Dallas / Fort Worth and Me

Last weekend, I caught the tail-end of the EDS Plano Balloon Festival. This is one of cool events that keeps the city of Plano on the map, and it’s one of the highlights of the local social year. I’ve only gone once before — it was back in the 1990s, and though I was alone, I had a pretty good time. See, this isn’t just a balloon exhibition; as with most festivals, there are vendors galore, selling everything from Pampered Chef products to vacations in the Cayman Islands. Last time I went, I bought a couple of nice hand-crafted deck chairs for the patio that lasted for about ten years. Wish I could remember the vendor I bought them from — they were a good deal, and I could use some more!

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On September 19, I attended an unusual event: the Addison Oktoberfest, a classic beer festival  that’s supposed to be the biggest outside of Munich. While I didn’t think it was all that huge, it was big enough, and we had a good time. Aside from a couple of tastings, though, we didn’t have any beer; it was simply too expensive. It was more expensive than airport beer, and that’s expensive indeed.

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In Part I of this entry, I treated you to my first impressions of Grapevine’s Grapefest, a festival that was new to me, despite having lived in DFW for more than 15 years.  Truth is, I don’t get over to Grapevine much, except to go to the Mall — and I’ve only been there a few times.

When last I left you, we were about halfway down the rather lengthy midway , very close to the town square. It included an attractive, old-fashioned gazebo style band shell, and this lovely piece of art, though I have to admit that this person got a better picture than I — they got the band shell in there, anyhow.

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On September 14, I attended one of the better festivals I’ve been to this year: the City of Grapevine’s annual Grapefest. That’s not just my opinion, incidentally; other reviewers agree! In addition to this great festival (which was surprisingly family oriented, despite the wine orientation), Grapevine already has a lot of things going for it, among them its railroad history, its quaint downtown, and of course the fantastic Grapevine Mills Mall (which I’ll get to very soon).

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All righty then! Let’s wrap this three-parter up with the dancing that makes a Pow Wow like this so enjoyable. I have to admit that I’m not very well versed on the dances themselves, or on the songs that go with them, so most of this entry is going to be devoted to the photos. I took about a hundred of them, and in this entry, I’ll present the best ten percent or so.

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Welcome back, Gentle Reader! Last entry, I introduced you to the 46th Annual Nation Championship Indian Pow Wow, which was so splendiferous that I actually visited it on two consecutive days (September 6-7).  Now, an event this big isn’t something you can easily review in a single entry, and so I didn’t even try. In fact, it’s gonna take three.

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First of all, folks, allow me to assure you that I haven’t fallen off the face of the Earth. I’ve been going places and seeing things and taking photos, all for your sake (it’s a hard life!), and now I’ve got several blog entries waiting and eager to be written. I’ve also been working on the 2009 Calendar of Events, which I’ll be unveiling shortly.  

Today, let’s talk about the 46th Annual National Championship Indian Pow Wow, one of many Pow Wows around the continent, which I visited at Trader’s Village in Grand Prairie this past weekend.   It was a fascinating cultural event, about which I’m going to have a lot to say — at least two entries’ worth, I suspect. 

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In my last exciting entry, I told you about my recent visit to the House of Blues in Dallas, which I rather enjoyed and heartily endorse to you all. When I left you, we were waiting for the band (Tokio Hotel) to come on stage. And waiting. And waiting.

That’s the Tokio Hotel symbol up there on the curtain, by the way.

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I spent the evening of August 27, 2008 (last night, as I write this missive) at the Dallas iteration of the House of Blues. HOB is a relatively new addition to the West End; it’s been there, at 2200 N. Lamar, only since 2007. I’ve never been inside before, much less to one of their many concerts, but I have to say this:  both are a kick. Especially when you’re rockin’ to a band as young and energetic as Tokio Hotel.

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To paraphrase an old Mark Chestnutt song, I’ll sure be glad when these ol’ dog days of summer are gone. There’s just not much brewing here in the middle of August, when it’s omigod hot and the days go on and on — what Southern novelist Babs Deal described as “acres of afternoon.”  You want to know what I’ve got planned for the rest of this month? Well, you’ve seen a lot of it already in my recent entries on July Jazz and Symphonic Saturdays, both of which we can thank the civic-minded Town of Addison for. So gracias, Addison, for doing your damnedest to keep culture alive as we slide slowly toward fall.

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