Check out these events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area this weekend— as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.

Friday, Nov. 11
Fancy Pants Dance
Hilton Charlotte Center City
Pants aren’t just vital to our wardrobe anymore. Art For Life — an organization supporting children and families facing serious illnesses and disabilities through art education — has a different function in mind. Its fundraising event, Fancy Pants Dance, wants folks to give their garments an artistic makeover. A “fanciest pants” contest determines who’s got the best (and most creatively decked out) fanny-covering threads. Live music, dancing and live/silent auctions are featured throughout the evening’s festivities. May the best pants win.

• Film Foodies who’ve heard of the acclaimed El Bulli, a high-end eatery in Roses, Spain, will undoubtedly find The Light Factory’s latest screening in its First Run Films series tasteful. Directed by Gereon Wetzel, the documentary El Bulli: Cooking In Progress went behind the scenes of the now closed (as of July 2011) culinary mecca’s training months. Side note: For those not familiar, it used to close for six months out of the year in preparation for seasonal menus. The restaurant’s renowned Spanish chef, Ferran Adrià, aka “Salvador Dali of the kitchen,” is praised for his detailed study of food as avant-garde art. More...

• Comedy Fans of brothers Shawn and Marlon Wayans will want to pay a visit to The Comedy Zone Charlotte this weekend. Best known for their TV roles in In Living Color and The Wayans Brothers, the seemingly inseparable duo has gone from sitcoms to stand-up. More...

Saturday, Nov. 12
Mummies of the World
Discovery Place
Discovery Place has unwrapped its Mummies of the World exhibit, a traveling showcase comprised of 150 human and animal specimens and related artifacts from across the globe. An infant mummy dated as being almost 3,000 years older than King Tut, a mummified family discovered in an old crypt in Hungary and the disturbing monkey corpse (pictured) are among some of the many deadly delights. The exhibit allows for visitors to learn more about the process of mummification and the history, origins and causes of death of the mummies through multimedia, hands-on interactive stations and 3D animation. Like past traveling exhibits (such as Dead Sea Scrolls, Body Worlds and A Day in Pompeii) at Discovery Place, Mummies of the World has special ticketing and timed entries.

• Theater Judging by the synopsis of playwright Geoffrey Nauffts’ Next Fall, I’d say it looks like laughs and tears are in order. In the play, two gay men forge a romantic relationship, despite their religious (and not-so-religious) creeds — Luke (Josh Looney) believes in God, while Adam (Christian Casper) is a self-proclaimed atheist. This causes the occasional rumble in the couple’s content world, which is rocked completely by an accident. Suddenly, the non-believing Adam finds himself at odds with Luke’s family and friends, whom he looks to for support and answers relating to love and faith. The easily moved might want to bring tissues. More...

• Shopping It's time to start buying friends/relatives holiday presents. Even more importantly, it's time to start shopping before all the retail madness unravels. At the Southern Christmas Show folks can find a variety of goods (arts and crafts, jewelry, toys, clothing, food and more) for sale by a plentiful array of vendors. Decorative trees, mantles and doors, as well as the holiday themed Christmas Village are also on display to get you in the spirit. More...

Sunday, Nov. 13
It Looks Somthing Like This
Davidson College
A viewing of Hagit Barkai’s It Looks Something Like This exhibit at Van Every Gallery conjures a sense of uneasiness. The mostly nude figures — with faces somewhat blurred — convey feelings of vulnerability, apprehensiveness and disarray through the canvasses they embody. Barkai, born and raised in Israel, currently works as an assistant professor of art at Davidson College. She draws influence for her art from war-torn Israel and from body images.

• Theater Playwright Christopher Durang has a knack for writing absurd comedies. He churns daily obscurities into overly dramatic situations worth laughing at. Warehouse Performing Arts Center up in Cornelius has selected four of Durang's short comedies to perform, in what's titled Stupid Human Tricks: An Evening of Durang Comedies. Settings such as the Department of Motor Vehicles and a funeral parlor, only confirm our expectations that it's going to evolve into a humorous passage on trickery and short-lived patience. More...

• Food Brigs Restaurant specializes in traditional breakfast and lunch dishes. The lure of a stack of cakes seems to instigate swoons and clamor throughout the dining room. Pumpkin pancakes, the special through November, are piped with whipped cream. More...