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.  

As part of a goal to transform the way city services are delivered in Fort Worth, the City purchased the former Pier 1 building at 100 Energy Way. The move will bring functions from 22 departments from 14 buildings into the site.

The existing tower is also undergoing a number of changes to support a welcoming and functional space for municipal government.

Some changes are already underway, such as replacing more than 20 sections of roofing, replacing core information technology functions and updating security systems.

Project managers are working through designs to heavily renovate many of the floors in the building to promote collaboration and transformed services. These renovations will include emphasizing the shared daylight principle, looking to maximize the use of natural light into the space and provide lines of sight to windows for all workers on the floor.

A critical part of the upgrades is ensuring the designs allow City departments to grow and change over the next 50 years, putting an emphasis on constructing spaces that can be easily converted to meet departments’ future needs.

In addition to renovating the City staff floors, the tower will be undergoing major changes to play host to the City’s one-stop-shop customer service functions. This area will house many of the major customer-facing functions in one area, reducing trips around town and bringing together critical functions that currently operate in distant buildings.

Updates are also coming to the lobby level. These changes are aimed at providing an efficient and equitable City Hall experience. Look for intuitive wayfinding, alternative areas to work while in the building, and a pre-council lobby area to better serve members of the community on council days.

The building will see updates to the terrace level, including the cafeteria, which will eventually host a food hall concept, providing meal options to those in the tower and from the surrounding neighborhood.

Additional changes are planned to better accommodate some of the incredible art from the community, including the potential for a rotating art program and partnerships with local art communities.

Updates are being made to better serve residents who require ADA accommodations. Everyone should feel safe and welcomed while visiting their City Hall.

Residents can learn about Future City Hall by emailing questions. Many of these questions and answers will appear in future communications with residents.

View details on the Council Chamber groundbreaking event on Sept. 15.

As temperatures finally show signs of dropping, the Fort Worth Botanic Garden has returned to regular operating hours. In July, due to high temperatures, the Garden began closing at 3 p.m. daily.

Now, gates open at 8 a.m. and close at 6 p.m., with the last tickets of the day sold at 5 p.m. and the last photography passes at 4 p.m.

FWBG | BRIT members receive early admission daily at 7 a.m. Not a member? Join today. 

This week’s heavy rainfall and flooding underscores the need for every resident to receive reliable weather warnings.

Residents can register for a free service called Fort Worth Texas Alerts. In the event of community emergencies, an emergency alert will be sent by text or email. Or residents can sign up for optional weather warning alerts via text, email or voice calls.

The city’s Fire Department Office of Emergency Management manages the emergency alert system designed to be one of the tools used to alert residents of hazardous conditions.