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Along with the big reveal of the reimagined Buffalo Bayou Park and the epic redo of the Alley Theatre, this month marks the opening of a game changer for Midtown when MATCH ignites the first weekend in October, with a trio of performances by Uptown Dance Company (Friday and Saturday, October 2 and 3) and Apollo Chamber Players (Sunday, October 4). Don't know about MATCH yet? The acronym stands for Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston, a $25 million (96 percent of this figure has been raised to date) visionary nexus for melding theater and visual art that will also be the new home of DiverseWorks in early 2016. Designed by Lake/Flato and Studio Red, the new center boasts two theaters, a pair of flex performance spaces, exhibition galleries and classrooms, office space for resident arts groups and a new cafe where Lemonde Kitchen cooks. We're heading to MATCH Saturday, October 17, for Glasstire's inaugural Off Road conversation, offline and in person, with Los Angeles County Museum of Art director Michael Govan, joined by artist Robert Irwin (who's creating a new permanent installation for the Chinati Foundation in Marfa, slated for 2016). For tickets or to donate to MATCH's final fund-raising, matchouston.org. Glasstire Off Road info and tickets (talk free but RSVP required), cocktails with Govan and Irwin at the home of Cece and Mack Fowler, ticket $500; glasstire.com/offroad. Catherine D. Anspon OCTOBER | PAGE 6 | 2015 Luxury PROPERTIES. Utmo DISCRETION. M E C O M P R O P E R T I E S . C O M | 7 13 . 5 5 8 . 3 3 18 W e love contradictions: Boho chic, T-shirts paired with Posen skirts, Michael Graves designs at Target. How about Mies- meets-Hill Country? The new Oohla Bean inn and resort in Driftwood, just outside of Austin, is anything but high-low: It's high. Creator/ proprietor Robin Garrison has turned a multi-year labor of love into an exquisite, modern (Mies-ish), homey get-away in the context of the great lodges dotting the lake regions of the Northeast. Six suites offer slight variations — walk-in shower versus soaking tub versus fireplace. All six open spaciously to an archetypal Hill Country view. Garrison is particularly proud of the 65,000-gallon rainwater cistern. In the morning, our two-couple crew short-hopped into Wimberley for vintage Texas shopping, picked up snacks and scurried back to picnic by the large limestone-lined organic pool, frequently taking a few steps to the well-stocked honor bar to refresh cocktails. (They don't swarm you with valets, but they're there when you need them). Johnny Cash was on the iTunes speaker, and that night, after a golf-cart tour of the property, we huddled in the screened gazebo for a lovely handcrafted, candlelit dinner prepared by the innkeeper. Between courses, we wandered into the kitchen — a space that would make any gastronome salivate — and spotted a unique set of vintage wines. A 2005 Ben Rye Passito di Pantelleria caught my eye simply because the bottle was dainty and dusty — which to me has always equaled "must be good … must have." Robin explained how she picked it up on a trip to Italy a few years back, and at the end of the meal, it flowed into history as our dessert wine. Go with your mate, go with your friends or go it alone … it's a bit of modernist heaven. Oohla Bean, Elder Hill Road, Driftwood, 512.858.4034, oohlabean.com; rates from $220 per night. Jim Kastleman HILL COUNTRY MODERN I n its second iteration, Pop Austin literally illuminates the town October 22 through 25. Expect a new-century take on the concepts of gallery show, museum exhibition and art fair, yielding an immersive experience with works available for acquisition. PaperCity steps up as a media sponsor. Returning to the ample spaces of Fair Market pavilion, Pop Austin invokes the theme of "Illumination," in keeping with the U.N. designation of 2015 as the International Year of Light. Sixteen artists from near and far reflect red-hot currents in Europe and Asia, as well as closer to home, Manhattan, L.A. and, of course, Texas. Included in this latter category are Adela Andea of Houston and Austin notables Bale Creek Allen (son of musician/artist Terry Allen and actress/ writer Jo Harvey Allen), who's known for melding barbed wire with neon, and Yale grad/cult fave Evan Voyles. The mighty James Turrell is also in the mix, as are museum-exhibited Swiss artist Lori Hersberger and Korean-born, Berlin-based Jeongmoon Choi, who employs light and thread in her evocative environments. Nonotak studio, in from Paris (with credentials that include a gig at Tate Britain), gets it all into gear with an extraordinary light and sound spectacle at the VIP Opening Night, Thursday, October 22. Speaking of gear, time your Austin jaunt to take advantage of Pop Austin's partnership with Circuit of The Americas, the only facility in the U.S. specially designed for the Grand Prix. Hear the Ferraris and McLarens roar October 23 through 25, at Formula 1 United States Grand Prix at the COTA track; take in Pop Austin's trackside pop-up show, then wrap the experience Sunday, October 25, with a performance by Elton John post-race on festival lawn. The forces behind this art and motor extravaganza? Pop Austin's co-founders are international power couple Steve and Lana ELTON FORMULA 1 LET THERE BE LIGHT Beam Me Up to POP AUSTIN and COTA Lori Hersberger's Sunset 164, 2006, at Pop Austin Elton John Beb Deum's In and Out, 2011, at Pop Austin pop-up at COTA Formula 1 returns to Circuit of The Americas, Austin COURTESY POP AUSTIN COURTESY CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS MARC CAULFIELD COURTESY POP AUSTIN MEET YOUR MATCH Robert Irwin's Primal Palm Garden, 2010, at Los Angeles County Museum of Art Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston Michael Govan and Robert Irwin © MUSEUM ASSOCIATES/LACMA COURTESY MATCH COURTESY LACMA Carlson — his background is song-writing and producing, and she was the international curator who brought the first Rodin show to Russia — joined by COTA founder/chairman/promoter Bobby Epstein. Pop Austin VIP Grand Opening, Thursday, October 22, $200; regular show days $40, three-day pass $70; info and tickets, popaustin.com. Formula 1 Grand Prix, Friday through Sunday, October 23 through 25; Sunday only from $99; three-day passes from $169; Sunday and three-day race pass both grant access to Elton's performance; circuitoftheamericas. com. Catherine D. Anspon Chairs as art at Oohla Bean Oohla Bean