WHAT WE DID: JUNE 23RD 2014

We're damned close to hitting 4,000 #WDDI tags on Instagram (as of this post it's within 50). We thought we wouldn't get to that number what with this weekend's rain and all, but a little rain never stopped Dentonites from having a good time. Especially in the summertime when living is easy, right? Just as always, y'all seemed to be everywhere over the wet weekend. Keep on taggin' those 'grams with #WDDI and we'll see you back here next week when we hit 4,000 tags!

A little rain may move us inside, but when the inside gives you bourbon and a great view that ain't such a bad thing. 

FREE DAY AT THE WATERPARK

A local radio station sponsored a free day at Denton's Waterworks park if you texted them and showed up between 10am and noon. While we heard some compare the level of crowdedness to that of communist China, you can't really beat a free entry to the waterpark on a sunny day. 

Keep cool and stay classy, Denton. By the way, red-haired eight year old, you hit me with that water cannon again and you'll regret it. 

@klt8 snapped a beautiful shot of our square from the LSA rooftop which has quickly become one of Denton's best picture-taking locales and an easy way to "accidentally" block people from walking up or down a staircase.

Wondering if the chairs on the ceiling in the new Hoochie's is a thing or just a way to keep stuff off the floor? We'll all find out soon it seems... 

Another great view of Lil D through some windows on Hickory. This shot was snapped by @beardnbeerd. 

One of our favorite signs around town. Photo cred goes to @klt8. 

Did you know that The DIME store carries work from over 50 local makers? Pretty talented little town huh? Photo and awesome chalk by @dimehandmade. 

Rain about to descend on Denton. views from the post office by @camilleporter1. 

A vintage coffee grinder snapped by @mandykhampton in the courthouse museum right now. That place seems to be getting cooler and cooler. 

Have you checked out The Forge at the Denton Public Library's North Branch location yet? If not, do so soon! They have computers packed to the wazoo with great programs, multiple 3d printers, and a nice quiet work space. More on that soon!

But - really, it is though. Thanks for the reminder @katiekernan. Kernan teaches art classes in the summer for kids. Check out her Facebook page for more info on upcoming classes!

Good people helping out with a good cause. The Live United Day of Action was a success for all of those involved. Thanks for being a part of it and helping to put it together, @xtiffanyyoungbloodx! Lots of stuff got done and we've seen plenty of new paint on walls. 

An intro to screen printing class taught by @sundayprintshop at @scrapdenton was a success! Check out @scrapdenton for a full line up of their adult summer workshops. 

@dentonpubliclibrary thinks this 8 year old has civil engineering in his future by the looks of his stable and sound 'book bridge'. "Buildings and Bridges" was just one of the many summer programs the library is offering. You can find more here. 

THAT SOCCER THING Y'ALL LIKE

@sarabutton and friends were caught painting the chapel of the local Salvation Army and doing good deeds during the United Way's Day of Action. 

Photographer @melissalaree snapped @zackmitchellart drawing portraits and caricatures at East Side - keeping in tradition with Denton artists being creative just about anywhere and everywhere. 

Track Tuesday,  was the first video shot by new series Denton Staged, a series of shorts featuring local musicians. If you just moved here or can't recognize book shelves, that's Recycled Books in this shot. 

Twilight Tunes moved over to Banter when the grass got all gross and soggy, but that didn't stop Gravity Feed from jamming out. They literally rocked their own socks off, it appears. @mkernan was there to catch all of the good good tunes and action. 

From just about every angle @thepaigels is glad to call this place home. 

This is how Glen Farris goes on a Target run. 5,000 lbs of bananas anyone? 

@leslieminton urges us to all try out Rising Sun Cafe. From the looks of this BLT we all should heed her advice. No taco picture to end on this week. Y'all are kinda letting us down. This is taco-season, jerks. 

WHAT WE DID: MAY 27th

...aaaaand the long (much needed) weekend is done. We hope y'all had an awesome Memorial Day. We sure did. It seems as if we all needed a relaxing weekend. We think that Denton truly does the three-day weekend justice. Y'all know how to party and play like pros whether it be catching some live music, being outdoors or eating way way too much chili. 

Keep on taggin' those pics and 'grams with #wddi to make it to next week's round up of snapshots.

@orangerageous enjoyed a local ale and skinny dip on his three-day weekend. This looks like a public pool, though, so maybe make that dip a bit less skinny. 

@bwdaskam kept it scenic with a trek through the greenbelt after getting back from California and touring Huy Fong Foods. 

@jadewintersee enjoyed the fruits of her labors, some fresh-from-the-garden peruvian carrots and a few thrift store finds. 

CHILI COOKOFF

Local brews, hand crafted cocktails, Hares on the Mountain and loads of sunscreen were all a part of the annual Golden Jesus: Chili Cook Off, which has been a Denton mainstay since 2004. Dozens of people gathered to hang out, eat some fine chili and day drink. The photos above were taken by local photographer extraordinaire (and friend of the blog), Shaina Sheaff, whom we interviewed last December. 

@besely spotted (or created - we're not sure) a little beer-ful artwork at East Side. While we're on the subject, who has the best table graffitti in town? 

@rowdybridges got a killer shot of our downtown in the middle of a gorgeous sunset. 

All kinds of Denton folks are proud to show off that they're a part of Lil' d. 

@sprocketsbicycleshop is almost open in their new location on the square! Can't wait for this cycle and cupcake fusion shop. Make sure to stop by and hang out on Saturday, June 7th!

Another great shot of some show-y sky by @txbhrtfld.

@pattythedoxie caught a snap of that double rainbow from Sunday evening that had Instagram all a-twitter. No one asked, "What does it mean?" though, so that was nice. 

MUSIC

@thepaigels caught The O's at Dan's over the weekend. 

Pink Smoke jammed at J&J's - photo cred to @birdsaremean. 

The O's by @dentonobserver

Daniel Markham was also caught creating great music at Dan's. Photo by the @dentonobserver.

@shainasheaffphoto had the pleasure of shooting the One O'Clock jazz band during a recording session. 

A little live music and LSA's awesome view of the courthouse were a part of @cd7383's weekend fun. 

The new East Side painting. We dig it. 

Spotted by @bwdaskam, Denton Sriracha delegate extraordinaire, while exploring Huy Fong. 

Behind the scenes shooting for an upcoming United Way video. 

PEOPLE SITTING ON STUFF

@alexsparks Keeps Exploring. 

Photo by @digijordan. #KIDSONKEGS

@katiekernan caught a local production of The Hobbit. We hear that kids loved it. 

@jadewintersee posed in her yard full of sunflower stalks. 

@dentonkate went to the Renaissance Fair and found out a little more about her future... 

@veeveemarie shares in the sentiment of Recycled Books. 

This is what Fry Street looks like once the students are gone - even the sky is happy. Photo by @zach_ashcraft. 

@veronica_n_denton had a tasty looking Wafffle Wagon moment.

A vegan cupcake tower by @whitedaisybakery makes everyone feel their sweet tooth.

Taco porn courtsey of @shainasheaffphoto has us drooling. Maybe we should do an "all taco" What We Did. Maybe Cinco De Mayo was the week to do that. Oh well. 

WHAT WE DID: APRIL 21ST

Sunday evenings we take a gander at all of the lovely photos y'all took over the past week as you went about town, doing what ya did. We select our faves, throw 'em all together and write some silly captions to accompany them. We call it "What We Did," but it's really more of what "y'all" did than anything else. It's one of our favorite columns and for good reason. This week we thankfully didn't have to put up with any more damned rainbows, but instead were treated to grub from food trucks, records, and some Easter Egg huntin'. 

Check out the following photos from We Denton Do It readers and staff to see what Denton has been up to for the past few days. Thanks for sharing your weekend with us, Denton, and, as always make sure to tag your fun photos with #WDDI this week! 

---

"Oh, you're an artist? What medium do you work in?"
"I dabble in steamrollers."
"Oh, that's cool I guess." 

UNT does it right makin' prints with rented steam rollers. We want one! Photo by our historical buddy, Shaun Treat. 

We often overlook how nice it can be to drive a bit north to Lake Ray Roberts. @shainasheaffphoto spent her Sunday there shooting beautiful things. 

@jesskachav and her friend found the only cinnamon roll in town they couldn't defeat thanks to Loco Cafe. Kinda thinkin' we should do a cinnamon roll shootout between this and Royal's and gain ten pounds. 

@hollyintexas and crew browsed around the Community Market on Saturday. Did ya know that the Denton Design Co. sells ties and scarves with prints of the courthouse on 'em?!

@shainasheaffphoto captured the true essence of Denton. We agree with a commenter who called this photo very "Annie Leibovitz-y." 

@hollyintexas 'grammed the sidewalk chalk graffiti argument on Industrial St. 

The Grand Opening of the Austin St. Truckstop

Denton's first food truck park opened up last Wednesday. We were there (along with a few hundred other people) to check it out and took a few pics. 

TACOS FROM SAY KIMCHI

DOUGHBOYS

KIMCHI FRIES

SAY KIMCHI WAS HERE FROM DALLAS

@thepinkantler hopped the DART to the A-Train to make it back to Denton from Dallas without all the nasty traffic. 

@hollyintexas caught our favorite hashtag on the chalkboard... we dig it. Thankful nobody turned the #WDDI into genitals...yet. 

Burger Time Machine proved to have an excellent burger. @thepinkantler can attest to the greatness of the tots too. 

Nathan Williams of Sunday Print Shop designed one of the best shirt designs we've seen in recent years. Check out Bryce Olcon's visage on this insane T. 

Photo by Jade Winter Chessman. 

Who has the best caption for this shifty-eyed dog owned by one Sara Button? Photo by Shaina Sheaff. 

Darts at Paschall's. Photo by Paige Gibson. 

Record Store Day

Saturday was National Record Store Day again. Mad World had a line down to the end of LSA. We scoped out both Mad World and Recycled and got some good scores. We also saw some pretty great cat drawings at Recycled. 

Some people really dress up to go to the square. Photo by @phototerminus.

Spring has sprung. Quick! Throw your lady in front of some blossoms and take a picture. Photo by Taylor Bunch. 

Damn good fish sandwich at Rooster's. Photo by @hollyintexas.

Quit stealing all the copper mugs, y'all! Photo by  @wishmynamewas who most likely did not steal this mug because otherwise the evidence would be too damning. 

We've got a review of the recently redone Cups and Crepes comin' this week. Enjoy this photo of their "huddy" in the meantime. 

Easter Egg Hunt at Cross Timbers. Photo by Bryce Olcon. 

Candidates debate at Dan's. Photo by Paige Gibson. 

Aaron Aguilar can't wait for Cultivar to open (along with Hypnotic Donuts). Don't worry, Aaron. We're in the same boat. They were even recently voted best coffee shop in Dallas. 

The Adult Easter Egg Hunt at OSDH got violent and fast. Photo by the battle-wounded Sara Norman. 

We love seeing this many creative people from different industries in the same room. Ryan Polly, Julian Pastrana and Daniel Routh are hard at work on something. We're assuming it'll be awesome. Photo by Daniel Routh. 

Wait. Didn't we already post this picture up above? Yes. We did. You noticed. You're probably the only one who read this far down. Either way, we're impressed. Please find one of us and tell us the codeword, "Cookie Crisp!" to receive your prize. Photo by @hollyintexas again. 

Oh yeah. We co-hosted a candidate debate at Dan's last week. Did you go? We hope so. If not, Christopher Walker did the hard work of creating this rundown of candidates' answers. 

WHAT WE DID: APRIL 14TH

This was one of those classic Denton weekends. You know, the ones where you get drinks with friends, the weather is nice, and you nosh on food truck goodies all the while making sure to attend the many events around town. On Saturday, the square was hopping with people celebrating our heritage in costume, putting on a show like it was 1861. After having our hearing a little altered from the canons, we grabbed locally roasted beans from the Community Market before heading over to the Redbud Festival to see what the kids are doing to keep their closets sustainable with the Trashion Fashion show. Stuff like that makes Saturdays in Denton awesome. We know you guys were out and about as well, because we say all of your awesome pics. 

Keep having all of the fun, and tagging those pics with #wddi to keep us up on all of your Denton shenanigans! 

East Side Social Club is climbing the ranks of the best graffiti in town. @sara_button made sure to add to the creative wordplay those tables have become. 

The Explorium had a fundraiser last week at Oak St. Drafthouse featuring catapults, Legos and The Waffle Wagon. 

@thepaigles enjoyed some fried deliciousness from the Waffle Wagon. A great way to get in all of the important food groups; fried dough, chicken and maple syrup. 

We are pumped that @bellandoak has finally launched their online store and started selling their products inside Weldon's Western Wear. Stop by and get some awesome handmade leather goods ASAP!

University (and flag) day at UNT. Photo by Naomi Woods. 

"Buy a beer get a free shirt from Pan Ector Day" at Lou's is one of our favorite days. We're obviously not alone. Photo by @mkernan. 

Hey @jadewintersee - we totally support that taco decision! 

Burgers and bluegrass Friday evening. Photo by Courtney Craggett.

The Redbud Festival was this past Saturday and the Trashion Fashion program had their runway show complete with winners, dancing and Recyclesaurus Rex. 

Cody Sharp is man enough to go for the ten pepper infused tequila at Mulberry St. Cantina. 

The 2nd annual Serve Denton Gala. Thanks for serving our community, dudes! Photo by Joshua Piers.

Bigfoot got spotted in an original musical at UNT last weekend. Photo by Erin Nicole. 

@dimehandmade was feeling good supporting local makers all day Saturday... just as they do everyday. 

Nite is playing J and J's on Tuesday as part of CollageDNTN. Photo by Bryce Olcon. 

Sometimes we forget how awesome Rose Costumes is and then we see photos like this. Remember that one OJ Simpson window display they had way back when? Oh you don't? "Who's OJ Simpson?" you say? Now we feel old. Photo by @Coffeecatkid.

Mother Falcon played Dan's last week and it was awesome. Photo by Corey Van Hunter.

Y'all sick of these rainbows yet? Photo by Darby McFall. 

Cats and printing. Photo by Nathan Williams.

The Community Market was open for weekend #2. Wildflower Art Studio was there. 

One of the many reasons we love Scrap Denton is because we can thank them for awesome yarn bombings such as the one you see above. Photo by Rachel Nichelson.

@Courtney Craggett

Springtime makes the cows look prettier. Photo by Paige Gibson. 

Paschall's bartender Alphonso Quiñones even makes awesome drinks in his offtime.

Art sale at Mulberry St. Cantina this past Saturday. One month until the next one. Photo by @buttonupdenton. 

And some taco porn for y'all from El Taco Rico courtesy of Shaina Sheaff. 

WHAT WE DID: APRIL 7TH

Between storms and music festivals, spring in Denton is a busy time of the year. We didn't have any music festivals last week, but we had a storm big enough to cover for it. Y'all got hail damage? We sure do. Aside from that, the Community Market is back in swing and The DIME Store celebrated it's 1st birthday party. We're just trying to keep up. 

Thanks for documenting your weekend activities and tagging them with #WDDI. We'll see ya again next Monday with more of the same!

The DIME Store's 1st Birthday Party

The CVB has put up a giant chalk board on Industrial to encourage people while the E. Grand Hickory renovations are going on. They'll be asking a new question and they have chalk below for you to put up your answers. So far we're impressed to see how clean everyone has kept it. Impressively mature, Denton. Photo by @mbryceo. 

The DIME Store turned one over the weekend and we were there with a photobooth to take some photos of the attendees on their backyard bash. 

Photo by @mkernan.

The DIME Store had a Birthday Bash with some extra special vendors serving up all kinds of backyard fun! We're so happy they're here and a part of our community!! Photo by @wildflowerart. 

@savviedesign spent her Saturday at the Backyard Birthday Bash celebrating the one year birthday of the DIME Store! 

The Storm

Oh man. That storm, y'all. Hail, followed by more hail and a possible tornado, hail for a third time and then an ice cream truck showed up. That's how it went down on Austin St., at least. #TornadoSelfies didn't catch on, sadly. Here are a few photos of the storm, some of the destruction and the ironically beautiful sky that followed.  

Photo by Paige Gibson. 

Photo by Paige Gibson. 

Photo by Jillian Zamora

Photo by ashley cook

Photo by Hannah Kane

Photo by Cali

Photo by Kim McClellan

Photo by Taylor Bunch. 

Photo by Zach Ashcraft. 

Photo by Rachel Nichelson. 

Photo by bsbassist. 

The crawfish were right on at the Mudbug Boil at @dansilverleaf this weekend! 

Kiddos were arting it up at the opening of the Denton Community Market on Saturday morning! Photo by @mkernan.

@shainasheaffphoto and friends raised a glass this weekend at Oak Street Drafthouse. 

@lcd7383 enjoyed mimosas and board games on that rainy Sunday. 

New signage uncovered on the square. Photo by Denton Camera Exchange. 

This was the special at Paschall's last week. Photo by one of our favorite bartenders, @Alph0nso. 

@veeveemarie had an impressive looking lunch at Weinberger's. 

@paperlocket shared their love for this town through a square filled photo. 

@serynsounds played a fancy house show with @panhandlehouse - and @jadewintersee made sure to gram it! 

MR FARRIS GOES TO CITY HALL: NOVEMBER

We've been attending all sorts of meetings for you lately, Denton, and we've got so much info about things that are coming up that we just had to write another column about it. This is that column. Read on to get in the know. 

First and foremost, lovely purveyor of all things donuts and chicken biscuits, Hypnotic Donuts, will open their Denton location in early 2014! They'll be a sort of entry way onto the square with a giant mural going onto the west side of the Radio Building on Hickory (see the image above). They are putting in outdoor seating complete with umbrellas and great big pots to fill the concrete corner with plant life. We know what you're thinking and don't worry - Cultivar Coffee will soon be contributing to the Denton Coffee Wars since they’ll have their own set up within Hypnotic Donuts. Word on the street is that this shop will be employing 20 to 30 strapping young Dentonites, making them both fatter and more caffeinated. These legit gourmet donuts will be available in the morning and for lunch. The shop will be closed during part of the afternoon and then open again to serve the evening crowd. We're looking forward to these tasty donuts making their way to the downtown area, and can't wait to grab a bacon-topped fried chunk of dough after a long night at East Side. 

We hear the African Grocery has opened over on Elm Street. If anyone has bought any African food stuffs from there, please let us know, we are highly curious about this little shop.

New retail is going in on Hickory and Welch, which means that sign with a photo of retail and living spaces is becoming a reality. We hear that they’ve finally broken ground and we speculate that a 7-11 will be going in sooner than you know it. Slurpees for all y’all.

East Hickory is seriously going to happen, for real this time y’all. No take backs, no halvesies, no joke. The city says they will break ground on the project in January. Apparently the CVB is wanting to start a new public art campaign around the construction to promote those businesses most affected by the street being blocked off and torn up. 

Holiday lighting and wassail fest is just around the corner! Get your Santa hats ready and get ready to pony up a little cash for that carriage ride with your significant other.  Twinkling lights, the community band and spiked wassail for all is on its way.

The convention center is supposedly going to be up for election by the city council sooner rather than later. The vote is supposed to happen before the next local election. Catch up on the convention center plans here and see the future of convention centers in Denton. 

That's it for this month, everybody. We're gonna take our coffee mug back into all of those lovely meetings now. Hopefully there won't be a Powerpoint presentation. 

MONTH IN REVIEW - JUNE

The new pedestrian bridge over Loop 288 opened up in June. 

We spent a lot of the beginning of the month talking about our friends over at DIME, and with good reason. Not only did they have another of their bi-annual Etsy Denton bazaars at the Greater Denton Arts Council building, but we also got a few words in with co-owner and operator, Shelley Vaughn. While there, we also managed to snag one of Mandy Cave's wonderful watercolor paintings of Denton. You can grab one at the DIME store Monday through Saturday.

Around the beginning of June, we got a visual harbinger that Subway was coming to the square in the way of a neon green and yellow sign on the Texas Building. We showed it to you guys and not only did we find out that our little blog has its fair share of trolls, but also that y’all had a lot to say about corporations and sandwiches. So much so, in fact, that the owners of the building decided to replace the sign. Most of y’all were still pissed by Subway’s mere existence on the square. We’re less than a month away from their planned opening date, so we’ll wait to see everything goes down. 

While y’all were busy yelling about that, we also found out that there’s apparently a class 3 firearms (read: machine guns and silencers) dealer that resides on Hickory St. across from Rusty Taco. While you may see a sign that says, “Storrie Parachute Works,” know that that is only a portion of the business that goes on in that building. So let’s try to keep the people who happen to be really upset about Subway opening on the square off of Hickory St.

That said, Rusty Taco opened in June and was almost immediately packed. Sadly, Rusty Fenton, the creator of Rusty Taco passed away from kidney cancer last week.  

With the help of local economic advisor and avid cranberry juice drinker, Mike Seman, and always-awesome Julie Glover, we also uncovered the mystery behind the “Bear’s Den” sign over by Siam Off the Square. The spot was owned by songwriter Clint Ballard Jr. who died back in 2008. He apparently hung out there and drank beer with his buddies. That’s probably what we would do, too, if we had written hit songs for The Zombies and The Hollies and owned a building.

We heard conflicting rumors about Tim Love’s new Queenie’s steakhouse doing “wonderfully” and that business has been going "very poorly.” While it’s probably still too early to tell, we sure noticed the gigantic red and white “NOW OPEN” sign on the front of the building. We’re also still waiting on Mr. Love to invite us over for that interview we set up with his managers back in March. While we’re on the subject, Love did just close down the TCU location of his Love Shack burger restaurant, leaving one last shack standing.

The pedestrian bridge over Loop 288 finally opened, and we ran 6 miles (3 there and 3 back) to check it out. Have y'all taken the newly extended trail for a spin yet?  

In addition, we checked out a bike safety course for kids, got the inside scoop on the forthcoming Goldmine BBQ, recommended some kid-friendly summer plans, shared some new songs from local bands, got pumped for another new DIY space (this time for musicians), talked to the folks behind Spiderweb Salon, and learned oh-so-much from Shaun Treat about the history of Quakertown Park. 

July should be an interesting month. The 4th of July celebration will be at Apogee Stadium this year, we'll see a couple of new businesses opening up and plenty of good shows abound. What are you looking forward to in July? 

MR FARRIS GOES TO CITY HALL: JUNE

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Glen Farris inspects the custom made industrial smokers inside of the forthcoming Goldmine BBQ. 

211 E. Hickory has been on the hazardous building list for the last little while. It's that little older building right in-between Storried Productions and Travelstead by Mellow Mushroom. A long time ago, they roof damage due to an AC unit falling through. Oops. Now, the owners of the place are attempting to get it back up to code in the hopes that they can turn it into retail space. Here's to hoping its not more auto parts and lawn mowers.  

Love themed restaurants? Sure hope so, because we're about to have an influx of them. Gold Mine BBQ opens in early July. This place comes complete with a newly renovated space made to look like an old mine shaft, some very well trained BBQ-ers, a hidden patio and a very lively looking canary in a cage. We're pretty excited to try it out - mostly because their giant industrial smokers stocked with pecan wood seem pretty promising. Don't worry. We'll get back to you with an official opinion after they open in a few weeks. 

A peek inside the forthcoming Goldmine BBQ in the old Vigne space on Hickory St. 

Speaking of themed restaurants, word on the street is that there is a themed pizza place about to happen, too. After Bosses opened last month, you know we're at least interested to see what kind of tantalizing treat "olde English style" pizza will be. Last Drop Tavern will be Denton's own English style eatery and wood-fired pizza haven opening on Elm Street just off the square, and coming soon. 

More on restaurant news, Rusty Taco Denton had the highest grossing opening week of any Rusty taco. Whoa guys - we knew you liked tacos and all, but geez. We're not ashamed. We were caught there are few times ourselves in the first week. Maybe they're onto something with those cheap margaritas.

Signs on the square have been called into scrutiny recently. The Subway sign is being replaced with something that will blend in a little more with the current signage on the square, and now Lone Star Attitude (the burger place in the old Denton County spot we talked about two months ago) is having trouble getting their sign approved. We're not sure why. Maybe it sticks out too far, is too bright, or has just rubbed someone the wrong way, but we're pretty pumped to see what they end up replacing the current 'Denton County Hamburger' signage with - so that the new restaurant feels a little more real. Also, did y'all get a chance to see that paint job on Mad World and Beth Marie's? Not sure who thought that would be a good idea. 

Hope you installed a smart thermostat to get you through summer this year. Apparently utility prices will be going up pretty soon. You might be needing all the extra help you can get. Electric is going up 2.5% due to a rise in the wholesale price of energy, water and wastewater are rising a little due to much needed improvements on our infrastructure and solid waste and recycling will be taking a small hit for increased costs and cart replacements. And you thought your bill was high already... According to Kevin Roden, city councilman of District 1, it unfortunately takes our poop overflowing for us to concern ourselves with all those pipes underground. It is never easy for us to take on increases in cost, but we're at the point where major replacements, upgrades and expansions are necessary. Some have already been done. Luckily, we live in a city whose rates are pretty low compared to the rest of the metroplex, so we were knocking on wood last summer as we bragged to our friends in Lewisville, Flower Mound and Plano how much lower our utility bills were compared to theirs. This year we may be keeping a closer watch on our AC consumption in the dog days of summer.

If you're a friend to the furry (no, not those people - just cats and dogs) you'll be happy to know that the Denton Animal Shelter Foundation will be getting a new building that is costing a little over four million dollars. It'll live way up north on 77 by UNT's Research Park. Hopefully, this means that all of those sweet strays will have a nice place to lay their little heads when they're between homes. 

EDUCATED - 6TH GRADERS GET IT

One dark and stormy morning a few weeks ago, a few brave souls ventured into the rain to accompany 145 middle school students from Calhoun Middle School, a local Title 1 school, to the new Perot Museum of Science and Nature in Dallas.

One of these chaperones was We Denton Do It's own Glen Farris. Farris even went as far as to sleep in his chaperone T-shirt the night before to prepare for the event. Pajamas be darned! There were kids to accompany! Denton City Councilman, Kevin Roden, also played the part of chaperone that day. He biked from his house to Calhoun Middle School. Talk about setting an example, an appropriate one at that. Not only were these 6th graders making a trek from Denton to Dallas (many of whom had never even traveled out of Denton County Lines), but they would be using exclusively public transportation and their own beat-up Air Jordans to do so.

The trip was made possible by 6th grade science teacher Nick Amendola, who utilized a grant from the Denton Public Schools Foundation, donated train tickets from DCTA/DART and donations from several local small businesses in order to fund the event.

It took the cooperation of teachers, administrators, parents, business owners and involved citizens, but the day went off without a hitch. All of the students came back unharmed, in one piece, and a little more knowledgeable about dinosaurs and space. 

We were pleased to have our favorite videographer, WDDI's own Jordan Smith, able to tag along to capture all of the magic on video. These are the kinds of things happening in our community that we here at We Denton Do It love to see – different parts of our city coming together to collaborate and educate. 

​Check out the video above and then plan your trip to the Perot via public transit if you haven't already done so. 

This trip was made possible with the help of: ​

DCTA  I  DART  I  DENTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOUNDATION

DAN'S SLIVERLEAF  I  DENTON PRESBYTERIAN  I  LITTLE GUYS MOVERS​

PRINTED THREADS  I  SPUNE PRODUCTIONS  I  WE DENTON DO IT ​

The song for the video was graciously gifted by our talented friends to the south - Air Review. Their song "America's Son" can be purchased on itunes here.​