19 Awesome Things to Do in Dallas This Weekend, Sept. 10-13

Thursday, September 10
Josie and the Pussycats
There are guilty pleasures, and then there are bad movies. Guilty pleasures are films that don’t have much artistic merit, but watching them won’t necessarily make you dumber. A guilty pleasure may be mildly offensive or politically incorrect, but it doesn’t mean to be; a bad movie crosses lines and doesn’t care. A guilty pleasure attempts to adapt a beloved childhood institution and misses the mark; a bad movie ruins the source material. The 2001 reboot of Josie and the Pussycats flirts with both of these categories. On the one hand: Rosario Dawson. On the other: Tara Reid. The movie was pretty widely panned, thanks to a clunky plot that never quite makes it to satire. Nevertheless, it’s got enough carefully constructed gags (the hilariously catchy “Backdoor Lover,” for one) to edge it into the guilty pleasure camp. You don’t have to keep it a secret that you’re going to a screening of the flick at Granada Theater, 3524 Greenville Ave., at 7:30 p.m. Thursday — there will be plenty of folks singing along with “3 Small Words.” At $3, tickets are guilt-free. Purchase yours at ticketfly.com. -Jennifer Davis-Lamm

Buñuel Descending
A trip into the surreal is never a small undertaking: just ask local playwright and director Matthew Posey. In his latest play, Buñuel Descending, he tackles a veritable surrealist potpourri — examining the artistic intersection of Spanish filmmaker Luis Buñuel Portolés, his wife Jeanne Buñuel, painter Salvador Dali and poet Federico Garcia Lorca, who together sparked the movement that inspired some of the great artists of the past century. But it’s not enough to write a play with crackling dialogue when you’re addressing the surrealist movement — you’ve got to juxtapose the incongruous to achieve artistic harmony. Posey’s work attempts this by melding song, dance, puppetry and other sensory delights into his narrative. It all comes together at Ochre House Theater, 825 Exposition Ave., beginning at 8:15 p.m. Wednesday and playing nightly through September 12. There’s an additional performance at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, as well. Tickets are $20-$25 and may be purchased at ochrehousetheater.org. -JDL

Holocaust by Bullets
Founded in 2004, Yahad-In Unum (YIU) is a French organization that locates mass graves of Jewish victims of Nazi mobile killing units. Many of the victims were buried alive and very little is known about these atrocities because there were few survivors. American graduate and PhD students do much of the research at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. A free exhibit, Holocaust by Bullets, Yahad-In Unum — 10 Years of Investigations, runs Thursday through December 31 at the Dallas Holocaust Museum for Education and Tolerance (211 N. Record St., Suite 100). YIU’s objective is to pay respect to the dead and counter claims from Holocaust deniers by collecting forensic evidence and creating official documentation of these murders. This exhibit takes its name from a 2008 book about the work of YIU, itself a reference to one of the ways Nazis killed their victims. For more info, visit dallasholocaustmuseum.org. -Jeremy Hallock

Keeping It Real
If you prefer to cultivate a trippy environment without ingesting any actual psychedelics, surrealism is the perfect art for you. At Kettle Art, Keeping It Real explores some of Dallas’ own surrealist painters, curated by Duke Horn. Emily Broussard, Anya Bosworth and John Clapp will present their surreal, bizarre works, and you can guarantee that these diverse interpretations of surrealism will generate interesting conversations with friends and dates. -Amy McCarthy

Trans.lation Fall Celebration
You may not have realized, but this week marks the Ethiopian New Year. In celebration, Nasher artist-in-residence Rick Lowe and his Trans.lation project will host an evening of Ethiopian music, dance, food and markets, and also showcase the Trans.lation storefront space. Head to Vickery Meadows for henna tattoos, browse the artisan market (bring cash) and sit back and enjoy the dance performances. You might just learn something about a culture you have no experience with. -AM

Playpride LGBT Festival
For the second year, TeCo Theatrical Productions presents PlayPride LGBT Festival, a weekend of inspiring and entertaining plays and stories from and about the LGBT community. This festival features six playwrights competing for a chance to win $500 for an LGBT charity of their choice. Audience members are handed a ballot each night and then, at the end, a winner is chosen. At 7:30 p.m. Thursday to Sunday through September 20 at the Bishop Arts Theatre Center (215 S. Tyler St.), audience members will be captivated by the Dallas LGBT community’s stories. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. For more information, call 214-948-0716. -Paige Skinner

Fashion X Dallas
If fashion is what floats your boat or blows your skirt or — you get it — then Dallas’ own Fashion X is a can’t-miss opportunity. It’s returning for a second year and will feature runway shows, a red carpet, jewelry and accessory lines, cocktails, and everything else you and your little fashionable heart could dream of. Oh, and did we mention eight designers from Project Runway will also be there? You will have the chance to meet them and probably ask them all your burning fashion questions. All of this is happening Sept. 10-12 at Fashion Industry Gallery (1807 Ross Ave.). Tickets start at $25 at fashionxdallas.com. -PS

Friday, September 11

Michael Wynne: The Shabby Years
One of Dallas’ greatest art collectors also happens to be one its greatest painters. Michael Wynne engages in two of life’s finest pursuits: making art and buying art. For these things, we salute him! Not to mention the subtly marvelous “shabby minimalist” paintings he’s been making of late. The exhibition of Wynne’s work at RE Gallery (1717 Gould St.), aptly titled The Shabby Years, attempts to encapsulate the artist’s prolific and varied art-making. There will be a smattering of his larger work, along with text paintings on panel, canvas and scraps, and some in neon, as well as a peek into Wynne’s collaboration with Andy Don Emmons and Terry Hogan under the pseudonym Brush Muscle. At the opening reception from 7-9 p.m. Friday there will be a musical performance by Inferno Texino. More at regallerystudio.com. -Lauren Smart

The Dumb Waiter
Playwright Harold Pinter knew how to operate on many levels. His classic one-act play The Dumb Waiter is a perfect example — a layered piece of art that works as a study of staccato dialogue, a masterpiece of deceptive superficiality and an absurdist political piece that never comes to a clear conclusion. It reads much like a Quentin Tarantino film: two hit-men taking verbal direction via a long-abandoned dumb waiter — with an ending that suggests things definitely aren’t what they seem. Preconceived notions about bad guys and victims get knocked around a bit as Pinter takes audiences through a heady examination of power dynamics and betrayal. Kitchen Dog Theater peels back the layers in its production of the timeless play at The Green Zone, 161 Riveredge Drive, beginning 8 p.m. Friday. Performances continue at 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 p.m. Sundays through October 10. Additional performances will be held at 8 p.m. Wednesdays September 23 and October 7. Tickets are $15 to $40 at kitchendogtheater.org. -JDL

ReMix: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
Light on decorum but heavy on entertainment, the DSO’s ReMix series continues this month with Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun. Painterly, dreamy and haunting, Debussy’s symphonic poem — alongside an appearance from Dallas Black Dance Theatre II — should make for another interesting installment in what is one of the city’s most buzzed-about concert series. An exquisite setting, artistically astute modern dance and intoxicating sounds conspire for what promises to be a memorable event. The music of Hindemith, Ibert and Dalbavie completes the program. Karina Canellakis conducts. Catch performances at the Dallas City Performance Hall (2520 Flora St.) at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Tickets start at $19 and include a complimentary cocktail and appetizers. More info at mydso.com. -Jonathan Patrick

Supernatural Convention 
Apparently, you can take any horror or sci-fi trope, affix some Hollywood-grade guys to it, and you’ve got the next big teen sensation. A fascination with vampires gave us Twilight; post-apocalyptic stories bred The Hunger Games. What’s next? How about Taylor Lautner as a shirtless leprechaun hunter in a new series called Chesty McFadden and the Little People? The CW’s Supernatural, an adventure series about a pair of ghost-hunting brothers that has lasted 10 whole seasons, is an exception to this trend. Sure, it’s got two handsome leads who make teen girls swoon, but it’s actually watchable. Celebrate this dramatic horror series that doesn’t suck by signing up for Creation Entertainment’s official Supernatural convention, which starts at 9 a.m. Friday and runs through Sunday at the Plano Centre (2000 E. Spring Creek Parkway, Plano). The Winchester brothers themselves, played by Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki, will be there for Q&As and meet-and-greets along with other Supernatural stars. Fans can also enjoy a Friday night karaoke party and live music from Louden Swain on Saturday. Tickets are $30-$739 at creationnet.com - Danny Gallagher

Saturday, September 12

Dallas Observer Brewfest
Beer season is upon us again — a time when beer tents are overpopulated with pint glasses and IPAs, when it becomes our civic responsibility to thin out the craft-brew herd, lest things get unruly. This season kicks off with a bang at the Dallas Observer BrewFest from 6-10 p.m. Saturday. Beer hunters and gatherers can stalk the grounds of the Dallas Farmers Market, 1010 South Pearl Expressway, for over 400 varieties from around the globe, bagging up to 12 2-ounce samples with the price of admission. Once that’s accomplished, there’s plenty more to set sights on: live music from Larry g(EE), Charley Crockett and DJ Jose G; a wide selection of food vendors; and game zones and hangouts throughout the evening. Declare open season on all things hops, barley and yeast — buy your ticket for $35-$90 at ticketfly.com. The event is 21 and up; see dallasobserver.com for more. - JDL

Erica Stephens: Southern Vanitas
Have you ever found yourself at a museum, standing in front of a still life, wondering why the artist chose just such an arrangement of things? Why that book? What’s up with the candlestick? And why, oh why, couldn’t he have found some fruit that wasn’t rotting? The paintings often tell you a lot about an artist and what matters to them enough to memorialize it this way. What would you put in your still life? That’s what artist Erica Stephens wants to know in her upcoming exhibition, Southern Vanitas, at The Safe Room in the Texas Theatre (231 W. Jefferson Blvd.). She’s inviting visitors to the gallery from 7 -10 p.m. Saturday to bring personal items to add to objects in the tradition of Dutch Vanitas paintings form the 1600s. She’ll provide a small assortment of fruit, flowers, candles and books to add to whatever you choose to bring. Then, she’ll take instant photos of the arrangements and display them alongside her oil paintings for the remainder of the show. For $5 you can take the photo home with you. Admission to the show is free. More on Facebook.com. -LS

Community Cast Party
For years now, the WaterTower Theatre (15650 Addison Road, Addison) has put on some of the most anticipated, beloved theatrical events North Texas has to offer. Whether it’s the Santaland Diaries holiday programming or the always tremendous Out Of the Loop Fringe Festival, the creative folks behind the WaterTower Theatre have given everyone a reason to head to the northern burbs for great art. Of course, the creation of outstanding art often comes at a considerable cost. From 7 p.m.-midnight Saturday, the Community Cast Party gives thoughtful patrons a chance to get to know the theater through song, dance, booze and food. Tastings from area restaurants, bakeries and breweries can be enjoyed as musical, theatrical and improv performances take place. Artistic philanthropy, local flavors and world-class talent make for an unbeatable night under the arts. Tickets are $25-50 at watertowertheatre.org. -Kelly Dearmore

Simon Bilodeau's Story With No Ending
In a sense, a museum is a sculpture that houses paintings. Typically manipulated to be as unobtrusive as possible, the building interacts, intentionally or otherwise, with the work on display. The two are inextricable. It follows that an artist would be hyperaware of the way environment affects his or her work. Perhaps this is why Simon Bilodeau began exploring ways he could directly control the structure surrounding his paintings. He incorporates sculptural, site-specific elements into his work to change the effect of the paintings. This is precisely what he will do in his solo exhibition at Circuit 12 Contemporary (1811 Levee St.), The Story With No Ending. See the work in opening reception from 6-10 p.m. Saturday, or through October 12. More at circuit12.com.

Erika Blumenfield's Light of the Midnight Sun
Artist Erika Blumenfield recently had a residency in Antarctica with the Interpolar Transnational Art Science Constellation where she continued her ongoing study of light phenomena. Her work blends styles from many minimalist artists from previous decades with interests in issues of environment and ecology, exploring aspects of climate change and the like. On display at Zhulong Gallery will be new video and photographic works in a continuation of her light recordings series. See it in opening reception from 6-9 p.m. Saturday. More at zhulonggallery.com. 

A to Z: Abracadabra and Zombies
Step away from your computer for a minute and consider the surreal idea that you spend most of your day fixed to a screen. It's almost otherworldly. What is this ungodly portal you are reading these words on? Why do you listen to it telling you how to spend your time or which direction you should travel in? Technology often walks a fine line between the practical and the fantastical, and this is exactly what the new exhibit curated by Danielle Avram Morgan, the curatorial fellow at the Pollock Gallery at Southern Methodist University, explores in A to Z: Abracadabra to Zombies. This new exhibit opens with a reception from 6-8 p.m. Saturday, and explores "topics such as spiritualism and otherworldly phenomena, the apocalypse and utopia, arts-based activism and the possibility of a post-human world." There will be various events throughout the next few weeks tied to this exhibit. 

Sunday, September 13

R.L. Stine & Marc Brown
Well this is one of the best damn stories of all time — two children’s authors meet on AirForceFreakingOne on their way to Russia. Not just any two authors either, two of the biggest names of your childhood: R.L. Stine (Goosebumps, Fear Street) and Marc Brown (Arthur). They formed a friendship post-Russia and one night during a lull in the dinner conversation, Brown suggested they write a book together. Stine wasn’t so sure, but Brown talked him into it and now we have The Little Shop of Monsters. Both authors will be at the DMA on Sunday from 4-5:30 p.m. to read the book and say a few words, but if you’d like to tour the monsters beforehand, get to the museum at 3 p.m. If you don’t go, you better be in a body cast because WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU MISS THIS? Tickets are $15 for members, $20 for non-members. -Nikki Lott

Okrapalooza
Here in Texas, we most often enjoy ladies’ fingers pickled, fried or in gumbo. Before you accuse us of cannibalistic tendencies, rest assured we’re talking about okra — also known as bhindi and, yes, the aforementioned digits. But we’re selling ourselves short with just three preparations, because okra is quite the versatile flowering fruit (we won’t shun you if you count it toward your veggies). Luckily, there’s Okrapalooza to give us a taste for more okra, and ideas from awesome local chefs on how to prepare it. Even better, Dallas’ okra cook-off, from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday at The Lot (7530 E. Grand Ave.), features over a dozen culinary masterminds battling tongs and skills not only in the name of okra but also in an effort to raise funds for Promise of Peace Community Gardens, which educates participants about horticulture and gives them an active role in their local environment. A $45 ticket includes dish tastings, beer from Lakewood Brewing Co., activity tents (a VIP tent for extra cash), a silent auction and live music. To purchase tickets, visit okrapalooza.com. To learn more about Promise of Peace Community Gardens, visit promiseofpeace.us. And always eat your greens. -Merritt Martin