CHANGING PLATES
Chef Hari Pulapaka of Cress Restaurant doesn't mince words as he explains why he's launching a new TV series, Vegetarian Bound: "Vegetarians get the short end of the culinary stick." Whether at restaurants or at home, he says, when most of the group is omnivorous, those who shun animal proteins usually get shortchanged on creativity. So he and his wife, Jenneffer (a vegetarian and wine specialist who handles front-of-house duties at Cress) set out to explore ways they could celebrate vegetarian food – and help others do the same.
"In our pilot, Kevin Fonzo [of K Restaurant] provides the inspiration and then I reinterpret his idea," Pulapaka says. "We envision bringing the vegetarians back to the dinner table, because they have been left out for too long."
See the fruits of their labor Monday night at DeLand's Athens Theatre, at a pilot premiere screening to benefit the Neighborhood Center of West Volusia, a sort of amuse-bouche to the sumptuous anniversary dinner at Cress taking place right after the screening. The dinner, which also benefits the Neighborhood Center, is already sold out, but all are welcome to attend the screening; the price of admission is merely a bag of nonperishable food. (5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 3; 124 N. Florida Ave., DeLand)
GLASS ACT
Stardust Video & Coffee presents no title show, an exhibition of new work by Brice Stephens. Fans of the artist shouldn't miss this one: As evidenced in his February 2012 show at Twelve21 Gallery, Stephens' technique and processes are evolving, and no title shows a less graphic, more painterly approach to his popular windowpane portraits of faintly skew-whiff ladies. (opens 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 1; 1842 E. Winter Park Road)
SHINING HAPPY PEOPLE
The Falcon Bar presents redrum, a show of art inspired by Stanley Kubrick's cinematic interpretation of the Stephen King novel The Shining. The film departed from the book enough to earn King's ire, but its strong visual style and brutal aesthetic have earned it classic status even outside the hard core of horror fans. Local artists including Andrew Spear, Johannah O'Donnell, Karen Russell, Patrick Fatica and many more hang work; Q-Burns Abstract Message spins; you drink, buy and have nightmares when you get home. (opens 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 1; 819 E. Washington St.)
