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Craft and Driver

Yaris fuels the Dallas arts scene

A A A Comments By Darci Ratliff Thursday, Aug 24 2006

Toyota's latest promotional campaign is, in a word, crafty. Trying extra-hard to market their newest car to art nerds, the design-hip, fuel-efficient Yaris disguises its dog-and-pony show in the form of a DIY free-for-all. This Wednesday through Saturday (August 23 to 26), the YarisWorks Roadshow makes a stop in Dallas as part of a nine-week, 12-city tour, bringing indie rockers, craft makers and comic book geeks together for vocational art classes, local music and free ice cream.

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Food fans can attend a class that offers new and exciting snack recipes, while handicraft hipsters are offered courses in making personalized wallets, buttons, no-sew curtains, glass etchings and glycerin soaps. Classes are free, supplies are provided and participants get to take home the fruits of their labor. YarisWorks even taps into local media talent, providing musical instrument lessons (and a performance) by The Theater Fire and the opportunity to work on a music video for the Tah-Dahs. Kris Youmans, local video producer, will coordinate the efforts of video-making wannabes, shoot the band live at Good Records and edit the resulting footage. Finally, a comic book roundtable will be held at Avenue Arts, with comics begun by local artists and finished, in pieces, by anyone who attends. The event comes to a close with a "block party" on Saturday featuring DJs, more button- and soap-making, and free food and drinks.

You may be wondering what any of this has to do with cars. Nothing. But it has everything to do with image. According to Toyota's VP of marketing, Jim Farley, "The Yaris is all about celebrating innovation and making design more accessible. To create YarisWorks, we've taken that innovative spirit and given it a real, tangible means for bolstering creativity in people's lives." Dude, you had me at "free ice cream." The YarisWorks Roadshow takes place at several local venues in Dallas from Wednesday through Saturday. All events are free to the public. Visit yarisworks.com/roadshow.php for a full schedule of events and location information.
Aug. 23-26

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