In the last few weeks Fort Worth has played host to Main Street Arts Fest, PrairieFest, Fred’s Fest, and Mayfest.
So, if you’ve had your fill of the -fests, you should try something different this weekend: The Fairmount Home Tour. (Of course, if you’re not tired of -fests, then you should make your way over to the Fairmount Home Fest instead. It’s way cooler.)
Enjoy cocktails, Cafe Modern cuisine, and the sweet sounds of the Tom Reynolds Trio from 5 to 8 p.m. at this month’s First Friday at The Modern. A docent-led, 20-minute spotlight tour of the galleries starts at 6:30 p.m. The tour is free for Modern members and Star-Telegram Press Pass Holders.
Dinner will be served from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. and includes featured specials created by Executive Chef Dena Peterson. For reservations, call 817.840.2174.
It was a bit windy at Mayfest yesterday evening, but for an event that has seen cataclysmic weather events in the past it was hardly even noticeable.
I went to see one of my favorite bands, The Gourds, play an amazing set. If you’ve never heard The Gourds, you really missed out. They have a style as broad as Texas, drawing from bluegrass, tex-mex, zydeco, and good old rock-and roll. And the lyrics are razor sharp and smart (for example, they’re the only band I know can pull off working the lyric “Pythagorean Theorem” into a song).
Since my bike is my primary mode of transportation, I’m constantly getting lines like, “I wish I could ride my bike everywhere I needed to go.”
My usual reply: “You can.” Which is then met with myriad excuses, “But I have a kid. And I do a month’s worth of grocery shopping at a time. And I buy lumber frequently. Blah, blah, blah.”
Anyway, for this year’s Panther City Bicycles PrairieFest display, I decided to show people just how much stuff you can really carry on a bike… if you want to. I packed the entire “booth” on my new bike, the Surly Big Dummy, and rode from the Near South Side over to Tandy Hills Nature Area.
We had a great time today out at Tandy Hills Nature Area, talking to fans and hopefully new readers. Don Young has created an amazing thing with this festival, and we were thrilled to be a part of it!
Today’s podcast was recorded live at Prairie Fest, and the usual crew was joined by new friend of W&C, Brad Newman. We hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed recording it.
Last Friday’s Modern ‘Til Midnight went off well, as always. Steph and I worked our way over a little after 7:30, which meant we got there just in time to enjoy the musical stylings of The Theater Fire. Having never heard these guys before, I must say I enjoyed their set very much. Their music is more or less unclassifiable, blending a wide variety of elements and instruments (mariachi horns, accordion, mandolin, etc.). They pretty much rock. I grabbed both their albums off iTunes the next day. (The dancing cowboy hippies that accompanied their set were entertaining, as well.)
Just a quick reminder that we’re having a haiku contest Saturday at Prairie Fest. Stop by the West & Clear tent and say hi, give us an earful, a hug, whatever. While you’re there, drop some Japanese poetry on us and you might win a sweet prize!
If you’re looking for a respite from the nuttery that is Main Street Arts Festival, here are a couple of options:
Fort Worth Public Art is holding a symposium at McDavid Studio with Cliff Garten and Christopher Janney, two of the people who will be creating the sound and lightscape around and along Lancaster Ave. (Ok, so it’s still art-related, but at least it’s air-conditioned, and it doesn’t cost 13 tickets.)
If you want to get out of downtown altogether, there’s still one more day of University Christian Church’s Earth Day celebration. Jenna and I went over there yesterday, and they’ve got a great setup, with tons of vendors and presentations planned.
I hope to see you out and about!
, Previous
