While the emphasis of La Dolce Vita is certainly on the food, the night was beautiful with the crisp lake breeze, beautiful décor, and incredible setting. Proceeds from La Dolce Vita go directly to supporting the AMOA’s art exhibits and education, showing us that gorging yourself on food has consequences other than the negative ones on your waistline. The sweet life, indeed! ...

One of Austin's most anticipated annual culinary events (voted "Best Food Event" by the 2008 Austin Chronicle Readers Poll) returns to the lakeside Laguna Gloria location of the Austin Museum of Art this Thursday from 6-9pm. Hallmarked by a bacchanal theme, this 19th annual event features the foodie fare of more than 50 of Austin's top food purveyors (including some of our favorites like Hey Cupcake!, Roaring Fork, Sweet Tempered, Ranch 616 and Tacodeli) as well as dozens of wines provided by Twin Liquors. Savvy Vodka will also be on hand, as well as the of-so-superlatively-delicious Paula's Texas Spirits....

Austin Modernists Past and Present will present the works of two influential Austin modern artists, Shawn Camp and Ralph White, hanging inside a newly built modern home that boasts gallery-like entertaining spaces and spectacular views of the Austin skyline from a rooftop terrace....

FRIDAY [1] party • Rare Magazine Summer Issue Launch Party at Mean Eyed Cat (5:30pm) bikes • Republic of Texas Biker Rally at All Over Austin dance/benefit • Project Transitions Hosts 12th Annual Texas Swing at Saengerrunde Hall and Scholz’s Beer Garten ($40, 8-Midnight) art • Opening Reception: Cantanker/us, the Cantanker Magazine staff show at Else Madsen Gallery, 411 Brazos, Suite 99 (7-11pm) art • The B Scene at The Blanton Museum of Art,......

THURSDAY [12] music • FactoryPeople turns 3, and they're throwing a whole weekend's worth of awesome activities, starting with DJs sets by DFA Records' Juan McLean and Tim Sweeney at FactoryPeople (7-10pm) ® music • DFA Records artists Juan McLean and Tim Sweeney at Whisky Bar (10pm-2am, $12/$10) ® music • Man Man, Thermals, Oh, Beast! at Emo's ® music • San Saba County at Waterloo Records (5pm) music • San Saba County, Sorta......

It's that time of year again, Austin. Although it seems like it happens about three times a year, the Austin Chronicle is conducting its annual Best Of Austin poll. While we obviously have certain favorites (Laguna Gloria, Curra's, El Chile, Mi Madre's, Eastside Cafe, Vespaio, the Backyard, the Parish, Continental Club, Hotel San Jose, DJ Prince Klassen, the Draugh Horse, Gingerman, Lovejoy's, Flipnotics, Casino El Camino, Club DeVille, the Off Center, KUT, KLRU, Quorum......

Yes, you really can have too much sun and too many hotdogs. Take a break and indulge your inner nerd at the Book Arts Fair, being held Sunday, July 2, at the Austin Museum of Art–Laguna Gloria. Sponsored by Austin Book Workers, the fair features local artisans demonstrating their craft, including paper marbling, pop-up books, fine press printing, calligraphy, leather work, and paper making. Then try your hand at making miniature books or decorating......

Be sure to check out our extensive theatre coverage and new movie releases. Please let us know about any corrections/suggestions! FRIDAY [31] [music] Reckless Kelly at La Zona Rosa (link) [music] Peter & the Wolf, Navajo Radio and more at Emo's (Inside) (link) [music] Ghostface Killah, Word Association, DJ Notion at Emo's (Outside) (link) [music] The Glass Family w/ Quien es Boom (CD Release) & Brothers and Sisters at The Parish Room (link) [music] Red......

Austinist would generally claim you, dear readers, to be lucky ducks, though today we'll crown you as fortunate as the swans of Town Lake. Here's why: we're loading you up with tons of artdata. People, get ready. The first order of business is this weekend's Austin Fine Arts Festival, or TAFAF, which is fifty years old 'n strong. It was originally conceived in the 1950s by one Miss Peggy Frary, an art lover and......

There are things to do on Valentine's Day besides go out to dinner, eat chocolate, and put on new lingerie. For example, you could take your date to the 80's Power Ballad Sing-A-Long at the Alamo Drafthouse, a sure-to-be-hilarious night presented by Mr. Sinus' Owen Egerton and Henri Mazza (the program director at the Alamo). From the Alamo site: This February Owen and Henri will present the definitive sing-along for the Valentine’s season, featuring......

M O N D A Y [ 9 ] [film/music] End of an Ear Presents "Shield Around the K," which "profiles the birth and growth of influential Olympia-based punk rock DIY record label K Records," at The Drafthouse Downtown (9:45pm) [info] [film] Super Happy Fun Monkeybash DX Gaiden (Vol. 2) at The Drafthouse Downtown (7pm) [info] [art] Check out the new gallery exhibit, Liz Ward's Aqueous, at Women and Their Work (All Day) [info] [music]......

Some notable weekend art openings from around the town... Friday, December 9th D Berman Gallery ( 1701 Guadalupe St) presents Sydney Yeager: Billow and Fold. From D Berman's website: With a new palette of vivid hues, Ms. Yeager’s paintings continue to evolve and delight. In these paintings, forms familiar from the artist’s earlier work are chopped, compressed, and stretched. Implied boundary lines coax plumes of bright colors to bend, loop, and ultimately fill the picture......

M O N D A Y [ 2 1 ] music · Elizabeth McQueen and Jason Robards at Threadgill's music · MC Chris (Adult Swim), Snmnmn, The Ergs, America is Waiting, Bring Back the Guns and Karaoke Underground at Emo's music · Redrum and Music Lab put on Battle of the Bands 3! holidays · Marble Falls' Walkway of Lights kicked off last weekend, but you can see it through December 2nd - "meander through......

There are few things that go quite so well with art as wine and food - just ask the Italians! But if you, like us, don’t have the time and/or funds for a jaunt to Italy, then we suggest attending the 16th annual Austin Museum of Art food and wine tasting extravaganza, La Dolce Vita. Fifty Austin restaurants and caterers will be showcasing their finest culinary wares, including some of our favorites like Jeffrey’s,......

We know that sweet, sweet music gets most of the attention in this little Texas oasis of ours. But Austin has an art scene, too! We swear! Seriously, have you even bothered to check out what’s happening at the AMOA right now? No? Fine, we’ll tell you. The Color/Patterns/Grid exhibit at the downtown AMOA is running through May 15 (that’s this Sunday) and features artworks from Picasso, Bonnard, Toulouse-Lautrec, Matisse, Warhol, and many more. We......