This year’s Prairie Fest has tripled in size, going from one day to three — one each in March, April, and May — to celebrate spring in Tandy Hills Park and the idea of building cities that exist in better harmony with nature. This Saturday’s Prairie Fest is the last in the series, and like its predecessors it’ll include nature hikes, live music, beer and wine, and food trucks.
However, this month’s edition also includes something the others didn’t, namely an outdoor movie screening of Buster Keaton’s The General. The 1927 silent classic is known as a great comedy with sight gags devised and timed to perfection by the famously impassive star/co-director. However, it’s also a great thriller, a breathless chase movie about a Civil War railroad engineer who pursues his own locomotive (stolen by Union spies) with single-minded resolve. Fans of action flicks would do well to study this film as an early exercise in the form, with a simple but compelling setup and funny gags sprinkled throughout to leaven the tension. The movie comes to us courtesy of The Citizen Theater, and while it’s not the most cutting-edge pick, it’s our first sign of what the future Near Southside venue will offer us.
Prairie Fest runs 4-10pm at Tandy Hills Park, 3400 View St, FW. Admission is free. Call 817-731-2787.
