It’s that time of year again, y’all. The school doors are fresh with WD-40 and the cars are accidentally turning north onto Elm St. again. School is back in session and with it, a new crop of Dentonites have flooded our city limits. Will these fresh, young faces become lifelong Dentonites or never step foot outside of their college campus? Only time will tell, but we’ve decided to do our part to get them to become a part of the former group, by providing them with some insider knowledge. Below are a collection of precious WDDI secrets that those new to Denton (and some folks that have been living here for a while) might not yet know. It’s time for Secrets of Denton County VII. Got a Denton secret of your own? Add it to the comments!
Read MoreNEW MURALS UP AT LSA
Local burger joint and outdoor music venue, LSA Burger Co, recently held their second annual live mural painting event. The event sees local artists painting new artwork over spaces on the widely-seen wall space of the second story outdoor patio of the popular restaurant. This year, LSA added pieces from Dan Black, Matthew Long, Zarina Kay, Gracie Piper, Malcolm Byers, Melanie Little Gomez, and Des Smith. We spoke with a few of them about their artwork and the process in general. You can read more at People of Denton or check out the artwork for yourself over at LSA. Let us know your favorite piece in the comments!
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Photo by Wesley Kirk.
WDDI X PEOPLE OF DENTON INSTAMEET
Worldwide Instameet 15 will take place over this weekend on March 25th and 26th. The annual event, put together by Instagram co-founder and CEO Kevin Systrom, is an opportunity for Instagram-ers and photographers to come together. In order to celebrate, we are getting together with the folks at People of Denton to co-host a Denton Instameet this Saturday at 3pm. Read on for more details!
Read More(RE)DISCOVERING ST. JOHN'S CEMETERY
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
The aphorism gets thrown around so much that it is almost cliché, yet it rings particularly true when most of us are confronted with unpleasant aspects of our collective history. But as a long-neglected Denton County African-American cemetery seems to demonstrate, coming together to memorialize a difficult past can also make our present community all the stronger.
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FRIDAY VIDEO BREAK: MARCH 2016
It is officially Friday. You've either got the day off for Good Friday, or you're stuck at work counting down the hours. Either way, take a quick break, grab some caffeine and watch the five videos we have for you below. We've got a new tune from Sarah Jaffe, some Denton drone footage, music for mandated state testing (the best kind of music), Wesley Jensen at the Chairy Orchard, and a video from a locally-made comedy series. Check them all out in the post below!
Read MorePEOPLE OF DENTON: JUSTIN WEED
You can’t miss Justin Weed’s long red mane, or the sound of his classical guitar drifting from Denton basements, stages, and benches across town. Weed is something of a Denton guitar prodigy at his young age. We wish we had snagged him when he was day-dreaming of delta blues at only nine years old, but we’re lucky we witnessed the paradox of his young face and old soul before he goes on to bigger and better things. He’s a cool kid with a vision for his life that may lead to the bright lights and big city in his future. Read on for our conversation with Weed about classical guitar, Booker T. Washington, and what it is like to grow up in Denton.
Read MorePEOPLE OF DENTON: DOUG CAMPBELL
If you’ve been on the University of North Texas’ campus lately, you might have seen signs with a caricature of UNT’s Librarian Doug Campbell around the Library Mall. It simply reads “Ask Doug!" which is the perfect segue into this month's People of Denton post. So we did it. We asked Doug all the questions, and what he had to say was insightful and of course, oh-so Denton.
Read MorePEOPLE OF DENTON: CARMEN CRUZ
Every now and then we meet someone who stands out among the crowd. In this case, it was Professor Carmen Cruz on Friday June 26, 2015 at the gay marriage rally on the square.
After the Supreme Court Ruling passed, an LGBTQ rally began on the square in which several marriages took place spontaneously. Dr. Carmen Cruz was ready for the decision and helped facilitate these marriages on the Courthouse steps, this is where we noticed her. We asked about her past, her present, and what she sees as a future for equal rights in this special WDDI edition of People of Denton.
Read MorePEOPLE OF DENTON: CLINT WILSON
It’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture in an increasingly polarized world. Yet, when you meet a man like Clint Wilson (a priest by trade and an optimist by choice) - refreshing doesn’t even begin to cut it. Religious or not, cynicism is a pervasive american pastime, so when we sat down in the Lord’s house with Father Clint, we were enlightened to say the least. We won’t hold it as sin against him for gracing our lone star state only two years ago, because he got here as fast as he could. We philosophize and sort through his thoughts on what makes a community work in the interview below. Wilson clears up some common misconceptions that folks might have about priestly duties, and fills us in on his thoughts about alcohol, community organizations, and hypothetical biblical boxing champs.
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