A Few More Details About Three-Day Long Wingding Set to Open Margaret Hunt Hill

Just heard a little-girl yelp coming from Schutze's office; he must have received the same email I just did concerning the opening-weekend ceremonies scheduled March 2-4 for The Santiago Calatrava Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge to Ray's. We've known this was coming for a while now, and there's another press conference for Friday concerning a separate "Bridge-o-Rama" event involving the West Dallas Chamber, the Kessler, La Reunion and the CityDesign Studio. But today's announcement is a separate thing altogether -- the Trinity Trust's Official Wingding full of bold-faced named (Ron Kirk, Laura Miller, Tom Leppert, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Pete Sessons, Eddie Bernice Johnson) and price tags for parties. As in:

The Friday night event on the bridge (promising "food, fireworks and festivities") is open to all ... all, that is, who can afford the $200 ticket. Then, from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday is the 8th Annual Trinity River Levee Run (5K and 10K), followed immediately by what's being billed as the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge Celebration Street Fair that runs till 9. Then, on Sunday at 7:15 a.m., comes the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge Celebration Sunrise Blessing and Ribbon Cutting. Schutze will preside from the side of his solar-powered water taxi.

There's also a new tagline for the whole thing: "Bridging The Trinity: For The Love Of The City." In other words: Suspense, it would seem, is no longer building, right, event chair Lynn McBee? "The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge changes the landscape of the Dallas skyline and is a marker for the Trinity River Corridor. The opening celebration will be the first time citizens can walk on the bridge, while also enjoying a weekend of festivities and city pride." There you go, citizens.