The Bishop Arts galleries, one of which will literally hit the road on July 26, will host the opening reception for their latest exhibit “On The Road Again…” at 7 p.m. tomorrow at the Kessler Theater.

Expect lots of colorful, dreamy paintings and sculptures such as “Quattro Blue” by Decorazon artist Todd Campbell (at left), which happens to be one of my favs! For more info and to check out some of the other featured artists, go here.

Norma’s Cafe owner Ed Murph should help himself to an extra slice of pie today. The Texas Restaurant Association just announced that he will be inducted into the TRA Hall of Honor on Monday.

Murph has owned Norma’s, a Davis Street institution, since 1986. Each Thanksgiving, he and his staff provide a free hot meal to dozens of people who would otherwise go without.

“Ed is passionate about giving back to his community and is a great example for fellow restaurateurs,” said Texas Restaurant Association CEO Richie Jackson.

This just in from Scott Chase of the Oak Cliff Chamber of Commerce:

The City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs will open the newly-renovated Oak Cliff Cultural Center in August 2010.  The center is located at 223 West
Jefferson Avenue in the heart of Oak Cliff.  The 5,000 sq. ft. Center has a visual arts gallery and a dance studio and was designed to serve as a community arts center.
The grand opening of the center will be held on Thursday, August 12, with a community celebration planned for Sunday, August 15, 2010.   The opening will include an art exhibition.

Entries Deadline: All entries must be received by 5:00 PM on Monday, June 28 (Editor’s note: That’s Monday, if you’re not looking at a calendar.)

Concept & Theme: The inaugural exhibition at the new OCCC will be a juried exhibition that highlights recent work of professional visual artists who live or work in Oak Cliff.  The goal of this exhibition is to showcase the work of the visual artists whose creative endeavors have made Oak Cliff the vibrant and
growing artistic community that it is today.  There is no specific theme for the artwork that will be featured in this exhibition and a jury will select approximately 25 artworks for this inaugural exhibition.

There’s been quite the dustup over the Dallas Housing Authority’s proposed changes to the Oak Cliff Manor housing project on Fort Worth Avenue. It’s a pretty contentious issue.

But those opposed to the homeless relocating to North Oak Cliff should hear from Larry James, president and CEO of Central Dallas Ministries. In his Dallas Morning News viewpoints column, James looks at the stigma attached to transitional housing for the homeless.

Central Dallas Ministries has worked to bring new low income housing and homeless housing projects on line. One of the organizations most recent projects is 511 North Akard, which just happens two be a few blocks away from the downtown headquarters of the D empire and the Arts District.

Definitely worth a read.

I’ve been looking forward to the poolside screening of The Muppets Take Manhattan, which is scheduled for Thursday evening at the Belmont Hotel. But then I received a press release about something called the Rock This Town music festival. It’s primarily happening at a Deep Ellum club called La Grange, but its schedule includes “An Evening at The Belmont” — specifically Thursday evening.

I called Belmont manager Alyssa Adams for clarification, and she told me not to worry. The loudest part of the Rock This Town happy hour, she said, will be an acoustic set by Miles Zuniga of Fastball at 7ish on the Bar Belmont patio. The Muppets won’t appear on screen until sundown.

Write us a funny photo caption for the above scene and win blog immortality!!! Entries will be selected from the comments section for this post.

Every year, the Sons of Hermann Hall in Deep Ellum hosts Art Conspiracy’s fundraiser for their fundraiser called SEED.

At last year’s SEED fundraiser, local hero Sarah Jane Semrad  and her band of tireless volunteers handed out espresso cans and charged artists with constructing lamps that were then auctioned. Some of them were ridiculously creative.

This year, artists will construct clocks for the July 16 event, which will feature music from The Cocky Americans, Jacob Metcalf, and Johnny Beauford.

Personally, I can’t wait to see where their imaginations take them.

There’s a reason certain parts of the animal aren’t diagrammed in this butcher’s guide to beef.

While speaking with Rob Shearer this afternoon, he pointed us to some news regarding a possible new taco joint from the Bolsa Boys called “Los Dos Chrises.” In the video, the topic of meat selection leads to what appears to be some tongue in cheek … or tongue and cheek statements depending on how much stock you put in the local market for bull-meat tacos.

Anyway, rest assured that once we get Chris Zielke and Chris Jeffers on the horn we’ll get their offal taco plans on the record — sans the sarcasm.

Who will be the one to snatch up this 1932 Tudor on Canterbury Court?

You know what I love most about Oak Cliff? The diversity. It really does permeate every facet of the area. It’s in the community, the shopping, and the architecture.

Besides that, you can really get a lot of bang for your buck in North Oak Cliff. I mean, consider this 2,500-square-foot house with a stunning stone facade. It would be at least $1 million in the Park Cities. In Preston Hollow, you’d probably see it on the market for $800K.

And the bonus? It’s in Oak Cliff, where you’ll find great parties, restaurants, galleries, and of course, great people.

Quick, grab your checkbook!

In the ongoing saga of which is more responsible, a raise in rent or a decline in customer base, for Decorazon Gallery’s leaving the Bishop Arts District — landlord Jim Lake had this to say:

“If it was an increase, it was nominal, and it wasn’t something that would make someone leave,” Lake said. “We’ve intentionally kept them below market. We are more focused on the correct mix over there.”

He also gave us the inside scoop on some pending and signed leases in the Bishop Arts District. But for that info you’ll have to pick up a copy of the print edition of Oak Cliff People.