And then there were three.

With Wednesday’s departure of The Dreadlocked One, who announced in advance he was ready to return to North Texas, the 7th season of America’s favorite singing contest is down to cool rocker David Cook, teen ‘throb David Archuleta and the increasingly feisty R&B songstress Syesha Mercado. Cook should and I think will win, and for some of the same reasons Castro had to go.

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The 1969 painting went to a telephone bidder Wednesday night for $17.4 million, a new high for a Picasso made after 1960. Sotheby’s in New York also sold a second Picasso painting and two Giacometti sculptures from the Raymond and Patsy Nasher Collection as part of a high-profile sale of Impressionist and modern art. Another 132 pieces from the Dallas-based collection go on the block Friday. The Nasher estate is selling the works to build the endowment of the Nasher Sculpture Center. Here’s a link to a deeper discussion of today’s fine-art market.

The Charles and Dee Wyly Theatre was “topped out” this morning — the traditional ceremony marks the highest point of construction on a building; in this case, nine stories straight up. With an applauding crowd of donors and dignitaries present, including Mayor Tom Leppert, Dallas Center for the Performing Arts president Bill Lively and chief donor Charles Wyly, an apple-green I-beam covered with autographs was hoisted overhead and put in place.

DCPA chair Howard Hallam took the occasion to note that construction of the Wyly was on time and under budget. Opening night, he declared, would be precisely 17 months and eight days from today. (The apple green color was chosen to match what will be the color of the theater’s seats — though they won’t be quite as bright, board member Deedie Rose assured the crowd.)

It’s fitting that the height of the Wyly should be commemorated. The 600-seat performance space — the future home of the Dallas Theater Center — represents a radical, “vertical” departure from conventional theater design. It will be unlike any theater, anywhere, because the “backstage” support facilities (costume and scene shops, rehearsal rooms) as well as the “front of house” amenities (lobby, restrooms, concessions) will not be clustered around or behind the auditorium. They will be stacked on top of it or underneath it (In addition to nine floors aboveground, the Wyly has three floors underground.).

The Wyly, in effect, will be the world’s first skyscraper theater. But the Wyly is doubly daring– at least. [Read more →]

Michael Dyson, head of the Blue Shoe Project — the non-profit dedicated to teaching and preserving traditional blues — may have been the last winner to receive his Grammy (he won it back in February for the album, Last of the Great Mississippi Delta Bluesmen — Live in Dallas). It never arrived at his home.

Dyson called the Recording Academy, they called the post office. Turns out it got lost in the mail. (Memo: A handy excuse to use in the future — the mailing label had fallen off the box.) But the award was tracked down and retrieved.

And now it’s set for display this Saturday at the free Blue Shoe Blues Festival in The Village at Colleyville 62 Main Street. All proceeds from the concert benefit the project’s outreach program. For more info, visit the Blue Shoe Project’s website. 
 

Lola’s in Fort Worth has Wayne “The Train” Hancock, the Majestic Theater in Dallas has Viva el Norte by the Anita N. Martinez Ballet Folklorico and Miss Pim Passes By sticks around the Dallas Hub Theater.

Guest blogger Lydia Regalado is an arts educator and blogger.   She’s visiting groups that come together to create things, and reporting back.

The hunt for free local do-it-yourself classes inspired me to dust off my knitting needles and purl at it once again at the weekly meeting of the Lakewood Knit Wits.  

 The Lakewood Knit Wits are a core group of about 7 women who have been meeting over the past 4 years. Every Tuesday between 2 - 4 they file in to work on collaborative projects and works of their own. The skill level in this meeting is average to advanced, but a frustrated begin-again-er like me fit right in just as well. 

 Ongoing projects that the Knit Wits work on include knitting baby caps for the newborn babies at Parkland Hospital, (a great way to learn how to knit in the round), and the contribution of 7″ x 7″ squares (purl on the diagonal) for a quilt that will be auctioned off later this summer. Of course you can bring your own projects and get feedback and lively conversation from the group. All knitters are welcome!  

 The Lakewood Knit Wits meet every Tuesday between 2 - 4 at the Lakewood Library, 6121 Worth Street, 214.670.1376.  

Next up: For an array of local handmade designs and crafts, be sure to check out the Urban Street Bazaar this Saturday, May 10  10 am to 8 pm in Bishop Street Arts District.  

Most of us could afford to bid on this piece of art for sale:

Not so much this one:

Or…

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Plant yourself at the Dallas Arboretum for the May Flower Extravaganza or take in the songwriter showcase and open mic at the Fairmount in southside Fort Worth. Or listen up for other ideas from Gini:

As Rawlins Gilliland points out in his D Magazine piece, the idea of street food in Dallas is counterintuitive. The only time we walk for a meal is from the valet stand to the front door of the restaurant. Nonetheless, Gilliland found vendors selling food from carts, kiosks and walk-up windows in several North Texas neighborhoods. Listen to him talk about it on Think starting any second now.

Update: Rawlins is making me hungry as he describes what’s available. He also mentioned an article he wrote for Pegasus News about “The Hidden City,” interesting parts of Dallas that residents may have overlooked.

Update II: The hour-long show is now over but you can still listen to it here.

What to do on a damp day? Check out a new gallery on Dragon Street or go see Rain: The Beatles Experience.

Here’s Gini: