A Mardi Gras Pre-Party, Improvised Intimacy, and More Recommended Events

The Love Witch

Thursday 6, Hyperreal Film Club

You might guess just by looking at it that The Love Witch was shot in the Sixties or Seventies, all soft, blown-out Technicolor and dreamy score with a meandering vibes-based plot. But in fact it’s the 2016 brainchild (lovechild?) of Anna Biller, whose retro homage works on strange feminist levels that reveal themselves as you’re plunged further into the dream. Not so much a romance as the title suggests, The Love Witch is a good pick for a Valentine’s screening if you’re in the mood for a little stylish, seductive revenge... Biller studied witchcraft extensively for the film, and its period costumes and set-pieces are as genuine, well-thought-out, and meticulously arranged as its stilted, presentational acting.   – Lina Fisher

PrintAustin’s PrintExpo

Friday 7 - Sunday 9, Blue Genie Art Bazaar

What you hang on your walls is an artistic statement in itself. Maybe you’re looking for something that challenges you, soothes you, signals to visitors something about your value system, or just blends well with your living room set. Whatever your motivation, you’ll find something that fits the bill at the 11th annual PrintExpo, featuring the work of more than 50 artists and galleries for sale, and live demos throughout the weekend. Entry’s free, but if you want first dibs, you’ll have to shell out for Friday evening’s opening event, which raises funds for artist-led nonprofit PrintAustin. Not had your print fill yet? Head to Gallery 2000 on the nearby ACC Highland Campus Saturday night for the opening reception of new exhibit “The Contemporary Print.”   – Kimberley Jones

Pardi Gras

Friday 7 - Sunday 9, Banger’s Sausage House & Beer Garden

So, actual Mardi Gras – as in, Fat Tuesday, the last day to go hog wild before abstemious Lent descends – isn’t until March 4, but that glorious house of beer-and-sausage that is Banger’s ain’t about waiting. Their annual Pardi Gras celebration sprawls out in a weekend-long bacchanalia boasting a Cajun menu (crawfish & andouille gumbo, gator hush puppies, et al.), bourbon & rum barrel-aged beers on tap, games, and live zydeco and traditional Cajun music. Free entry and open to all, including kiddos and pets. Pardi hardi, mes amis.   – Kimberley Jones

The Grapes of Wrath

Friday 7, Harry Ransom Center

Book bans aren’t necessarily a sign of literary greatness, since such bans are generally the work of the culturally illiterate. But when the book in question is Steinbeck’s 1939 Dust Bowl classic The Grapes of Wrath, the connection is clear, since it’s still regarded as a truly great American novel. With book burnings, bans, and outrage at the novel’s depiction of the turmoil and pains in rural America, it took undeniable courage for producer Darryl F. Zanuck and writer/producer Nunnally Johnson to bring in director John Ford (fresh off the triple-success of Stagecoach, Young Mr. Lincoln, and Drums Along the Mohawk) and megastar Henry Fonda to take a long, cold look at class and desperation in America. Part of the “Troubled Texts: Banned Books on Film” series and tying in with the ongoing exhibition “Freedom to Write, Freedom to Read: The Story of PEN,” the screening will be introduced by Jenny Romero, HRC’s Robert De Niro Curator of Film. Register for free at hrc.itexas.edu.   – Richard Whittaker

Ordinary Days

Through March 1, Penfold Theatre

Love a multi-POV story – that’s point-of-view to all y’all TikTokers – and Adam Gwon’s new musical provides just that. Four New Yorkers crisscross each other’s lives in pursuit of life, love, and a taxi ride through this singsong stage play, which first ran at Penfold a little over 10 years ago. The Round Rock cultural hot spot calls this their big return to “chamber musicals,” aka small-scale stagecraft with a big impact. Perhaps this can serve as your revisitation of the genre – and Austin’s northern town neighbor – as well. Attend opening night on Friday, Feb. 7, or enjoy their First Saturday Soiree on Feb. 8 for hors d’oeuvres & bevs with the cast & crew.   – James Scott

The Golden Child

Friday 7, Alamo Mueller

How hot do you have to be at the box office for your fifth movie to be considered a flop because it only made 10 times its budget back and was the No. 1 film in America for only five weeks? Or maybe it’s remembered less than fondly because star Eddie Murphy called it “a piece of shit.” But this weird 1986 addition to the mystical martial arts craze that was sweeping America was a game changer for the former Saturday Night Live star – his first non-R-rated flick and his first foray into family-friendly entertainment. True, he ricocheted back into “leave the kids at home” territory with Beverly Hills Cop II, Coming to America, and Eddie Murphy: Raw, but what about Shrek, Mulan, Nutty Professor II ... OK, so not everything about it was great, but it was a much better career diversion for Murphy than his brief and ill-considered singing career. C’mon everybody, “My girl wants to party all the time, party all the time, party all the tiiiiiiime ...”   – Richard Whittaker

Wild at Heart

Friday 7, Double Trouble; Friday 7 - Saturday 8, Tuesday 11 & Thursday 13, AFS cinema

The late, great David Lynch was many things – arguable genius, surrealist auteur, lover of American cuisine and cigarettes, and an unrepentant “honorable horndog,” as one Twitter user put it on the occasion of his death last month. As the season of love sets upon us, let us honor Lynch’s legacy with his horniest of films, Wild at Heart, which follows Nicolas Cage’s Sailor and Laura Dern’s Lula on a cross-country crime-filled road trip fleeing Lula’s crazed Wicked Witch mother Marietta – a sublimely deranged Diane Ladd. The controversial winner of the 1990 Cannes Palme d’Or prize, this author’s favorite film distills the best of Lynch’s horndoggery – starkly violent, unbearably sexy, with a genuine beating heart of gold. These days, “this whole world is wild at heart and weird on top,” indeed.   – Lina Fisher

Sextet: Intimate Improvised Romantic Comedy

Through February 23, Genesis Creative Collective

We love love, and we also love to laugh: These are two truths of the Chronicle staff and humanity. That our wonderful comedy community has created a show that combines rom and com in a live show? Girl, that’s the magic of Austin! Thrice be-crowned B. Iden Payne Award winners Sextet take to the stage and create fully improvised “compelling, layered characters who showcase the poignant and playful nuances of human relationships – romantic, platonic, and otherwise – starting this Friday, Feb. 7. Their romantic antics then run Fridays through Sundays until Feb. 23, so you’ve got more than a few chances to bring a date to this sweet li’l improv show.   – James Scott

The Before Trilogy

Friday 7 - Saturday 8, AFS Cinema

Even in Austin, Richard Linklater’s home turf, and even at the Austin Film Society, which Linklater himself founded in 1985, opportunities to see his defining Before trilogy in 35mm are few and far between. Each film follows roughly the template started in 1995’s Before Sunrise, when American student Jesse (Ethan Hawke) convinces a French woman named Celine (Julie Delpy) to debark for a night spent wandering Vienna before he flies home in the morning, only 2004’s Before Sunset moves the walk & talk to Paris, 2013’s Before Midnight to Greece. Cycling through serendipity, second chances, and the bracing reality of a day-in, day-out partnership, the Before trilogy is a whole meal. Don’t miss the chance to feast on it on the big screen.   – Kimberley Jones

Community Voices Workshop With Andrea Ariel Dance

Saturday 8, Carver Museum & Cultural Center

In this convoluted world of virtual spaces and digital interactions, we could all use some new communication skills. Andrea Ariel Dance Theatre invites anyone curious to explore the arts to come out and help them develop the company’s new project. You’ll participate in theatre games, talk with artists from Ariel Dance, and generally have your voices heard. And when they mean anyone, they mean it. No theatre or dance experience required, anyone over the age of 7 welcome (kids should have a guardian present), and all abilities are encouraged to participate.   – James Renovitch

Love Notes: a Valentine’s Type-In

Saturday 8, Windsor Park Branch Library

Clackity, clackity: What beautiful music ye olde word processor makes. Austin Public Library enlists the analog skills & passion of Austin Typewriter, Ink for an event themed to this month’s romantic vibes. The Texans behind the group have been collecting, repairing, and celebrating typewriters since 2017, and now you’ll be able to access this vintage tech yourself. Drop by Westminster Drive between noon and 3pm this Saturday to clack out a poem or letter to your lover on a well-maintained machine from Austin Typewriters, Ink – and maybe learn a little more about your phone keyboard’s ancestor.   – James Scott

16th Annual Anti-Valentine’s Burlesque Show

Saturday 8, Come and Take It Live

Even if you’re booed up this February, Valentine’s Day still sucks. Every restaurant is booked, and coming up with another gift for your honey just a few months after Christmas is a never-ending head-scratcher. Trade the pressure of this high-expectation Hallmark holiday by catching a burlesque show by the Bat City Bombshells, celebrating their sweet 16. A dozen dancers are on the bill for this sultry soiree, hosted, per usual, by Nicole De Gallo. Isn’t that sexy enough?   – Carys Anderson

Texas Roller Derby: Cherry Bombs vs. Hellcats

Saturday 8, Travis County Expo Center

Do you remember Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut Whip It? Just me? First, it’s great, please watch it, and second, I’ll always be in its debt for introducing me to the wild and rocking world of roller derby. A sport that encourages rad folksto aggressively own the rink? Sign me up. It’s only made better with the incredible nicknames, like Cherry Bombs skaters “Zara Problem” and “Anya Marx,” or the Hellcats’ “Zelda HitzGerald,” an epic name I’ll be thinking about for months. Roller riot with these derby destroyers.   – Cat McCarrey

17th Annual Chili Cold Blood Chili Cook-Off

Saturday 8, Sagebrush

There’s still a touch of winter left in Texas, which means it’s time to fire up the Chili Cold Blood while you still can. The ripping blues and twanged cowpunk trio simmers their 17th annual Chili Cook-Off with an all-day lineup, kicking off with the raw bluesy howl of Jay Moeller & the Drag and the smooth, dance floor-dedicated honky tonk of Sentimental Family Band. The Lonesome Heroes ramble their restless Americana into the hosts’ rocked-out set, with the Point closing the shindig behind the wild surf jazz and world rhythm fusions of last year’s standout Maldito Animal.   – Doug Freeman

Lunar New Year Mutual Aid Fundraiser

Saturday 8, Red Salmon Arts

New Year’s celebrations are often synonymous with debauchery in American circles, but as the Lunar New Year brings about the Year of the Snake – which symbolizes wisdom, transformation, and the pursuit of love and happiness – why not put that energy toward something good? The Asian American diaspora collective Chúng Mình hosts tattoo artists, arts and food vendors, drag bingo, and DIY lucky knots, zines, and crafts at this mutual aid fundraiser, which benefits freedom efforts in Palestine, Sudan, the Congo, and India, as well as Indigenous Texans. Masks are required at this daytime event, which kicks off at 1pm.   – Carys Anderson

The Moth Project

Saturday 8, Rollins Theatre at the Long Center

What do you get when you combine an avant-garde opera producer, a Juilliard-trained violinist, and the life cycle of moths? A singular experience of sound and visuals, that’s what. Partners Peter Kiesewalter (of the East Village Opera Company) and Whitney La Grange (musically, she’s done everything) created a stunning event combining science, music, macro photography, and myth to share their take on humanity and mothkind. Giant visuals. Epic music, from Kiss to Bach and everything in between. Storytelling mixing familial tales with ecologically sound studies. It makes for one wholly satisfying evening.   – Cat McCarrey

The Austin (Used) Book Collective Valentine’s Market

Saturday 8, Community Garden

Have you considered falling in love with a book? Pros: A book’s a cheap date – unless you’re into first editions – and they never Dutch oven you in bed. The con? Paper cuts. Entertain entering a literary affair this weekend with one of the many curated offerings from Austin’s used book sellers, who congregate at acai bowl/coffeehouse/wine bar Community Garden to hawk their print wares. Vendors like Time Being Books, Mac Benson, Rand Renfrow, Josiah Simon’s Rare German Books, and Sleeper Books offer a wide range of physical media from hardcover rarities to cool-covered paperbacks. Save yourself the human heartbreak and pick up your new book lover!   – James Scott

African Americans and Labor Panel

Saturday 8, Carver Branch Library

You can always count on the Austin Public Library for thoughtful and thought-provoking Black History Month programming, even if the event’s name doesn’t let on how cool it really is! For this intriguing panel discussion, three local luminaries convene for a discussion about their career pathways and how those trajectories shaped them into who they are today. Hear from KXAN anchor Jennifer Sanders, Emmy and Edward R. Murrow Award winner; Dr. Jeff Hutchinson, physician and leadership consultant with the Wade Alliance; and Jackie Venson, superstar guitarist and winner of multiple Austin Music Awards, including 2020 Musician of the Year.   – Kat McNevins

Annual Lunar New Year + Fifth Birthday Bash

Saturday 8, OMG Squee

Bolm Road sweet shop OMG Squee started in 2017 out of founder Sarah Lim’s home and now, in the Year of the Wood Snake, has achieved five years of brick-and-mortar pastry perfection. They celebrate every mochi donut, taiyaki sundae, and macaron this Saturday at a combo LNY and birthday bash with support from Fierce Whiskers Distillery and Topo Chico. Of course attendees can expect festive flavors at the bakery, such as their pre-order Lucky 8 Chinese pastries and free drinks, but they’ll also be hosting food pop-ups from local Asian culinary wizards like Lao’d Bar, Chanda Mau, and Chopsticks Street Food & Drinks. Plus, Kaiju Cut and Sew curates a vendor market, Summit Lion Dance performs, and the Mahjong Mafia teaches – what else – mahjong.   – James Scott

Valentine’s Day Printing Celebration

Saturday 8, Letterpress PLAY

Just the other day at the office, we were reminiscing about exchanging sweet little Valentine cards with classmates in school, dropping notes in decorated boxes or mailbags bearing punny sentiments like “Bee mine” or “Ewe are my favorite.” Letterpress PLAY kicks it up a notch with this celebration of old-fashioned cards, offering heart-shaped cards of handmade paper that you can imprint with a V-Day-themed design, thanks to their skilled team of artists and instructors. Sweetening the deal: free cocoa and other treats to complement the lovely handmade greetings.   – Kat McNevins

Super Bowl LIX Watch Party

Sunday 9, Meanwhile Brewing

Most NFL fans will bitterly watch this year’s Super Bowl pitting two-time defending champions Kansas City Chiefs against the Philadelphia Eagles. For those who simply want to rip a couple cold ones during the big game and/or couldn’t care less about conspiracy theories alleging corrupt officiating to benefit Taylor Swift’s faves, look no further than Meanwhile Brewing. Proceedings begin with screening of the 21st annual Puppy Bowl on plenty of televisions located both outside and inside. Food trucks on hand are Bésame, Side Eye Pie, and Songbird.   – Derek Udensi

Bones and All

Sunday 9, Alamo Village & South Lamar

Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown was unexpected, but so was seeing him portray someone who eats humans. Luca Guadagnino is no stranger to tales of passion, but the cannibal twist on this 2022 film provides an eccentric take on star-crossed lovers. Adapted from the novel by Camille DeAngelis, Bones and All depicts a 1980s America where “eaters,” who enjoy human flesh, live amongst regular people. It follows the journey of a young woman who meets a wanderer while on a path of self-discovery. As they travel together, they come face to face with feelings they’d much rather swallow than confront. If you’re squeamish, you might want to hold off on ordering that Drafthouse burger.   – Catalina Perez

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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.