DFW Gourmet Food Festival Saturday

Tired of hunting for Dallas' food trucks? Celebrate because a herd of them will gather at Sigel's Beverages on Saturday, August 27.

Sigel's enthusiastically supports the local food trucks and promises to offer future events if this one is a success. So far, these noteworthy food trucks are on the roster:

3 men & a Taco
Crazysisters
Entice Ice
Gandolfo's NY Deli
Jack's Chowhound
Mr Cool Ice Cream
Nammi
The Bomb Fried Pies
Trailercakes
Ruthie's Rolling Café

The Bomb's fried guacamole sounds like an indulgent treat and Trailercakes' The King cupcake looks like the perfect August dessert, but the steamy dragon breath weather is enough to keep me indoors. Hopefully, heat-resistant people will crowd the improvised trailer park and secure future gatherings during cooler weather.

Free Beer and Wine Tasting
Sigel's is also hosting a free beer and wine tasting in the store. The selection of Sam Adams includes Octoberfest, Harvest Pumpkin Ale, Bonfire Rauchbier and Boston Lager. The Rahr selection includes Gravel Road Altbeir, LaGrange Farmhouse Ale, Ugly Pug Black Lager and Stormcloud IPA

The wine tasting includes Ninety Plus Cellars Coteaux du Langeudoc Rose 2010, Sauvignon Blanc New Zealand 2010, Malbec Argentina 2009 and Barolo Collector Series 2007.

DFW Gourmet Food Truck Festival
Saturday, August 27, 2011 6:00 p.m.
Sigel's-Greenville
5757 Greenville Ave.
Dallas, Texas
75206

Visit Sigel's.com for additional details.

Free Breakfast Entree at Chick-fil-A Sept. 6 - 10

Chick-fil-A breakfast bagel

Chick-fil-A is offering another registration-based freebie. This time it is for a breakfast entree. Woefully unfamiliar with the Chick-fil-A breakfast menu, I was surprised to see the diverse options, including pork sausage and bacon. (I guess that’s why cows, not pigs, encourage everyone to, “Eat mor chikin.”)

September 6 – 10, 2011, participating Chick-fil-A restaurants are giving away a variety of free breakfast entrées to customers who make a reservation online. To make your reservation, visit the Chick-fil-A breakfast website beginning Monday, August 29, 2011 and choose your preferred restaurant location, the date, time and breakfast entrée.

H&M NorthPark Opens in Time for Tax-Free Weekend

H&M frequently figures into those look for less style tips for women on TV shows and in fashion magazines, but the Swedish-based retailer offers affordable clothing and accessories for the whole family.

NorthPark is the site of the first Texas location, which opened earlier this week. The much-anticipated store will likely continue to draw crowds a la In-N-Out burger. Bring your patience because the impending first day of school and tax-free weekend will also lure shoppers.

Sales Tax Holiday
This year’s tax holiday is August 19 to 21. Most clothing, shoes and traditional school supplies (glue sticks, not hand soap or plastic baggies) priced less than $100 qualify for the exemption. Check out the complete details straight from the comptroller. 

Tax-Free Holiday Weekend Extended Hours
Like many metroplex malls, NorthPark is offering extended shopping hours this weekend. 
Friday, August 19:  9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Saturday, August 20: 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Sunday, August 21: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
 

Name the Dallas Zoo Baby

The Dallas Zoo has new babies in the warthog, chimp, llama and giraffe areas.  They are hosting a contest to name the baby giraffe. The winner receives a family trip to the San Diego Wild Animal Park in California. Get the complete contest details and see a photo for inspiration on the zoo's Facebook page. 

There are a few days left to submit your suggestion to the zoo. The mail-in forms must be postmarked by August 21 or you can stop by the parking kiosk, information station or giraffe feeding station to submit your entry in person. Download the entry form on the zoo website. 

The winner will be announced September 2.

Organic Cantaloupe Sale at Whole Foods Today

Whole Foods is having a one-day sale on organic cantaloupes. The melons are two for $3.

Watermelon is the favored melon of summer, but cantaloupe is an especially convenient option because it is so easy to slice and remove the seeds.

The Whole Foods blog has a variety of serving suggestions, including grilled cantaloupe.

Whole Foods
8190 Park Lane, Suite 351
Dallas, Texas
Phone: (214) 342-4850

Whole Foods has multiple locations throughout the Dallas area.

Genghis Khan Conquers Irving

No, not that restaurant where you stuff a bowl full of raw foods. Genghis Khan the warlord. The Irving Arts Center has an impressive exhibit with a variety of complementary activities and speakers.

3 Reasons to Visit the Genghis Khan Exhibit

1. See the other side.
As much as we like to classify historical figures as good or bad, the truth is far more complex. The exhibit at the Irving Arts Center explores Khan's life and highlights the dichotomy of the ruthless warrior and visionary leader.

Khan has direct ties to modern innovations and comforts, including the hamburger. His army's raw meat version helped pave the way for today's fast food.

2. Escape the heat.
Princess Giant Mummy likes it cool and everyone knows princesses get their way. The exhibit is a nice escape from the sweltering summer heat.

3. Free admission for military families.
Thanks to a generous program available through Labor Day, active duty military members and up to five immediate family members (spouse and children) can see the exhibit for free. Get the details here.

Standard tickets are reasonably priced.
Adults: $12
Art Connection Members: $8
Children (18 years and Under): $8
Senior (55 years and Older): $8
Children (2 years and Under): Free

Genghis Khan: The Exhibition is open through September 30.
Irving Arts Center
3333 North MacArthur Blvd.
Irving, Texas 75062
(972) 252-7558

Sneak Peek
The display covers the history and science in Khan's life but also explores Mongolian culture. This video from the exhibit's San Jose stint provides a generous sneak peek.

Dallas and Ft. Worth Welcome Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus

The circus is in town just in time to nibble at your family's precious back-to-school budget. I attended with a large group that ranged in age from infant to adult. Everyone, including the solemn-faced teens, loved it.

The train theme employs a creative use of Segways.

This year's theme told the story of the circus train. As the performers arrived, a lightshow showed a train image and displayed their names.

Barnum Bouncers

The show included plenty of clowns, music and punny humor. Some portions seemed tailored to the little ones. The Barnum Bouncers hail from China and perform a high-bouncing act using huge trampolines and aerial rings. Their bright, fringed costumes reminded me of the Doodlebops from Nickelodeon.

But older kids and adults had their share of entertainment with the daredevil antics. One unforgettable highlight was the Torres Family who rode motorbikes inside the Globe of Steel.

Circus Ticket Prices
The performers did a great job of playing to all sides of the arena, but it was hard to get a clear view of the whole show. The middle/lower seats toward the center of the arena looked really good, but I'm not so sure about the super expensive Circus Celebrity seats ($100ish) because they are so close it seems as though it would be hard to see the show instead of focusing on one detail. The celebrities got to move to bleachers on the circus floor for part of the show.

One of the main viewing problems was the $12 cotton candy that comes with a thin felt top hat. Cotton candy must be popular because the audience became a shadowy sea of hats blocking the show. 

The cheap seats have one perk.

The Cheap Seats
The most inexpensive seats are way up in the top left section of this photo. I wondered how much of the circus those ticketholders could see. Toward the end of the circus, it looked like they had the best seats in the house to watch a motorcycle and tightrope walker ascend on a 45-degree wire. The performers disappeared into the scaffolding, but it looked as though they were playing to that section of the audience.

All-Access Preshow
All ticketholders are welcome to the preshow that takes place one hour before the show. Everyone can walk around the arena floor and see the performers up close. It is a good way to make the most of your ticket purchase.

There was a free temporary tattoo station and they were handing out red clown noses. There were a variety of mini shows and the elephant showed her painting skills. 

Clowns and stiltwalkers posed for pictures with the kids. There were also a couple of displays of ringmaster jackets for kids to try. Most of them looked worthy of the circus, but there was a turquoise one that would have worked for a country singer as well.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey has one more day at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. The August 7 schedule includes three showtimes.

The circus will be at the Fort Worth Convention Center from August 10 through 14.