By Chip Chandler — Producer
Here's a quick take on your 10 best entertainment bets in the next 10 days.
1. WRCA
Saddle up and watch some top cowboys compete in the 24th annual Working Ranch Cowboys Association World Championship Ranch Rodeo from Nov. 7 to 10 in the Amarillo Civic Center Complex Coliseum, 401 S. Buchanan St.
2. Discover for a Dollar
Is your curiosity sparked by Don Harrington Discovery Center's All Charged Up! exhibition about the wonders of electricity? Check it out from 6 to 9 p.m. Nov. 8, when admission is only $1. Other educational options: Amarillo Railroad Museum's Fall Train Fest from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 9 at the museum, 3160 I Ave.; and Dino Day from noon to 4 p.m. Nov. 16 at Wildcat Bluff Nature Center, 2301 N. Soncy Road.
3. Jojo Rabbit
Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi tackles the Nazis in this well-received satire, opening Nov. 8, about a lonely German boy who conjures up an imaginary friend — Adolf Hitler (played by Waititi). Also opening the weekend of Nov. 8 are Bollywood comedy Bala, The Shining sequel Doctor Sleep, war satire Jojo Rabbit, holiday film Last Christmas, war drama Midway, thriller Official Secrets and family comedy Playing with Fire. Opening the weekend of Nov. 15: the latest version of Charlie's Angels, biopic Ford v. Ferrari starring Matt Damon and Christian Bale, and thriller The Good Liar starring Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen. Special engagements will include a Met: Live in HD performances of Puccini's Madama Butterfly on Nov. 9 (encoring Nov. 13 and 16); a TCM Big Screen Classics screening of The Godfather Part II on Nov. 10, 12 and 13; concert film John Fogerty: 50-Year Trip (soon to be a PBS special) on Nov. 11; anime film Konosuba! on Nov. 12 and 14; Shakira in Concert: El Dorado World Tour on Nov. 13 and 17; and The Twilight Zone: A 60th Anniversary Celebration featuring six digitally restored episodes and a short documentary on creator Rod Serling on Nov. 14.
4. Harrington String Quartet
The estemeed ensemble will kick off its season with a 7:30 p.m. Nov. 8concert in West Texas A&M University's Mary Moody Northen Recital Hall. Also of note for classical fans: Friends of Aeolian-Skinner Opus 1024 will host classical guitar ensemble Duo Tenebroso at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 10 at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 1601 S. Georgia St.; and WT's School of Music will present a wide-ranging "Popsomble" concert at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 12 in the WT Fine Arts Complex Recital Hall.
5. Night Blow
New art studio Blind Bird Designs will celebrate its grand opening with live glassblowing demonstrations, walk-up classes, food and drink from 5 to 8 p.m. Nov. 9 at its new studio, 11805 Interstate 27, Suite 100.
6. Daniel Franzese
The Mean Girls actor / stand-up comedian will perform at 7 p.m. Nov. 11 (rescheduled from Oct. 7) in Ordway Auditorium on Washington Street campus of Amarillo College.
7. Wine Down & Dessert Wars
Sample an assortment of Texas wines and sweet treats at this annual party at 6 p.m. Nov. 14 in the Rex Baxter Building on the Amarillo Tri-State Fairgrounds, 3301 S.E. 10th Ave. Other upcoming parties include Panhandle AIDS Support Organization's Turnabout drag show at 8 p.m. Nov. 9 at The Galleries at Sunset Center, 3701 Plains Blvd.
8. Sweat
Amarillo Little Theatre tackles this contemporary drama (and winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for drama) by Lynn Nottage about a group of factory workers whose bonds of friendship are frayed by layoffs and picket lines. It'll be staged Nov. 14 to 24 in the ALT Adventure Space, 2751 Civic Circle.
9. Amarillo Symphony
Richard Strauss' bombastic tone poem Also Sprach Zarathustra (you know the iconic bah-bah-bah-BA-BAAAHHH opening from 2001: A Space Odyssey and, like, a million other places) is the centerpiece for the orchestra's Nov. 15 and 16 concerts in the Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts, 500 S. Buchanan St.
10. Susan Gibson
The Amarillo native will come home to celebrate the release of new album The Hard Stuff with a 7 p.m. Nov. 16 show at The Rockin' OT, 3100 S.W. Sixth Ave. Other concerts on tap will include:
- Mary Lyn Halley and Dean Yates of Insufficient Funds at 7 p.m. Nov. 8 and Amarillo singer Stephanie Brackett at 7 p.m. Nov. 15 at Bar Z Winery, 19290 Farm-to-Market Road 1541;
- Amarillo rock band Monarch at 8 p.m. Nov. 8 at Smokey Joe's, 2903 S.W. Sixth Ave.;
- the Country Gold Tour featuring classic country acts Leroy Van Dyke, T. Graham Brown, Jimmy Fortune and T.G. Sheppard at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 9 in the Ritz Theatre, 902 East Ave. in Wellington;
- Amarillo combo Polk Street Jazz at 9 p.m. Nov. 8, Patrick Swindell & Esquire Jazz at 9 p.m. Nov. 9, Amarillo classic rock band The Geezers Gone Wild at 9 p.m. Nov. 15 and Amarillo band Young Country at 9 p.m. Nov. 16 at Esquire Jazz Club, 626 S. Polk St.;
- the Amarillo College Community Band at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 9 in the AC Concert Hall Theatre on the Washington Street campus;
- Americana singer-songwriter John Baumann at 10 p.m. Nov. 9, Americana band Tylor & The Train Robbers at 8 p.m. Nov. 13 and Americana band Shane Smith & The Saints at 10 p.m. Nov. 16 at Hoots Pub, 2424 Hobbs Road.
- Pampa rock band OddFellas at 10 p.m. Oct. 15 at Skooterz, 4100 Bushland Blvd.
- country singers Travis Roberts and Stewart Cowan at 10 p.m. Nov. 15 and Americana singer Zac Wilkerson at 10 p.m. Nov. 16 at Golden Light Cantina, 2908 S.W. Sixth Ave.;
- the Palo Duro Metro Chorus' "All I Want for Christmas Is to Be a Christmas Tree" holiday concert at 7 p.m. Nov. 16 in the Amarillo College Concert Hall Theatre on the Washington Street campus;
- and Lubbock-based Americana band Gunner Fore & The Interstate with Native Crowds at 10 p.m. Nov. 16 at Leftwoods, 2511 S.W. Sixth Ave.
Chip Chandler is a producer for Panhandle PBS and a member of GALECA. He can be contacted at Chip.Chandler@actx.edu, at @chipchandler1 on Twitter and on Facebook.
