Woodrow grad Matthew Tolentino and his paired-down Singapore Slingers will provide the entertainment at an Aug. 5 event at Sons of Hermann Hall.

Admission to this swell affair, Tolentino tells us, is only $10 in advance, and $15 at the door.

“In addition to my band, the evening includes a dance lesson at 7:30 from Elaine Hewlett of The Rhythm Room, then we go on 8:00, and you can strut your stuff all the way to 11:30. Sons of Hermann has a beautiful dance floor- don’t miss your chance to try it out! The Hall is located at 3414 Elm St. in Dallas. For advance tickets, please visit the Rhythm Room online.”

The magazine Dallas Modern Luxury, ran a piece on Tolentino and his Slingers, calling the 18-piece colossal ensemble “a sound for sore ears”.

Here’s a bit more about this swell kid, from an article I wrote for Advocate a couple years ago:

Waltz (or fox trot or rumba) into the theater on a night when The Singapore Slingersare onstage, and you’ll feel transported back in time to a world where men sport bowties and heavily pomaded hair, and women wearing soft golden locks and deep red lipstick smoke long cigarettes with impunity. The 18-piece orchestra, wearing only black and khaki-colored clothing (they’re going for the look of a sepia-tinted photo, the leader explains), performs ditties on strings and horns that haven’t been mainstream since the First World War. Frontman Matt Tolentino might be on the tuba, sax, ukulele or, most likely, the accordion. “The accordion is my main squeeze,” he says. You might expect this purveyor of early 1900-1935 era tunes (or of that joke) to be an old guy — maybe someone who remembers ragtime records from his childhood, for example. But Tolentino is just 25 — a 2003 graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School. “I know nothing about pop music,” he says. “But when I was a kid, a neighbor gave me a recording of the house band from A Prairie Home Companion, and I enjoyed that. I learned to play clarinet in elementary school … the sax, tuba and accordion in high school. I’ve always listened to this type of music.” He came up with The Singapore Slingers’ name, he says, from a cocktail popular in the 1920s. “I thought it was pretty clever. Later I learned there was an amateur basketball team by the same name,” he says laughing. “If there’s anything I know less about than pop music, it’s sports.”

Seth and Shawn Magill, the husband and wife who comprise the band Home By Hovercraft, perform this weekend at the Kessler Theater. Dan Dyer and Josh Weathers & the True Endeavors also perform.

We interviewed the Magills for a story about Home By Hovercraft in the June Advocate, and we couldn’t resist mentioning their love story. The Magills knew each other as children when Seth’s mom rented the garage apartment behind Shawn’s parents’ Junius Heights home.

Shawn’s family moved away from Dallas when she was a kid, and Seth stayed here and went to Bryan Adams High School. But their parents remained friends, and they would see each other now and then. Seth’s mom used to nudge him toward Shawn, but they were never romantically interested until they got together on New Year’s Day in 2000. And they married three months later.

Not surprising, these two make beautiful music together. Check out this video of them performing at the Bryan Street Tavern in May. That’s Seth’s sister on percussion — she’s a well-known Irish folk dancer.

I met some friends for brunch Sunday at 11 a.m. To my horror, when I arrived, they were sitting outside. It’s nearly 90 degrees, and they pretend to not notice. Look at them sitting there on that Greenville Avenue patio, chatting and laughing, acting as if their makeup isn’t melting under those oversized sunglasses, and that they aren’t going to smell funky by the end of the appetizer course … Yeah, the weather is making me irritable and overly dramatic.

My point: people who aren’t me don’t seem to mind eating outside, even in July in Dallas.

In fact, the Dallas Arboretum offers several al fresco options this time of year, especially surrounding the Tuesday Concerts in the Garden. Here is the concert schedule, by the way.

Both Wendy Krispin To-Go at Restaurant DeGoyler and Highland Park Cafeteria — each serving up fresh salads, wraps, sandwiches, burgers and desserts — offer convenient pick-up dinners at the Arboretum on concert nights.

For reservations at the restaurant or to order a to-go picnic by Krispin, call Restaurant DeGolyer at 214.515.6610. (Concertgoers receive a 10% discount off their order on concert nights if they mention the Restaurant DeGolyer Facebook page).

Order from HP Cafeteria here or at the HP Cafeteria tent on concert nights.

The Arboretum staff also reminds us, via a recent email, that you can enjoy fine dining whenever you visit the Arboretum at the Lula Mae Slaughter Dining Terrace. “Showcasing a menu of seasonal soup offerings and hot and cold sandwiches as well as delicious fresh salads, this service is open daily from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. and 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. on festival days.”

Dallas Arboretum is located on the Southeastern shore of White Rock at 8525 Garland. For more information including ticket prices, admission and upcoming events, call 214. 515.6500 or visit their website.

The book offers nostalgic details about Casa Linda, White Rock Lake, and Woodrow Wilson and Bryan Adams high schools.

A roundup of this month’s best neighborhood events.

Married couple Seth and Shawn Magill’s band is rock-n-roll with classical roots.

Hey, let’s celebrate okra! It’s easy to do since Promise of Peace is hosting Okra Fest from noon-4 p.m. Saturday at the nonprofit’s garden on East Grand.

Performers include Kelly Brown and Local Honey, Russ Hewitt, Black Land River Devil Band and Darryl Lee Rush.

Tickets are $10 or $20 for “open beer bar”, and you can buy them at highlandparkcafeteria.com. Pay a $30 entry fee and compete in the okra cooking contest, which has cash prizes.

In case you want to be smart at the okra party, here are some fun facts about our veggie pod friends:

Okra is vitamin rich. It contains 66 percent of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin K, plus it’s high in calcium, fiber, vitamin C, folic acid and magnesium.

Okra originated in Africa. Ancient Egyptians cultivated it. And it came to the new world via the Caribbean.

Okra is also known as Lady’s Finger.

Okra crops must be rotated frequently because the plants are susceptible to diseases.

Jennie Kelley lives in Deep Ellum, and she runs a catering company called The Perfect Last Bite. She’s a chorus member of The Polyphonic Spree, and she’s one of 38 contestants on Gordon Ramsay’s Fox TV show, “MasterChef”.

Check out Kelley’s blog, The Perfect Last Bite. It contains lots of great-looking recipes and pictures.

Good Records is hosting a watching party tonight, Tuesday, June 14, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. There will be free beer and food from The Perfect Last Bite.

“MasterChef” is a competition between amateur chefs who will vie for the “life-changing grand prize”, which is $250,000. In this interview with the Dallas Observer, Kelley says she is a self-taught cook.

The Friends of Exall Park hosts the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Kenny and the Kasuals, from 6-9 p.m. Tuesday, June 14.

This is the fifth year the orchestra has performed there. The free event will include a petting zoo, face painting, a magician and bounce houses. There will also be sno cones, a wine garden and food concessions with proceeds going to the Friends of Exall Park, which is dedicated to making the park beautiful.

Kenny and the Kasuals, an East Dallas rock-n-roll garage band that had success in the ’60s, goes on at 6 p.m. And the symphony goes on at 8 p.m. Bring blankets and lawn chairs.