8 Must-Do Christmas Events This Week

Now is the time of year when you forget about all your hoity-toity arts education and binge-watch cheesy Christmas movies on Lifetime. There’s nothing wrong with partaking in a little holiday nostalgia this month, especially with all of the horrid shit that’s happened in 2014. You’ll have to wait a…

100 Dallas Creatives: No. 38 Man Behind the Music Gavin Mulloy

Mixmaster presents “100 Creatives,” in which we feature cultural entrepreneurs of Dallas in random order. Gavin Mulloy knows music, knows pretty much everyone in Dallas, and wants to put on some seriously good shows that get you out of your house, away from the TV and your favorite reality stars,…

Du Pont Wrestling Drama Foxcatcher Engages but Doesn’t Pin

The du Pont family made its fortune selling gunpowder during the War of 1812, and soldiered on to invent everything ever worn by a cop: Kevlar, nylon, polyester, synthetic rubber. If you’ve cooked on Teflon pans, that money’s theirs, too. That means you’ve supported American patriotism, or at least heir…

Horrible Bosses 2 Is the Comedy the First Should Have Been

The third-greatest scourge of the earth, right after online comments sections and bedbugs, is the unfunny comedy sequel, which may be why you think you should skip Horrible Bosses 2. The miraculous surprise is that Horrible Bosses 2 isn’t terrible at all. It’s looser, breezier, more confident than its 2011…

Garfield Creator Jim Davis Explains Why Cats Rule the Internet

Garfield creator Jim Davis is well aware of the internet’s cat obsession. In fact, he’s got an upcoming strip about it. “But if I told you the joke, I’d have to kill you,” he deadpans, before cracking his paternal composure with a chuckle. (He did tell me, and I’ve chosen…

The Scarifying Babadook Is a Rare Horror Triumph

Available on demand November 28, and playing at the Texas Theater beginning December 5. If we’re honest, most of us who relish a good horror film don’t actually hope to feel something like horror. The appeal is, instead, that of shock and surprise, all candied up, the crowd-pleasing bits staged…

Turkey Trot

Runners consistently love the Dallas’ YMCA Turkey Trot, if only because it makes them feel better about the piles of food they’re about to consume. If you’re in a particuarly fitness-oriented mood around the holidays, register for your bib and bring the kids and dogs (both are welcome) for an…

Yo Gabba Gabba Feels Your Pain

Sometime in the past 10 years, the purveyors of children’s television figured out that parents fully hated most of what their kids were watching. As a result, there was a great backlash against Barney and Elmo, and a chorus of tired voices rose up and said “We are not going…

Oh, the Scenarios!

If you think improv comedy is a tough business, wait until you see improvisational burlesque. It’s one thing to have to play off of what other people say and do and then take it your own way, but configuring a strip tease on the fly — knowing when to shimmy…

Screw Peace and Goodwill. Let’s Shop.

Forget Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Small Business Saturday is the most important one. The Saturday after Thanksgiving is when you throw up a giant middle finger to places like Wal-mart and Sears and head down the street to some local mom and pop shops instead to support your community.The…

Bringing Funny Back Home

It’s always nice when a local kid who makes it to the big time still makes time to entertain the people who gave his start — and not in a “court ordered community service” kind of way. Comedian Dustin Ybarra started polishing his stand-up routines right here in Dallas and…

A Comedy Contender

Nick Guerra may be short but he’s long on comedy material. The “Little Long Haired Comic” has spent over a decade touring clubs and theaters with the sharp and varied material he’s accumulated that covers just about anything a comic could complain about whether it’s the disappointment of watching a…

Covered

Attention, Dallas. The following art show is happening for one night only. What this means is that Saturday will be your only chance to see this art show!!! You heard me! One. Night. Only. Now that you’ve been warned, I’ll tell you why I’m yelling. Pin Show co-founder Julie McCullough…

The Great Picture Show

It’s a fair assessment that the internet has forever altered the way we interact with photography. Everyone takes photos now, thanks to our smart phones and everyone looks at the images in digital form. Some photographers would argue this spurs a new appreciation for the art form, others argue it…

There’s No Place Like…

Out with the turkeys and in with the Christmas cheer! Join the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Texas Boys Choir and the Southwestern Seminary Master Chorale for a weekend of carols and holiday favorites. Featuring the Hallelujah chorus, the Master Chorale continues its longstanding tradition of presenting this vocal masterpiece alongside…

Take a Walk on the Pastry Side

When it comes to gingerbread houses, we’ve been slumming it. Last year’s gingerbread house was slapped together on Christmas Eve — we eschewed the recommended allotted time to allow the icing to cement and so things got a little dicey. The result: a gingerbread crack house. Our resident 3-year-old conducted…

Singapore Slingers

Without the help of snow or even much fall foliage, we Dallasites have to work a little more earnestly to prime our spirits for the holidays. Thankfully, The Singapore Slingers have just the thing to help that process along. Matt Tolentino’s 18-piece jazz orchestra will present its annual Winter Revue…

What in Hell is a Sugarplum?

Are you ready for visions of sugarplums to start dancing in your head? You better be, because it’s Nutcracker season and Texas Ballet Theater, the resident professional ballet company of the Winspear Opera House, wants you to see theirs. Join them on an enchanted journey through the Land of Sweets,…

Go See A Christmas Story, We Triple Dog Dare You

We’re a month out from Halloween and we just blazed through Thanksgiving so you know what that means — it’s time FOR ALL THE CHRISTMAS THINGS. Well, according to KLUV and every retailer ever, it’s been time, but now it’s like REALLY time. And there’s no better way to kick…

Frosty Moves Under the Tree

Sure, it’s cool to see a giant tree light up. There are oohs and aahs and it’s perfectly holiday happy. But the real draw to Macy’s Grand Tree Lighting Celebration at Galleria Dallas is what happens at the bottom of that huge skylight-tickling tree … what goes down, and around…