Fair Park

The Best Foodie and Beerie Events of the Week (December 12-17)

Wednesday, December 12 The new bar and craft beer retailer, Craft and Growler (3601 Parry Ave.) is hosting a little gathering for Friends of Fair Park today. Dallas Mayor Mike Rawling's deputy chief of staff, Shawn Williams, will take 20 minutes worth of Q&A regarding the #GrowSouth Initiative at 6 ... More >>

Let ’Em Eat Space Dust

Lights All Night On Sale Today

As we mentioned last week, Lights All Night has announced its December dates and expansion to three nights in Fair Park. Tickets go on sale today, even though the lineup has not yet been announced, but we've heard there will be something called "DJs" there.

Five Dallas Shows That Need to Happen, But Probably Never Will

Over the past few years, Dallas has seen an influx of house shows, the creation of an annual festival in the heart of downtown and new venues popping up left and right. Which got us thinking: how adventurous could we really get? What locations or venues are sorely in need of some live music, if by a ... More >>

Is A Massive Beer Bar Enough To Bring Visiting Drinkers To Fair Park?

While Deep Ellum has enjoyed a resurgence in restaurants and bars over the years, Fair Park has remained pretty sleepy. Fallout Lounge failed and Pizza Lounge and Meridian Room cater to local residents but are not much of a draw for visitors. Craft and Growler (3601 Parry Ave.), however, looks like ... More >>

The Lost Boys of Fair Park

Mayhem Festival - Gexa Energy Pavilion - 7/10/12

Mayhem Festival Gexa Energy Pavilion Tuesday, July 10 See also: The fans of Mayhem Festival As I parked next to the Amsterdam and walked through Fair Park's Esplanade yesterday, I took in the neo-modernist sculptures and murals that adorn the Art Deco buildings. The closer I got to the Gexa Ener ... More >>

13 of This Weekend's Best Concerts: H2O Music Festival, Gillian Welch, Latin Energy Festival and More

H2O Music FestivalSaturday, June 9, at The Cotton BowlThere's something for everyone at H2O Music Festival. For those of us on this side of 30, Weezer has is somewhat familiar. (Remember when Pinkerton occupied our stereo for an entire summer?) They'll be joined by Snoop Dogg, Ozomatli, Yelawolf, Ju ... More >>

Run Rampant, Fur Children

Flying Monsters. You Mean Flight Attendants?

Blaming City, Museum of Automotive History Pulls Out of Fair Park. City Says: Not Its Fault.

​One year ago, or close enough, Stephen Page gave us a tour of his Texas Museum of Automotive History in Grand Place at Fair Park -- its temporary home, we were told, but an appropriate one, given the space's estimable past as the site where the Ford Motor Co. had its exhibit during the Texas Cent ... More >>

Train Museum Was to Roll Out of Fair Park By Saturday. That Won't Happen. Now What?

​Just checked the calendar and noticed: The Museum of the American Railroad should be rolled outta Fair Park by ... well, by Saturday, would you look at that. Except, no: Two years after the city sued the train museum, telling it to chugga-chugga thee to those new digs in Frisco or a temporary hol ... More >>

For Your Boxing Day Listening Pleasure: When Nick Lowe Opened For Wilco (Last Month!)

​Yet again, I've been told the office is closed today, which explains why it's dark and cold and empty; who knew. Anyway. I'm not big on year-in-reviews; you were there, right? That said: Whilst perusing that musical treasure chest of recent discovery, I came across one blindingly bright offering ... More >>

Giveaway: One Pair of VIP Tickets to the Fourth Annual Unsilent Night Music Festival

The mall punk scene is still going strong here in Dallas, and Saturday, December 10, marks the fourth annual Unsilent Night Music Festival, put on by ZH Entertainment and Third String Productions. Anyone who has been to any of these mall punk shows in recent years knows  that they are not small ... More >>

They May Not Have Formula One Racing in Austin After All, But Dallas Did Back in 1984

​Speaking of the Dallas Grand Prix at Fair Park ...I see that someone has just posted 30 minutes' worth of highlights from that brutally hot July 1984 to the YouTube. And it's exceptionally classy footage too: It comes to us via the BBC with commentary by Murray Walker and James Hunt. As the poste ... More >>

Today, Feast Of Sharing Helped a Lot of Hungry People Eat at Fair Park

​Early this morning, volunteers started streaming into Fair Park to prep for Central Market's Feast of Sharing, an annual event to help people in need. The grocery store has sponsored the Dallas version of this event for the the last five years. By 1 p.m., a line had formed both inside and out ... More >>

The Food of Dallas' Diwali Mela

​We told you to go; I hope you listened. Diwali Mela festivities went off at the Cotton Bowl over the weekend during a beautifully crisp fall evening. Golf carts shuttled Mela-goers from the Fair Park DART station to the west side of the stadium, where the smell of curry powder and fried potatoes ... More >>

Giant Tomato Fight Coming to Fair Park

TomatoBattle.com​A friend used to pick tomatoes on her family farm back in her youthin' days. On occasion she'd grab a rotten one off the vine and feel the mealy goo explode between her fingers. Blah. But perhaps you like the feel of over-ripe tomatoes squishing between your fingers. How abo ... More >>

This Morning's Texas Centennial Expo Double Feature, With Gene Autry and ... Sam Fuller?

​After the jump, a curio stumbled across this morning while looking for something else related to the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition at Fair Park: the romantic comedy called Hats Off, the first offering from short-lived Grand National Films and one of the first films in which John Payne (Miracle ... More >>

The Day Sonny and Cher Visited Fair Park

Photo by Skip Shoffner, courtesy Philip ShoffnerSonny and Cher in front of the Fair Park Coliseum​It's quite likely that many Friends of Unfair Park recall O. V. "Skip" Shoffner, who, his son Philip reminds, was a longtime mail carrier in Lakewood -- for more than 30 years. Skip was also a regular ... More >>

No Plans For Women's Museum Building, But Summer Place Park's Still Set to Bow in 2013

​Speaking of Fair Park ...In the wake of its inclusion on the American Planning Association's list of Great Public Places, several Friends of Unfair Park have asked: How's that long-proposed plan to open the fairgrounds year-round(ish) coming? And: What about the pending closure of The Women's Mus ... More >>

Falling for Big Tex's Line

State Fair of Texas' big dude seems vaguely presidential these days.

A Breath of Fresh Air: Plano East Senior Named One of America's Great Young Inventors

Param Jaggi​Spend this morning learning how to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen -- by filtering it through algae, duh. Thanks, Param Jaggi! No, seriously. Thanks. The Plano East Senior High School senior's a genius. Says so right here, in the latest issue of Popular Science, in which he was name ... More >>

For Your Weekend Listening Pleasure: Smells Like Nirvana at the Fair Park Coliseum in '93

​The Legendary Show happened two years and two months earlier at Trees. That one's been well-documented. There's video -- it never gets old. Then there's Jeff Liles's recap, which ran in the paper version of Unfair Park in '05, shortly before a bankruptcy judge closed the club's doors. What a mess ... More >>

Book It to the Fair

Don't Forget the Suffragettes

Mache and Machetes: Fall Vegetable Gardening at Texas Discovery Gardens

Randy Johnson: Garden. Ninja.​​"Hang on a sec, y'all," Randy Johnson (director of horticulture) says as he stomps through his lush, native flowerbed at the Texas Discovery Gardens in Fair Park. Classmates whisper uncomfortably, "Did he seriously just shove that Texas lantana out of his way?" Yep ... More >>

Hear A Journey Through The Ages

Track Her Down

Insomniac CEO Vows To Fight EDC Citations, City Looks To Better Investigate Events It Books

Kevin TodoraOne scene at Saturday night's Electric Daisy Carnival at Fair Park in Dallas.​ Yesterday, city officials announced that they had slapped Electric Daisy Carnival organizers Insomniac Events with seven citations for their event in Fair Park on Saturday night -- two for overcrowding, two ... More >>

City Releases Contract, Attendance Figures and Timeline of Events from Electric Daisy Carnival

​The numbers are in: Ticket sales place the number of people at Fair Park for the Electric Daisy Carnival on Saturday night at somewhere between 21,000 and 24,000. At 11 p.m., the last headcount taken estimated that some 21,000 had already passed through the gates.These numbers fall pretty much in ... More >>

One Dead, Dozens Hospitalized at 2011 Electric Daisy Carnival in Dallas. (Updated With Statement From Promoter.)

​By 1 a.m. this morning, at least one attendee at Saturday night's Electric Daisy Carnival in Fair Park had been declared dead. At least another two dozen had been hospitalized.After a first year in Dallas that had been deemed a "phenomenal event" by city officials, the second Dallas installment o ... More >>

If You've Ever Wanted to Own a Complete Dinosaur Skeleton, or Four, Now's Your Chance

Heritage expects the Allosaurus and Stegosaurus skeletons will go for upwards of $3 million. But that's for the pair. A bargain.​I've taken the almost-8-year-old who lives in my house to several of 'cross-the-street neighbor Heritage Auction Galleries' dinosaur auction previews, because, right, ki ... More >>

NCAA Delays Reupping TicketCity Bowl License

​The NCAA's Postseason Bowl Licensing Subcommittee met today in New Orleans, where it okee-doke'd bowl licenses through 2013-'14 for 32 out of the 35 game played during college football's post-season. (Really? Only 35? Coulda swore it was more like 98.) Anyway. Two of the no-go's were already fo-s ... More >>

For Sale: An 1894 Texas State Fair Keepsake

From eBay seller "celluloid"​On the eve of the 75th anniversary of the Texas Centennial Exposition at Fair Park, which opened on June 6, 1936, Friend of Unfair Park PeterK espied this one-of-a-kind keepsake up for grabs on eBay courtesy Minneapolis-based seller "celluloid": a bronze coin commemora ... More >>

Lapping Up the Cotton Bowl

Wherein a For-Sale Deep Ellum Building Leads Us to Discuss the Future of CBD-Fair Park Link

​I see that the old Dallas Brake & Clutch building on Main and Exposition, which dates back to circa-1930, hopped on LoopNet just yesterday. My dad, a parts man from way back, has fond memories of the building, which hasn't been the B&C for the last few years. Its 16,202 square feet can be ... More >>

Picture Show: Bret Michaels Rocks Out at Fair Park

Mike MezeulBret Michael's shares a moment after his show with CompetitorGroup Senior Vice President Tracy Sundlun. CompetitorGroup is responsible for each Rock 'n' Roll marathon across the U.S. ​After over 14,000 runners racked up 13.1 miles on Sunday morning as part of the Rock 'n' Roll Dallas Ha ... More >>

What Does It Look Like to Walk Through a Room Filled With Nothing But Orange Balloons?

Friday night, at the Arts Magnet fund-raiser, two friends used their phones to show off their oh-lucky-me early looks at Martin Creed's Work No. 1190: Half the air in a given space -- otherwise known as that room full of balloons you see above. It officially took up residency in the Lower Level Gall ... More >>

So There Are Celebrities in Town: A Round-Up of Some Famous Faces on Super Party Circuit

All photos WireImageAshton Kutcher, Demi Moore and noted comedy genius Justin Timberlake at the Rachovsky House​Woke up this morning to find some last-night souvenirs in the in-box -- some, from the Audi Forum at the Rachovsky House on Preston and Northwest Highway, which the car-maker's taken ove ... More >>

Come for the Super Bowl. Stay for the Skiing.

Photos by Justin TerveenI texted Justin shortly past 1 a.m.: "You getting this?" Silly me. He was at Fair Park at that very moment, snapping away. For hi-res versions, and time-lapse video, go here.​Seven hours later and ... impressive. Unless you're, say, Sports Guy Bill Simmons, who shoots up th ... More >>

The Prayer and the Game Compel You

Super Bowl Parties Already Half Off

​A Friend of Unfair Park directs our attention to today's Groupon Daily Deal for Dallas: half-off tickets to Pamela Anderson's Super Bash 2011 at the Fashion Industry Gallery on Ross Ave., which takes place Friday night from 9 till 3 in the morning and will feature among the special guests none ot ... More >>

Live Nation Announces Fair Park Amphitheater Name Change: Superpages.com Center Will Now Be Called The Gexa Energy Pavilion

Welcome to North Texas, dudes!​After three years of existing under the name of Superpages.com Center, the Live Nation-owned and -operated concert amphitheater located in Fair Park announced today a new corporate sponsor for its facilities -- and with it, yet another name in a long line of names.Si ... More >>

Press Release o' the Day: Councilman Salazar to Present KISS's Gene Simmons With Key to Dallas

​No doubt you're aware that KISS's Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed (who I wouldn't Google Image search from the office too hard, if I were you) are among the myriad celebs hosting Super Bowl shindigs next week. Theirs is the Aces & Angels Salute to the Troops at Fair Park, which will lick it up ... More >>

And the Court Battle Between Railroad Museum and the City of Dallas Gets Just a Little Uglier

From the Museum of the American Railroad's 2006 Long Term Strategic Outlook​It was but one week ago we revisited, after some time off, the legal brouhaha between the Museum of the American Railroad and the City of Dallas, which sued to remove the museum from Fair Park almost a year ago. For those ... More >>

For Your Weekend Listening Pleasure: Talking Heads Go to a Palladium on Fire in 1978

​And speaking of Chris Frantz ...Happy Almost Anniversary! And where were you on December 11, 1978? The Palladium, perhaps? (The original, that is to say -- near Abrams and Northwest Highway. You know, the Agora.) Lucky you -- that was the night the Talking Heads played Dallas for the very first t ... More >>

Depositions and More Delays in City's Case Against Museum of the American Railroad

From the Museum of the American Railway's computer-generated look at its future home in Frisco​In case you'd forgotten all about City of Dallas v. Museum of the American Railroad, rest assured: It's alive and well in Dallas County District Court, where, in recent days, there have been myriad filin ... More >>

Before They Run the Rock, A Race Back in Time

Courtesy Rusty WilliamsClick to embiggen this band of local athletes from 1972.​Patrick Michels, seizing any opportunity to get out of the office, is heading to Fair Park at 2 p.m. for some mayoral announcement in advance of Saturday's throwing of the Fair Park Holiday in advance of Sunday's runni ... More >>

"Dallas Is the Lavender Heart of Texas."

So says Mayor Tom Leppert's chief of staff Chris Heinbaugh in this just-posted Gay Travel look-see at the city. It accompanies these out-and-abouts on Cedar Springs, at Fair Park, the W Hotel in Victory Park, Gay Bingo, Cyclone Anaya's, the Nasher Sculpture Center and the original Sonny Bryan's.Just ... More >>