Austin Studio Tour, Mighty Texas Dog Walk, and More Recommended Events

Bordello of Blood

Thursday 14, Eastside Cinema

I say a film was written by Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis, you think, obviously this is a time-travel romp about not dating your mom. Yet within their script-ology exists a strange screener written even before their Spielberg-directed flop 1941. Revamped into a Tales From the Crypt entry, Bordello of Blood features cult film famos like Dennis Miller, Angie Everhart, and the bone-daddy himself, Cryptkeeper. Eastside Cinema brings this vampire flick back to life with the help of schlock cinema series One Man’s Trash as well as horror high priestess Roxy Midnite.   – James Scott

Pearls & Charcuterie: A Night of Jewelry Making

Thursday 14, Hillside Farmacy

What’s that saying about pearls before swine? It has nothing to do with this actually, as that saying means don’t waste good things on those who don’t appreciate them. This, on the other hand, is more about good things coming to those who do! Mother Earth Beads will bring freshwater pearls, gems, and other supplies to make a bracelet and necklace, which will all go home with you in a nice gift bag, and Hillside provides stunning charcuterie and other snacks.   – Kat McNevins

Sleepless in Seattle

Thursday 14, Hyperreal Film Club

When we say “They don’t make ’em like they used to,” Sleepless in Seattle is top of freaking mind. Not only does the premise require a level of buy-in that modern audiences can’t muster, it also has about 5 million caveats that cement its narrative in the Nineties. Okay, so Tom Hanks’ son calls in to a radio show – like Delilah! You know, sappy romantic radio biz for when you’re driving out late and your mom controls the dial – and tells all about how his dad’s been needing a new lady now that his mommy’s passed away. Who should be listening but a delightfully frizzy Meg Ryan, a journalist engaged to the extremely allergic Bill Pullman? Charming if a little stalker-y hijinks ensue, and everyone’s on the top of their 1993 cuteness game – including a baby Gaby Hoffmann.   – James Scott

Waiting for the Bus

Thursday 14 - Saturday 23, Ground Floor Theatre

Now is the time for advocacy. Art Spark Texas has been doing the work, creating a safe, welcoming space for artists with disabilities. In Waiting for the Bus, playwright James Burnside led a creative collaboration with other artists at Art Spark. Their goal? Create bridges between how people want to help communities and how that help can fall short. The cast features both disabled and non-disabled actors as it shares the story of individuals in an institutional facility. Yes, there are challenges, but it’s more about the work put into not just surviving, but thriving in everyday life. Watch a story of resilience while supporting an organization dedicated to an oft-misunderstood population.   – Cat McCarrey

The Lawnmower Man

Friday 15 & Tuesday 19, Hyperreal Film Club & We Luv Video

I don’t pretend to know the minds who program the non-mainstream cinema around Austin with any exactitude, so. Yeah. As to why both Hyperreal and We Luv scheduled showings of this 1992 Stephen King adaptation, shoot, man. That’s for them and God to know, and us to just never find out. In any case, if you yearn for the days when any filmic recreation of a book took the title and nothing else, then have I got a sci-fi flick for you. Breaking from King’s more mythological short story, the Pierce Brosnan vehicle instead imagines virtual reality as a generator of supernatural abilities – as well as the perfect place to bone down. If you miss Hyperreal’s Friday screening, catch We Luv’s Tuesday showing, where St. Elmo also provides free beer and hop water.   – James Scott

Society

Friday 15, We Luv Video

Hoorah for Brian Yuzna, who as a producer helped usher into the world two beautiful body horror babies: Re-Animator and From Beyond. His first spin in the director’s chair, Society, portrays the elites – here meaning actual rich-y riches rather than the conservative co-opting of the term to target anyone who orders oat milk – as nothing less than a giant incestuous mass literally eating the lower classes. Don’t go in expecting a plot or main character that compels; this horror story thrives on practical effects that platform an anti-one-percent attitude that recent events have made me, personally, quite a fan of.   – James Scott

Blue Genie Art Bazaar

Through December 24, 6100 Airport

This annual holiday market has been doing the unique, artisanal gift thing for long enough to have pretty much perfected it. Get in, grab the items to help check folks off your giftee list, and check out. You might want to take a business card from the booths you buy from so when the person opening your gift inevitably wants to know where you got it, you’ll be one step ahead. Online shopping and shipping is also available for folks unable to visit in person.   – James Renovitch

Austin Studio Tour EAST

Saturday 16 - Sunday 17, multiple locations

Listen, the Austin art scene is huge. The amount of quality work being done every day is staggering, almost incomprehensible, and definitely impossible to get an easy handle on. But the Austin Studio Tour is a perfect place to start. It’s a unique chance to see the sheer volume of creativity in our fair city, straight from an artist’s home space. This weekend, artists east of I-35 get a chance to shine. Featuring many mediums, from canvas to print to performance art, there’s definitely enough styles to pique any interest. Get your own firsthand glimpse of the inventive processes behind art creation.   – Cat McCarrey

Austin Used Book Collective Market

Saturday 16, Community Gardens

Texas Book Festival’s in full bloom, but have you ever stopped to check out your local literary gardens? Austin Used Book Collective consists of several pop-up booksellers slinging secondhand, short-run prints, and vintage tomes. Browse lit vetted by folks like Spend Time Zine Mart, Sleeper Books, Idle Hands Books, and more while sipping on a coffee or morning wine from Community Garden. With the weather finally at a survivable temperature, we’ve entered peak paperback and chill time.   – James Scott

Mighty Texas Dog Walk

Saturday 16, Camp Mabry

Dogs and their people get a full morning of fun at what they call “Disneyland for dogs,” benefiting Service Dogs Inc., which transforms shelter dogs into service dogs for wounded veterans and people with disabilities. First off, the walk: It’s a mile, on a rubberized track, and it’s optional as well as leisurely. And there’s so much more: Fill your “wag bag” with freebies from dog-friendly brands, visit the canine agility course from Zoom Room, snap a free portrait with Kim Ortiz Portrait Art, have your doggo nose their way through the Sniffari, and more. They’re going for a world record for “Biggest Pajama Party With Dogs,” so do your part and stay in those jam-jams.   – Kat McNevins

Thankful for Divas

Saturday 16, Double Trouble

Set the table because y’all about to eat: Owie hosts a celebration of all the divas who’ve made this world worth living in. Tributes to the queens – Beyoncé, Kylie Minogue, Donna Summer, etc. – come from local divas Mandy Quinn, Noodles, Arinna Dior Heys, and Veronica Valentine. I mean, really! Who’re you gonna celebrate this Thanksgiving? A bunch of stinky ol’ pilgrims who served smallpox, or the girlies serving face, body, voice, and more every dang day? Choose wisely...   – James Scott

Give Back Kick Back

Saturday 16, Sunny’s Backyard

As Thanksgiving looms large, take time to support the Central Texas Food Bank at this weekend’s first annual Give Back Kick Back. Hosted by community-minded hip-hop artist Soupmakesitbetter, the joint showcase/market organizes local artists for a good cause. Vendors include ultra-cool clothing purveyors Lofi Vintage, family-run scoop enthusiasts Luv Fats Ice Cream, and harm reduction experts NICE Project. Genre-bending trio Passiflora provide a soul-infused soundtrack, plus beats from the Deli and Flobama. Entry is free, but attendees are strongly encouraged to donate – think non-perishable goods, gently used clothing, or a good old-fashioned cash donation.   – Genevieve Wood

South Asian Heritage Festival

Saturday 16, Spicewood Springs Branch Library

Look, we’re a sucker for promotional materials with exclamation points. While the Austin Public Library isn’t getting too specific about what to expect at this third annual celebration of South Asian culture, it’s saying it with spunk, and we’re going to repeat it verbatim here: Dancing! Samosas! Arts! Henna! Learning! Music! Storytimes! Robots! (Robots???!!!) Y’all, this sounds awesome.   – Kimberley Jones

Goodnight Moon & The Runaway Bunny

Sunday 17, Paramount Theatre

Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia is back after bringing us its captivating and innovative puppetry with The Rainbow Fish last year. This time they’ll bring to the stage a show based on two comforting and classic bunny-centric children’s books by Margaret Wise Brown. Goodnight Moon offers the soothing repetitiveness of nightly routines while The Runaway Bunny provides reassurance from the mom bunny who says, “If you run away, I will run after you.” Little ones will also love the pre-show craft workshop one hour beforehand, and will leave with an activity book to take all the warm memories home.   – Kat McNevins

New French Cinema Week

Sunday 17 - Wednesday 20, AFS Cinema

One of the great joys of AFS’s programming is the annual series they put on that support the film community both locally and globally. For example, a partnership with Austin’s French sister city’s film festival Premiers Plans Festival of Angers, Unifrance’s Young French Cinema program, and the French embassy makes New French Cinema Week possible, elevating the country’s current creators for American audiences who may only be familiar with Godard. This week, films on offer include Àma Gloria, an exploration of the relationship between a 6-year-old Parisian girl and her Cape Verdean nanny; Through the Night, a modern Rashomon from the perspective of a 911 operator; Marion Cotillard co-helmed hybrid documentary Little Girl Blue; and Dahomey, which follows the return of 26 artifacts stolen by the French from the African kingdom of Dahomey, in modern-day Benin.   – Lina Fisher

Big Gay Art Fair

Sunday 17, the Little Gay Shop

As many official stops as there are on the Austin Studio Tour’s Eastside edition, there’s just as many unofficial additions. Such is the case with the Little Gay Shop’s queer market, which boasts over 20 LGBTQ vendors of arts & crafts lining the parking lot across from their brick-and-mortar. Enjoy offerings from local creators showing the great variety of queer talent housed in ATX – and help ’em stay here by laying down your pink dollars for that art. If you start to tire of the outdoor area, check indoors at TLGS’s actual shop where alongside local gay biz you’ll also find national queer artists’ wares.   – James Scott

The Ghosts of Christmas Past

through December 15, Pioneer Farms

If the Halloween spirit lingers in your soul while you’re trying to transition to a merry frame of mind, don’t resort to the Mariah Carey immersion therapy just yet. The crew at Archive Theater invites folks to gather in the Merriwether family parlor for Victorian takes that are equal parts spooky (think Krampus) and merry. Absolutely no Dickens allowed. Come early to check out the Christmas Market and pre-game with drinks, treats, and live music. Suitable for ages 8 and up.   – James Renovitch

A Christmas Carol

Through December 29, Zach Theatre

It’s a timeless story, but revisiting A Christmas Carol now seems especially timely, what with billionaires running roughshod as income inequality rises with no sign of relief. Dickens wrote the story while under financial pressure, and the story was intended to touch the hearts of the rich and powerful. It was a nice idea, and the fact it’s been adapted countless times is testament to its broad appeal, but some of the real Scrooges may just be beyond its reach. We’ll keep trying though! Zach brings its production back for a 10th year, with fresh songs and special extras like commemorative tickets and experiences.   – Kat McNevins

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Want to see all of our listings broken down by day? Go to austinchronicle.com/calendar and see what's happening now or in the coming week.