, 316 W. Las Colinas Blvd. in Irving, in a show that’s sure to make you think differently about the world even while you’re gasping for air from all the laughs. Tickets are $49-$70 and can be purchased at livenation.com. Toyota Music Factory, 316 W. Las Colinas Blvd., 8 p.m., $49-$70, livenation.com. — Danny Gallagher
If you’re going to watch 1996’s Big Night, there’s really only one rule: Don’t do it hungry. The film’s treatment of a failing restaurant’s attempt to salvage it all is a love letter to good food. There’s more to it, of course. Stanley Tucci and Isabella Rossellini are in it, after all, so you know there’s a plot beyond gorgeous pasta, but it’s really about the love of the perfect bite. And you’ll get one when Texas Theatre, 231 W. Jefferson Blvd., pairs a screening of the film at 8 p.m. Thursday with lobby pop-ups from two Dallas chefs. Scott Girling and Justin Holt (Lucia) are dishing up the film’s memorable stuffed pasta extravaganza, timpano, at 7 p.m. (7:30 p.m. for those who didn’t buy a movie ticket) before the screening. At 10 p.m., they’re serving lasagna and salad. (The same 30-minute delay applies.) Tickets to the film are available at texastheatre.com; each pop-up meal is $10 cash. Texas Theatre, 231 W. Jefferson Blvd., 8 p.m., $10, thetexastheatre.com. — Merritt Martin
The opening reception for Elements: Art and Photography Exhibit will be from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 9, at Art Space at Metropolitan Press, 1250 Majesty Drive. The Artsy Monkey hosts the free event, which runs through November. Paintings are by Brenda Woodson, and camera recordings are by Asher Swan. Both are featured artists for the month. The artists’ depictions of Earth, air, fire and water remind us that ancient astrologists believed that a season had the qualities of an element. Did Woodson and Swan link autumn and Earth is this showing? Take a close look. For more information, call 214-635-3131 or visit metpressinc.com. Art Space at Metropolitan Press, 1250 Majesty Drive, 6-9 p.m., free, metpressinc.com. — Reba Liner
It’s all too common a realization: “After 20 years, we thought we’d be ...” Dealer’s choice: happier, in love, safe, free from whatever issue that weighed us down. Martyna Majok’s Ironbound shows us this very scenario, through the life of Darja, a Polish immigrant searching for that intangible American dream. Kitchen Dog Theater, 2600 N. Stemmons Freeway, puts two decades of Darja’s hopes and dreams on stage through Nov. 12. Through three presidents and three partners, the dark humor of those “is this all there is?” moments isn’t lost on our main character or the audience. Cast Karen Parrish, Max Hartman, Seth Magill and Doak Rapp tackle love versus security 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $20-$30. Visit kitchendogtheater.org. Kitchen Dog Theater, 2600 N. Stemmons Freeway, 8 p.m., $20-$30, kitchendogtheater.org. — Merritt Martin
There are all kinds of theories for explaining helping behavior. We do it out of a sense of reciprocity. We do it because it makes us feel like good people. We do it because of cognitive dissonance. But if we are really honest with ourselves, then we can see that philanthropy is largely motivated by the acquisition and consumption of tasty things. Bake sales are a prime example of this "help someone, fill your belly" cycle of pro-social behavior. VolunteerNow's Hearts on the Trinity event will be conducted in a similar vein. A $35 ticket gets do-gooders a night of good eats and drinks from the likes of Luck, Mozzarella Company, Saint Arnold Brewing and Oak Highlands Brewery. Proceeds help VolunteerNow expand volunteerism in North Texas. You give, they get, you eat. Win, win, win. 3015 Gulden Lane, 6-8 p.m., $35, see Facebook. — Kathryn DeBruler
Comedian Chris Rock performs at the Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory Thursday.
courtesy the artist
Although they live on opposite sides of the globe, Kurt Vile, a lanky, mumbling Philadelphian, and Courtney Barnett, a reserved Australian rocker, make a perfect musical match. On their debut collaborative album, Lotta Sea Lice, their jangly guitar chords intertwine and their call-and-response vocals effortlessly weave together. It’s one of the year’s best albums from two of today's best players, and a great primer for Friday’s show. They’re sure to play a lot of their joint material, as well as a good selection of tunes from their independent catalogs. McFarlin Auditorium, 6405 Boaz Lane, 8 p.m., $36-$41, smu.edu/mcfarlin. — Jeff Strowe
It looks like we may have a winner. The Ballet Foundation for the XXI Century appears to have come in first in the annual Christmas deluge of performances of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. A quick check online reveals a dozen stagings of everyone’s favorite holiday ballet in DFW in coming weeks. (We have no idea what anyone’s second fave is.) Plano not only gets out of the starting blocks while we’re still digesting leftover Halloween candy, but it combines ballet with opera by having a vocalists sing scripture to make the story about dancing mice and sugar plum fairies more Christian. Opera plus ballet plus religion plus fairy tales! That’s probably the greatest holiday combo since someone decided to add a frothy blend of milk, cream, sugar and whipped eggs to booze. See The Nutcracker Opera-Ballet at 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday at the Courtyard Theater, 1509 H Ave. in Plano. Tickets, $15, can be found at balletfoundation.com/ticketing. Courtyard Theater, 1509 H. Ave., Plano, 7 p.m., $15, balletfoundation.com/ticketing. — Patrick Williams
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra is celebrating the famed Harlem bar and music venue the Cotton Club with an evening of jazz, tap and performance. “Harlem’s legendary jazz nightclub comes alive again at the Dallas Symphony” is how the DSO describes the event. Considering the early 20th century nightclub was a strictly whites-only spot that glorified the racist culture of Southern plantations, bringing it back to life seems an odd marketing move, but honoring the music of the Cotton Club, which includes some of the best jazz and blues ever heard, is a worthy pursuit. Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller and countless others graced the stage during the club’s heyday. Pops orchestra mastermind and gifted trumpeter Byron Stripling leads the show. There are three performances of this program: at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday; all take place at the Meyerson Symphony Center, 2301 Flora St. Tickets start at $28. For more information, visit mydso.com. Meyerson Symphony Center, 2301 Flora St., 7:30 p.m., $28 and up, mydso.com. — Jonathan Patrick
It's the 50th year for the Fort Worth Greek Festival, which is really saying something. Festivals age at a much faster rate than people, making Greek Fest about 350 in human years. How has it stuck around? Maybe it's the great food. Over a dozen vendors, with such offerings as spanakopita and moussaka, are scheduled to attend. The festival will also offer cooking demos, cultural exhibits, live music and folk dancing. General admission is $1. Food will be available for purchase either a la carte or by the plate. 2020 N.W. 21st St., Fort Worth, Friday and Saturday, $1, see Facebook. — Kathryn DeBruler
Saturday
Ever wondered what the insides of all those grand homes in Lakewood — for our money, the prettiest neighborhood in Dallas — look like? Now’s your chance to find out as the Lakewood Early Childhood PTA hosts its 41st Lakewood Home Festival this Saturday and Sunday. Six gorgeous homes of varying styles will be open for you to envy. (See pics at lecpta.org/home-tour.) Tours take place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days, with a special candlelight tour from 7-9 p.m. Saturday. Regular tickets are $15 in advance or $20 if purchased at one of the homes. Tickets for the candlelight tour are $30. Find them at lecpta.org. Lakewood, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., $15-$30, lecpta.org. — Patrick Williams
South African comedian and television host Trevor Noah replaced John Stewart on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show in 2015, but Noah will never replace him in our amygdala, the part of the brain that helps control anger. It’s an old complaint, we know, and it’s not that Noah isn’t funny and smart. But, man, we miss Stewart’s Daffy Duck-esque raging humor. Noah seems more like a Bugs Bunny kind of guy. Still, Noah puts on a good show, which explains why his 7 p.m. Saturday performance at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, 316 W. Las Colinas Blvd. in Irving, is sold out. You can find tickets at marked-up prices at resellers online. Regular tickets for his 10 p.m. show are still available for $29-$75 at livenation.com. Toyota Music Factory, 316 W. Las Colinas Blvd., 7 p.m. and 10 p.m., $29-$75, livenation.com. — Patrick Williams
If you’re a beer lover and a music lover, chances are you went to Index Fest when it was billed as Untapped Festival. The rebranded festival still offers craft beer from brewers including Lakewood Brewing, Karbach Brewing and Revolver Brewing, as well as top and emerging music acts such as Big Boi, Cherub and Langhorne Slim & The Law. The range of beers and genres ensures there’s something for everyone. Fair Park, 1121 First Ave., 6:30 p.m., $25-$109, indexfest.com. — Mikel Galicia
Considering how big the event has gotten in 13 years and that about everyone involved in the local arts and music scene knows about it, can you really call it a conspiracy? Semantics aside, the nonprofit Art Conspiracy’s annual marquee charity event, Art Con, is a live art auction and concert that benefits a different regional arts-related program each year. Some 150 visual artists are given 24 hours to create pieces of art, each on an 18-inch plywood square. The results are sold at a raucous party to the highest bidders between sets by bands and DJs. It’s an affordable night of philanthropy, too, with a $10 cover and bids starting at $20. This year, the party benefits Seek, a Dallas-based organization that aims to implement art programming designed for trauma survivors as part of its mission to assist refugees of conflict zones. Acid Carousel and Medicine Man Revival perform, and duo The Good Taste Collective will DJ. Art Con 13 begins at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Cedars Union, 1201 S. Ervay St. Visit seekingpeace.org and artcon.org. Cedars Union, 1201 S. Ervay St., 7 p.m., $10, artcon.org. — Jesse Hughey
Art Con 13 isn’t the only game in town this weekend bringing together local artists and musicians. Think of the inaugural Turtle Creek Fine Arts Festival, featuring up to 125 artists, as a newer, quieter, outdoors, daytime alternative, a pre-party or a day-after wind-down. Along with fine artists, it promises glass blowers, jewelers, leather-workers, metalworkers and other crafters, with lemonade and iced tea in place of booze. There were still quite a few TBDs and TBAs as of press time, but confirmed musical performers Saturday include the Booker T. Washington High School jazz vocal ensemble, T.J. Kuenster (the late Glen Campbell’s longtime keyboardist) and jazz singer (and Balcony Club owner) Teddy Davey. Sunday’s lineup includes guitarist Carls Guedes and pianist Scott Bucklin. Artist demonstrations, kids’ activities and festival foods round out the fun. The free fest, organized by the Atlanta Foundation for Public Spaces, is from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at Reverchon Park, 3505 Maple Ave. Visit turtlecreekartsfestival.com. Reverchon Park, 3505 Maple Ave., Saturday and Sunday, free, turtlecreekartsfestival.com. — Jesse Hughey
It doesn’t seem possible that it’s time, but still … we’ll suffer the early onset of the holiday season if it means we get to go to the Etsy Jingle Bash. From 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Eddie Deen’s Ranch, 944 S. Lamar St., local vendors will gather with their handmade art, jewelry, accessories and home goods for a Christmas shopping kickoff that will get you stocked up on unique gifts. Find screen-printed scarves from Little Minnow, whimsical dog collars hand sewn by Dixie Goods Co., artisanal gemstone earrings at Earrings By Erin, giftable T-shirts from SweetTees, and stuff from about 100 other artists and crafters. Eddie Deen’s will have food and drink available; other attractions include crafts for shopping-weary kids and a photo booth so you can forever remember your holiday shopping triumphs. Admission is free, and the first 50 shoppers will receive Jingle Bash swag bags. For more information, visit etsydallas.com. Eddie Deen's Ranch, 944 S. Lamar St., 10:30 a.m-5 p.m., free, etsydallas.com. — Jennifer Davis-Lamm
Mexican-American emcee Snow Tha Product (Claudia Feliciano) raps with a lean, bouncy delivery. There are no extraneous maneuvers in her raps; rather, she glides with an effortless cool through her bars, sounding at once immensely confident and touchingly emotive. Her beats tend to skew toward party anthem — EDM electronics buckled together with trap percussion — but there’s an undeniable intimacy to her lyrics, which often read like diary meditations. Take, for example, “Immigrants,” a powerful cut from last year’s The Hamilton Mixtape, an album inspired by the award-winning musical. The music is brooding, with booming bass and dark tones. But Snow Tha Product’s verses are well measured and moving, a stream of thoughts focused on racism, our broken immigration system and the marginalization of minority artists in mainstream music. Snow Tha Product is a reminder of rap’s unique ability to empower its listeners, to move minds as much as bodies. South Side Music Hall, 1135 S. Lamar St., 8 p.m., $21-$60, gilleysdallas.com.— Jonathan Patrick
Sunday
Everybody has a story. Introverts, glossophobes, misanthropes, oversharers, the long winded and the painfully shy: they all have unique viewpoints that shape their worldview and render their stories worth telling. Stories have been told around campfires, under blankets, in hushed tones in the ladies’ restrooms and on the back patio of The Wild Detectives, 314 W. Eighth St., where popular Austin-born Backyard Story Night finds itself from 7-9 p.m. Sunday. Grab a seat, sip a drink and swap tales with other Dallasites at the second Big D installment of the series that encourages extemporizing your profound experiences or silly conundrums on the theme “Seriously, Thank You.” Gather your thoughts and work up your storytelling courage. Admission is free, and bites and liquid courage will be available for purchase. To learn more, visit thewilddetectives.com or RSVP on the event’s Facebook page. Wild Detectives, 314 W. 8th St., 7-9 p.m., free, thewilddetectives.com. — Jennifer Davis-Lamm
Knife's Sunday Cinema Series continues with a screening of The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover. The movie centers around the wife of a restaurateur/criminal and her relationship with one of the restaurant's regulars. Such a juicy tale deserves some good eats and drinks, and those who purchase a $35 ticket will be treated to just that. Guests will enjoy a complimentary beverage as well as gourmet bites by Chef John Tesar. $10 from every ticket sold will go to the Dallas Film Society. To learn more or purchase tickets call 214.443.9339. Knife, 5300 E. Mockingbird Lane, 7:30 p.m., $35, 214-443-9339. — Kathryn DeBruler
Monday
Brush up on your kitchen skills with instructors from El Centro College’s culinary school. From 10-11 a.m. Monday (and every Monday through December), El Centro presents Cooking Connection, a demonstration to showcase seasonal produce found in A Tasteful Place, the Dallas Arboretum’s edible display garden, which opened last month. On the menu in November: roasted fennel and cauliflower soup and Brussels sprouts Caesar salad. Demonstrations are at the garden’s Test Pavilion at the Arboretum, 8525 Garland Road, and are free to garden guests who’ve registered at dallasarboretum.org. While you’re there, enjoy Autumn at the Arboretum, which ends Nov. 22. General admission is $15, with discounts for students and seniors. Dallas Arboretum, 8525 Garland Road, 10-11 a.m., $15, dallasarboretum.org. — Emily Goldstein
Tuesday
Annie Leibovitz is one of the greatest working photographers in the world, a fact that many shutterbugs knew long before she was bestowed with the title of Living Legend by the Library of Congress in 2000. Best known for her innovative work in advertising, fashion and celebrity portraiture for the past half-century, Leibovitz’s iconic, intimate portraits offer captivating glimpses of global celebrities and personalities from the worlds of pop culture, the arts, sports and politics. After spending a large part of the ’70s and the early ’80s as the chief photographer for Rolling Stone, she embarked on a lengthy affiliation with Vanity Fair and Vogue. At 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Dallas Museum of Art’s Arts & Letters Live presents Leibovitz at Southern Methodist University’s McFarlin Memorial Auditorium, 6405 Boaz Lane, discussing a selection of her defining works drawn from the recently published Annie Leibovitz: Portraits 2005–2016, which includes a mix of iconic portraits with never-before-published images. Limited tickets, $25 to $150, are still available at dma.org/programs/arts-letters-live. McFarlin Memorial Auditorium, 6405 Boaz Lane, 7:30 p.m., $25-$150, dma.org. — Daniel Rodrigue
Wednesday
You finally threw away the pumpkin on your porch, and you’ve only begun to dread the point during Thanksgiving dinner when someone makes you say what you’re thankful for. But it’s halfway through November, and Christmas is pretty much here. Skip the retail chains and visit the Chi Omega Christmas Market at Fair Park’s Centennial Hall, 1001 Washington St., for holiday décor, women’s clothing and accessories, home accents, children’s clothing and toys, and food gifts from more than 180 merchants. In its 40-year history, the market has provided more than $7.76 million in college scholarships and grants to local charities. The market’s Preview Party, $75, offers shopping, cocktails and appetizers from 7-10 p.m. Wednesday. General admission opens Thursday, and the market continues through Saturday. Tickets are $12 at chiomegaxmas.org or $15 at the door. Fair Park's Centennial Hall, 1001 Washington St., 7-10 p.m., $12-$15, see Facebook. — Emily Goldstein
