2013 YEAR IN REVIEW: PHOTOS

As we continue to take a glance back at all that happened in 2013, one thing we can't ignore is the fact that we have a bunch of talented photographers running around to capturing some incredible moments. That, plus we eat too much. As we were scanning back through posts from the past year, we couldn't help but be caught by some of the great photos that were taken and shared with us. If you ask us, a post full of big pretty photos is one of our favorite kind. We figured you'd dig it too. 

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MUSIC

From our 35 Denton coverage. Photo by Dave Koen. 

Sarah Jaffe playing city councilman Kevin Roden's living room. 

Bad Sports. Photo by Dave Koen.

Brutal Juice

Thurston Moore of Chelsea Light Moving at 35 Denton

Jenny Seman of Shiny Around the Edges playing a Spiderweb Salon showcase at J and J's Pizza. 

Hares on the Mountain at Canned fest. 

FOOD

Rusty Nuts at The Irish Boozer. 

Nachos etc... from La Sabrocita

We baked some French toast during an ice storm once in 2013. 

Coffee at Yogurt Fusion

Some Armadillo Ales beers at Canned. 

A sliced sandwich from From Tha Heart BBQ.

From our coverage of Lucky Star Pies back in February of last year. 

PEOPLE

Bartender and mustache-haver Thomas Paessler enjoying a "pink pearl." 

Mandy Hampton

Artist Anna Conner. Photo by Courtney Marie.

Shelley Cristner and Rachel Aughtry, co-owners of The Dime Store. Photo by Dave Koen.

Conner Wallace and Courtney Marie of Spiderweb Salon. 

From that time we threw an Election Party. Photo by Amelia McBride. 

Tex Bosley. 

MISCELLANEOUS

2013 was a big year for signage stuff. 

East Side Social Club's 89 (and counting) beers on tap made us happy in 2013. 

From our Coffee Wars post back in November. Photo by Becky Gates. 

The original Subway sign that made people mad and isn't all that different from the new Subway sign. 

The men's room at Paschall's from our Jive Five on local public restrooms. 

A photo from Lauren Apel from our interview with her back in February. 

A portrait from Shaina Sheaff from our interview with her in December. 

From this year's coffin races at the Day of the Dead festival. Photo by Kimberly Flanagan. 

UNT Football had us actually attending games this year. 

Demolition for a future food truck park. 

Mulberry Street Cantina was a welcome addition to the downtown bar scene. 

The new pedestrian bridge. 

The new Redwood Recording Studio. 

A quiddich match! 

The giant tree in the middle of Rose Costumes... 

Fun at this year's Holiday Lighting and Wassail Fest 

Photographer Thorpe Griner's travels to Pompeii Italy. 

Jade Winter watches the storm roll in during the Ice Storm of 2013. Photo from Jade Winter Chessman. 

2013: A YEAR IN QUOTES

Happy New Year, y’all. As part of our end of the year coverage, we thought we’d read back through the past years worth of #WDDI content and pull out the best quotes, captions and one-liners that the blog had to offer this year. Below is a bunch of stuff we wanted to highlight along with links to the parent post, if you feel like being nostalgic about 2013. Do you have personal favorite quotes from the past year? If so, tell ‘em to us in the comments! See ya in 2014!

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“It makes you scroll slow.” 
-Lauren Apel on what makes a successful photograph

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/2/14/lauren-apel

 

“These restrooms smell of stale urine and a flavor of Doritos that hasn't been invented yet. We wouldn't want it any other way, though, Rubber Gloves.”
-Us on the best and worst restrooms in town

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/2/13/poop-goes-in-the-potty

“Judson is Son-Ju. It’s his name backwards without the ‘d’.”
-Alex Lucas of Chambers on one of his fellow bandmembers nicknames.

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/2/12/chambers-make-it-so

“I can make cinnamon rolls blindfolded.”
-Joey Hawkins of Royal's Bagels and City Council

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/2/17/preview-royals-bagels

“Ask the sound guy questions about World of Warcraft such as, ‘Does a cylon outrank a White Walker in Cataclysm?’"
-Wiseguy on dealing with soundguys

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/2/20/hey-wiseguy-sound-guys

“Recently [a friend] told me that Denton was the new hot spot for creatives.”
-Valerie Warren on why she brought Authentic Yoga Life to Denton

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/2/17/authentic-yoga-life-interview

“We are just a handful of funerals away from being a really amazing city.”

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/2/22/mr-farris-goes-to-city-hall

"Caitlin Crawford is incredibly talented at keeping our lips from being chapped, our hands from being cracked, and our faces from looking anything but glowing."
-Us discussing Austin St. Apothecary

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/2/26/austin-street-apothecary

“Low Art No Match for High Winds”
-Our headline when the "YOU" part of that art thing fell down from Dan's Silverleaf during this year's 35 Denton.

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/3/5/low-art-no-match-for-high-winds

“...think about temporarily changing the name to ‘THE Mexicana.’”
-Wiseguy giving advice to a local restaurant on how to avoid the festival crowd

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/3/7/hey-wiseguy-miffed-at-mexicana

“On the docket to be created is a hand-sewn sculpture of a giant hamburger.”
-Courtney Marie on Ana Conner's upcoming art. Wonder if this ever got made.

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/3/19/artsy-anna-conner-unedited

“Get on it, y’all. We peeked over your shoulder and saw Youtube, not Rails.”
-Us on Denton's tech-heavy population

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/3/21/applification

“I use this ridiculously small 4 haired brush to outline the edges of a sweater, the tip of a dogs nose and everyone’s tiny eyes.”
-local artist Mandy Cave

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/3/26/dime-featured-seller-mandy-cave

“Anyone who owns a business in Denton will be the first to tell you that there are some silly rules on the books, whether at the federal, state, or city level.”
-Rachel Aughtry, co-owner of The DIME Store

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/3/27/dime-store-preview

“There is no other choice for late night tacos but La Estrella. Not only do you get great tacos, you often can pair them with live music from the Super Estrellas and a hug from Gracie.”
-Kevin Roden

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/3/27/city-council-candidate-interviews

“The University of North Texas and Texas Women's University made a joint announcement Monday morning that they would be merging their two colleges together in the coming months.”
-Our April Fool's joke

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/4/1/twu-and-unt-to-merge

“We don’t have to demonize big box retailers, but we must support our local businesses so that they can help help keep Denton authentic and independent.”
-Dalton Gregory

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/3/27/district-2-city-council-candidate-interviews

“Get off your ass and do some work on something you care about.”
-Josh Berthume

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/3/28/josh-berthume

“Heck, the bass-lines and barks here were probably the cause of those little earthquakes DFW has been experiencing over the past year or so.”
-Us on local loud band, Terminator 2

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/4/11/three-songs-april

“Subway is about halfway through their construction and will be opening at the bottom of the Texas Building before you know it.”
-What started that whole sign debacle

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/4/12/mr-farris-goes-to-city-hall

“I still insist on starting every design with a sketch on paper with a pencil.”
-Sean Starr of Starr Studios

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/4/16/sean-starr-and-starr-studios

“Wait for the sound of freshly popping kettle corn and then wait in the long line for it. It’s worth it. You can go home and forget about the jazz after that.”
-Us on how to best do the Jazz Fest

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/4/27/jive-five-jazz-fest

“Denton Thrift is hit or miss with their massive clothing selection, but it smells like diapers.”

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/4/24/jive-five-thrifting

“Don't be the guy checking the date on his phone when the Mexican cultural festivities roll through downtown this Sunday.”

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/5/2/the-den10

“Edmond Franklin Bates paints a rosy romantic portrait of a harmonious community that’d make Andy Griffith’s idyllic Mayberry Hulk-out green with envy.”

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/4/22/back-in-the-day-ghosts-of-elections-past

“Put that in your press and print it.”
-Laura Drapac of Triple Threat Press

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/5/6/dime-featured-seller-triple-threat-press

“There's the way the sun hits the square in the summer that makes it smell like even the dust is getting a sunburn.”

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/5/14/the-den10

“They'll be able to accommodate all of those brand new fancy-sch'mancy seats because they will also have a rooftop patio. To get there you'll have to hop up some new stairs designed by UNT students that look like piano keys and make music as you go up.”
-Us getting the scoop about LSA back in May. Where are those musical stairs, by the way?

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/5/15/mr-farris-goes-to-city-hall-may

“I’ve seen some people come in, and think they understand who Dentonites are, and they really don’t.”
-Ken Willis of Beth Marie's

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/4/26/ken-willis-interview

“But it’s also saying you don’t have to fight for this. We’re going to hand this to you. Just be quiet. Don’t drink out of the toilet. You’ll always have a home because I chose you.”
-Tony Ferraro on freedom

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/6/10/lyric-leak-tony-ferraro-and-the-satans-of-soft-rock

“Rusty Taco Denton had the highest grossing opening week of any Rusty taco.”

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/6/18/mr-farris-goes-to-city-hall-june

“Tragically, I think art in many forms has been dominated by men in the past, and seeing proof that this can change in the future is inspiring to me.”
-Connor Wallace of Spiderweb Salon 

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/6/26/interview-with-spiderweb-salon

“We only used four "prop pizzas" during shooting because we knew the editing would be so fast.”
-Eric Michener AKA Fishboy on the creation of a music video

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/7/15/imavolcano

“We’ve lost the tantric-sex factor that made the all-chorus We Will All Be Changed a mainstay on KXT, but retained the harmony-filled “Whoooa” and “Whoooa-oohhh’s” that are so difficult to ignore.”
Our take on Seryn's new song, "Ivory Black," back in July.

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/7/25/3-songs-july

“Goldmine BBQ opened their doors at the beginning of the month. We stopped by and tried a few things. We'll do so again and hope to have a review in the future.”
-Hmmm. Intriguing.

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/7/24/mr-farris-goes-to-city-hall-july

“That line references espionage and research into mind control techniques and ESP during the cold war, all of which is now detailed in a new documentary focusing on Uri Geller; bridge is often played in the afternoon; and some may find another’s lips the start of a landslide they can’t see or quite escape.”
-Mike Seman of Shiny Around the Edges on the line “spoon bending, afternoon, sub atomic, landslide lips" from the song "Robinwood Must Burn"

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/7/29/lyric-leak-shiny-around-the-edges

“I've found Denton photographers to be fairly open to share and collaborate with.”
-Photographer Thorpe Griner

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/8/5/photographer-interview-thorpe-griner

“I think the point of Denton is to leave it.”
-Comedian Ron Lechler

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/8/12/interview-comedian-ron-lechler

"You get me 10,000 volunteers, and we'll make a difference in our schools.”
-The quote reportedly said to Kevin Roden from DISD Superintendent, Jamie Wilson, that begat Mentor Denton.

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/8/18/mentor-denton-video

“Go to house shows. Also, if you decide to host your own house show, talk to your neighbors beforehand and make sure to find the best spot, soundwise, in your humble abode. While we’re on the subject, please try not to make people older than 22 feel “old” at your house show. We’re tired of that.”
-From Secrets of Denton County 3

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/8/25/secrets-of-denton-county-2013

“It would be in the downtown area for sure, and more than likely on East Oak St.  I’ve got a few ideas in mind. Stay tuned…”
-John Williams of ESSC and OSDH&CP

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/8/22/interview-east-side-social-club

“The “Red Dwarf” pizza at Si’z on Teasley in S. Denton is arguably better than the TV show from which it gains its namesake (and the skutter inside of us loves that show).”
-From our pizza-centered Jive Five column during "Back to School Week"

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/8/25/jive-five-pizza-in-denton

“People here are passionate, have a thirst for knowledge, and are driven to express themselves creatively. I have no doubt that national recognition is on the horizon for Little D.”
-Joey McClellan from our interview with the folks at Redwood Recording Studio

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/8/28/interview-redwood-recording-studio

“Not only did they have the visual appeal of dog food (covered in a syrupy sweet sauce, even), but they weren't even actually burnt ends.”
Haha. That's more like it. 

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/9/8/what-we-did-september-9th

“I like the idea of starting the song off with the bummer of a statement that your youth is not going to last forever, and you are going to get old and die.”
-Kaleo Kaualoku

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/9/5/lyric-leak-kaleo-kaualoku-of-spooky-folk

“Bury a time capsule and then forget to dig it up.”
-Fishboy

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/9/20/video-see-you-at-the-time-capsule

“Hypnotic Donuts and Cultivar Coffee are teaming up to bring us hand-crafted coffee, tasty donuts, and chicken biscuits. Even better, they're rumored to have hours that keep them open until 2am.”

http://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/9/13/mr-farris-goes-to-city-hall-september

WHAT WE DID: DECEMBER 16TH

The ice cleared, the roads are safe, the tree got lit, we all got some Santa-selfies and the wassail is all gone. It's like the freeze and the holiday season just crammed everything all together into one weekend. Now, it's time for us to get our last-minute gifts from our gift guide and drink as many peppermint mochas and mulled wine as we can before the new year gets here and we have to get back to our "healthy routines."

Don't forget to tag your pics with #WDDI while you're hustling and bustling the rest of the holiday season to make sure your pics wind up right here in our weekend round up! 

We seriously over-wassailed on Friday. We're still feeling the come down. La Di Da, Recycled and The DIME Store had some of our favorite wassail. Who did you vote for? 

Some of the wassail stops had code words for alcoholic wassail. Walking up to people and saying code words immediately become our new favorite thing. 

We got in pretty close with Santa. Close enough to smell that his hot cocoa was definitely not 100% cocoa. 

By the looks of it, these ladies spiked their wassail. Photo by @TheFinderandtheFarmer. 

The evening was still slightly wet and misty. There was even some ice on the ground still. We won't lie - we even slipped once in front of a crowd. Photo by Jazmine Lopez. 

Some wassail stops had other goods they were giving away, too. 

Jeff Amano of Serendipity On the Square passed out some of our favorite "leaded" wassail Friday evening. 

Photo by Kristin Scott. 

We hit up the Spune Christmas Show at Dan's, and enjoyed the local tunes and tacos all night long. 

We prepped for the event the best way we know how. 

Photo by Veronica_n_Denton. 

Many businesses have put up some decorations for the holidays. Jupiter House has some of our favorite local holiday decor. Shain Sheaff agrees. 

Shift had their first art show this weekend. Can't wait for their next one. Here's barista Aaron, brewing four cups at once. Photo by Nick Stevens. 

Post ice storm, many schools were closed until Wednesday or Thursday, but that didn't keep Dentonites from getting out and about when the sun came out. Here's a lovely photo of the courthouse by Raechel Haley. 

When there was ice, we saw some very ingenuitive sleds. Photo by @cookiemomster. 

Leaf art. Photo by @drcruz32. 

Jade Wintersee and her friend holed up in a construction sight to watch the ice storm roll in. 

The City of Denton even got to throwing #WDDI on their photos this weekend. Here's  alovely shot of the square before Friday's activities. 

Rabbit Hole Brewing celebrated their 561 brew at Oak St. Drafthouse. Reader Todd Spigener was there. 

Nathan Williams of Sunday Print Shop was giving away some cool printing goods this past Sunday. 

Andrew W.K. ended up rocking Hailey's pretty hard on Tuesday after he had to reschedule due to last week's ice storm. Photo by Deborah Nepal. 

Our haul of local goods was wrapped up nicely to share with friends and family. 

YET ANOTHER GIFT GUIDE

Ornament from Savvie Design Co. at The DIME Store. 

Y'all already know we push spending your hard-earned cash locally, so can we just skip the part where we talk about why that's a good thing to do and local economies and blah blah blah? Yeah? Good. Anyway, y'all are lucky that there's so many crafty people with initiative living all around you. They make lots of cool stuff that you can purchase as gifts for your friends/family/dogs/what-have-you. Actually, now that we think of it, is there a local company that makes animal clothing? Not that we know of. Get on it, y'all! Below are three separate gift guides that will help you spend money in town. If you have any local gifts you'd like to receive, let us know in the comments and maybe your Mom will buy it for you if she reads the blog, too. 

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For the Denton lover:

A dozen Christmas Eve Cinnamon Rolls from Royal's Bagels. 

Photo from Mandy Cave Watercolor 

Holiday Lighting Collectible Denton Christmas Ornaments

A bag of coffee from one of our many different coffee roasters (which we'll highlight later): Bookish, Macaroni Island, Seven Mile, Coffeewright, or some coldbrew from Dead Beat Coffee. 

Morrison’s Corn Kits

An authentic Denton-made Acme Brick

A model of a Peterbilt Truck

Denton-centric watercolors or coasters from the DIME Store.

A gift certificate to Recycled. They’re currently running a promotion where you can get a $100 gift certificate for only $80.

For the dudes:

Lessons from the Ghost Note, because he’s always wanted to be a drummer at heart. He just doesn't talk openly about it. 

Y’all play board games, right? We sure do. We like to stroll by More Fun Comics, Books and Games on the square and get a new one every now and then. Small World is great, but if you’re looking for something a bit more casual, then go for Fluxx or Cards Against Humanity (if it’s in stock).

Picture from Austin Street Apothecary 

Some Mustache Wax from Rose Costumes.

Or, if you’re completely into your dude’s facial hair (it is Denton, after all), get ‘em the leather dopp kit from Of Mud and Coal and a little of that awesome beard tonic from Austin Street Apothecary. 

A CHL course at Quail Creek Gun Range.

A couple giant aluminum letters (maybe a couple of you can get the letters for “BUTT,” "BEER," or “DUMB” if you hurry) from Serendipity.

For the ladies:

This “Dreaming of Denton” dress from Modcloth, designed to make you think about strolling around on the square. 

Photo by Rachel Elise. 

A Rachel Elise clutch - the bag to be seen with in Denton. She makes some awesomely handsome bags for pretty ladies. They even have a date purse - the perfect way to hint that you'd like a date for someone maybe? 

Handmade jewelry from Archerplusshare from her Etsy shop or available at the DIME store. It's the perfect way to buy jewelry without over-thinking diamonds or hearts. 

Lavender bath salts and body butter from Austin Street Apothecary - also available at The DIME Store. 

$30 for 30 days deal at Authentic Yoga Life. Put those Lululemon pants to use!

Mandy Cave Watercolor Denton-centric cards or some cheeky Triple Threat Press cards for writing all of her friends and family. Everyone one loves a little snail mail every now and then, right?

A cool, old film camera from Denton Camera Exchange. Maybe some Impossible Film to go with it (depending on what you’re getting).

A future class from Cardo's Farm Project, because natural dyes and canning are totally skills a Dentonite should have. And, yes, they can teach you how to pickle that.

JIVE FIVE: WASSAIL FEST AND HOLIDAY LIGHTING

Ice, you might have canceled dozens of events in town and rescheduled the rest, but we are not going to let you win. Help-Portrait is hard at work finding another date and Andrew W.K. already rocked Hailey's on Tuesday after missing his Saturday show. You won't spoil all of our holiday fun! One of our favorite holiday traditions, the Holiday Lighting and Wassail Fest has been rescheduled to this Friday evening. This year will be a little more scaled down thanks to the ice and a re-schedule, but we don't mind. 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. 

So 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. 

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NICE:

There will be 33 wassail stops along the way, so plenty of a-wassailing may be had on Friday. The ballot box for voting (because there will be a wassail winner at the end of the night) will be located at the corner of Hickory and Elm. Some places have boozey wassail (we believe La Di Da normally does), so keep your eye out for that, and have your ID on hand, ready to go! 

There will be a holiday lighting toy drive! Bring an unwrapped new gift to the corner of Locust side of the courthouse and hand it over to the people loading up the Little Guys Movers truck. These gifts are going to kids who may not other wise have anything under the tree on Christmas morning. 

Did you know that there are commemorative ornaments for sale each year?! You can buy them online, or pick up a few at the information table on the lawn. We've heard there are also a few for sale at some shops on the square like Garden Gate.

The Courthouse Museum will be open until 8:00pm - and the courthouse is beautifully decorated for the season. So if you have a chance (or need a restroom after some of that wassail) peek in and see how great the inside of the courthouse looks all dressed up. 

This is most of Denton's favorite holiday event of the year, even the re-scheduled and scaled down version. So get ready to roam the square and soak in all of the holiday cheer at it's finest! 

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NAUGHTY:

Parking on this particular night can often be a beast. We recommend parking on the outskirts of the square, or even a few blocks away at The DIME Store or north by Amitea. Both of which will be serving up hot wassail and The DIME Store will be giving away some fun holiday coasters. 

The sidewalks themselves tend to get a little crowded. Watch out for kiddos underfoot and don't worry if you get bumped a little - just be careful! We're all drinking hot drinks out there and some people may be carrying swords or other sharp objects that they've purchased from the mini mall!

Feel free to skip the line for wassail at J and J's. Get some delicious pizza, sure, but there's better wassail to be had. 

Kettle corn, y'all. We're drooling right now just thinking about it. (UPDATE: Looks as if the kettle corn people [and most vendors] will not be present on the rescheduled date. Bummer.)

The lines at bars and coffee shops can get a little out of control. We have a feeling that the wait at LSA will jump from 15 minutes to much longer, so be prepared. After all, wassail and kettle corn don't make a well-balanced meal. (UPDATE: Once again, looks like there won't be any kettle corn. The holidays are now officially ruined. Thanks a lot, ice storm. Jerk.)

BACK IN THE DAY: KRAMPUSTAG IN DENTON

The Old World origins of the “Good Cop, Bad Cop” routine, courtesy of the Klaus and Krampus Traveling Yuletide Horror Show.

Denton is well known as a unique hangout with more than it’s fair share of eccentric local characters, but we wonder how many folks know that once a year we have a bonafide yuletide monster mysteriously walking our downtown Square? Pull up a chair, kids, and I’ll explain why Krampus the Christmas Demon is the real reason you better watch out and better not cry this holiday season! 

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Seeing these characters prowling the Denton Square may make you rethink Christmas.

We weren't sure whether to laugh out loud or run for cover last December 5th when we first encountered the Denton Krampus on the downtown square, as the towering monstrosity was handing out toys to kids in a bit of uncharacteristic generosity. Krampus in 17th century European folklore was the sinister doppelgänger to the kindly Saint Nicholas that we Americans have come to know as Santa Claus. In a dark twist straight out of a Brother’s Grimm tale, St. Nick rewarded the good children with gift-giving around the Winter Solstice, the naughtiness of ill-behaved youngsters was viciously punished by the Krampus, a cloven-hooved Devil in chains with a long lash-like tongue who beat brats with switches before stuffing them in a basket for a late-night snack after his rounds. Krampusnacht, or sometimes Krampustag, was the day of judgment that fell on the eve of December 6th Saint Nicholas Day and used to strike terror into every unruly street urchin. It’s not too surprising that our American version of a jolly old elf slow-sippin’ a Coke doesn’t include his nightmare-inducing Demon companion, but you gotta hand it to the Old World traditions for their sheer inventiveness in creating perfectly legit reasons for kids to wet the bed. Threats from parents that you’ll get a lump of coal from Santa in your stocking truly pales in comparison to the Krampus going medieval on you for bad behavior!   

“Greetings from Krampus!” We can guess what Child Protective Services today would make of old Germanic child-rearing techniques and the years of therapy caused by Krampustag. 

But this whole Krampustag thing gets even nuttier because a visit from Krampus was no idle threat! A lot of Texans today take their kids to the mall for a picture postcard with some rummy dressed as ole Santa to hang on the fridge, but back in the day people straight-up rolled from house to house dressed as St. Nick and his Krampus cohort! While the Christmas Devil was largely exorcised from American holidays, the tradition of Krampusnacht has enjoyed a resurgence in parts of Europe and the Netherlands where drunken mobs of costumed Krampus (Krampii??) roam the nighttime streets during Winter festivals. Just take a look at some of the mid-1800s European postcards, which range from the bizarrely surreal to the suggestively lascivious, and you may have an entirely new perspective on the reason for the season. There’s a lot about the Krampus that reminds me of our Denton Goatman’s Bridge legend, so maybe he ain’t so foreign after all. You also gotta wonder how much of this mythos was lifted by Christian Protestantism for use in the Sunday morning pulpit, since The Devil has clearly taken a few fashion cues from Krampus but, instead of facing eventual judgment in the afterlife from Old Scratch Lucifer, your reckoning came as a horrifying annual evaluation every December 5th.

The Denton Square Krampus is a decidedly fun mix of the old and the new, handing out toys and candy to the kiddies rather than beatings and night-terrors. We gotta admit, it was a giggle-inducing hoot to watch smiling parents trying to coax rightfully-skeptical little ones into approaching this towering monster for free goodies. Yet another reason to not trust adults, kiddos, Henry Rollins ain’t wrong. We were never able to ascertain the identity of the mysterious benefactors behind last year’s Krampustag mystery performance (be sure to drop us a line if you have an inside scoop), but we sure do hope this bit of Old World tradition from back in the day continues.  So keep up the frighteningly awesome work Denton Krampus, whoever you are, and we’ll remind the youngsters why they better watch out and best not cry… ‘Cuz Santa Claus ain’t the only one who’s comin’ to town. 

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Shaun Treat is a former professor at the University of North Texas and founder of the Denton Haunts historical ghost tour. Doc has written about numerous local places and personalities at his Denton Haunts blog, and is forever indebted to the great work of our local keepers of history like Mike Cochran and Laura Douglas at the Emily Fowler Library for their tireless work in helping preserve Denton’s intriguing past. Be sure to check out our local museums curated by the fine folks at the Denton County Office of History & Culture, and follow @Dentonaut on Twitter for local happenings.

More info on Denton's Krampus can be found here. 

MONTH IN REVIEW: DECEMBER

Veterans day was celebrated all around town too! As always, Frenchy did it up big for the ladies and gents who so graciously protect us. 

Whoa. It’s already December?! Have y’all already started Christmas shopping, too? We’re way behind. We didn’t even put lights up on the blog yet. Is that even a thing? Maybe you can do that with HTML5 now. We dunno. Anyway, stuff happened in November. Let’s discuss it.

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That whole #Denton2Sriracha thing still got a lot of play. Sadly, lots of people still never really understood the full point and complained about not wanting a chili pepper plant in town. Oh well. Those people might have also though Moby Dick was only about fishing, too (it’s actually a prequel to the X-Files...duh).

Sadly, Johnny Law, the smiling face that you probably associated with Rooster’s Roadhouse in your brain, passed away earlier in November. He was always super friendly and made our experiences at the place a pleasure every single time. He will be dearly missed.

UNT proposed some budget cuts that looked to drastically alter the funding to their libraries and staff. They later went on to say that the budget that was shared and eventually the subject of much negative press was “premature.” Still, Save the UNT Library very quickly became a blog, Twitter feed, Facebook page and event you could attend in real life (what’s that?).

Midlake released their new album, Antiphon, at the beginning of the month. It was met with arguably better press and reviews than their last album. The Denton homeboys even were the stars of a video from Off Main St. in which they showed off their hometown. Although, one of the times we checked out Lone Star Attitude, they were playing Midlake, a kid at the table next to us was wearing a Midlake shirt, and then some of Midlake walked in the actual establishment and it was just WAY too much Midlake for us at the given moment. So much so that we had to go home and listen to the opposite of Midlake for an hour. We’ll let you figure out what that is for yourselves.

Speaking of LSA, Lone Star Attitude finally opened their doors and they’ve been crowded ever since. We had a lot to say about the place a few weeks ago. Have y’all checked it out yet? The constant fifteen minute wait makes us think you probably have.

Our buddies at DIME talked to artist Savannah Teel about lasers and wood.

The Golden Triangle Mall is starting to look different. Not like a whole lot, but somewhat. They have a few new stores inside of it, too. We went there once in November. It was against our own will, but we still did it. We’re not exactly sure what it will take to make us want to go to that mall in the future besides the Bath and Body Works 2 for $22 candle sale on our favorite scents, but whatever it is, it isn’t in place yet. The new entrances somehow already look old to us. And the Christmas trees look oddly out of place. What do you think?

The older building next to East Side Social and Authentic Yoga Life is set to be demolished and turned into a food truck park. It should be torn down any day now (at the time we started writing this it was still up). We hope the food truck park stays open at lunch time and connects that part of McKinney to the square a little better if it indeed does come down. 

We got some more info on the forthcoming Hypnotic Donuts to Hickory St. The most exciting aspect was the news that they’d be open for the “post-dinner crowd” from 5pm until the wonderful hour of 2:30am. Is there a better time to eat a habanero donut? The drunk dining scene in Denton just got real, y’all. Forthcoming food truck park one paragraph above this, ya best bring it.

The Coffee Wars started grinding down on us. Our post examining the various ambiances at establishments in town were only the first shots. This thing hasn’t even started yet. Have you picked a side yet? Have you stocked up on beans or filters? Get on it, people! This is not a drill!

WHAT WE DID: DECEMBER 2ND

Thanksgiving has come and gone. We're on to the big holiday rush already, y'all. Once we looked at our calendars we were shocked. The onslaught of holiday parties, gift exchanges and community events that are still left before 2014 gets here is astounding. Luckily it seems we were all able to get a little vacation in over the weekend before the crazy gets truly unleashed. Y'all certainly stayed busy about town!

Remember to tag your pics in your grams and tweets with #wddi to be included each week in possibly our favorite post of the week! 

Colorful carolers marked the last weekend of the Denton Community Market for 2013. Your Saturday mornings just got a lot less fun, y'all. Photo by Bryce Olcon. 

DIME Handmade celebrated Small Business Saturday. 

We went over to our favorite slightly-poisoned park. It's probably one of the best spots in the city for hide and go seek. Especially if the Willis Library closes. 

Readers got down on some home cooked Thanksgiving goodness. Photo from Shaina Sheaff. 

Brunch at the Abbey Inn. Photo by Thorpe Griner. 

Reader Paige got a few strikes (we hope) over at University Lanes. 

WDDI readers just can't get enough of that view from the top of LSA. We aren't tired of it yet either. Photo by Ian Harbor. 

Some of us got our Christmas decor up. 

Jazz at the Abbey Underground from Shaina Sheaff. 

Fabian Campos' took a nice pic of a cute new Dentonite. 

WHAT WE DID: NOVEMBER 25TH

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, y'all were cold, ready to celebrate Christmas and hungry for burgers. We can't blame ya. We had the same feelings. 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 from week to week for inclusion in this column. 

Dentonites seem to be having a tough time handling the long wait to post Thanksgiving this year. Many, including us, have given in and started decorating for Christmas already. Do you have your tree and/or lights up already? 

Hutch Ice got his tree up and beautified. 

It was definitely cold enough this past week to let us know that winter was coming. Wes McFall and his pregnant crew spent their weekend fireplace hopping and trying to stay warm. 

WDDI-approved musician, Daniel Markham, kept warm in his own way - through plenty of pedals and maybe some tremolo. 

More staying warm. Photo by Grace Cowan. 

Of course, the cold snap means that you can grab the good table at Oak Street Drafthouse if you want. However, it may come with some pneumonia. Photo and joke provided by Nick Stevens. 

It wasn't cold enough to keep Dentonites from doing their thing, though. The Denton comedy scene gets more interesting to us every weekend. Here's a peek from a backyard standup session from Sarah Adams. 

Seryn had a secret warehouse show to get some footage for an upcoming documentary. We were there to check it out. 

Michelle Bradley was on hand to check out the Seryn show, too. This little band has come so far in the past five years. 

Shaina Sheaff made some eggs sunny side up. Chicken embryos keep ya warm. 

Dentonites seemed to take the past week to further explore what Lone Star Attitude (LSA) had to offer. We'll be honest, we went back again, too. We still dig it. We even had to wait a few minutes to get seated -  something Dentonites don't always have to do. We paid tribute to their beautiful Willie Nelson shrine the same day his tour bus had an accident. 

The mural from the folks at Eyecon seems to be one of the most eye-catching aspects of LSA. Here's a photo of it from Jackson Daly. 

Reader Shaina Sheaff loves tacos almost as much as we do. El Taco Rico is one of our faves. What about you? 

Sarah Adams took a break in between comedy acts and the UNT game (that we won't talk about) to hit up LSA, too. 

Sunday Print Shop is one of the more interesting projects going on in Denton right now. We hope to have more about them in the near future. In the meantime, check 'em out here or their Instagram. 

To keep warm and in the holiday spirit, one of our contributors put a spin on an apple crumble, a recipe that we'll be sharing soon enough.