6 Events to Feed Your Artistic Texan Soul

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The City of Dallas declared the entire month of April “Dallas Arts Month,” and the scheduled activities are bearing that out. Here are some cool artsy things you can do this week. (In addition to the events listed here, many area museums have special exhibits going on that will be well worth a look-see.)

1. Own it.
This Friday, April 7, an open-air event in the Design District combines dance, music, theater, and art in one massive celebration. We Own the Night: An Evening of Arts + Culture, features several galleries, dances by Dallas Black Dance Theatre and the Bruce Wood Dance Project, live music, and more. You can get your tickets here.

2. Take me to the fair.
The Ninth Annual Dallas Art Fair returns this weekend, April 7–9, for a three-day exhibition of international artists serving up an astonishingly diverse slate of video installations, painting, sculpture, photography, and more from modern and contemporary artists. In addition, there will be parties, speakers, breakfasts, and musical performances to feed your soul. You can see the full line-up here.

3. Go to the movies.
The Dallas International Film Festival opened last week, but the slate of shows continues now through Sunday, April 9, with screenings at the Magnolia and Angelika theaters, as well as red carpet events with celebrities and filmmakers, plus an awards dinner and gala on Saturday, April 8. Check out the full line-up here!

4. Spend a night with Lady Day.
Austin’s Zach Scott Theatre opens its production of “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill,” a play-with-music about the final concert of songstress Billie Holliday as she copes with her addictions (but still knows how to light up a song). The show runs through April 30. Get your tickets!

5. Auto exotic.
Sometimes, art isn’t hanging on a wall or moving inside a theater but actually driving down the street. That’s what has driven the organizers of the Houston Art Car Parade, which takes place downtown along Smith Street on Saturday, April 8. Cheech Marin is the grand marshal of this 30th annual parade of beautiful, bizarre, classic, and unusual methods of transport. And there’s even the Legendary Art Car Ball to wrap things up.

6. Get some brisket going.
Texas is known for its barbecue, and the Fifth Annual Houston Barbecue Festival is an excellent way to check out one of the signature foods of the Lone Star State, with about two dozen pitmasters showing you what they got. Mark your calendars! The barbecue’s firing up April 9.

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