Bright idea

A few residents of Woodbridge “a little sliver of a neighborhood between Lake Highlands and Richardson,” resident James White calls it — have teamed with students from nearby Richland College to promote art and culture in our community. White and his neighbor Mark Williamson (with support from Woodbridge’s homeowners association) spearheaded the Moonstruck project, for which they collaborated with Richland art professors, including Vicki Mayhan and Jennifer Rose, and students. Participating pupils sketched, painted and created movable three-dimensional pieces in preparation for the lateOctober event held at the pond-side park in Woodbridge. Richland and Woodbridge communities gathered to showcase and observe the works, all “focused on cultural celebrations of the full moon as well as the madness that the moon inspires,” according to the official announcement. A small jury of Woodbridge residents with artistic backgrounds awarded three students, based on their pieces, a scholarship prize. The Woodbridge neighborhood is nestled in an architecturally and florally aesthetic enclave, however, due to its location abutting one of Dallas’ densest, crime affected and economically struggling areas — Forest-Audelia — Woodbridge has seen its share of struggle. White — not an artist himself, but a patron of the arts, he says — hears a fair amount of complaining about crime, vandalism and other issues. He wanted to find a way to “proclaim the neighborhood’s assets,” he says. “Physically, we have these attractions: there are transit stations nearby, and trails and parks here in the neighborhood and, of course, one of our biggest assets is Richland Community College,” White says. “Richland has an arts program that people should know about visual arts, theater arts, they are impressive. We thought, ‘let’s help this community college to really be for the community. And let’s let the community know the good things they are doing.” The October Moonstruck night served as a preview for the Richland Arts Festival, which takes place Nov. 3- 7 at the college, located on Walnut at Abrams. —Christina Hughes Babb

During the late 1800s and early 1900s, the Dallas Police Department (DPD) adopted a mustache trend from England. “If you grew a mustache, it showed that you were healthier,” says Sr. Cpl. Roderick Janich, who curates the DPD Museum. “It was one of those, ‘Well, it’s not required, but we would prefer it because it shows you’re more healthy.’ ”And have you ever wondered what was inside those tall police hats? That’s where the officers kept their lunch. “They didn’t have anywhere else to put it,” Janich says. Read more about the DPD museum on page 30.