I Love the ’90s Trivia
Monday 15, Punch Bowl Social Domain
The Nineties are back, baby! If you’ve been feeling nostalgia for the glorious time of CDs, Beanie Babies, flannels, Nirvana, and the O.J. trial, you’re not alone. OK, maybe not the last one. But hey, at Get It Games’ trivia night, you never know what questions will come up. Costumes are welcome, so dust off your dELiA*s or jump into your JNCOs and roll with 1-5 of your homies to this free trivia night with prizes. Bring a charged phone for the virtual platform, which is definitely a sentence you wouldn’t have said in that most glorious decade. – Kat McNevins
Fiesta de la Independencia de Mexico
Monday 15, Republic Square Park
Collaborating with the Mexican Consulate in Austin, Downtown Austin Alliance Foundation, the city of Austin, Garcia Injury Law, Casa Garcia’s Mexican Restaurant and Cantina, and Texas Gas Service, the Austin-Saltillo Sister Cities Association invites you and yours to this festive affair. The event celebrates the 215th anniversary of Mexico’s independence journey and does so through activities like an artisan mercado, a community resource fair, performances from folks like the Roy Lozano Ballet Folklórico and Mariachi Capital, and a reenactment of the cry for independence by Cónsul General of México Humberto Hernández Haddad. – James Scott
Baby Sensory Play
Monday 15, Windsor Park Branch Library
Want your baby to boogie down? Let your local library get them in the groove. Infants between zero to 12 months can enjoy an afternoon of hands-on fun with music and playtime along with sensory exploration. Don’t forget you’re at the library, so grab a book for yourself and one to read to the growing mind in your brood. At the very least, parents and children will hopefully get a post-play nap out of it. – Laura Rivera
The Magnificent Ambersons
Monday 15, Alamo Mueller
Orson Welles’ follow-up to Citizen Kane adapts Booth Tarkington’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about successive generations of an aristocratic family in Indianapolis as their power, influence, and cash reserves wane. It’s an engrossing drama – Joseph Cotten is the reliable anchor; Welles, mesmerizing as the offscreen narrator – but it’s forever branded with an asterisk: The studio, RKO, took the film away from Welles, reshot some scenes, and hacked it down from his 132-minute cut to a brisk 88 minutes. That sort of thwarted ambition and studio interference would plague the rest of Welles’ career, and the recent news an AI company plans to digitally reconstruct the lost footage is not the happy ending anybody was hoping for. – Kimberley Jones
An Evening Celebrating Fancy Nancy
Monday 15, BookPeople
I’m a natural redhead and all-around eccentric person. Though half of that’s genetics, I confidently attribute the kookiness I wear on my sleeve to the chic-est of chicks: Fancy Nancy. The 50-million-selling children’s book series and the titular France-obsessed ginger has inspired a generation with her friendliness, over-the-top wardrobe, and posh vocabulary. So, of course, author Jane O’Connor and illustrator Robin Preiss Glasser speaking ahead of releasing Fancy Nancy: Besties for Eternity has me going ooh la la! – Flora Belle Farr
The Loveless
Monday 15, Hyperreal Film Club
Kathryn Bigelow and Monty Montgomery debuted their directorial chops with this biker drama that’s all style, scant substance. Sleek as a snake and just as slinky in his black leather, Willem Dafoe cruises through 1950s California with his motorcycle greaser gang. Only thing on their mind is trouble, which they find quick after a woman Dafoe robs comes back searching to settle the score. Plenty “happens” in between shots of guys and girls in various states of undress, but little of it sticks in the mind past the closing credits. All you’ll remember is the future Green Goblin looking hotter than hell in skin-tight blue jeans. Ain’t that enough for ya? – James Scott
Dragon Ball Z: El Poder Invencible
Monday 15, We Luv Video
According to We Luv Video, Dragon Ball Z is more popular in Latin America than it is in Japan. There’s speculation as to why, such as the long-running anime series’ twisty plots having a resemblance to telenovelas or the Spanish dubs being less censored than the English ones, but in my opinion the reason is just that Goku rips in every culture. Their love for Akira Toriyama’s hero being so well-documented speaks highly of the Latin American anime lovers’ taste, which gets highlighted at this month’s Animonday screening with the Spanish dub of eighth DBZ film, El Poder Invencible (Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan). Come see son Goku and his pals save the galaxy once more, en español. – James Scott
Cleopatra
Tuesday 16 & Saturday 20, AFS Cinema
The Austin Film Society’s latest Essential Cinema series – the magnificently monikered “The Epic Kink of Cecil B. DeMille” – continues with this 1934 spectacular. Elizabeth Taylor’s version of the titular Egyptian queen is the more enduring one in the popular imagination, but Claudette Colbert’s take is more playful, decked out in a proto-Princess Leia bikini top and other swoon inducers that get straight to the heart of what makes this excitable tale of romantic and political intrigue so fun: It’s opulent, horny, and hugely ambitious. – Kimberley Jones
Jaylen Pigford: “The Show About Nothing”
Through October 11, Ivester Contemporary
Longtime Ivester stalwart Jaylen Pigford is back for his third solo show with the gallery, an arresting assemblage of iconographic portraits in oil. The Corpus Christi-raised Houston-based self-taught Texan always injects a sense of whimsy into even his most introspective work. This show’s concept – the disingenuous answer to the question of “What’s wrong” – is no exception. In illustrating internal struggles, Pigford uses trees, flames, candles, puzzles, sock monkeys, and umbrellas, all encircling a similar shadowy figure in a compelling series, almost reminiscent of a tarot deck. It’s a visual feast best experienced in person, anytime till October 11. – Lina Fisher
Cooking Club: Julia Child and Ratatouille
Tuesday 16, Central Library
Whether you’re a longtime Julia Child devotee or have only seen Julie & Julia, this recipe swap and foodie social event will get you closer to making that perfect ratatouille. Share stories of kitchen successes and failures, and research the pros on how to execute the perfect French dish. Remys and Alfredo Linguinis alike are encouraged to attend and share – just leave any non-animated rats at home. – Laura Rivera
Milwood Classics Book Club: Fahrenheit 451
Tuesday 16, Milwood Branch Library
Nothing like a Ray Bradbury re-read to remind one that these unprecedented times people keep talking about? They might actually be a little precedented. His 1953 novel – this week’s discussion topic at Austin Public Library’s Milwood branch book club – turns up the temperature on anti-intellectual discourse as it imagines a world where all books have been outlawed. “Firemen” are tasked with burning the dangerous paperbacks, which is what we find lead character Guy Montag doing as he becomes curious about why exactly literature needs to be lit up. State control of media presented as moral protection for an infantile populace? Gosh, wish there was a very relevant parallel to this book’s themes happening right now in our own state… – James Scott
¡Baila! Peruvian Dance Performance by Tusuy Sonqo – Perú
Wednesday 17, Milwood Branch Library
The group Tusuy Sonqo Perú will be filling the public community space with Peruvian dance this Hispanic Heritage Month, which begins, by the way, on Sept. 15. The group’s aim is to create visualizations through traditional dance that display the beauty of Peruvian culture. The program will be presented in both English and Spanish, and starts at 6pm. – Sammie Seamon
Experimental Response Cinema’s Local Filmmakers’ Showcase
Wednesday 17, Hyperreal Film Club
See the world through the slightly twisted perspective of these local avant-garde filmmakers brought together and curated by the good folks of Experimental Response Cinema. Between short films, engage with fellow enthusiasts, and don’t be afraid to say that, while you enjoyed it, you just didn’t get it. Admission is free, but the hosts at Hyperreal suggest a $10 donation with all proceeds directly supporting the featured artists. – Riley Walsh
House of Abraham Premiere
Wednesday 17, AFS Cinema
From Best of Austin Best Director winner Lisa Belcher (“Guest of Honor,” “Javelina Run”) comes an exciting debut feature: a chilling thriller about grief and cults. Writer/actor Lukas Hassel (The Blacklist) is pitch-perfect as the titular Abraham, a charismatic cult leader promising a way out of suffering, helped by his assistant Beatrice (Lin Shaye, Insidious). That’s intriguing to Dee (Natasha Henstridge, Species), haunted by the trauma of finding her mother dead as a child. She joins several others seeking solace at a secluded property, and soon learns that everything’s not as it seems. Give the film a warm Austin welcome at this red-carpet premiere with Q&A. – Kat McNevins
A Night Under the Stars
Thursday 18, The Long Center
Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas has been fighting tooth and nail to keep reproductive health care accessible in the Lone Star State for 90 years now. It’s quite the occasion to celebrate. Hear from local advocates and the philanthropic educator receiving 2025’s Robbie and Tom Ausley Leadership Award, Laura Corman, while munching on food truck snacks, bopping to beats by DJ Mehealani, and swaying with songwriter duo Carrie Rodriguez and Luke Jacobs. Planned Parenthood’s work isn’t as fun as this night will be, but in these trying times, we could all use something to cheer for. – Caroline Drew
WhiskyX
Thursday 18, Distribution Hall
Fermented grain mash doesn’t sound so hot, but call it by its true name – whisky – and we bet you just perked up. Or whiskey, depending on the provenance. We think. Honestly, the E or no E thing has always befuddled us. A topic for conversation, then, at this long-running touring experience! More than 60 elite whiskies – American, Bourbon, Scotch, Rye, Single Malt, Japanese, and more – will be available for unlimited tastings. Also on tap: a curated playlist by Tiera Kennedy, complimentary hair and beard trimmings, and a food truck village wherein you can purchase vittles to soak up all those tasty spirits. – Kimberley Jones
Fibs & Friends with Connor Wood
Thursday 18, Paramount Theatre
“I want to put it on record that I didn’t move to L.A. to be a TikToker,” Connor Wood told the Chronicle last year. At the time, the UT-Austin advertising alum had just mounted Fibs & Friends, his first stand-up tour, after garnering a sizable following on the platform (@fibulaa) with his front-facing, short-form videos. He’d already launched a successful podcast with fellow self-deprecating twentysomething Brooke Averick, but Fibs & Friends introduced the personable frat boy into the world of live performance with several of his peers along for the ride. Some 16 months later, he returns to Texas with pals Maggie Winters and Zavior Phillips. – Carys Anderson
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.
This article appears in September 12 • 2025.