Arts & culture

Pat Wheelis Kochan has become a staple in the art world of Dallas. From her watercolor renditions of the Adolphus Hotel to her personal favorite piece, “Lady in Red,” her impressionistic style can be recognized in some of the nicest hotels and restaurants in Dallas. Her Dallas series is an incredible look back at the way the city was at a certain time, as Kochan remembers it and as do so many others.

However, “Through the Artist’s Eyes,” is a collection of Kochan’s work over the last thirty years, handpicked by her, to represent four of her favorite series to paint.

This fairytale springs to the stage in Ben Stevenson’s magical production. The King and Queen host a magnificent party to christen their beautiful new baby, Princess Aurora. Upset by not being invited to the affair, Carabosse, an evil fairy, curses the child to die on her sixteenth birthday when pricked by a needle.

The Lilac Fairy uses her powers to save Princess Aurora and alters the curse so that she sleeps for 100 years, only to be awakened by a kiss from the Prince. Lavish sets transform the stage with fairytale wonder as music by Tchaikovsky enraptures the audience and invites us all to join in the story of The Sleeping Beauty and her prince.

The 2010 edition of SXSW, which gets under way Wednesday, promises the most robust assemblage of local musicians yet. Never mind the officially sanctioned showcases; there are dozens of North Texas bands performing at unofficial day parties and gatherings during the five-day festival. One such shindig, Friday’s amusingly titled “Fort Wizard Grab Bag” party at Dominican Joe Coffee Shop on South Congress Avenue, features 24 acts, nearly all of which hail from Fort Worth.