Progress continues on West Seventh Street improvements. The major work will be completed in November.

The contractor will perform overnight paving Oct. 24-Nov. 3, excluding Friday and Saturday nights. Paving will require eight nonconsecutive days: Monday-Thursday and Monday-Wednesday.

Completing the paving work overnight will expedite the process and produce a safer work environment. The contractor will begin work no earlier than 8 p.m. and finish by 5:30 a.m. to ensure the street is back to normal daily closures by 6 a.m. each day.

Expect delays and seek alternate routes on Lancaster Avenue and White Settlement Road.

The project will be substantially complete on Nov. 11. The remaining major work items to complete are paving, markings, signage and landscaping.

Work items completed so far are the center median construction, including stamped and stained concrete; concrete bicycle lanes; and pedestrian lighting from University Drive to the Trinity River Bridge. New traffic signals have been installed at Woolery Street and Norwood Street. Railroad signals have been relocated and new sidewalks at the railroad crossing have been installed.

Once complete, the project will provide a road that balances the needs of the vehicle user, transit user, pedestrian, bicycle user and others. West Seventh Street connects two significant districts: the western boundary of downtown Fort Worth and three museums in the Cultural District with increasing amounts of housing, retail and restaurants.

FORT WORTH, Texas (October 20, 2022) — The Fort Worth Botanic Garden invites guests to walk alongside a stunning, first-ever marigold carpet cascading down the iconic Rose Garden and view the Garden’s own altar at the top of the rose ramp Saturday, Oct. 29 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. in honor of Día de los Muertos.  

El Día de Los Muertos or The Day of the Dead is a festival in which the living prepares for and celebrates the souls of the dead. Throughout Mexico, it is traditionally observed on November 1 and November 2, when the departed souls return to enjoy for a few brief hours the pleasures they once knew in life. In Mexico, the observation of this feast is a deeply rooted and complex event that continues to be of great significance for many people. It is not only a day of celebration but a day of prayer and remembrance of friends and family members who have died. 

To honor loved ones, numerous community organizations partnered with the Garden to paint the more than 300 wood bricks that will line the marigold carpet at the steps of the Rose Garden and include: Artes de la Rosa, Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas (FW Chapter), Fort Worth Sister Cities (Toluca Committee), Federación de Clubes Zacatecanos de Fort Worth, Mana de North Texas, All Saints Catholic Church, and Carrillo Funeral Home. The Kimbell Art Museum also submitted 50 painted bricks to honor both the event and its 50-year anniversary. 

Visit Fort Worth’s Director of Leisure Sales and Hispanic Partnerships Estela Martinez-Stuart says the event represents “a beautiful collaboration between the Garden and several Hispanic and non-Hispanic organizations to create a true community altar.” 

“Families will want to come and view these creations or honor their loved ones and enjoy the Day of the Dead Altar special installations,” Martinez-Stuart said.  

Mexican culture highlights from Día de los Muertos include the following: 

• The Garden has planted more than 5,000 four-inch orange marigolds, Tagetes erecta, Cempasúchil, or the Mexican marigold, for the Rose Garden marigold carpet. 
• Under the shelter house will be two trajineras, or colorful boats used to navigate the canals surrounding the floating gardens of Xochimilco, a borough south of Mexico City. The boats were constructed by Garden volunteer Don Irwin and painted and decorated by Garden staff and the external community members on the Garden !Celebramos! committee. 
• Harpist Gonzalo Mata will play live music from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. 
• Paletas, a frozen Mexican treat made from fresh natural fruits, will be available for purchase. 

While the event takes place Oct. 29, the floral carpet and bricks will be on display through Nov. 2. 

WHAT:	Fort Worth Botanic Garden Fall Japanese Festival   Hosted in cooperation with the Fort Worth Japanese Society
WHEN:	November 5-6, 2022   9 a.m. – 5 p.m. (last admission at 3 p.m.)
WHERE:	Fort Worth Botanic Garden  3220 Botanic Garden Blvd  Parking is available at Lots A & B,  in front of Garden Center  Uber and Lyft drop off Garden Center turnaround  FREE/Overflow parking:  3701 Birchman Ave, Ft. Worth Christ Chapel Bible Church, 3408 W. Freeway (along the I30 access road) or Dickies Yellow lots
WHY:	Fort Worth Botanic Garden invites visitors to celebrate fall in the Japanese Garden while exploring the arts and culture of Japan. Enjoy traditional Japanese dance, Taiko drummers, martial arts, sword demonstrations, raku pottery, food trucks, and more in the garden.
MORE:	Adults $12 | Seniors 65+ $10 | Child 6-15 $6 | Child 5 & under are FREE  Register here for tickets: fwbg.org/japanesefestival   FWBG Members receive free admission and must be logged in to receive their free tickets. Join at fwbg.org/membership.  Food will be sold at food trucks/concessions. No outside food is allowed.  No photo passes will be sold during the Fall Japanese Festival.

ort Worth’s net sales tax collections in July totaled $17,694,876, up from July 2021 by 9.3%.

The state saw a net collection increase of 13% compared to the same month last year.

The city’s General Fund net sales tax collections year to date are 117.8% to budget, and at 116.3% compared to the year-to-date total last year. The city’s Crime Control and Prevention District Fund sales tax collections for June are 117.8% to budget and 116.7% of the year-to-date total for the same month last year.

The City anticipates collecting $204,500,000 by fiscal year end, an increase of $21.6 million, or 11.8%, over the fiscal year 2022 adopted budget.

Sales tax revenue represents 22% of the city’s General Fund budget. This is the second largest revenue source, with property taxes being the largest.

For the Crime Control and Prevention District, sales tax revenue represents the largest revenue source.

At 6 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 20, the GM Financial Parade of Lights will take over the streets of downtown Fort Worth for the 40th year, with more than 100 illuminated floats, festive performers, holiday decor, live music and hundreds of thousands of sparkling lights.

With a sold-out crowd expected for this milestone year of Texas’ largest holiday parade, attendees are encouraged to purchase reserved Street Seats, which start at $18 and are available for sale online.

For the last four decades, North Texas-based nonprofit organizations, private and public businesses, schools, arts and cultural groups have dazzled crowds with their professionally designed floats, sparkling vintage cars, festive horse-drawn carriages, spirited marching bands and carolers as they prance through the 1.59-mile parade route.

“Downtown Fort Worth Initiatives Inc. first presented the Parade of Lights in 1983 to a crowd of only 25,000 people as a way to bring the holiday spirit to the community while helping to shift perceptions of the Central Business District,” said Gloria Starling, chair of DFWII’s Festivals and Events Committee. “Forty years later, the once-small attraction has quadrupled in size to become Texas’ largest illuminated holiday parade.”

Learn more online.

 

The popular Fall Plant Sale at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden will be held from 2-6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7, and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8.

The fall plant sale is free to enter and features a wide assortment of annuals, citrus trees, fruit trees, perennials, shrubs, mums, bulbs and seeds. The sale also includes specialty plants grown at the Garden and plants offered by local plant societies. Vendors will be onsite selling their own garden-related merchandise. Guests are encouraged to bring their own wagons to transport plants to their vehicles.

The sale will be in the Garden’s Grove area. To reach the Grove free of charge, park at the West Entrance, 3408 West Freeway, and enter through the Lot D Gate.

The semiannual plant sale provides advice from expert horticultural staff, who assist guests in finding plants that will work best in different yards and landscapes. Proceeds benefit the Garden.

Botanic Garden members receive 10% off (excludes vendor plants and products) and get in early for the member presale. Not a member? Join online.

TIME named Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker to the 2022 TIME100 Next list.

An expansion of the TIME100 list of the most influential people in the world, TIME100 Next highlights 100 emerging leaders who are shaping the future of business, entertainment, sports, politics, health, science, activism and more. The full list and related tributes appear in the Oct. 10/Oct. 17 issue of TIME, available on newsstands on Friday, Sept. 30, and now online. 

“It is an absolute honor to represent Fort Worth on the TIME100 Next list. The way we come together to find solutions in this city sets us apart, and people are taking notice. Thank you to TIME for including me and to Congresswoman Granger for the kind words,” Parker said.

U.S. Rep. Kay Granger wrote the introduction to Parker for the list:

“Public service means leaving things better than we found them. In 1991, I blazed a trail as the first female mayor of Fort Worth. Today, Mattie Parker leads the nation's 13th largest city.

In the six years Mattie served on my congressional staff, she completed law school, had her first son and adopted her daughter. It was clear then that she was a force. Besides serving next as chief of staff to the former mayor, she started a nonprofit to help students thrive.

Now mayor at 38, she builds consensus for a safer and stronger Fort Worth, nurtures thriving families (including her own), and fosters quality of life in every ZIP code.

I wrote a book called What's Right About America, on our founding leaders. Today, what's right about America are next-generation leaders like Mattie, who learn from diversity, do the hard work of good governance, and carry the torch.”

 

The Fort Worth City Council unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday pledging $15 million to the development of the National Juneteenth Museum in the city’s Historic Southside neighborhood.

The contribution will only be made once the balance of the $70 million project is raised.

Architectural renderings of the National Juneteenth Museum show a building with a dramatic roofline that reflects the gables of the shotgun-style homes in the Historic Southside neighborhood where it will be located.

The building’s design, and that of three adjacent residential buildings in the development planned for the Evans and Rosedale corridor, was unveiled during a recent City Council work session.

Jarred Howard, principal with Sable Brands, the project’s developer, said the museum was designed by the New York office of Denmark-based Bjarke Ingels Group. It is the same architecture firm that designed Google’s Northern California headquarters.

The design also draws on the design of the Juneteenth Star featured on the official Juneteenth flag, Howard said.

In the making for several years, the project was formally announced in December 2021. The museum will be on the second level of a two-story building. The lower level will feature a restaurant, business incubator, 250-seat amphitheater and storefronts. The three adjacent residential buildings will have 55 residences.

“Literally and figuratively, it was designed to be a beacon of light in an area that has been dark for a very long time,” said Howard, who grew up in Fort Worth’s Stop Six neighborhood. “It’s time for the revitalization of the Historic Southside. Our hope is that the city will embrace it.”

The national museum will complement those in the Cultural District and become a global tourist destination, he said.

Construction could begin by year’s end or in the first quarter of 2023. A grand opening is planned for mid-2025.

Fort Worth resident and activist Opal Lee is the impetus behind the Juneteenth federal holiday. Juneteenth had been celebrated in Texas for many years to commemorate June 19, 1895, when Texas slaves were freed following the Civil War.

View a gallery of architectural renderings depicting the planned museum.

Did this summer’s unprecedented high temperatures leave you wishing you had a beautiful tree in your yard to provide some shade?

Trees can help reduce summer temperatures and stormwater runoff, improve air quality, beautify neighborhoods and even increase property values.

The City of Fort Worth Park & Recreation Department gives away free trees through its Neighborhood Tree Planting Program, operated by the Forestry Section. Residents may request free 5-gallon trees to be planted in the parkway or within 20 feet of the edge of a roadway, whichever is greater.

Neighborhood groups can sign up 25-75 residents for a spring delivery. All participants need to do is plant trees and water the newly planted trees until they get established.

To learn more or to coordinate a tree planting event for your neighborhood, contact Hannah Johnson at 817-392-7452.

FORT WORTH, Texas (August 24, 2022) — The Fort Worth Botanic Garden invites guests to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 during ¡Celebramos!, a series of events in the Garden celebrating Hispanic culture. 

“This year ¡Celebramos! offers new additions to the lineup following last year’s successful inaugural series,” said CEO and President Patrick Newman. “Celebrating the rich heritage of one of our many diverse communities is a reinforcement of our commitment to serve and be welcoming to all.” 

When entering the Garden during Hispanic Heritage Month, guests will be greeted by a colorful art display, turning the Leonard Courtyard into the Garden’s own version of Frida Kahlo’s La Casa Azul in Mexico City. The final ¡Celebramos! event will be an evening for adults. “An Evening at Casa Azul” will feature food, drinks and music. See event listing below for more events and for more details visit fwbg.org/celebramos. 

Learn About La Herbolaria with Fort Worth Blue Zones — Sept. 17, 12 p.m. - 2 p.m.
Quinceañera Community Celebration — Sept. 17, 4 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Mariposa Market — Sept. 24, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. and Sept. 25, 12 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Latin American Walking Parade & Festival — Sept. 24, 5 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Día de la Familia — Oct. 1, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Family Movie Night, Featuring Disney’s Encanto — Oct. 1, 8 p.m.
Lunchtime Lecture Series: Caribbean Urban Ethnobotanies in New York City, Oct. 4, 12 p.m.
Blessing of the Animals — Oct. 4, 4 p.m. - 6 p.m.
Fort Worth Opera Presents “¡Bienvenidos!” — Oct. 8, 2 p.m.
Fort Worth Opera Presents “¡Bienvenidos!” — Oct. 15, 2 p.m. - 3 p.m.
An Evening at Casa Azul — Oct. 15, 6 p.m. - 10 p.m. 

Guests are encouraged to become members to receive special discounts throughout the event series. Visit fwbg.org/membership to join today.