Dallas / Fort Worth and Me

Texas Through Yellow-Rose Tinted Glasses

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Entries from January 2008

Ripley’s Believe It or Not, Grand Prairie

January 31st, 2008 · No Comments

We all love odd and amazing things, right? Well, here’s a treat to enjoy while you’re visiting the Metroplex. On Highway 30 in Grand Prairie, halfway between Dallas and Fort Worth (and not far from Six Flags), sits this castle of commercialism, like something out of a Disney fantasy.

 

Long Shot 

Recognize it yet? No? How about…now?

Entrance

Don’t those onion domes and minarets kick architectural ass? Why yes. Yes they do. We don’t see that kind of thing all that often around here, except for the occasional mosque. Oh, and there’s that cool-looking Coptic Catholic Church in Richardson, which the congregation was very careful to identify as such with big banners right after 9/11.

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Tags: Attractions · Museums

The Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, Part II

January 27th, 2008 · No Comments

 

I’m back again, with the rest of my entry on the famous and fascinating Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, which will be in town at the Will Rogers Memorial Center through February 3, 2008. I left off last time just as we were about to enter the livestock area, which I’m sure you will all find most fascinating.

 

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Tags: Events

The Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, Part I

January 24th, 2008 · No Comments

 

I recently had the pleasure of attending the 122th annual celebration of the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo — or if you prefer, the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show, its other nom de plume.  Whatever you choose to call it, it’s a great big rural-themed expo. Think of something like unto the State Fair of Texas, except smaller, and held in the wilds of downtown Fort Worth instead of Dallas. You can buy funnel cakes and jumbo corn dogs for astonishing amounts of money; you can see exhibits; you can check out new automobiles;  you can even ride the Tiltawhirl and Octopus,  and stumble around a funhouse.

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Tags: Events

2008 Events in the DFW Metroplex

January 20th, 2008 · 10 Comments

The Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex is a happening place, with dozens of events to attend across the course of the year in the various towns and cities that make up this bustling metropolis. I’ll use this page keep track of what’s scheduled every month. I’ll continue to add events as they appear and the dates are firmed up, and it’s my intention to attend and write about these events as they happen, insofar as that’s possible. At the moment, the list is weighted heavily toward large tourist-oriented events like festivals and celebrations, but I’ll soon add big-name concerts and other top draws to the list. I’ll also insert new events as they’re announced or as I find them, so please check back regularly. With rare exceptions (such as the first game of the season), expect local sport events to have their own special page.

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Tags: Shopping · Events

Bass Performance Hall, Ft. Worth

January 17th, 2008 · 1 Comment

 

Downtown Ft. Worth has many things to recommend it, but one of the most majestic is the beautiful Bass Performance Hall.

Bass Performance Hall

Located in historic Sundance Square, just across the street from the famous Flying Saucer Pub, the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall Complex (as it’s officially known) takes up the entire block bound by Calhoun, Commerce, 4th and 5th streets. It’s described in its literature as “the crowning jewel of a city which boasts the nation’s third largest cultural district,” and yes, it definitely is that. Poor Dallas; compared to Ft. Worth, the Big D’s pretty much a cultural backwater, and the existence of the Bass — which would not be out of place in New York or the Continent, incidentally — just makes it all the more obvious.

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Tags: Live Music · Attractions · Architecture · Theaters

The Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame, Ft. Worth

January 13th, 2008 · No Comments

 

In the heart of the Fort Worth Stockyards, in a converted warehouse a few yards from the Visitor’s Center, lies the amazing historical repository known as the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame.

Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame Sign

Despite the name, it’s not merely a place where individual cowboys (and, yes, cowgirls) are lauded for their achievements; it’s also a storehouse of the items that working cowboys actually used in the heyday of the profession. They’ve also got a powerful large collection of wagons used by everyday people back in the 1800s and very early 1900s. Think of it as a hybrid facility that covers everything from frontier Texas life to modern rodeo, with the wagons acting as continuity, and you’re not too far off.

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Tags: Attractions · Museums

Six Flags Over Texas, Arlington

January 7th, 2008 · No Comments

In the so-called Mid-City of Arlington, Texas, nigh unto the Ballpark in Arlington where the Texas Rangers play baseball, lies the Metroplex equivalent of the Magical Kingdom: the Six Flags Over Texas amusement park. While there are other Six Flags parks scattered across the USA, this is the original.

 

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Tags: Attractions

2009 Events in the DFW Metroplex

January 3rd, 2008 · No Comments

This is a place holder and will be filled in with events from the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex for 2009.  Meanwhile check out the 2008 calendar.