New venues are laying roots around Downtown Arlington, and a few older ones have switched saddles. Steven Morris, Lamar High School’s former theater director, is now Theatre Arlington’s executive producer, while over at Arlington Music Hall, formerly Johnny High’s Country Music Revue, Mark Joeckel has taken the lead as general…
About 30 people, mostly Native American youth, filed into a small, upper room of an unassuming building in Oak Cliff. A drum began to beat. Members of the Soar Beyond Youth Mentor Organization were there to practice for the Dallas Women’s March, where they drummed and sang for missing and…
A new year, for some, may mean extreme change and a mad dash to The Container Store. When Marie Kondo’s Netflix series Tidying Up kicked off Jan. 1, the show brought new meaning to the phrase “thin is in” as the tiny, Japanese decluttering guru coached distraught couples into getting…
While working in the electronics department of a North Texas Walmart, Brandon Lewis used his homemade comedy shows to lure customers. Now, his DVD is selling on Walmart shelves across the nation, and he’s working on a second one. “[My movies] helped me sell TVs,” says the 37-year-old Dallas filmmaker…
Something has haunted Dave Lieber ever since he came to North Texas. And now, he’s written a book about it. “I’d been to four or five newspapers, and I never really experienced a ghost like that,” he says of Amon Carter Sr.’s lasting impression while working for two decades at…
“I want people to know Native Americans are still here,” says Damon Neal, a member of the Jicarilla Apache Nation. Neal, whose mother is Apache and whose father is of Cherokee, Wichita, Caddo and Delaware descent, will turn 41 on Friday. He spends about 25 percent of his time making…
While Tavern Carols might create images of cheerful clinks from frosty mugs at Christmastime, for Mark Mangrem, pastor of Gospel City Church, the program has another goal. “The purpose is just to introduce us to the community,” he says. While some people may not attend church on Sunday morning for…
Bollywood returned to Dallas last week as Spice in the City hosted Ark of the Rainbow’s biggest annual fundraiser. The event, which drew a full house, attracted supporters in Indian-themed attire hoping to alleviate poverty and human trafficking overseas through education. Dallas resident Christine Allen says she experienced life in…
Indie filmmaker Israel Marquez’s first foray into film was a short, silent flick. Now, the 45-year-old Grand Prairie resident has a feature-length film documenting part of the Texas music scene. Paz, Amor y Música The Alex Ruiz Story runs 90 minutes and was shot completely on a cellphone, Marquez says. It’s…
Thanks to a new app the Perot Museum of Nature and Science launched globally this week, armchair explorers can virtually discover ancient bones deep inside a South African cave. The museum went live Tuesday on Facebook to announce the global reach of its virtual reality app created by Groove Jones,…
A lot can change in 20 years, and the Crow Museum of Asian Art is flaunting what’s new. “We’re actually coming up on our 20th anniversary this December, so I think it was the right time for us to consider renovations and construction,” says curator Jacqueline Chao. “It’s all leading…
Victor Perry can’t stop smiling. After earning a broadcasting degree earlier this year from UTA, he’s working toward a second degree in public relations and getting ready to open a film studio in downtown Arlington. These days, the 51-year-old DeSoto resident has a lot to smile about. But he says…
Daytime succumbed to night and a light mist threatened rain as legendary Texas blues man Jimmie Vaughan took the stage at Levitt Pavilion. ”We’re really excited to see him and hear his music,” says Arlington resident Trace Ocanas, 32, while seated in a lawn chair beneath the clouds. “The Vaughan…
Country music singer Blake Shelton will pop into Billy Bob’s for a free concert Thursday, Sept. 20. Starting at 10 a.m., the first 5,000 fans who show up can snag a wristband that’ll get them into the spontaneous concert. “Wristbands will be placed on the first 5,000 guests in line…
Several local artists have joined the mix with films exploring themes ranging from natural hair to forbidden love and unjust justice. Their work will be highlighted during the Frame4Frame festival which runs Sept. 20-23. Dallas filmmaker Reginald Titus Jr. says he made Natural Hair the Movie after his wife, Ashanti,…
Wearing a short-sleeved, plaid shirt and black-rimmed glasses, Craig Woolheater didn’t look much like a hoaxter. The 58-year-old Euless resident and co-founder of the Texas Bigfoot Research Center, sat at a picnic table in Arlington’s River Legacy Park recalling how he was just a kid visiting his grandparent’s house in…
On the outskirts of Fort Worth, just past an iron gate with a musical note ornament, sits the cabin. Actually, two cabins are located on the five acres. One is a home built with logs from Willie Nelson’s original roadhouse. The other is a recording studio so serene it borders…
With the skill of a master showman, Stanley Marcus made luxury retail shopping a distinctive Dallas experience. Mr. Stanley: The Merchant Prince, a short film detailing his life, premiered last weekend in California. The six-minute film, which screened Saturday at the Jolla International Fashion Film Festival, has been nominated as…
An 8-year-old stops near a snack bar to grab a new pair of purple earplugs before heading to band practice. “We’re going to need these,” Ellie Johnson says. ”Our band is loud.” Johnson is part of Girls Rock Fort Worth, a weeklong summer camp that uses music education and workshops…
Edward Redmond wasn’t always a rebel bar owner. Redmond owns the Plaza Pub, which has been serving cold beer in east Arlington to smokers and nonsmokers alike since the 1950s. But the grace period for Arlington’s new smoking ordinance, which bans smoking inside bars, will expire soon, leaving some of…
Dallas will soon get a first look at an expanded exhibit of relics that shed light on the life of Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson’s enslaved concubine. If their relationship involved more than the obvious and occurred in another era, Hemings might have been first lady. The African American Museum at…
Age Of Napoleon The beautiful thing about podcasts is that one exists for probably any topic. Need to learn how to play pinochle in a weekend? Easy. Want someone to analyze every political subtext of Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid? Close your eyes and point to literally anywhere on your…
