Fair Park

Fort Worth Untapped Releases Beer List Including Cheech and Chong from Rahr

Did you get your fill at the Big Texas Beer Fest last weekend down at Fair Park? Nah, us neither. While it was a delicious beer event, it really just teased our hophead tendencies. So, fantastic news! The Paste Untapped Festival is next weekend, April 20, in Fort Worth. Even better news! The beer ... More >>

The Big Texas Beer Fest is Back, and This Year it Promises to Have Food

The Big Texas Beer Fest returns to the Fair Park Automobile Building in support of the expanding waistline of the local and national craft beer movement. The lucky day is Saturday, April 6. Over 120 of breweries will come out to pour samples of over 400 different beers. See Also: The Guide to Nort ... More >>

Shake, Rattle And Roller Derby!

Lights All Night - Fair Park - 12/31/12

Lights All Night Fair Park Monday, December 31 New Year's Eve is always a tricky proposition, what with the whole cottage industry built around getting you out, getting you tipsy and then trying to get you home. This is probably why Lights All Night saved some of their biggest acts for the third an ... More >>

Why Won't City Hall Count Its Money? Because Then Someone Would Be Accountable.

The cops still aren't counting the cash drawer. Unbelievable. A decade after Dallas Police got caught running a massive scam out of their cash accounts, deliberately framing innocent people on fake drug charges in order to manipulate payments to fake informants, the Dallas city auditor has reported ... More >>

Lyric Stage's 1776 is a Star-Spangled Treat

Uncle Tex, We Missed You!

Devil In The Details

White Rock fans and Highland Park rowers learn that at City Hall, life is but a scream.

Five Things I Want to Eat At Taste Of Dallas This Weekend

See also: The Food at Taste of Dallas 2011 Taste of Dallas takes over Fair Park this weekend, which means I'm coming up on a full year here in Dallas. Whoa. Last year, the list of participants seemed overwhelming. All I recognized at the time was La Madeleine and Jack Daniel's Saloon, and neither o ... More >>

Revel in Ravel and Get Brassy

State Rep. Eric Johnson Wants Hail Storm Declared a Disaster, Asks Mayor Mike for Help

Damage estimates from the hail storm that pummeled, to name a few things, historic slate roofs, delicate glass sculptures, the Midway sign at Fair Park, and my car. Also, the head of state Rep. Eric Johnson's wife Nakita when a hailstone boulder crashed through his car's sunroof, which might have pl ... More >>

This Week's Top Show Announcements: The Weeknd, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Ariel Pink and More

The WeekndFriday, June 15, at House of Blues, $30/$35-$49.50At age 22, critically acclaimed R&B innovator Abel Tesfaye, the man behind The Weeknd, has accomplished more than most artists in a lifetime. All of his music has been released via digital download, and now it looks like he's ready to c ... More >>

Texas-OU is Staying at the Cotton Bowl

If you build it dump $82 million into it, they will come. Mayor Mike Rawlings sends word today that it's a lock: The annual, traffic-snarling blood feud between the University of Texas and Oklahoma University known as the Red River Shootout will be played in the Cotton Bowl at least through 2020. ... More >>

Five Beers to Try at the Big Texas Beer Fest

Don't forget: Big Texas Beer Fest is 1 to 6 p.m. tomorrow, and noon for the VIPs who paid $25 more for the opportunity to be first at the taps and close down the event at the Deep Ellum Brewing Co. after-party. But if you haven't gotten around to obtaining a pass, you've still got a few hours t ... More >>

Big Texas Beer Fest Tickets Are On Sale RIGHT NOW!

Last year Dallas was going to have its very own beer festival. Then it wasn't. Then it was again. And now, finally, tickets have gone on sale for the April 14 event at Fair Park. General admission tickets are $35, and if you draw the short straw and end up the designated driver you can get in for $2 ... More >>

Park and Rec Is Looking For Firm to Handle $27 Million Worth of Cotton Bowl Improvements

​Shortly before the 2011 kick-off of Texas-OU's annual clash at the Cotton Bowl we spoke with Willis Winters, Park and Rec's second-in-command, about the need to once again renovate the Fair Park stadium in order to keep the Red River Shootout in Dallas past the 2015 contract. Said Winters, it was ... More >>

Bring It On: The Musical Is a Silly, Soaring Celebration of Blood, Sweat and Cheers

It may never win a Tony but Bring It On: The Musical deserves a solid gold spirit stick for mixing the dynamic moves of those cheerleading competitions on ESPN with the happy-peppy singing and dancing by the kids on Glee. The national tour of the show, only loosely based on the movie starring Kirste ... More >>

What Does Mayor Mike, City's "Plan For Growth in Southern Dallas" Consist Of? Everything.

From Wednesday's briefing, a look at Bishop Arts in 1982 and today​Turns out there's nothing at all random about the day the city chose to debut its Seeds of Change website devoted to Southern Dallas. It comes just three days before Mayor Mike Rawlings unveils his so-called Southern Dallas Economi ... More >>

In the Dark, In the Cold, Counting the Homeless

The woman popped up from the pile of blankets she had laid out on a dirty patch of sidewalk and took a look at the ring of people surrounding her. She patted her woolen beanie self-consciously. "Why you takin' pictures?" she complained sleepily to a photographer. "I ain't put my hair on." Crystal ... More >>

Art, Revolution and Trying to Keep the Doors Open at South Dallas's Oldest African Art Gallery

A year and a half ago, the owners of Pan-African Connection Bookstore, Bandele Tyehimba and his wife Akwete, found out their building was being torn down and replaced with a dentist's office. They'd been at the location at the corner of Marsalis and Jefferson for more than 21 years. "I guess we were ... More >>

Park and Rec to Spend Time, Money Looking at Turning Exposition Plaza Into a Monument Park

​A few years back there were some questions on the Dallas Historical Society's chatboard about what in the wide, wide world of sports Exposition Plaza's supposed to be. Because, sure, you drive by the circular mini-park at Canton and Exposition all the time if you're heading from downtown to Fair ... More >>

Where The DCVB's Sending All Those Librarians Due to Descend Upon Downtown Next Week

​The American Library Association Midwinter Meeting's set for January 20-24 at the Dallas Convention Center, so you know what that means: Thousands of librarians, publishers and authors will be checking out the city for a few days. Perhaps the city can find someone amongst the bunch to lead the Da ... More >>

Good Friday Thursday: New Year Edition

​Last weekend was a little dead, y'know with Christmas and all, but this weekend is the opposite. In fact, there are so many New Year's Eve events worth checking out that we've got a separate massive list here.The biggest one, though, is easily the Dallas Observer-sponsored Lights All Night festiv ... More >>

God Hates Bowl Games? Westboro Baptist Will Ring in the New Year With Visit to Dallas.

​In a New York Times piece this morning, Penn State's interim head coach Tom Bradley acknowledges: Many of the Lions wanted to skip their trip to Dallas on January 2, when Penn State's scheduled to play Houston in the TicketCity Bowl at the Cotton Bowl in Fair Park. The reason, so they say: A spot ... More >>

You Can't Say This Is a Total Surprise: Dallas Summer Musicals Needs $5 Million Pronto

Via.Michael Jenkins​Only last week, following the Wilco-Nick Lowe two-fer, we asked: Why isn't the Music Hall at Fair Park, long ago a popular venue for pop music, used for more concerts? At which point we were told: That's certainly a possibility. Matter of fact, said Jayne Basse, who books the j ... More >>

Money Tight, the Dallas Historical Society Now Needs to Charge Admission to the Hall of State

Flickr user: Whatknot​At present, the Hall of State in Fair Park is closed to the public whilst it breaks down the "Texas!" exhibit that went up in time for, and lingered well after, the State Fair of Texas and attracted some 120,000 visitors during its run. But when it reopens at the beginning of ... More >>

Last Night: Wilco, Nick Lowe at the Music Hall at Fair Park

Last Night: Wilco, Nick Lowe The Music Hall at Fair Park November 29th, 2011 Better than: seeing Wilco at the UNT auditorium There was an emphasis on the noisier side of Wilco last night, and that was completely fine with the mostly-full Music Hall at Fair Park. The band, still in its definitive ... More >>

"You're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat" for Planet Shark at Museum of Nature and Science

Sharks are a bit of an evolutionary marvel. If you have any doubts, seeing Planet Shark: Predator or Prey, The Exhibition at the Museum of Nature & Science will surely lock it down for you. The exhibit also confirms that, contrary to popular belief, there is far more media hype than shark attacks ... More >>

City to Spread Gospel of Complete Streets Far and Wide, With Workshops and Pilot Projects

​The poster at right is for what could be the best Better Block event yet, scheduled to take place in and around the parking lot of R.L.'s Blues Palace No. 2 in the shadow of Fair Park -- an institution. Jason Roberts, QB for Team Better Block, says there are several choirs lined up to perform -- ... More >>

"Moving the System Forward": Once More, City to Hold Dallas Parks Summit at Fair Park

​One years ago, when Mayor Mike Rawlings was merely Park Board President Mike Rawlings, the city held its first-ever Dallas Parks Summit at the Music Hall at Fair Park. By way of invite in 2010, ad man Rawlings said this:"Walt Disney once said he didn't want the public to see the world where they ... More >>

But City's Suit Against Fair Park Train Museum Is Gone. Trains Will Be Too By Year's End.

​That beer and wine lawsuit's never going away. But the city's lawsuit against the Museum of the American Railroad in Fair Park, which first pulled on to the tracks in January 2010, is officially over. As of yesterday, matter of fact, which I discovered when pulling up that court jacket only to se ... More >>

City's Now Taking Bids For Transit-Oriented "Area Plans" and "Catalyst Project Concepts"

From A New Paradigm: Strategies for Revitalizing Dallas' Distressed Neighborhoods​In November of '09 we were introduced to St. Louis-based housing developer McCormack Baron Salazar, which was hired by The Real Estate Council to take a long, hard look at potential for development along the DART Gre ... More >>

Time For Another John Wiley Price Rally. This One, With Politicians and a Bounce House.

Click to embiggen your invitation​Speaking of a certain Dallas County commissioner ...The Dallas chapter of the National Black United Front, which is not to be confused with the People's Front of Judea, sends word of a daylong rally scheduled for August 20 at the Pan-African Connection Bookstore n ... More >>

At Back to School Fair, Mayor Rawlings, Fresh on the Job, Is Amazed by "The Scale of It"

Photos by Alex Scott, slide show here​With a bright blue Frisbee on his head and a blow-up ball hanging from his lips by its mouthpiece, 9-year-old Emanuel spins around in circles so fast, his new camouflage backpack lifts from his body like a parachute at the moment of landing. Today is his b ... More >>

Through the Looking Glass at OCP HQ

Photos by Justin Terveen​To those who helped made last night's RoboCop-at-OCP HQ event happen -- Downtown Dallas, Inc.; Brent Brown and his staff at the CityDesign Studio; the Dallas Film Society; and, of course, the promotions staff at the Observer -- a mighty "much obliged" this morning. Couldn' ... More >>

A Second Death Related to the 2011 Electric Daisy Carnival in Dallas?

​More news this afternoon about the 2011 Electric Daisy Carnival that took place this past weekend at Fair Park in Dallas: The Dallas Morning News and sister paper LA Weekly report that a 22-year-old named Kyle Raymond Haigis died late on Sunday morning after being struck by a tractor-trailer. Hai ... More >>

More Thoughts on Saturday Night's Electric Daisy Carnival at Fair Park in Dallas...

Kevin TodoraMost people at EDC Dallas seemed to be having a good time. For more images from the event, check out the slideshow of attendees.​ Still waiting on a lot of news this early afternoon in regards to Saturday night's Electric Daisy Carnival at Fair Park. All morning long city officials -- ... More >>

From Baltimore Sun's Files, Even More Photos From the Texas Centennial Exposition For Sale

From the archives of The Baltimore Sun​Twice now we've been fortunate enough to discover photos from the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition at Fair Park being disposed of on eBay by the Tribune Company. Now there's a third stack of old Baltimore Sun photos consisting of four shots, each one a nightt ... More >>

Electric Daisy Carnival

Saturday, June 18, at Fair Park

For Sale: Cache of Baltimore Sun Archival Photos of the Texas Centennial Exposition

From the archives of The Baltimore Sun​Not sure if you're aware of it, because damned if I've seen mention of this anywhere, but we're mere days away from the 75th anniversary of the opening of the Texas Centennial Exposition at Fair Park. Gates opened June 6, 1936, and it ran through the end of N ... More >>

CityArts Is the Best In Sensory Overload

At Ochre House, The Butcher Has Chops

The Bath House explores The Mystery of Miz Arnette, while Nouveau Frontiers keep reading.

Stumble On Over

Fashionably Eco-Friendly

Hop Inside the 500-Foot-Tall Fair Park Tower Ride With the Architect Who Designed It

​Couldn't make it to Monday's Landmark Commission meeting, during which there was discussion of the proposed 500-foot-tall Top of Texas Centennial Tower at Fair Park that State Fair of Texas president Errol McKoy hopes to plant in his summertime Midway. But this afternoon I spoke with Good Fulton ... More >>

Picture Show: Super Bowl XLV Party Performer Round Up

Eric GarciaSnoop! Snoop!​So, the ice finally thawed. Honestly, the weekend was looking a little disappointing right around the Prince cancellation, but the warmer weather brought out the big Super Bowl parties on Saturday. Downtown was buzzing. So was Uptown. Hell, so was everything. Over ... More >>

Super Bowl XLV Aces & Angels Party: My Top 10 Observer-ations

​10. Never really listened to Little Texas before last night's bash at Fair Park's Centennial Hall, but they do a pretty good rendition of KISS's "Detroit Rock City." Even Master of Ceremonies Gene Simmons was bobbing his head. 9. This just in: Nothing goes better with a cold shot of Jagermei ... More >>

Let's Bug Out

Your First Super Bowl Party Invite: The Village People at the Cotton Bowl. Wait. What?

​We are 59 days from kickoff of Super Bowl XLV in Arlington, and The Great Prostitution Invasion of '11 only feels like a long way off. But, no -- time to party plan. And yesterday, this invite arrived to a three-night-stravaganza at Fair Park starting February 3 called, simply, XLV Party. Better ... More >>

Last Night: Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience at The Music Hall at Fair Park

​Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin ExperienceFair Park Music HallNovember 18, 2010Better than: I could have ever expected.Not being a fan of cover or tribute bands, I ventured down to Fair Park Music Hall with quite a bit of trepidation. Sure, Jason Bonham was the son of John Bonham, the (sadly deceased ... More >>