A few months ago ILiveinDallas did a podcast with the folks from In This Economy and Five O’Clock Dallas on Citizen Journalism. We had received some really nice feedback from listeners and decided to submit a panel session for SXSW Interactive 2010. The panel will discuss finding your niche in Citizen Journalism, how to get started, what to expect, mistakes we made along the way, the lessons we learned, and where is CJ heading. We need your help!

Celebrate the final weekend of Summer Spotlight, Willie Doherty & Private Universes and the premiere of All the World’s a Stage with free admission and special programs and tours. The DMA is free all weekend. Take advantage of the tours, lectures and films, as well as access to three exhibits. Although, I expect a lot of people will be doing the same.

Among the exhibit of All the World’s a Stage will be a group of pastel ballet dancers by Edgar Degas. Growing up in pink tights and a black leotard I became very familiar with Degas’ ballet dancers. Years of plies and arabesques at the bar, and staring at the Degas posters that lined the wall in cheap frames from Michael’s- I got to know them well.

Join the Dallas Arts District this Saturday, August 08, 2009 for a walking tour of the Dallas Arts District, the largest urban arts district in the United States. Listen to experienced docents share the area’s history and architecture while strolling by the Crow Collection of Asian Art, Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas Museum of Art, Meyerson Symphony Center, historic Belo Mansion and Cathedral Shrine of the Vrigin of Guadalupe. Get a close up view of the Winspear Opera House and Wyly Theatre under construction and set to open in fall 2009.

Support local art and the artist’s by getting out to George Fowler’s artist reception this Saturday at The Cameron Gallery. His new exhibit, Heavy Metal, will be on display and available for purchase. Stop by for a glass of wine and check out his work before heading anywhere else Saturday evening. It will be fun. Promise.

Join The Women’s Museum for their annual Women’s Equality Day lunch on August 26th, 2009 at 12:30pm. Celebrate American women’s suffrage and discuss the fight for suffrage past, present and future. Their exhibit during Equality Month, Jailed for Freedom, explores the experiences of members of the National Woman’s Party in 1917.

Lunch can be purchased for $10 or feel free to brown bag it if you prefer. Make sure you RSVP to [email protected] or buy your ticket online.

Thursday, August 20th is Arts Advocacy Day in Dallas presented by the Cultural Affairs Commission, City of Dallas and Dallas Area Cultural Advocacy Coalition.

Arts Advocacy Day is an opportunity for everyone interested in the arts to learn more about new media marketing and the economic impact of the arts.

The featured speaker is Douglas Sonntag, Director of Dance for the National Endowment for the Arts. There will be workshops and panel discussions in the morning dealing with advocacy and public relations techniques. The cost for Advocacy Day is $35 and includes lunch and all workshops.

Do something memorable on Friday, August 21st! Learn how to dance to the beat of Indian classical and Western hip-hop, get a custom henna design, or share some of your latest poetry during open mic.

Want to just chill out and watch a movie? You can do that, too. Under the stars and in a garden! The Nasher Center is showing The Princess Bride. And in the DMA auditorium catch the Hitchcock classic movie, Rear Window.

There will be food, drinks, lectures and tours. The last late night summer block parties in the Dallas Arts District is going to be a night to remember.

Another awesome indie-folk band coming through Dallas this year is Blind Pilot. The Portland duo released their debut album in 2008 and went on a bicycle tour with their instruments, stopping in over 2 dozen cities along the way. Their single “Go On, Say It” was chosen as the iTunes free single of the week and they have since opened with Aimee Mann, toured with The Decemberists, and will play at this year’s Lollapalooza in Chicago, IL. Go see them live in Dallas on Wednesday, October 28th at The Granada Theater.

The Dallas Film Society has partnered with the Nasher Sculpture Center to show one of the best American movie classics in history, The Grapes of Wrath. This movie made an enormous impact on me and if you haven’t read the book or seen the movie in your adult years, I highly recommend it. Arrive around 6:00pm to secure yourself a seat and chat with award-winning film critic, Gary Cogill.

Whoa. Whoa. Stop right there. TED is one of the most prominent conferences in the world. Tickets to attend are $6,000 and presenters have included people like President Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Bill Page, and Elizabeth Gilbert. Because our only chance of seeing TED Talks is online, and “in the spirit of ideas worth spreading,” TEDx has been creeping up in local areas like London, Paris, Boston, and now Dallas!