This week's events include 'Exorcist' 50th screening, Oktoberfest, Jazztober

'Exorcist' returns to big screen for anniversary

Cinemark Hollywood 16 Amarillo, 9100 Canyon Drive, is hosting a special 50th anniversary screening of "The Exorcist" in remembrance of the late William Friedkin at 4 and 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 1 and again at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 4.

When a charming 12-year-old girl takes on the characteristics and voices of others, doctors say there is nothing they can do. As people begin to die, the girl's mother realizes her daughter has been possessed by the devil — and that her daughter's only possible hope lies with two priests and the ancient rite of demonic exorcism. This extended version contains an additional 12 minutes to the original theatrical version.

As part of the Warner Bros. Studio 100th Celebration and to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of The Exorcist’s theatrical release, Warner Bros worked closely with the director, Friedkin, on the restoration of this iconic film. This newly remastered version was created from the original camera negative and features audio masterfully remixed by Atmos.

Tickets for this special screening are $12.45 and available in advance online at https://www.fathomevents.com/

Jazztober returns to Center City on Tuesdays

Center City is proud to announce the 11th Season of Jazztober, which kicks off its 11th season of free jazz concerts this Tuesday.

The concerts will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. every Tuesday in October at 1000 S. Polk St. on the grounds of the historic Bivins Home. Concerts for this season are Austin Brazille for Oct. 3, Ruth Ellen Lynch & Jazz Plus for Oct. 10, The Martinis for Oct. 17 and Big G & The Tradewinds for Oct. 24.

The concerts are free. Guests should bring their own chairs or blankets. Guests are encouraged to bring a picnic and beverages. For more information about Jazztober, please call Center City at 372-6744 or go to www.centercity.org .

‘Interconnected Landscape’ exhibition at WT reflects on peaks, valleys of life and region

CANYON — On her commute between Canyon and Guymon, Oklahoma, Katy George found unexpected inspiration in the rolls and folds of the Texas Panhandle landscape. It reminded her of bedsheets, of all things.

“Bedsheets are objects of real meaning and human significance. They wrap us up in our most vulnerable moments when we are unconscious and asleep. They represent protection, cleanliness and domesticity,” George said. “But they can also represent fear-based memories and trauma, such as when one is confined to a bed with debilitating depression, or bedridden in a hospital struggling with illness. Bedsheets, with their malleable fabric that can be formed into peaks and valleys, folds and creases, mimic both landscapes and human bodies in interesting ways.”

Now, George, the art program director at Oklahoma Panhandle State University, is using that inspiration in works on view in “This Interconnected Landscape,” her thesis exhibition for her Master of Fine Arts degree at West Texas A&M University. The exhibition will hang Oct. 5 to 28 in the Dord Fitz Formal Gallery in Mary Moody Northen Hall. An opening reception is scheduled for 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 5.

Fitz Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and by appointment Fridaysand Saturdays. Email jrevett@wtamu.edu .

WT Theatre opens season with ‘Once Upon a Mattress’

CANYON, Texas — A goofy musical take on a classic fairy tale will open West Texas A&M University Theatre’s 2023-24 season.

“Once Upon a Mattress,” a Golden Age-era musical adaptation of “The Princess and the Pea,” will be staged at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 5 to 7 and 2:30 p.m. Oct. 8 in the Branding Iron Theatre in the Sybil B. Harrington Fine Arts Complex on WT’s campus. Tickets are $16 for adults, $12 for seniors and students, and free for WT students, faculty and staff with a Buff Gold card.

For tickets, visit the Box Office in the Fine Arts Complex, email artsboxoffice@wtamu.edu or call 806-651-2810.

PPHM explores story of buffalo in new exhibit

CANYON – Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum announces the public opening of its newest exhibit, The Fall and Rise of an American Icon. This new exhibition in the Southwestern Gallery at PPHM focuses on the tragic and hopeful story of the American Buffalo. The exhibition will run through September 2024.

The exhibit chronicles interactions between bison and people over the past centuries on the Great Plains. From the international demand for buffalo hides in the 1820s and the Euro-American hunters flooding the plains in the mid-1800s, to the alarming collapse of the bison herd in the 1880s and the U.S. Government’s notorious campaign to forcefully move Native peoples to reservations—the collapse of centuries of human interaction with the bison came swiftly.

“As The Fall and Rise of an American Icon makes clear, much of the human history with the bison involves extreme mismanagement,” says Andrew Hay, PPHM Executive Director. “From over hunting, market demand, hide hunters, the national expansion West, and, quite tragically, the government’s forceful removal of Native peoples to reservations—the collection of PPHM speaks poignantly to all of these factors and their connection to the bison.”

For more information on this exhibit, and the many programs of PPHM, visit panhandleplains.org.

Collages created from AI on display in Southern Light Gallery at AC

René West, associate professor of photography at Amarillo College (AC), and Mark Penland, a freelance photographer and photography lab manager at Tarrant County College’s Northeast Campus, are now creating art with Artificial Intelligence (AI). They launched their recent collaboration, which they’ve dubbed the West Penland Alliance (WPA), in the summer of 2023.

Ever since, the collagists have been jointly creating large-scale tableaus out of AI images, and their first project, “Poetic Science,” is on display through Oct. 26 at AC’s Southern Light Gallery.

According to West, the title of WPA’s inaugural project, “Poetic Science,” references Ada Lovelace, who in 1843 published what many consider to be the first computer program. Lovelace referred to her algorithmic approach as Poetic Science, a blend of math and imagination.

The Southern Light Gallery is located on the first floor of the Ware Student Commons on AC’s Washington Street Campus and is free and open to the public. For more information about the “Poetic Science” exhibit or the Southern Light Gallery, contact West at rwest@actx.edu or 806-345-5654.

WT hosts Distinguished Lecture Series

CANYON — West Texas A&M University’s Distinguished Lecture Series will host nationally known speakers during the fall, including renowned poets, a Western historian, a major corporate leader and an innovator in dyslexia research. DLS events are free and open to the public.

Microsoft executive Sandra Lopez, who has been named a top woman in media and technology, will speak about “Career Empowerment and Leadership through Diversity, Respect and Inclusion.” Lopez’s speech will begin at noon Oct. 4 in the Alumni Banquet Hall. Lunch is provided.

Up next is the 11th annual Helen Piehl Distinguished Lecture, featuring dyslexia expert Dr. Jack M. Fletcher on “The Reading Brain: Understanding the Science of Dyslexia.” The speech and workshop will run from 8:30 a.m. to noon Oct. 5 in Legacy Hall and will have a virtual option.

This year’s installment of the Dorothy Patterson Poetry Series will follow, featuring poet Chad Abushanab. The poet, teacher and electronic musician will read his work at 7 p.m. Nov. 1 in the Sybil B. Harrington Fine Arts Complex Recital Hall.

The final DLS event of the semester will feature Dan Flores as the headliner of the Garry L. Nall Lecture in Western Studies. Flores, the A.B Hammond Professor Emeritus of Western History at the University of Montana, will speak at 7 p.m. Nov. 2 in Legacy Hall.

For information about these events, visit the Distinguished Lecture Series website at www.wtamu.edu/academics/distinguished-lecture-series/

Starlight Ranch hosting Oktoberfest

Prepare to embark on a Texan take on the cherished Oktoberfest tradition at Amarillo's enchanting Starlight Ranch starting at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 7.

Immerse yourself in an authentic Bavarian atmosphere, complete with the rich notes of real German beer and the warm aroma of freshly baked pretzels. Indulge your palate with a sumptuous German dinner that pays homage to centuries-old recipes, while the lively polka band fills the air with joyous melodies, inviting you to dance and revel in the spirit of togetherness.

Adding a dose of delightful quirkiness, the festivities will culminate in an entertaining wiener dog race, where these spirited pups will steal the show. So, don your finest dirndl or lederhosen and join us for a captivating fusion of German heritage and Texan hospitality.

General admission tickets for the event are $20 with additional costs for food and drinks upon admission.

To purchase tickets, enter your pup in the race or additional information, visit https://www.bigtexan.com/starlight-ranch-event-center/

ASO presents 'Celebraciones'

The Amarillo Symphony presents "Celebraciones" at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 13 and 14 at the Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts, 500 S. Buchanan St.

Celebrate our region’s rich Hispanic heritage with this festive, fun, and fiery program, including award-winning Mariachi singer Nayelli Peña, Trio Los Reyes, and the Amarillo Symphony Youth Orchestra. Conductor is George Jackson.

Tickets for this concert range from $21 to $71 (plus taxes and fees), depending on seating. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit panhandletickets.com

Americana singer-songwriter Chris Knight to perform at Hoot's Pub Oct. 13

After 25 years as a recording artist, singer-songwriter Chris Knight will hit the sonic highlights of his career in concert Oct. 13 at 8 p.m. at Hoot's Pub, 2424 Hobbs Road in Amarillo. Doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets are $20-$75 for those 18 and older. For more, visit www.chrisknight.net .

Knight remains boldly empowered to make music that always delivers the unflinching truth, according to a news release. The man raised in Slaughters, Kentucky uses a simple, direct barometer to regularly check his muse: “If I can’t believe myself, I won’t sing the song.”

His Americana-fueled, backwoods-grown merger of folk, country, and rock has been at the backbone of nine studio albums, beginning with 1998’s acclaimed self-titled debut and traveling through scorchers such as the one-two punch of 2001’s A Pretty Good Guy and 2003’s The Jealous Kind, two demo-styled discs (2007’s The Trailer Tapes and 2009’s Trailer II), and the recent, electric guitar-fortified opus, 2019’s Almost Daylight.

Margarita and Taco Festival set for Oct. 14

Starlight Ranch, 1415 Sunrise Drive, is hosting Amarillo's annual Margarita and Taco Festival from 3-10 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 14.

Sample more than 10 different margaritas from around the Panhandle. Ticketholders will be given a voting chip to vote for their favorite margarita. The winning margarita will get a cash prize and naming rights for “Amarillo’s Best Margarita".

Sampling cards will be available for purchase that get you a limited edition sampling glass, and eight sampling vouchers. Each vendor will have their own sampling recipe so make sure to try them all. Interested in a full size margarita? We’ll have plenty of those available with our craft margarita menus at each of the bars. This year we'll also be showcasing our favorite taco trucks from around the Panhandle.

There will also be Lucha Libre wrestling and live music by the Red Not Chili Peppers band.

Tickets range from $15 to $150 (plus taxes and fees) depending on featured offerings per tickets. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit https://www.bigtexan.com/starlight-ranch-event-center/

Mike and The Moonpies at Starlight

Mike and The Moonpies take the stage at Amarillo's Starlight Ranch at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 20. In accordance with their namesake, this show will be taking place in the Moon Palace.

For more than a decade, Mike and The Moonpies have traveled far beyond their Austin homeland, flying the flag for homegrown Texas music in more than a dozen countries. They've become global ambassadors of a blue-collar country sound, striking a balance between timeless influences and cool, contemporary appeal.

"One To Grow On", the eighth studio album from Mike and the Moonpies, is a musical homecoming that returns the group to its roots as a working man's country band.

Tickets for this concert range from $16 to $150 (plus taxes and fees) depending on seating and VIP features. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit https://www.bigtexan.com/starlight-ranch-event-center/

Symphony Guild hosting Vintage Amarillo fundraiser

The Amarillo Symphony Guild is hosting its biennial fundraiser Vintage Amarillo, on Oct. 21, at the Amarillo Club, 600 S. Tyler St., No. 3000.

The event consists of a multiple-course, wine-paired dinner followed by a wine auction.

For sponsorship information, contact co-chairs Carolina Cantrell (469) 644-3635 or Zivorad Filipovic (806) 477-0168.

Ticket information is coming soon and will be available at https://amarillosymphony.org/

ALT to present 'Chemical Imbalance'

Amarillo Little Theatre presents "Chemical Imbalance: A Jekyll and Hyde Play" at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 19 and 26; 8 p.m. Oct. 20, 21, 27 and 28; and at 2:30 p.m. on Oct. 22 and 29 on the theater's mainstage at 2019 Civic Circle.

"'Chemical Imbalance: A Jekyll and Hyde Play' is a zany spin on Robert Louis Stevenson's gothic novella Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In a dim laboratory, a sinister potion of three parts nitroglycerin and two parts petroleum sulphide is being concocted. The result? The answer lies in a classic story about the nature of good and evil retold in a way you never thought possible!" according to information from https://store.bizbooks.net/

"A fast-paced romp about men and women tightrope walking the line between aristocracy and depravity, and between the twin spectres of good and evil, this comedic retelling of the classic, dark tale will send shivers of both fear and laughter rattling down the spines of your audience."

Tickets for this production are not yet on sale. For more information and to purchase tickets, when available, visit https://amarillolittletheatre.org/

Eli Young Band returns to Starlight

The Eli Young Band makes its way back to Amarillo live at the Starlight Ranch main stage at 8 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 27.

Eli Young Band has always been unique in modern Country music – a true band of brothers who play their own instruments, write their own songs and cling fast to their Texas roots.

Confident in their soulful, hearts-on-fire brand of Country, the title track of their forthcoming album is impacting Country radio and playlists now as they head out on a 51-city tour of the same name. EYB has also shared the stage with Kenny Chesney, Rascal Flatts, Tim McGraw, Jason Aldean, Toby Keith, Chris Young, Darius Rucker and Dave Matthews Band.

Tickets for this concert range from $25 to $125 (plus taxes and fees) depending on seating and VIP features. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit https://www.bigtexan.com/starlight-ranch-event-center/

Cottonwood Faire set for Oct. 28

A Cottonwood Faire is set for 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, at Thompson Memorial Park.

Dress up in your historical or Halloween attire, play outdoor games, compete in treasure hunts ; enjoy food and drink; join in interactive stories and more.

There will also be carnival games, a Royal Court and Feast and live action combat.

The event is open to all ages.

Tickets are $65 for the VIP Royal Court; $25 for adults; $10 for children; $100 for vendors; and $50 for food trucks.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit https://tixr.com/e/69937 or find the event on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CottonwoodFaire

Johnny Cash: The Official Concert Experience coming to Amarillo

Johnny Cash: The Official Concert Experience is bringing songs and stories from the “Man in Black” to the Amarillo Civic Center Complex Auditorium at 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 30, in a way that audiences haven’t seen or heard before.

With video of Johnny from episodes of The Johnny Cash TV Show projected on a screen above the stage, a live band and singers will accompany him in perfect sync. This concert experience will showcase iconic performances from the TV show and highlight the spirit of the legend by revisiting some of his memorable words and anecdotes. Cash will perform some of his biggest hits, including “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Ring of Fire,” and “I Walk the Line,” and share stories of people he met along the way whose causes he championed – the working man from all walks of life.

For more information, visit www.JohnnyCashConcertExperience.com and follow @johnnycash on Facebook,Instagram, TikTok and Twitter and @johnnycashofficial on YouTube. For more information on the Amarillo performance and to purchase tickets, visit panhandletickets.com

CMA to presents Veterans Day concert

Chamber Music Amarillo will host a special event honoring the area's veterans at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 11.

A celebration with patriotic music will be presented by a brass quintet in St. Mary’s Cathedral, 1200 S. Washington St.

Artists include William Takacs, trumpet; David Lough, trumpet; Guglielmo Manfredi, horn; John Shanks, trombone; and Jeremy Lewis, tuba.

The program includes: Bach's "Toccata and Fugue"; Michael Kamen's "Quintet"; Kerry Turner's "Ricochet"; Eric Ewazen's "Bright and Fast from Frost Fire"; Kevin McKee's "The Blue Goose from Iron Horse"; Aaron Copland's "Grovers Corners" from the film "Our Town"; George M. Cohan's "Cohan Medley" and more.

Tickets for this special concert are $40 and available online through the Amarillo Symphony website at https://amarillosymphony.org/

AMoA hosts 'Critical Mass' exhibit

The Amarillo Museum of Art presents Critical Mass: Photoworks by Meridel Rubenstein on display through Dec. 3.

The term “Critical Mass” means the smallest amount of fissionable material that, when amassed, will sustain a self-supporting chain reaction. CRITICAL MASS was a collaborative photo/text/video installation that takes as its subject the worlds of scientists and Native Americans as they intersected at the home of Edith Warner during the making of the first atomic bomb in 1944 in Los Alamos, New Mexico.

The Amarillo Museum of Art is located at 2200 South Van Buren on the Washington Street campus of Amarillo College. Museum hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday; adnd 1-5 p.m. Sunday.

For more information, visit www.amoa.org, email amoa@actx.edu, or call (806) 371-5050 or (806) 371-5392 (weekends).

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Amarillo entertainment in brief for Oct. 1, 2023