It’s a good time to explore more of our WDDI Guide to Summer Fun in Denton and the CVB’s Denton On A Dollar as you try to keep it made in the shade during these dog days of summer. This week of #DENTONING adventures has plenty to look forward to, as well as a Friday The 13th, so here are our top #DEN10 events to peruse but post your favorites we missed in the comments.
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THE DEN10: SEPTEMBER 29
Is everyone recovered from Oaktopia? You've had a week now. Because believe it or not, there's another insanely awesome week of great things to get into this week. PolaCon2016 is an event that's really close to our hearts and one that we expect to see a TON of hashtags in your Instagram feeds so Will can be overly critical and passive aggressive towards you as he picks shots to be featured in our What We Did post on Monday.
Comments questions and hot tips can be directed at glen@wedentondoit.co
Thursday September 29
Denton County Honey Tasting | D&L Farm & Home | 6:30PM
Local honey tasting. It’s happening.
2016 Taste of Industrial Street Fundraiser | Dan’s Silver Leaf | 5:30PM
This is a great fundraiser with United Way Denton County. Some of the best people in Denton plan all year to put this event on and it has become a beloved event for those who attend.
Creative Space: Cosplay Headgear Workshop | Greater Denton Arts Council | 6PM
People love to cosplay and that takes some specials skills which will be taught at this evenings event by Regina Panzeca-Raifsnider.
Friday September 30
Vintage Market Days of Denton Fall Event | The New Diamond T Arena | 10AM
This is a great event coming through town this weekend showing off hand crafted goodies from vendors from all over. Also, keep an eye out for the scale model of the courthouse built by our buddies at Serendipity.
PolaCon2016: An Instant Film Convention | Evers Hardware / Denton Camera Exchange | 8am
This i a huge deal. Check out the details here.
Free Movies in The Park | Quakertown Park | 7PM
Inside Out is this week's movie…outside.
Spooky Show | Bearded Monk | 8PM
Here’s a fun Halloween themed show at one of our favorite beer joints.
Movie Night: Finding Dory | TWU Soccer Field | 8:30PM
Everyone loves a free movie night on a lawn, and TWU is showing a Pixar classic! And did we mention FREE?
Saturday October 1
Denton County Hispanic Heritage Month Festival | Courthouse on the Square | 10AM
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and LULAC put on an amazing fiesta of family fun on the Courthouse lawn to kick off Hispanic Heritage Month! Food, music, dancing, and activities a'plenty!
Dog Days of Denton 2016 | North Texas Fairgrounds | 9AM
Things can sometimes get pretty ruff in Denton, and this is the popular event to see the costumed parade of adorable pooches!
Sunday October 2
Twilight Tunes: El Nuevo Mis Son | Courthouse Lawn | 4:30P
WHAT WE DID: JUNE 2ND 2014
The heat is on, y'all. The kids are all gradually entering into summer break mode - for most this is their last week before freedom. That means the days are longer, the nights are hotter, and the number of times you'll find a random kid hiding behind your recycling bin with a Super Soaker will increase ten-fold. So just get out of the house and go do stuff. Bonus is that some places even have air conditioning. The ones that don't normally have tequila and/or guacamole, though, and that's pretty much the same thing.
Don't forget to tag your pics with #WDDI so they can be added to our weekly round up right here on What We Did!
Howsabout a WDDI-sponsored water balloon fight on the courthouse lawn. Y'all in?
Some call hula hooping the "unofficial sport of Denton." They may be right. Photo by @toole824.
One of the square's many "hoopers." Photo by @elizaldephotography.
High School Ceasar out for a family friendly show at OSDH. Photo by @mkernan.
This takes yard art to a new level. Tree carving spotted by @cookiemomster.
A View From the Top
TWU let's the public into Guinn Hall once a year. The decades-old dorm room is the tallest point between Dallas and Oklahoma City at 24 stories and provides a very unique view of the city which you can see in the photos above.
NITE, one of our favorite local bands, shirts by @sundayprintshop . Maybe new tees for the summer wardrobe?
@melissalaree grabbed a few shots of leather craftsman extraordinaire, Clint Wilkinson of @bellanoak.
Classic shot of Morrison's Corn Kits by @baileygillreath.
The bacon-clad "Stevie" burger at LSA devoured by the one and only @zach_ashcraft.
Cartwright's country fried chicken - all that and a little gravy is a great way to spend a weekend. We're still trying to figure out the best CFS in Denton, though. We're currently thinking Horny Toad Cafe, but we may be wrong. Photo by @xtiffanyyoungbloodx.
A kitchy cute caricature for @fussbudgets.
Better Block had a meeting at the old Piggly Wiggly (soon to be La Azteca Market) on Sherman last Tuesday.
A comfy green couch in a beautiful home - spotted by @jadewintersee.
@annatovar made some friends of the bovine variety.
Everyone loves Waffle Wagon waffles. Photo by @besely.
@sarahanneadams at a sweet looking house show.
How Lil'd centric are you? Prove it with a pic in the Lil'd sculpture outside of OSDH - now complete with an apostrophe!
Woodrow Wilson sent their 4th graders to the North Branch Library for some quality reading time. Photo by @dentonpubliclibrary.
The view at Eureka Park captured by @uccelloraro.
All hail the sushi master. @mkernan had the pleasure of hanging (and eating) at Keiichi.
This is better than flowers. Great eats at Keiichi brought to you by @katiekernan.
Hire a ninja, y'all. Denton has the best graffiti. Photo by @ynzi__ lynzi.
Bagpipes makin' noise at Eastside. Caught by @shainasheaffphoto.
Looks like the perfect Sunday drive - clouds captured by @amnoel__.
Slack line - a courthouse classic. Photo by @thedapperbat.
Public art - photo by @divagirlellie.
The concrete got poured this week. Pumped for this to be on the square and served locally.
A little hang time at OSDH by @baileygillreath.
No tacos to end the post this week. Let's go with tarantulas instead. The dangers of living on Sherman Drive as captured by @joshpiers. This is probably in your backyard right now, Denton. go check! Enjoy having fun outside this summer after looking at this 'gram! Also, that's a five foot wide frisbee if you need scale.
WHAT WE DID: JULY 29
Summer in Denton is normally when the college kids leave and the town gets a little sleepy. That hasn't really proved true this summer, as we're still exhausted from all of the activity the last weekend of July had for us. We kicked off the weekend with the Creatives Mixer at the DIME Store organized by Maker Space. We chowed down on The Pickled Carrot, sipped on some new local beer, and chatted about creative commerce in our city. After that we hit up a few shows. You might have caught us peeking into the Ladies of Spiderweb Salon showcase at J&J's, checking out The Tissue Issue at Banter, or standing in line at the bar at Dan's. We got some great reader submissions this week, too. Keep it up, y'all.
What did you do this weekend? Tag your tweets and instagrams with #WDDI and we'll include our favorites every week.
We mixed and minged at the Maker Space and DIME Creatives Mixer.
Chatting with Heather Gregory, one of the Maker Space owners
We will gladly fill out surveys and info if it means more creative space in Denton.
Zero96 Brewing Co. kept us adequately hydrated with plentiful samples of their local ales. We really liked their Red Ale and are pumped to see what's next from these guys.
The Ladies of Spiderweb Salon had an incredible show at J&J's on Friday evening. They shared stories through a myriad of mediums, and a portion of the proceeds went to the Denton Animal Shelter. Photo by Courtney Marie
J and J's basement was packed for the Ladies of Spiderweb Salon show. Photo by Courtney Marie
The always lovely Jenny Seman of Shiny Around the Edges pounded her drum at the Spiderweb Salon show on Friday. Photo by Courtney Marie
We checked out Queenie's again this weekend and had an interesting experience. Review is forthcoming.
Have you peeked into the construction going on at Lone Star Attitude on the square. The rooftop patio they're building seems to be coming along nicely.
Reader Rachel Merriman sent in this photo she took of the water tower in north Denton. #WDDI
Chambers opened for stalwarts Seryn at Dan's Friday night.
Seryn played a sold-out show at Dan's. The line to get in was long, but worth it.
THE DEN10: JULY 24
Last night, Denton saw it's first Spelling Bee for adults-only at Dan's Silverleaf. Born from the mind of Scott Porter, the inaugural Buzz Bee was the sort of quirky, no expectations idea that makes our town tick. It was thrown together last second with the sort of wheels off, can-do attitude that we've come to expect from our community. While the endgame needed work, there was no short of all the thrills and agony associated with a unprofessionally run Spelling Bee. Remembering the hilarity that ensued on stage - we charge ahead into another week of Denton-centric local fun. We're never really sure what to expect - but we know that its bound to be memorable at the very least.
Wednesday July 24
Parade of Flesh Presents: Ken Mode / Inter Rama / Dead To A Dying World | Gloves | $8
Friday July 26
Denton Creative Mixer | The DIME Store | 6PM | FREE
Time to mingle and network this Friday at The DIME Store down off Locust St. This is a great way to connect to your creative community.
Pageantry / Major Major Major / Sacco and Vanzetti | Rubbergloves | 9PM | $3
Ladies of Spiderweb Salon Showcase + Bake Sale + Fundraiser | J&J's | 8PM | $3
Lots of music, spoken word, prose and baked goods down in the basement to help raise funds for the Denton Animal Shelter Foundation.
Dallas Distortion Music Presents: Problem Dog / Love Cop / Midnite Society / Jakkkchan | Macaroni Island | 8PM | FREE
No jerks. They really mean it this time.
The Tissue Issue: A Musical Satire | Banter | 10PM | TIPS
I wonder what they're satirizing? Music itself? Tissues? Issues? So many questions. Still, I support the idea of more Waiting For Guffman / Spinal Tap-like efforts.
Seryn / Chambers | Dan's | 9PM | $18
Saturday July 27
Home By Hovercraft / Fox & Bird / The Calmative | Dan's Silverleaf | 9PM | $7
Sunday July 28
Last Sunday's Open Shop | Tex's Tubs Drum Co. | 11AM
Need a place and tools to fix that busted guitar, drum or other thing that's busted? Go hang out with some of the coolest cats in this town and get it done while your at it.
Hares On The Mountain | Dan's | 5PM | FREE
You know what's better than free? Hares.
THE DEN10: JULY 10
The Summer is half over -- are you halfway through your Summer to-do list? If not you better get on it. This week we've got another handful of things to keep you busy including a homegrown musical about the history of Denton. Sometimes the parallels between our town and Blaine, Missouri are frightening. Tonight there is an opportunity for a get together at Council Member Roden's house to discuss the recent political climates. This should be a lively discussion considering the strong positions held. The irony is that this sort of engagement is why no other council member puts themselves out there like this. But tonight we will see our community come together even in the light of profound differences of opinion and beliefs. We welcome this sort of discourse and are thankful we're among some of the brightest and thoughtful minds in the world and are able to voice our opinions without fear for ours or our families safety.
Wednesday July 10
A Beer Summit | 322 Texas St. | 9PM
Council Member Kevin Roden opens his home again to meaningfully engage the community over beers. Everyone from all sides of the issues are invited and encouraged to attend and take part.
Thursday July 11
The Calmative / Tiger Tooth & Paw / Walker Smart | Rubbergloves | 9PM | $5
Second Greatest Dad Ever / Cat People / Aokigahara / ANGER HOUSE | Gatsby's Mansion | 9PM
Check out this solid line up at Gatsby's Mansion off 1400 Teasley Ln. Cat People have a new record out and "maybe Anger House will bring working demos this time". Yes, we hope so.
Friday July 12
Gentleman Jackson Benefit w/ Fly Gallery / Swedish Teens / Bad Machine / The Spectacle / Brent Best | Rubbergloves | 8PM | $10
It's all fun and games until you break your neck and then it's time for a benefit. Neck health is a good cause and this is a good way to pitch in and help a neighbor in need.
Saturday July 13
Jimbo Mathus & The Tri-State Coalition | Dan's | 9PM | $13
Jimbo of the Squirrel Nut Zippers takes the stage with his band this Saturday.
MTD Presents: SQUARE ROOTS | Campus Theatre | $15
A hilarious parody of the history of Denton brought to you by members of City Council, School Board members, police and fire. Written and Directed by Donna Trammel, Assistant Directed by Melissa Sims, Stage managed by Tony Capps and with David Pierce of Cirque Du Horror, banging it out on piano. Our community theater can beat up your community theater.
Spiderweb Salon at Denton Community Market | Denton County Historical Park | 9AM
Spiderweb Salon curates the sights and sounds of Community Market this Saturday. Also make sure to drop by the Coffeewright Roasters (Denton's newest roasters) table to check out their ice coffee and tell them we sent you.
Spiderweb Salon + SCRAP Reused Art Workshop I 2PM I FREE
Sunday July 14
Christmas In July! | Dan's Silverleaf |4PM | FREE
The Holiday Lighting Festival Association is launching a kickstarter campaign to produce a CD compilation of performances that "capture the sound and spirit of this Denton holiday tradition". The square is full of sound and I end up full of spirits during the Tree Lighting
Monday July 15
Boxcar Bandits | Hailey's | 10PM | FREE
Best deal in town. Hands down.