About a month ago, Patrick Michels sat in on the planning session for Deep Ellum's attempt to build a Better Block, a la Oak Cliff's two experiments with taking back the streets. Today, organizer Brandon Castillo sends more details -- as in, when and where. Castillo had hoped to stage the event last month. But he says he held off till this month in order to coincide with the Halloween on Elm Street event planned from 11 a.m. till 5 p.m. on October 30; that's also the date of the next Deep Ellum Open Market.
Brandon sends along the following details:
DEOM will be putting forth their version of the Oak Cliff initiative to convert the street as a means of transportation to an actual destination. Event coordinators will be temporarily reducing the 2700 block of Elm Street from 2 lanes of automobile traffic to 1, adding a 6ft bicycle lane and bike racks, and doubling the size of the sidewalks to accommodate more pedestrians and extending the patio spaces for bars and restaurants down the street.More details here and here. And more info about Halloween on Elm Street follows.
Dallas, TX 10/12/2010 - The next Deep Ellum Outdoor Market, recent winners of the Dallas Observer Award "Best Time of the Month," will have a delayed event date this month in order to celebrate Halloween on Elm Street, which will feature the Better Block Project of Deep Ellum in conjunction with DEOM, on Saturday, October 30., from 11am to 5pm.
DEOM will be putting forth their version of the Oak Cliff initiative to convert the street as a means of transportation to an actual destination. Event coordinators will be temporarily reducing the 2700 block of Elm Street from 2 lanes of automobile traffic to 1, adding a 6ft bicycle lane and bike racks, and doubling the size of the sidewalks to accommodate more pedestrians and extending the patio spaces for bars and restaurants down the street.
Meanwhile, it will be business as usual for the Deep Ellum Outdoor Market, which will feature over 40 local vendors and live music by one man blues band Joe Tucker from Denton, TX. Lemongrass Cafe has donated their parking lot on Elm St. to help us accommodate more vendors in the middle of the Better Block Project.
Halloween on Elm Street will also feature additional activities for people of all ages. There will be a neighborhood walkabout, where costumed individuals march down the newly created Better Block sidewalks to the beat of a drum line from a local high school. Individuals who participate in the walkabout are eligible to win prizes in a costume contest. There will be creative arts activities for children, and "Slaughterhouse," a haunted house on Elm St., will open its doors during the daytime to provide scary thrills at the west end of the Better Block Project.
The Deep Ellum Outdoor Market is located at 2820 Indiana Blvd, behind Cafe Brazil at the corner of Elm St and Malcolm X Blvd. Both DEOM and the Better Block Project will run from the hours of 11am to 5pm on Saturday October 30, 2010. DART Rail's Green Line features easy access to the Market from the Baylor University Medical Center Station. Deadline for booth space registration is October 22.
