Touts

Some recommendations on what to do, see and buy this month.

Last rhumba in Ft. Worth

If Last Tango in Paris made you want to tango, this is the place. People of all ages dress "for going out" and head for the Wintergarden Ballroom any Wednesday, Friday or Saturday night. Admission is $3 and entitles you to free dance lessons when they're offered. In November, for instance, waltz and swing lessons will be offered; the tango's turn comes next May, and by then you'll know the rumba, cha-cha, and samba.

Wintergarden Ballroom/1616 John West Road/Fort Worth/Wed., Fri., or Sat. Eves./327-6265.

Divine light show

Who is the Guru Maharaj Ji? And why have the 15-year old perfect master and his friends booked the Astrodome and the Astrohall for three divine days in November?

Well, for a party called Millenium '73 that will be attended by 20,000 followers airlifted from India and the Continent to join some 100,000 Guruites to usher in a new era—1000 years of peace.

For three days the Dome will be alive with the sound of celestial music, provided by Maharaj Ji's brother, a Houston resident, and with the vision of giant rainbows and who knows what-all, projected onto three 12-story-high scrims that will be dropped from the ceiling. That's for openers. And on the third day, the Guru Maharaj Ji himself will speak and some believe he'll do more. Anyway, it's free and should be quite a trip.

Millenium '73/Divine Light Mission/526-4639/Astrodome/Houston/Nov. 8-10/Free.

Best hat on the block

If you have ever wanted one of Bella Abzug's hats, a shawl made of ties from members of the Texas legislature, or other priceless political relics, your chance has come. George Bush and Robert Stauss, chairman of the Republican and Democratic National Committees, will be putting these and other items—including airplane tickets to the next national conventions—on the auction block November 18 for the benefit of the Texas Bill of Rights Foundation. Tickets are $25 a couple.

Political Artifacts Auction/Texas Bill of Rights Foundation/Houston/November 18, 3 p.m.-7 p.m./Call 713-524-2263 for tickets.

For the young at art

Children and adults alike will delight at "Images of Childhood," a celebration of the arts reflecting visions for children, by children, and about children. The festival, presented by the College of Fine Arts at the University of Texas, opens November 3 and continues until December 4, offering music, drama, lectures, films, and exhibitions—and most festival events are admission-free or priced nominally.

Special emphasis is placed throughout on the music of Benjamin Britten, featuring Britten's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "Serenade," "Cantata Misericordium," "St. Nicholas," and "Canticle II." Recognition of young talent in visual and musical arts is prominent among festival offerings.

Particularly outstanding among the daily events are a new musical play for children—"You, Me, and Who"; the American premiere of "The Prince, the Wolf, and the Firebird"; renowned guitarist Christopher Parkening; George Crumb's "Ancient Voices of Children;" and a children's version of Moliere's fantasy-comedy "Scapin." Call 471-1444 for a brochure listing all events and times.

32nd Annual Fine Arts Festival/University of Texas/471-1444/Nov. 3-Dec.4.

Shirt scene

There's a group of Texas artists working out of Austin making their own Lone Star statements on cloth, who are producing some of the most original T-shirt designs in the country. They run the gamut from celebration of local events to nightmare visions of Texas; they're humorous, impertinent, and bizarre but never dull.

Slow Printing, in Austin, a company formed by artists for artists (such as Jim Franklin of Armadillo fame) who get commissions on every T-shirt sold, do both the silk-screening and the wholesale distribution.

Directions Co., a commercial art firm also in Austin (but whose shirts are printed in Corpus Christi at the Shirt Shack) handles another group of artists, including Ken Featherstone, a poster illustrator. Their imaginations hang loose all over your chest at such events as the lnternational Chili Cook-off, Willie Nelson's 4th of July Picnic, the New Braunfels Wurst Fest, and for the State of Texas Drive Friendly Campaign.

Oat Willies/1610 San Antonio, Austin/476-4193.

Wool gathering

The Weaver's Cooperative in Austin is the brainchild of six women who couldn't get what they wanted from the handful of weaving suppliers in the Southwest. So they set up shop in the restored old Depot Hotel and began gathering wool. They now import from Scotland, Greece, and even Fredericksburg, where, according to co-op member Barbara King, a weaving enthusiast has developed her own breed of sheep. (Wool from this select flock sells for $28 a pound.)

The walls of the shop are hung with woven tapestries, bags, and belts done by co-op members (all tagged for sale) and in the next room spinning, dyeing, and weaving lessons are given.

Anyone can pay $10 and join. Members tend store and have monthly meetings to improve skills and discuss the purchase of new wool.

The Weavers Cooperative/504 E. 5th St./477-8864.

Original American art

Buying and selling Indian crafts these days is big business tor everyone but the Indians who sell their goods for low prices. In turn, these goods are resold, often at outrageous prices.

But the members of the Chinle Canyon Navaho Nation in Arizona avoid the middleman by selling their wares directly to the customer. For a few days, in November, Houstonians can go to the Artisan's Corner (they take no money from the arrangement) to see or buy Navaho and Hopi jewelry, baskets, beadworks, pottery, sandpainting, and rugs. The rugs will be auctioned Nov. 17; call for price and time.