Back Talk Far North Dallas

This weekend: Arapho Fall Festival and Parkhill garage sale

You've likely noticed the dip in the temperature, and if you're anything like me, that puts you in an autumn state of mind. If you feel like digging out the sweater and sipping some cider, head to the Fall Festival at Arapaho United Methodist Church this Saturday, Oct. 18, between 10 a.m.-4 p.m. There will be all sorts of baked goodies, food, a craft fair, a pumpkin patch and pumpkin painting, carnival-style games and prizes, and a bounce house. Admission is $5 at the door, but that gets you a wristband that's good for all the activities all day.

Or, if you'd rather make the most of that weather by hitting up the neighborhood garage sale circuit, you could head over to Parkhill Junior High. That's where the PTA will be putting on one massive garage sale going on all day. There will be all sorts of trash-to-treasure finds, as well as some crafts, and of course, plenty of good bargain deals.

Festa Danza at Addison Conference Center this week

Festa Danza is a virtual kalidescope of cultural dance.  This ecclectic dance show features routines by modern dance company DekaDance; traditional Mexican ballet folklorico by  Anita N. Martinez; African dance by the Dallas Black Dance Academy's ensemble BLOOM; and performances by two-time United States Latin ballroom finalists Sergey Korshunov and Michelle Hafle.
If you're interested in checking out the show, tickets are just $6 and can be purchased online, or by calling 214.219.2290. Festa Danza starts at 8 p.m. this Thursday, Oct. 16, inside the Addison Conference Center.

WaterTower Theater presents "Doubt: A Parable"

Don't get me wrong, "A Christmas Carol" and "Hamlet" are great. But let's be honest. We've all seen them onstage, probably a few times.
If you're craving some fresh, consider WaterTower Theater's newest play. The crew there just opened "Doubt: A Parable." And there's a good chance you haven't seen this one acted out yet because it's an area premiere for this production. The plot is centered on a young charismatic priest working at a religious school in the early '60s. All is well, that is, until he starts to take a special interest in one of his female students--raising the eyebrows of a pious nun who oversees the school. It ultimately comes down to the word of a nun, versus the word of a preist. This 2005 Pulitzer Prize-winning play then begs the question, "what do you do when you're not sure?"
This show is running now through Sunday, Oct. 26. Tickets range $20 to $40 and can be purchased online.

Cottonwood Art Festival

If you've driven down Belt Line anytime in the past few days, you've probably spotted the colorful flags at Cottonwood Park going up. If that weren't reminder enough, consider this your official notice: the Cottonwood Art Festival kicks off this Friday, Oct. 4.
If you've never been, you should. There will be more than 800 artists selling their work there, so whether you like those Pollock-esque conceptual pieces, or you prefer the pastel wildflower scenes, there's something up your alley. Plus there's all sorts of unique crafts, sculptures, vases, candles, etc. There will also be live music, tons of hands-on messy fun for the kiddos, and dogs are welcome, too. Last year I sampled the deep fried cheese cake which tasted a lot better than it sounds (think canoli), but I was sad to see it's not coming back this year. Oh well. I guess I'll have to settle for the old fashioned corndog and a frozen lemonade. And unlike a lot of other festivals in our neighborhood, there is no charge to get into this one.

Coupon Mommy: Free plays

Coupon Mommy here. My job is to let you know what the deal is. Here's a great one -- live theater for free. Quick, call the babysitter!

The City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs is offering the first ever Free Night of Theater, to be held from Thursday, October 16 through November 10, 2008. Presented in conjunction with Theatre Communications Group (TCG), Free Night of Theater is offering over 3,000 free tickets to more than 26 Dallas-area theaters. Dallas is one of 120 communities across the country participating in the event.

How can you get FREE tickets? Reserve your tickets through their website, beginning Wednesday, October 1, 2008 at noon. Tickets can only be reserved online and reservations are handled on a first-come, first-served basis. Each participating theater will set a reservation ticket limit for their productions. Once tickets have been reserved through the website, patrons will be able to pick up their tickets at the will-call window of the individual theater's box office on the night of the show.

Participating Local Theaters: African American Repertory Theater, Charles W. Eisemann Center, The Company of Rowlett Performers (C.O.R.P.), Contemporary Theatre of Dallas, Dallas Children's Theater, Dallas Hub Theater, Dallas Theater Center, Echo Theatre, Garland Civic Theatre, ICT MainStage, Jubilee Theatre, Lyric Stage, MBS Productions, One Thirty Productions, Pocket Sandwich Theatre, Repertory Company Theatre, Shakespeare Dallas, Teatro Dallas, TeCo Theatrical Productions, The Black Academy of Arts and Letters, The MET Theatre, Theatre Britain, Theatre Three, Uptown Players, WaterTower Theatre, WingSpan Theatre Company.

Greek Food Festival this weekend

Just a reminder, the Greek Food Festival kicks off this weekend--which means good Greek food, and a lot of it. Don't get me wrong, the deep fried jelly beans and bacon you'll find at the State Fair are great and all, but you just can't beat those gyros and baklava. Plus, where else can you learn to cook authentic Greek meals, plus find all the groceries you need to make them? You can checkout the entertainment lineup and buy your tickets online. It looks like the weather is also going to cooperate. I know I'll be out at the festival this weekend enjoying that cooler weather, gyro in hand. Opa!

Daily news roundup: Big Tex, Barefoot, toy guns and Warren Culbertson

If you're tired of reading about the big financial-system bailout, DISD screwups and how great the Dallas Cowboys look this year, check out these diversions in today's Dallas Morning News:

     • Remember the big city council vote in May 2007 to criminalize "displaying or brandishing a replica firearm in public? I don't remember it either, and apparently it's a law that even the police have forgotten about. Dave Levinthal reports that since the ordinance was passed, not a single ticket has been written for a violation — talk about your effective ordinance or your irrelevant one; take your pick. In the story, Levinthal asks councilman Angela Hunt: Was it all a big waste of time and resources? "Probably so," she says.

Mr. Peppermint and Peppermint Place ... and Icky

The news that Jerry Haynes, the one and only Mr. Peppermint, is fighting Parkinson's makes this 50-year-old-plus fan feel like he's back in his pajamas watching the old "Mr. Peppermint" show in his parents' den. One of the delights when my folks moved to Dallas in the mid-'60s was the great -- well it seemed great at the time -- locally produced children's TV. (There's certainly nothing like it today.) There was Icky Twerp on Channel 11 (and if you were a fan, check this out) and a terrific Sunday show on Channel 5 that aired the "Davey and Goliath" claymation cartoons. But the class act was Mr. Peppermint, who was Dallas' Captain Kangaroo and Mister Rogers. He even had his own neighborhood, Peppermint Place, which was the name of a later spinoff show. In the early 1980s, he launched a well-received career as a character actor, maybe most notably in "Places in the Heart," which was filmed in Waxahachie and earned Sally Field her "you really, really like me" Oscar. (Click here for his imdb.com bio.) And, if memory serves, Haynes announced President Kennedy's assassination on Channel 8. WFAA aired that historic footage during the 20th or 30th anniversary of the tragedy; I wish they would do it again this fall.  

Go green: UTD art students create custom grocery totes

You've likely spotted them at the neighborhood Whole Foods, or at the new Sprouts off Coit and Campbell. Heck, you may have even seen them while shopping at the local Kroger. Those new eco-friendly totes are popping up at just about every grocery store.
A group of UTD art students are smart to the trend, so they decided to make it their latest project. They've created custom-printed grocery totes with all sorts of cool art and witty sayings on them. The bags go for $30 each, wich seems a bit steep, but keep in mind these are one-of-a-kind and you can use them for several years--plus, you'll be helping the envirionment while supoorting neighborhood arts. And just think about how hip you'll look with your go-green artsy tote thrown over your shoulder next time you're browsing the cereal asile at Whole Foods.
If you're interested in buying one of these bags, call UTD art professor Greg Metz at 972.883.2774.

Soak up Dallas design trends with Design Sponge

Never know what the latest design trends are? Or where to shop in Dallas for hip furniture and home décor? Me neither. My solution is heading to Design*Sponge.

The website features city guides (not limited to the United States), before and after pictures, do it yourself guides and more. It's also very picture oriented, which enables you to see the design trends and then pick them out somewhere else on your own, or knock off the design and make it your own.

The best feature of the site (in my opinion) is the city design guides. With only 29 city guides so far, Dallas has made its way onto the list, with shops of all kinds featured under categories from furniture to gadgets to fashion.

For example, if you're looking for something contemporary, the guide points to shops like BoConcept on Alpha Road in the Village on the Green Center, where Denmark's global brand name offers customized, coordinated and affordable design furniture and accessories.

That's just a taste of what the Design Sponge site has to offer. Explore for yourself.