Cultural Benefits

• It's no joke: The Out of Bounds Comedy Festival and Miniature Golf Tournament needs cash. See, the OoB wants to pay all those talented improv artists and sketch comedians from near and far who will be wreaking hilarity here Aug. 31-Sept. 2. So it's having an OoBenanny – think old-fashioned hootenanny with a comic spin – featuring music from vaudeville/early jazz specialists the White Ghost Shivers, Journey cover band Odyssey, and rockabilly sensation A Slice of Pie. Suggested donation is just $5, which nets you great music, snacks, drinks, and chances to bid in the obligatory silent and live auctions. The OoBenanny starts Sunday, May 14, 7pm, at the Space, 4801 Airport. For more information, visit www.outofboundsimprov.com.

• Before Blue Lapis Light artistic director Sally Jacques can transform the former Intel Building into a site for death-defying and transcendent dance this summer, she needs to raise a little filthy lucre. To that end, she's hosting the Blue Moon Dance & Fashion Soirée Thursday, May 18, 6-9pm, at the Cedar Street Courtyard, 208 W. Fourth. The fashion side will boast national celebs, such as Oscar-nominated director Kimberlee Acquaro and local lights (including yours truly – yipe!) strutting in designs by some of Austin's top style specialists. The dance side will feature an excerpt from Jacques' 2005 work Whispers of Heaven. With Mix 94.7's Miss Kitty and Chronicle Style Avatar Stephen Moser as emcees, a guest DJ, food by Málaga, a raffle, and a cash bar, it'll be a night to remember.ÊFor more information, visit www.bluelapislight.org.