by Danielle Longueville
Day One of Thin Line Fest X was nothing short of a family affair as Dentonians of all ages gathered to celebrate what we’re confident will be another successful year of film, music and photography. Read on to discover what you missed out on.
photo courtesy Mindy Arendt
From parking to pulled pork, the Juicy Pig couldn’t have been a more fitting place to get down Thin Line style. Volunteers were a-plenty and plenty helpful, food moved fast and the sound was on par. Some folks enjoyed the cool breeze of Juicy Pig’s AC, while the the fest vets kept it outside to enjoy local yokels The Raised Right Men and their myriad of country covers and original tunes. It’s been so long since we’ve been to Juicy Pig that we’d almost forgotten about the perfection that is their delicious BBQ. For about $8, we enjoyed the melt-in-your-mouth chopped brisket sandwich and cold-brewed hibiscus tea so good we had to pass on the $2 Lone Star Tall Boys (because we’re “adults” and space out our libations ALL weekend, thank you.) The small colony of Denton babes (actual Denton babies) doing what babies do - dance like quasi-drunk adults - were an adorably fitting reminder that “Damn, Denton is the place to raise your cultured babes.” It felt like a familiar family BBQ, but without the awkward conversation.
Thin Line Board Directors were behind every corner, reclining while there was still time. “Opening Night is easiest because we’ve scheduled everything in a staggering fashion. Everyone can enjoy a taste of what the fest has to offer all weekend, but in smaller bites” quoted Booking Director Dallas Guill.
Once the tunes were put to rest, we made our way over to Campus Theatre for the world-premiere screening of Waking the Sleeping Giant, a powerful documentary covering the 2016 elections and fight for civil rights. Thin Line blessed us with a surprise call-in from Democracy Now host Amy Goodman, who shared a few empowering words about her work both in and out of the documentary. For a moment, we were back in the rallying days of Bernie’s campaign, a pretty bittersweet moment, but we managed. The film was everything it needed to be: honest, personal, and hopeful. The stories of fellow Americans fighting in their respective movements for political change were genuine and beautiful. It’s safe to say we loved it and can’t wait for future screenings.
Though we missed out on what we’re sure was the best performances ever by Kim Nall & the Fringe and Danny Diamonds down at Dan’s Silverleaf, you can bet we’ll be out and about the rest of this weekend celebrating Thin Line X with the rest of Denton. We hope to see y’all there, too.