It has been a big week for counterintuitively hip North Texas mayors: First, Mike Rawlings led a panel discussion on the arts at Dallas City Performance Hall on Tuesday, and this was mere icing after he made a lightly profane appearance at DIFF last weekend. Mayor Rawlings asked some surprising questions in his talk, including whether or not Dallas is a “radical city,” and pondered the health of “the underground” locally. I kept having to remind myself this was actually happening.
Then there’s Carrollton’s mayor, Matthew Marchant. I found both a tweet and a Facebook post this morning from the mayor that mentioned local record shop, Dead Wax by name. That would be due to the fact that the store has opened a location in Downtown Carrollton, and obviously the interest is an economic one over all else. But still, a mayor of a city that size talking about the shop where I usually buy obscure German dance records was a pleasant shock on the train this morning. Throw in Plano’s Harry LaRosiliere openly wanting to meet J. Cole (okay, his daughters did) and I think it’s safe to say that North Texas is in the midst of a Cool Mayor Renaissance. Either that, or it’s political posturing to a fairly tiny demographic, but I can respect that. Let’s see how long this lasts. On to the weekend’s events.
Friday
Our own leadership group, D Academy, will present a showing of The Outsiders at Main Street Garden this evening, which is probably my favorite park in the city, and apologies to Klyde Warren. Showtime is at sundown.
The event is in conjunction with an endless amount of readings, screenings, and other Outsiders-themed events D Academy will be organizing throughout April as part of the Big D Reads initiative. Should you miss out tonight, you’ll get another chance as there is also a screening at Texas Theatre on Sunday. That would be the last day of the Dallas International Film Festival, and speaking of which, we have a guide to help you decide what to see as DIFF draws to a close.
If you’re in East Dallas today, consider stopping by Goodfriend, but maybe stop by the grocery store first. The restaurant is kindly taking toiletry donations for the Human Rights Initiative of North Texas and you can find more on that here. Also, make sure you’ve had a chance to look at our Best of Big D 2014 nominees, since Goodfriend made it into our food and drink category.
Saturday
Saturday will provide one last chance to see one of the best-rated films from this year’s DIFF, at least according to our critics. The Angelika will be showing one last screening of the Dallas hip hop documentary, We From Dallas at 10:40 pm. You can read our review here.
Judging by the line of Audis extending the length of Ross last night, the Dallas Art Fair is officially in full swing. But don’t forget to check out the satellite and unofficial events taking place throughout the weekend, including a group show called The Stuff of Legends at Gray Matters gallery on Saturday. It’s curated by Margaret Meehan, whose boxing-themed work has been rattling around in my brain ever since I first laid eyes on it. In other words, you can trust her. For a full lineup of Dallas Art Fair highlights, go here.
Sunday
Finally, Chicken Scratch will be hosting a crawfish party on Sunday afternoon, and apparently this is will be the first time that the North Oak Cliff restaurant has thrown such an event. I’m a huge cajun food fan myself, and I’ve never understood how one can’t be. The Zydeco Stingrays will be providing entertainment, and I bet you can guess what they probably sound like with a name like that.
For more to this weekend, go here.
