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Editor’s note: It’s that time again — time to check in with our top stories. Here are five articles that captured our collective attention over the past seven days.

1. 2 Hollywood celebrities dined at one of Austin’s best restaurants this week. While most Austinites cozied up at home this week, these famous spouses ate at an award-winning restaurant before a screening of their new film.

2. Austin's flagship Kendra Scott store transforms into mini-Museum of Ice Cream for Valentine's Day. Here's one sweet collaboration you won't want to miss — and it launches this weekend!

3. Texas scores top ranking among best states for dating, says new report. This Valentine’s Day is for the unattached, and it turns out Texas is a pretty great place to be single.

4. This Tesla rental service got me from Austin to Houston, despite my best efforts. A Tesla is a smooth ride, and the UFODrive self-service process ensures a smooth trip — if you pay attention.

5. Here are the top 5 things to do in Austin this weekend. Festive (fictional) funerals, demon barbers, live podcasts, and more reasons to venture out as the weather warms up this weekend.

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Here are the top 7 things to do in Austin this weekend

Weekend Event Guide

We see festivals, art events, and live music in the near future, and this list is proof. Raise a stein in honor of Oktoberfest at Banger’s, or catch a can’t-miss show by Depeche Mode. Check out the top seven things to do in Austin this weekend. For a complete list of events, please visit our calendar.

Thursday, September 28

Fantastic Fest
Fantastic Fest presents its final day of fantasy, horror, sci-fi, and action. Attendees will have the opportunity to screen movies from a variety of genres as well as the closing night film, Totally Killer, and more. Badges are available at fantasticfest.com.

Banger’s Sausage House & Beer Garden presents Oktoberfest Celebration
Celebrate the autumn season in all German-inspired fashion at Banger’s Sausage House & Beer Garden. Guests can enjoy German food, games, and beer, and several live music performances for three days straight. For more Oktoberfest details visit bangersaustin.com. Admission is free and open to those who are 21 and older. Read CultureMap's Oktoberfest guide for more event recommendations.

ProyectoTeatro presents "Cabarex: Orígenes ¡A Latinx Cabaret!"
The Vortex hosts an original Spanish-language cabaret production by ProyectoTeatro in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. The show blends comedy, risqué theatrics, improv, drag, and live singing for a rich retelling of major moments in Latino history. "Cabarex" will be performed in both Spanglish and Spanish and also with English subtitles. Performances are scheduled through October 8. Go to vortexrep.org for more details.

Friday, September 29

Viata Hotel presents an Art Installation Launch Party
Be among the first to experience new installations by artists Ryan Runcie and Matthew Phelan at the contemporary and hip Hotel Viata. This intimate opening event will feature highlights including an exclusive gallery viewing, live music, curated food and drinks, and the opportunity to meet the artists. Admission is free with RSVP at hotelviata.com.

St. Elias Orthodox Church presents the 89th annual St. Elias Mediterranean Festival
The richness and traditions of Mediterranean culture are on full display for members of the public to enjoy at St. Elias Antiochian Orthodox Church. Festival attendees can expect dance performances, a variety of Mediterranean foods, a bazaar, henna drawing, kid-friendly activities, and more. Get more event information at austinmedfest.com.

Moody Center presents Depeche Mode in concert
Electronic group Depeche Mode will play a live show at Moody Center. The artists behind songs such as “Enjoy the Silence” and “Just Can’t Get Enough” come to Austin in support of their new album, Memento Mori. The nostalgic show may remind viewers that the group was ahead of its time in the 80s. Get more details on Ticketmaster.

Banger\u2019s Oktoberfest 2023 Celebration
Photo courtesy of Banger’s Sausage House & Beer Garden

Banger’s Sausage House & Beer Garden presents an Oktoberfest Celebration on September 28.

Saturday, September 30

Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service in concert
Co-headliners Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service (linked by singer Ben Gibbard) bring their tour to Germania Insurance Amphitheater. Both bands are in Austin in support of new albums. Death Cab for Cutie will perform tracks from their 2022 project, Asphalt Meadows, and The Postal Service will perform their 2003 album, Give Up. Fellow alternative rock band The Beths will join for a special guest performance. Go to Ticketmaster for more details.

Top medical cannabis dispensary buds in Lakeline with new pickup store

OG CBD

Folks north of Austin can now find more relief closer to them with the opening of a new facility for cannabis prescription pickup.

Texas Original is now open in the Lakeline area at 10222 Pecan Park Blvd., continuing to expand the brand's services throughout Central Texas. While Austinites may be used to more recreational cannabis stores, Texas Original's main clientele are patients managing things like cancer, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and even dementia.

In Texas, patients can obtain medical cannabis prescriptions through online clinics or local physicians registered with the Compassionate Use Registry of Texas; In Texas Original's case, the dispensary connects candidates for medical cannabis with partnering clinics via an online form to close the loop between prescription and pickup.

Texas Original (formerly Compassionate Cultivation) opened the first public medical dispensary in the state (out of Manchaca) and started serving patients in 2018 with the motto “Grown for Texans by Texans.” The entire operation — from the cultivation of plants to the formulation of products — is based in the state. In 2023, Texas Original was named the best medical marijuana dispensary in the Austin American-Statesman's Community Choice Awards.

This is now Texas Original’s fourth location in Central Texas along with its headquarters and dispensary in South Austin, two other stores in Waco and San Antonio, and many others throughout the state.

“Opening a full-time pickup location that serves our growing community in North Austin and its surrounding suburbs is another step toward creating comprehensive medical cannabis access for all patients throughout Texas,” said CEO Nico Richardson in a release.

To celebrate the opening, Texas Original is partnering with a telehealth medicine clinic to offer free one-year prescriptions to 50 customers at the North Austin location on a first-come first-serve basis. Patients can visit the store this week to book an appointment with the telemedicine clinic’s registered physicians to receive a prescription for medical cannabis.

For more product information and hours of operation for all of Texas Original locations, visit texasoriginal.com. Hours of operation at Lakeline are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 10 am to 6 pm, with plans to expand to six days a week in the upcoming months.

Fantastic visuals and original story make The Creator a must-see sci-fi film

Movie Review

In the relatively risk-averse world that is modern Hollywood, getting an original story is a rarity. The vast majority of potentially blockbuster movies these days are ones that have a connection to some kind of existing intellectual property that already has a well-established track record. So anytime something interesting arrives that’s not a sequel/reboot/remake/commercial for a product, it deserves to be celebrated.

And that goes double when it’s done as well as the new sci-fi film, The Creator. The film is set in a post-apocalyptic world in 2065, 30 years after a sentient artificial intelligence detonated a nuclear bomb in Los Angeles. Joshua (John David Washington) is an American soldier who for years worked undercover alongside A.I.-enhanced robots, many of which are fitted with clones of human faces, to try to find their reclusive leader, Nirmata, in a part of the world now called New Asia.

A personal tragedy sends him into exile, but he’s recruited back into service by Colonel Howell (Allison Janney) to seek out and destroy a weapon that may turn the tide in the war for good. Turns out the weapon is a robot in the form of a child (Madeleine Yuna Voyles), and when Joshua discovers that fact, he finds it impossible to carry out the mission. Instead, he does everything he can to protect the girl he calls Alphie, with the military hot on his tail all the while.

Written and directed by Gareth Edwards (Rogue One) and co-written by Chris Weitz, the film is astonishing in a number of ways, but mostly for its ability to draw the viewer in visually. The CGI is amazingly believable, making it easy to immerse yourself in the storytelling. From a foreboding super-weapon in the sky called NOMAD to the futuristic landscapes to the whirring metal cylinders that appear to be the brains of the robots, the film is full of fantastic details that make it a feast for the eyes.

The concept of A.I. is increasingly being used as a storytelling tool, and here the filmmakers seem to try to play both sides of the fence. Many people in the film fear its capabilities, especially given the nuclear event. But by literally putting human faces on many of the robots, it becomes more difficult to see them as pure evil, a dilemma that’s at the core of the problem for both Joshua and the audience.

Washington, who’s fast becoming as reliably good as his father, Denzel, is the star of the film, and he does a great job in that role. But stealing the show every second she’s on screen is Voyles, who delivers a debut performance the likes of which hasn’t been seen in many years. She is utterly convincing and heartbreaking as Alphie; while the story may have worked with a lesser actor, she helps take it to completely different level.

Also putting in great work are Janney, who proves herself as badass and fearsome a military leader as any man; Mark Menchaca as her No. 2; Ken Watanabe as an A.I. robot; singer-turned-actor Sturgill Simpson as a friend of Joshua; and Gemma Chan, redeeming herself after the misfire of Eternals.

John David Washington in The Creator
Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios

John David Washington in The Creator.

The Creator could’ve earned praise simply by giving us an original sci-fi story. But by accompanying it with awe-inspiring imagery and performances that elevate the story immeasurably, Edwards and his team have made a film that will likely be remembered for years to come.

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The Creator opens in theaters on September 29.