From my friend Liz Johnstone, over on FrontBurner:

This is fascinating to me. How is this free Mark Bittman lecture not yet all booked up?

Happily for you, you can still reserve a seat. Bittman, making the Dallas rounds (he’s on KERA with Krys Boyd earlier in the day if you want to tune in), will be at Temple Emanu-El chatting about his latest book, Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating. His regular Times column is concerned with sustainable eating, food policy, and other issues associated with a poor American diet (i.e. tons of meat, tons of sugar, and tons of worthless carbs). If you’re skeptical, making simple changes to his diet allowed Bittman to lose 35 pounds, and solved several other health problems. After the lecture, don’t miss the reception and book signing.

Kicks off at 7:30 p.m.

During the Jewish Federation’s 100^th annual Mitzvah Day, which is this Sunday, there will be hundreds of service projects offered throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Here is a guide to the ones most convenient to the Hollow.

For (almost) Teens: The Jewish Community Center

Perfect for pre-teens eager to experience independence. Teen Connection, the precursor to BBYO, is hosting a service project for grades 6-8. From 1 to 5 p.m.

For Foodies: Temple Emanu-El

The next time your stomach grumbles, imagine the pains of those who go without enough food every day. Go to Temple Emanu-El and help make sandwiches for the homeless. From 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

For Creative Thinkers: Children’s Medical Center

Who hasn’t suffered from the boredom blues while waiting at a doctor’s office? Assemble sheets of word games and crossword puzzles to help adults with sick children pass the time while waiting at the hospital. From 9 a.m. to noon.

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It’s the last weekend in February, and it’s supposed to be in the neighborhood of 80 degrees. Not bad for a month that started like this. Let’s get out and enjoy it, shall we?

Imagine you want to celebrate the Shabbat, but you also have a hankering for jazz. One might think you’d be out of luck, but no, Temple Emanu-El is holding a Jazz Shabbat Service at 6:15 p.m.

If you still have a spring in your step on Saturday, head over to NorthPark Center for the Day of Dance, which begins at 10 a.m. with a performance by the Dallas Swing Dance Society. Catch more local talent at the 2 p.m. show by Park Cities Dance. You know how I like a good theme, and this one is just developing naturally (a-la-jazz), so let’s go with it.

After a short breather, boogie on down to the JCC for an 8 p.m. performance of The Sound of Music. If you’d like a little background on how a Jewish Community Center tackles a tale of Nazi invasion, reference Georgia Fisher’s front page story in the Feb. 18 edition of Preston Hollow People.

On Sunday, go outside. Throw and catch things with the dog/kid (whatever your life stage predicates), and be merry.

Still trying to sort out the whole WikiLeaks fiasco? Do so amongst media experts at the Henry D. Schlinger Ethics Symposium at 7 p.m. in the Tobian Auditorium of Temple Emanu-El.

Panel participants including talk show host Mark Davis, editor-in-chief of the Burnt Orange Report Matt Glazer, DMN columnist Gromer Jeffers Jr., and investigative reporter at Channel 8 Brett Shipp will discuss “Watergate to WikiLeaks: Exploring Truth and Bias in Today’s Media.”  David Schechter, senior reporter at Channel 8, will moderate.

Temple Emanu-El spokeswoman Nancy Rivin said the symposium looks for ethical situations that aren’t clear cut. Previous panels discussed health care, the war, the environment, and business ethics.

“We want to shake people up a bit, ask people to look at things from a different perspective,” Rivin said.