EVENTS

With all of the events scheduled around the opening of the symphony center, the Arts District will see a flurry of activity this fall. One of the hottest things going is Montage ’89, put on by The 500 Inc. Since it was created in 1984 to tie in with the Republican National Convention held in Dallas that year, Montage has become a major fundraiser of The 500 Inc., a private, nonprofit organization that raises money through Art Fest, Montage, and an auction party for Dallas arts groups. Founded in 1965, The 500 Inc. has raised more than $7 million for the arts over the last twenty-five years. This year organizers are promising an “international’’ affair that should prove to be the biggest and best Montage yet: a European-style street fair featuring performers from all over the world.

Entertainment will be nonstop as musicians, dancers, and actors take to the five stages. There will be more than fifty groups and solo performers including Ten Hands, the Vocal Majority, Watusi, Killbilly, the Rev. Horton Heat, the Dallas Opera, Dallas Black Dance Theater, the Shakespeare Festival, the Japanese Taiko Drummers, the Chinese Theatre Circle, and Tibetan Dance Company. European street clowns will entertain among the crowds.

Ground zero for the Montage festivities will be the Dallas Museum of Art. From there, the action flows up Flora Street to the Arts District Theatre, where you can stop in and watch rehearsals. Lining the streets will be more than twenty-five artists and crafts people selling and displaying pottery, paintings, weavings, glass, clothing, jewelry, and hundreds of other craft items. Don’t miss the display of the downtown skyscrapers made from Googolplex-an erector set-type building material. Scope it all out while enjoying plenty of food and beer from Caliente, Blue Mesa, Stuzzi, August Moon, Pizzeria Uno, and others. The scheduled dates for Montage ’89 are September 6-10. with the actual street fair on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from a.m. to 7 p.m. Tickets are $3.50 in advance, $4.50 at the gate.

But. you say, “Does the fun just stop with Montage?” As A matter of fact, no. At the Trammell Crow West Pavilion through September, there will be a photographic exhibit dedicated to black composers called “Ovation!” More than forty composers from classical, sacred, blues, and jazz genres will be represented.

And there’s more: free noontime concerts will be given at the Texas Commerce Tower and the Dallas Dance Festival will feature performances by Dancers Unlimited Repertory Company. Dallas Black Dance Theater, the Fort Worth Ballet, the Dallas Conservatory of Ballet, the Arts Magnet High School Repertory Dance Ensemble, SMU Dance, and the Tuzer Ballet,September 6-8 & 10 at 8:15 p.m. on the Ross AvenuePlaza of the Dallas Museum of Art.

September is a big month for the artists and art patrons of Dallas. For a nominal charge or no charge at all, everyone in the city has the opportunity to experience the world of the talented and amazing actors, dancers, artists, and musicians who call Dallas home. There is something for everyone in this melange of events-and every- one should take heed.