Through April 29, The Dallas Opera presents La Traviata at the Winspear Opera House. This irresistible opera set in 19th-century Paris tells the story of a young heir who falls in love with a woman of uncertain virtue.

The 10th person to email “I Love the Advocate” to mriney@advocatemag.com gets four tickets to Friday’s performance (April 13). The show starts at 7:30 p.m.

On your mark, get set, GO! …

Through April 29, Theater Mogul and Contemporary Theatre of Dallas present “Defending the Caveman”, Broadway’s popular comedy about the sexes.

We have tickets to THIS Thursday’s show (April 12 at 8 p.m.)! The 1st five people to email “Be Local” to mriney@advocatemag.com get four tickets each to the show.

On your mark, get set, GO! …

In our continuing irregular series of posts about new spots that technically aren’t in Preston Hollow but aren’t too far away, either, check this out…

If serving “craft” beers in the style of a European beer hall can make a bowling alley “upscale”, we’re in for a treat when Bowl & Barrel opens a 15-laner this fall at the Shops at Park Lane (behind the new Whole Foods on Greenville).

The DBJ reports SMU alums Josh Sepkowitz and Kyle Noonan are opening the alley, which will include a 3,000-square-foot restaurant and bar.

The Shops at Park Lane, located between Greenville and Central Expressway south of Park Lane, started off slowly as it came online during the beginning of the recession/real estate crunch of a few years ago, but the place is filling up nicely with Dick’s Sporting Goods, Gordon Biersch, Bailey’s Prime, Grimaldi’s, Old Navy and Saks Off 5th. Bloomingdale’s, The Outlet Store opens in the center May 3.

My wife and I stopped by the center a few Friday nights ago, intending to check out the new Grimaldi’s pizza restaurant, since the West Village version often is too packed to get into. I guess plenty of other people had the same idea, because there was a 40-minute wait, so we ambled down to Gordon Biersch instead.

For Dallas, the center is a pretty walkable place; there are some benches outside on the internal street and a couple of patios off of restaurants, so it’s possible to squint and imagine you’re enjoying a real cosmopolitan experience.

As I recall, original plans for the center included a bowling alley in space where the Home Goods store is located; I believe the Bowl & Barrel is taking some of the remaining space intended for the original alley.

Here’s something to help you get over the first half of the work week. La Duni NorthPark has launched Dinner and a Movie Nights Sunday-Wednesday, serving up a three-course meal along with a movie ticket of your choice.

The menu at the popular Latin kitchen features a choice of two salads, three entrees and two desserts. It includes an arugula mozzarella salad, enchiladas suizes and an ice cream sundae with caramelized pecans and dulce de leche. See the full menu here.

The cost is $39.95 per person. The movie ticket can be used at any AMC theater for any movie at any time.

At NorthPark Center between Dillard’s and Macy’s, the American Institute of Architects Dallas chapter is showcasing local, national and international works through three-dimensional displays. The exhibit, “Retrospect”, is designed to offer a glimpse at current trends. It runs today through April 15.

There’s an Easter egg hunt at 5:30 today at Town North YMCA. Bring your baskets, and meet in the lobby. We hear the Easter bunny is stopping by, too.

North Haven Gardens hosts another Garden Happy Hour 4-7 p.m. Friday with complimentary wine from Times Ten Cellars, Shiner beer and light appetizers. Stick around for the Potato Potahto food truck, which stops by 5-7 p.m.

The exhibit “Different Points of Contact” featuring Preston Hollow artist Jerry Skibell closes this Saturday at Norwood Flynn Gallery.

Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church hosts a spring market 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday to raise money for Mi Escuelita Preschool. More than 80 vendors will be on site selling jewelry, artwork, home decor, toys and handmade gifts. Admission is free.

At the Preston Forest Whole Foods, Annie’s organic foods brings its mobile pizza kitchen 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday, offering samplings, prizes and coupons for its organic self-rising pizza

The city-wide It’s My Park Day is this Saturday. Find out how to participate in our neighborhood.

Cooper Aerobics hosts a free Eggstravaganza 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturday at the fitness center. The event features an Easter egg hunt at 9:30 a.m. along with a petting zoo, face painting, pony rides, bounces and story time at 10:30 a.m.

The North Central police station hosts crime prevention fair 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday at Prestonwood Baptist Church on Hillcrest. The event includes health screenings, children’s activities, more than 30 vendors, free snow cones and a chance to meet Deputy Chief Reyes.

The second-annual W.T. White Community Fair is 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday in the school parking lot, featuring food, games and music. Admission is free.

NorthPark Center presents its third-annual ArtsPark, a free event that features 50 arts and cultural organizations from around the Metroplex. It’s noon-4 p.m. Saturday with booths located from Victoria’s Secret to Barneys New York. Come and out and see live performances and other special events. Go here for complete details.

The Matzah Bakery is going on this week at the Jewish Community Center, inviting people to come learn how to bake for Passover. Family time is 12:30-2:30 p.m. Sunday, and advanced reservations are required. It’s $3 for member and $5 for non-members. For more information or call 214.239.7128.

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day one of these Whole Foods events. The Park Lane location host an all-day party on the patio Saturday, serving traditional Irish fare and beer. Hurry over to Preston Forest tonight for the Tour of Ireland 6:30-8:30 p.m. when guests can try seven different Irish beers paired with delicious Irish food. Register here.

Kick back and enjoy some live music at Uncle Calvin’s Coffeehouse. This Friday, Zoe Lewis performs an up-beat show, incorporating a variety of instruments such as the guitar, piano, harmonica, penny whistle, accordion, spoons and the “human trumpet.” Admission is $15-$18.

Learn to draw like the masters during a program 1:30-3 p.m. Sunday at the Meadows Museum at SMU. Guest artist Ian O’brien takes participants on a tour of the galleries, exploring different techniques. The event is geared toward adults and students 15 and older. Sketchpads and pencils will be provided, but you’re encouraged to bring your own. The session is free with museum admission, which is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and $4 for students. Be sure to check out the museum’s Santiago Calatrava collection on view through April 22.

"Terlingua" (oil on canvas) by Thomas Evans will be on display at Norwood Flynn Gallery through April 7.

The Texas Voices performs at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the Shipp Chapel at Lovers Lane United Methodist Church. The professional chamber choir is in its ninth season of Via Crucis, a centuries-old Lenten tradition with original compositions. Admission is $22 for adults, $18 for seniors and $10 for students.  Call 214.384.6336 for more details.

If you find yourself at the mall this weekend, here are three free events to check out at NorthPark Center. MoMe Yoga for moms and their babies is 10:30-11:30 a.m. Friday at the Bookmarks Library. Also at the library, a children’s storytelling event features the Circus Chickendog, an acrobatically trained trick dog, at 2 p.m. Saturday. Grab a free workout with the Nike Training Club 9:30-10:30 a.m. Saturday in the CenterPark Garden.

Norwood Flynn Gallery presents two art openings on Saturday: Landscapes by Thomas Evans and Different Points of Contact by Jerry Skibell. Both artists present landscape paintings from different perspectives. A reception is 6-8 p.m. The exhibits continue through April 7.

I wasn’t going to write about “GCB,” the ABC spoof of our city that premiered Sunday night, presumably in an attempt to replace “Desperate Housewives,” which is in its last season. I wasn’t going to write about it until I saw this list in OC Weekly about cities that influenced Mexican cuisine in the United States. Dallas is ranked No. 3 because of El Fenix, Fritos and frozen margaritas.

The author, Gustavo Arellano, who writes the hilarious and informative syndicated column “Ask A Mexican,” says of our city: “There are many reasons to hate Dallas — but it ain’t the food.”

Dammit, Ask a Mexican! Stop hating.

Hating Dallas is a cliche based on stereotypes from the TV show “Dallas” or the movie “Dr. T and the Women,” or maybe, sometimes, it has to do with NFL football. But that’s another story.

The show costars Broadway leading lady Kristen Chenoweth, whom I adore. The historic mansions of Swiss Avenue in East Dallas serve as the neighborhood where the show’s main characters live and snoop on each other, “Desperate Housewives” style. DMN’s Alan Peppard has that interior shots were filmed in two Preston Hollow homes that face each other on Woodland Drive. “GCB” is based on the book “Good Christian Bitches” by Kim Gatlin, who grew up in Highland Park.

The show itself is dangerously close to offensive. For one thing, the accents are like George W. Bush channeling Jed Clampett. The main character, Amanda, is constantly referred to as “uh-MAY-un-duh.” There is a Dallas accent, but that ain’t it.

The writing is lazy, too. In one scene, someone is “so hungry she could eat Waco.” I guess Waco is funny because it’s where the government killed those Branch Davidians? No one says they could eat Waco or Tupelo or Providence. They might say, “I’m so hungry I could eat a blue-ribbon sow,” but people don’t say they’re so hungry they could eat a city. That’s not a thing.

Waxahachie also gets a shout-out when a real-estate agent says she’s found some great little townhouses there. I get it. Waxahachie is a funny-sounding word. We’re sure they’ll reference some other town next week: “We just got bay-uck from havin’ lunch at that new place in Nacogdoches?”

“GCB” is a spoof. Maybe I’m being too sensitive about it. Is this how Italian Americans in New Jersey felt about “The Sopranos”? Once that show became a hit, many New Jersians embraced it, donning track suits, playing up their accents and pretending to be gangsters. Oh dear God. What if “GCB” becomes a hit? Thousands more blonde obnoxious reasons to hate Dallas.