10 Best Things to Do in Dallas This Week, October 20-22

Dallas Arboretum

Monday, October 20
Autumn at the Arboretum
This week the weather will be perfect to swing by the Arboretum for its celebration of fall and all things pumpkin. As the fall foliage turns a crisp brown, the expansive gardens fill with the fun of a fall festival. Visit the Pumpkin Village, wander the grounds, and watch the colors change daily from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. at the Dallas Aboretum and Botanical Garden (8525 Garland Rd.). Admission is $15 for non-member adults and available at the gate on a first come, first served basis. More information at dallasarboretum.org.

James Carville & Mary Matalin's Book Tour
You can't predict love. Certainly, when James Carville met Mary Matalin, we're guessing he wasn't thinking, "She's perfect." After all, he's a democratic politician and she's a consultant to the Republican party. But as it stands, 20 years later, their romance is still going strong, disagreements aside. They even wrote a book together. They'll be in town Monday night to discuss, Love & War: Twenty Years, Three Presidents, Two Daughters, and One Louisana Home. Admission to the event at UTA's Texas Hall (701 W. Nedderman Dr., Arlington) is free. Preferred seats available for $50 at utatickets.com.

Sonnets with Music, Part 1
Shakespeare isn't just one of the theater's greatest writers, he also wrote some damn good poems. He was particularly talented at penning those little 14 line monsters known as sonnets. This weekend Shakespeare Dallas, in keeping with its goal to stage every word the Bard ever wrote, presents Sonnets with Music Part 1. Part of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, this two day presentation includes sonnets, as well as a presentation of The Phoenix and the Turtle, conceived and directed by Shawn Magill, of Home by Hovercraft fame. See the show at 7 p.m. Monday for just $10. More information at attpac.org.

Princess Bride Quote-a-Long with Carey Elwes
The Alamo Drafthouse hosts a quote a long followed by a live stream Q&A exactly as you wished.

Tuesday, October 21
Art Talk at the Modern
When it comes to contemporary art, especially in New York City, Carlo McCormick is one of your go-to guys. The culture critic and curator will be in Fort Worth as part of the Tuesday Evenings at The Modern series, at which he will discuss "Crashing the After-Party: Revelries & Radicalisms in the Wake of Modernism," a topic related to the museum's current exhibition, Urban Theater: New York Art in the 1980s.Tickets to these talks are free and include entry to the gallery. More info at themodern.org.

Classical Open Mic
It's anything but your typical open mic night at Buzzbrew's on Lemmon Ave. The musicians who participate in Open Classical DFW's Tuesday evening shows range from up-and-coming student musicians to professional symphony members. Grab a seat and a cold brew, and listen to some Rachmaninoff, Beethoven, or whichever composer the musicians have chosen for the evening. Starts at 8 p.m. Admission is free, beer is cheap.

Driving Miss Daisy
An award-winning play turned award-winning film returns to the stage at one of the award-winning company, Dallas Theater Center. See it in previews this week, before it officially opens Friday night. Tickets are cheaper this week than they will be the rest of the run, starting at just $15. See it at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday or through November 16. More information at dallastheatercenter.org.

Viral Request Live
Dallas Video Jockey William Sarradet of Half Asexual & Count Backwards posts up at the Singlewide to spin some music videos. Swing by starting at 10 p.m. Requests requested.

Wednesday, October 22

Carmen Boullosa's Texas: The Great Theft
A coworker recently pointed out to me that without fail, iPhones will autocorrect "Deep Ellum" into "Deep Vellum." Now, we're not saying that this was the impetus for the new Dallas-based translation company's name. But it could've been. After all, it's not like they're actually going to publish on "Vellum: 1) fine parchment made originally from the skin of a calf." Regardless, this week, Deep Vellum Publishing Company officially launches with its debut book, a translation of Mexican author, Carmen Boullosa's Texas: The Great Theft. At 7 p.m. Wednesday, head to Wild Detectives (314 W. 8th St.) and snag one of the first copies. More info at deepvellum.org.

Jim Gaffigan
The comedian who really loves food is in town this week at the Verizon Theatre. Grab your ticket for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday starting at $50. More information at theverizontheatre.com.