Feb 5: Austin Farmers' Market is Back!

Republic Square Park, 5th & Guadalupe
(512) 236-0074, austinfarmersmarket.org.

The Austin Farmers' Market spring season resumes this Saturday - 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. - at Republic Square Park! Austin's premiere growers-only market is an exciting and bountiful place to buy your fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses, eggs and plants. When you shop at the AFM, you get the freshest, most delicious foods available from the growers themselves.

You'll also find a plentiful selection of prepared foods, farm products turned into jams, salsas and honey, along with delightful hand-made crafts. You and your clan will enjoy chef's demos, children's activities, and live local musicians make supporting local growers fun!

For weekly information on special themes and happenings at the Market, please visit austinfarmersmarket.org.

Feb 9-13: Little Shop of Horrors
Bass Concert Hall, 23rd & Robert Dedman
(512) 477-6060, utpac.org

What took NYC by storm is about to gobble up Austin! The UT Performing Arts Center presents the new revival of everybody's favorite tale of boy-meets-girl, girl-meets-plant, plant-eats-world. Little Shop of Horrors is a hilarious musical comedy masterpiece that grows lots surprises! Tickets start at $16.

Still Showing...

To 2/4: The Feldman Dynamic, The Hideout Theatre Coffee House, austix.com
To 2/5: Sonny's Last Stand, State Theater, austintheatrealliance.org
To 2/12: Treasure Island, Scottish Rite Theatre, scottishritechildrenstheatre.org
To 3/5: Bugs 3-D: A Rainforest Adventure, IMAX® Theatre, thestoryoftexas.com
To 3/6: Blown Sideways Through Life, Zachary Scott Theatre, zachscott.com
To 4/3: AIDA, Zachary Scott Theatre, zachscott.com
To Spring: The Young Black Stallion, IMAX® Theatre, thestoryoftexas.com
Ongoing: Texas the Big Picture, IMAX® Theatre, thestoryoftexas.com

Feb 3: Thursday Noontime Concert
Central Presbyterian Church, 200 E. Eighth Street
(512) 472-2445, centralpresbyterian.org

Spend your Thursday lunch listening to great classical piano at the hands of Terry Hudson. Concert starts at Noon.

Feb 4: Gavin DeGraw
Paramount Theatre, 713 Congress
(512) 472-5470, austintheatrealliance.org

You'll hear the best of singer-songwriter-pianist-guitarist DeGraw's platinum seller Chariot. Listen to the soulful sounds this rising young star belts out at gavindegraw.com. The Grand Slam Jam benefits the Hope Foundation. Get tix ($24-40) at gettix.net.

Feb 4-5: Classical Concert Series
Bass Concert Hall, 23rd & Robert Dedman
(512) 476-6064, austinsymphony.org

Pianist Hsing-ay Hsu joins the Austin Symphony Orchestra for its Classical Concert Series. The Baltimore Sun says of this young master, "Her performance was masterly in its strength and authority and was sustained by exquisite lyricism."

Feb 5: Paté or Pasta? French vs. Italian Baroque
Armstrong Community Music School, 901 Barton Springs Rd.
(512) 472-5927

Two styles of composition dominated music during the Baroque period: French & Italian. Do you know the difference? Join La Follia Austin Baroque as they teach you the difference performing music as it was meant to be performed. Admission: $10 general/$5 students, available at the door.

Feb 5: Yonder Mountain String Band
Paramount Theatre, 713 Congress
(512) 472-5470, austintheatrealliance.org

What this 4-man band does with strings will have your toes tapping and hands slapping. The Cabin Fever Tour comes to town with the Del McCoury Band. It's a night of bluegrass at its finest. Tickets are $25-35 and available at gettix.net.

Feb 3-28: Paint the Town Red
Artworks, 1214 W. 6th
(512) 472-1550, artworksaustin.com

This fun exhibit features art from famous local artists like Freddie McCoo, Julie Freshman, Kathy Hudson, Rory O'Neal and Tatjana Versaggi, in the month of love. For the Opening on the 3rd, the Cuban Jazz band Thousand Fires: Cien Fuegas will perform from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Feb 3-Feb 26: For the Love of Art
f8 Fine Art Gallery, 1137 West 6th Street
(512) 480-0242, f8fineart.com

This multi-media showcase features the vivid paintings of Jill Pankey's; the mystical oils of the Hill Country by James D. Pendleton and new photographic work by Kathryn Watts-Martinez. Dazzle your Valentine with unique jewelry by Ansara, the sister artists who create mesmerizing, pieces. Opening Reception - Thursday, February 3, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. with live music by Matthew Carter.

Feb 4: Black History Month Celebration
LBJ Library and Museum, 2313 Red River
(512) 583-7226, lbjlib.utexas.edu/

Austin celebrates Black History Month by honoring Black Families at the LBJ Library and Museum. The Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau partners with the George Washington Carver Library and Museum to honor those who have made contributions to our city. This special salute takes place at 10:00 a.m. and features a special guest appearance by original "Supreme" Marilyn Wilson.

Feb 5: Celebration of Stories with Angela Shelf Medearis
Carver Branch Library, 1161 Angelina
(512) 974 7465, cityofaustin.org/library

As part of the upcoming celebration of the Carver Branch Library and the Carver Museum, renown author and storyteller, Angela Shelf Medearis, will perform a Celebration of Stories at 2:00 p.m.

Feb 5: Toma Mi Corazon XIII
La Pena Gallery, 227 Congress
(512) 477-6007, lapena-austin.org

For its signature event and annual fundraiser, La Pena presents Toma Mi Corazon XIII at La Pena Gallery and Las Manitas Avenue Cafe. Folks from around Austin will decorate wooden hearts to be sold in a silent auction. The proceeds from the event go to support La Pena's visual arts programming and their work with children in elementary schools. Festivities begin at 4:00 p.m. with a preview party followed by silent auction at 6:00 p.m. Admission for the entire evening is $5. (Children under 12 are free).

Feb 5: All the President's Men
Harry Ransom Center, 21st & Guadalupe
(512) 471-8944, hrc.utexas.edu/

To celebrate the opening of the Woodward and Bernstein Watergate Papers, the Ranson Center is having a 2:00 p.m. special screening of the 1976 Academy Award-winning film All The President's Men, starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman.

To Mar 20: Writing Among the Ruins
Harry Ransom Center, 21st & Guadalupe
(512) 471-8944, hrc.utexas.edu

This fascinating exhibit compares and contrasts the lives, talents and literary achievements of Graham Green and Evelyn Waugh, two of the greatest English novelists of the 20th century.

To Mar 27: Shooting Stars - Hollywood Portraiture
Harry Ransom Center, 21st & Guadalupe
(512) 471-8944, hrc.utexas.edu

The Hollywood studio system was a master at the "star-making business," using seductive portraiture to propel the careers of their flocks. This exhibit shows some of the best of these provocative efforts with photography of stars and starletts from 1925-1950. This exhibition examines the collaborative nature of the star-making business.

To Mar 27: Fashioning Celebrity
Harry Ransom Center, 21st & Guadalupe
(512) 471-8944, hrc.utexas.edu

Peer through the intimate lens of George Platt Lynes, one of the most influential photographers of celebrity and style in America. This exhibition features a selection of his photographs donated by Dora Harrison, his assistant from 1936-1944. During this period, Lynes helped establish a new dynamic in fashion and portraiture for the New York City elite and such influential American magazines as Harper's Bazaar, Vogue and Town & Country.

Still on display Downtown...

To 2/12: Abstract Art, d berman gallery, dbermangallery.com
To 2/12: OPEN HOUSE, Women & Their Work, 1710 Lavaca, womenandtheirwork.org
To 2/20: Siete Mundos, Mexic-Arte Museum, mexic-artemuseum.org
To 2/20: Andy Goldsworthy, Natural Installations, Austin Museum of Art, amoa.org
To 2/24: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Remembered, Scarbrough Building, 101 W. Sixth Street
To 2/27: Life Drawings, ArtHouse at the Jones Center, arthousetexas.org
To 3/10: Hiroshi Watanabe: Faces and Places, Oswald Gallery, oswaldgallery.com
To 5/21: European Paintings: Open Storage, Blanton Museum of Art, blantonmuseum.org
To 5/21: Contemporary Art from Chile, Blanton Museum of Art, blantonmuseum.org
To 5/29: Bats in My World, Austin Children's Museum, austinkids.org
To 8/28: Signs of the Times: Life in the Swingin' Sixties, LBJ Library & Museum, lbjlib.utexas.edu

Editor's Note: Our thoughts and concerns go out to the artists of the Guadalupe Art Center and VIN Gallery at the loss of their valuable art work in this week's fire.

Now: Calling Volunteers/Counselors in Training
Austin Children's Museum, 201 Colorado
(512) 472-2499 ext. 210, austinkids.org

Registrations are now open for volunteers, ages 12-18, to help out for two-week sessions at the Austin Children's Museum this summer. Counselors in Training registrations for youth 14-18 are also open. Counselors assist with three-week full- or half-day camps. These are terrific opportunities for summer fun. Call the Museum's Volunteer Coordinator to learn more.

Feb 4,5,8: Mardi Gras Celebrations
East Sixth Street

For some bead catching and unabashed revelry, head to Sixth Street for the City's largest Mardi Gras celebration. See Street Closings for details of how the partying will affect traffic.

Feb 5: Carnivale Brasileiro
Palmer Events Center, Barton Springs Rd.
(512) 404-4500, sambaparty.com

Dress up in your most colorful and provocative costume to Samba the night away at one of the largest Canivale's outside of Brazil.

Feb 5: Thai Night 2005 Tsunami Benefit
Thai Passion Restaurant, 620 Congress, Suite 105
(512) 472-1244

Immerse yourself in Thai cuisine, culture and music to benefit the Tsunami Relief Fund. Special guest, Thai Singer - Maleewan Jamina, will be performing. The evening also includes raffles and prize giveaways. Reservations are required. Please call (512)310-1821 for tickets - $35 each.

Feb 10: For the Love of Austin
Hyatt Regency Hotel, 208 Barton Springs Road
(512) 391-0617, keepaustinbeautiful.org

Keep Austin Beautiful's 20th Annual Awards Luncheon. There's so much to love about Austin - clear skies, happy lakes, clean streets, fresh air, helping hands. Visit keepaustinbeautiful.org to buy tickets for the luncheon or to learn more about how you can help Keep Austin Beautiful.

Feb 4, 5, 8: Mardi Gras 2005

On the evenings of Friday the 4th, Saturday the 5th and Tuesday the 8th, the Austin Police Department will close E. 6th Street to accommodate Mardi Gras revelers and to allow officers to maintain order.

Starting at 5:00 p.m. each evening, parking will not be allowed on E. 6th Street between Brazos and the IH-35 southbound frontage road, or on Sabine, Red River, Neches, Trinity, and San Jacinto between E. 5th Street and E. 7th Street. After 5:00 p.m. vehicles will be towed from those streets.

Shortly after 6:00 p.m. each evening, this same area will be barricaded and closed to all vehicular traffic until about 4:00 a.m. the next morning. Brazos Street will remain open unless excessively large crowds or heavy traffic warrant its closure.

Feb. 5: Boy Scout Parade

Congress Avenue will be closed part of the morning as Boy Scouts from across the state gather to parade up Congress to the Capitol Building. Selected scout representatives will report to state officials on scouting accomplishments in 2004.

The Congress Avenue Bridge will close at 7:00 a.m. for use as a staging area. The Avenue will close at 9:00 a.m. and the parade will begin at 9:30 a.m. The final marchers and their floats are expected to reach the Capitol about 11:00 a.m. Police Officers will open cross streets as the parade moves up the street.

Click here to view the entire Downtown Calendar of Events.