Keep Denton Beautiful's annual Redbud Festival is one of our favorite festivals in Denton. The Arbor Day celebration takes place every year at the Denton Civic Center and features music, classes, environmental information, food, a fashion show and plenty more (did we mention free baby trees?). The award-winning festival is now in its 24th year and keeps getting better and better. Front and center at this year's Redbud Festival is the TRASHion Fashion program which promotes creative reuse by creating "wearable art" out of materials that would otherwise have been discarded. Read on for more info on Redbud and a preview of this year's TRASHion Fashion designs!

The City of Denton's Solid Waste and Recycling Department, SCRAP Denton, Keep Denton Beautiful and a few other local organizations use the design initiative to invite designers of all ages to create clothing (or what they call "wearable art") from materials that would otherwise end up recycled or in a landfill. Participants of TRASHion Fashion have had a couple of months to work on their designs and environmental factoid. Multiple workshops were held at SCRAP Denton. Last week, Denton ISD's Commercial Photography class took photos of the designers and models to help promote the event and give the entries an opportunity to pose for professional photos. Davanti Salon volunteered their amazing services to come out and do hair and makeup for all of the models.

The above designs (including a few others) will walk down the runway on Saturday at noon. Judging will be done by some local fashion and environmental experts and then multiple winners will be awarded prizes. Who do you think will win this year?

So head on down to the Civic Center (321 E. McKinney) on Saturday morning to catch some live music, learn about the environment, eat some delicious food, and then catch a quick fashion show. You can even get a free tree by sitting through a 20-minute class (and it isn't even a time-share tree)! Both you and your kiddos will have a great time. Find out more on Keep Denton Beautiful's website.

Below you can find the Redbud Festival's event schedule so you can plan accordingly.

March 26, 2018

EVEN MORE DENTON WOMEN OF DISTINCTION

Women’s History Month is the perfect time to revisit some of the amazing Denton ladies who have been town saviors, trailblazers, hellraisers, social activists, and pioneers. Heck, over at TWU is the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame and the archives for the WWII WASP Archives, so you know there are stories a’plenty to tell. Here are a few more of our local favorites, including a 1920’s newspaper publisher, a tiny songstress with a big voice, and a political crusader.

It's Time For Taste of North Texas

Once a year in Denton, many of our local restaurants and bars get together for a good cause and make their food and drinks available for roughly the price of a single restaurant meal. This year’s event will feature around 35 participants, including a great mix of established Denton institutions (hi, Beth Marie’s!) and places that are new to Denton.

February 19, 2018

2018 DENTON MINI MAKER FAIRE

What image pops into your head when someone uses the word “maker”?

The images that tend to appear in the mind—not to mention Google’s image search—involve wires and circuit boards. As important as those skills and the people who enjoy them are, they only represent one type of maker. Many skills can fall under the maker umbrella, whether it’s programming robots to make pancakes or turning a bicycle wheel into a musical instrument. Artists, scientists, crafters, and engineers can all be considered makers. If you can take a set of materials and transform them into something cool, you are welcome in the maker community!

December 1, 2017

DO THE DENTON HOLIDAY LIGHTING FESTIVAL LIKE A PRO

One of our favorite holiday traditions, the Holiday Lighting Festival, is this weekend. The annual free event features music, food, performances, a toy drive, and various other holiday activities. Happening simultaneously to the Holiday Lighting Festival is Wassail Weekend. Dozens of local shops extend their hours and welcome patrons to sample their wassail, a hot cider-like beverage. Wassail Weekend On Friday evening the Downtown Denton square will be shut down to traffic to make way for wassail-guzzling pedestrians to walk around and enjoy all of the festivities. You'll find us circled 'round the tree like the Whos down in Whoville, holding hands and singing with joy. We're not sure who the Grinch is in this situation, though.

If you plan on coming out to sample the wassail and find the joy of the holiday in your cold, black heart, here are our tips and tricks to making sure you get to squeeze as much holiday cheer out of the event as possible.

November 9, 2017

THE MANY FACES OF DENTON'S FINE ARTS THEATER

There’s been a lot of buzz around the recent arrival of the oft-rumored Fine Arts Theater hitting the real estate market, with a hefty pricetag in the ballpark of $1.5 million. Owned by the McBride family since 1983 with high hopes of renovation, there were overtures in 2014 and then renewed interest in 2016 but alas… it has never come to pass. A recent episode of the Politically Denton podcast explored some of the backstory and future possibilities, but I figured it would be a hoot to have a look back at the history of this iconic spot from back in the day.

November 7, 2017

THE BEST THANKSGIVING WE EVER HAD

Ever been to a pop-up dinner? More over, ever heard of a pop-up dinner? The events are normally one-offs in which facilities become restaurants for one night only and feature special food prepared by up and coming chefs. Pop-up dinners are gaining in popularity across the country and you have a chance to check one out in Denton this week! On November 9th at Denton County Brewing Company there will be a pop-up dinner featuring the food of Chef Chad Kelley from Barley and Board that will be paired with beers selected by Seth Morgan of Denton County Brewing Company. Read on to find out more info on this great Denton dining opportunity.

November 1, 2017

DENTON STARTUP WEEKEND 2017

Entrepreneur. It’s kind of a dumb word if you think about it, and to most people (especially students) it carries some buzzwords with it that seem very business-y. When I first heard “entrepreneur," I thought to myself, “That’s for people in the college of business.” It never really struck me as, “I’m an entrepreneur,” even though looking back on my life, I’ve been an entrepreneur since I was a kid. Everything from trading Pokémon cards, making beaded bracelets and necklaces, and burning CDs for friends before we learned we probably shouldn’t were all entrepreneurial endeavors that were abundant in my youth (as they probably were in yours).

That’s the thing, though. Being an entrepreneur isn’t about putting on a suit jacket or making apps. It’s about making a living doing something you love, while making sure other people love it too (that’s what we call customer validation). And this is one of the things I learned going through Startup Weekend.

Click through to read more about the upcoming Startup Weekend taking place in Denton, TX.

October 31, 2017

STOKE UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT

Since opening in August of 2016, Stoke, Denton’s entrepreneur center and co-working space, has provided space for local businesses, entrepreneurs, freelance workers, and remote workers. The center has also hosted a variety of educational, professional networking, and social events. There has been formal and informal mentoring for new entrepreneurs and collaboration between several of the businesses located at Stoke. All of these things have provided great benefit to Denton’s tech and business communities, allowing them to contribute more to the Denton community and economy.

TRASHION FASHION AT REDBUD FESTIVAL PREVIEW

SPONSORS:

RECENT POSTS:

WDDI FAVORITES: