D. ELLIOTT
Back to School, You Coves!
“The Founding Fathers in their wisdom decided that children were an unnatural strain on parents. So, they provided jails called schools, equipped with tortures called an education.” — John Updike, The Centaur
For most kids and parents, “back to school” comes with a gazillion ups and downs. Everything from missed assignments to an A on a test, and from losing a starting position on the team to becoming captain, and *groan* from “TLA! ❤” to “I’m never speaking to him/her/them again!” *door slam*, this shit ain’t easy! So, for all your rollercoasting emotions, we’re here to offer a gentle look at ways to get excited about learning and growing and also helping — yourself and others. As it’s said, stepping outside your perhaps Champagne-y little bubble for your fellow man is the most effective way to salve whatever emotional pain you may be feeling today … this afternoon … this minute. It’s a rollercoaster, people! Buckle the hell up.
For far too many parents, the problems aren’t all emotional. For the Texas teens who can’t afford feminine hygiene products, a few nonprofits are stepping up (pg. 5), and while all Fort Worth ISD students will be forced to suffer through painful scripted class instruction, we’re confident that enough Fort Worth public-school educators will pick up the slack (pg. 7).
This is not to say there aren’t opportunities for joy. They are manifold. College football is back, for one thing (pg. 8), and for another, the Tarrant County chapter of the Texas Restaurant Association is hosting a loud and rowdy Casino Night fundraiser (pg. 16) in the Stockyards to help financially support scholarships for students interested in or entering the hospitality industry. Plus, local college and university theatrical productions are on tap (pg. 15), DFW Restaurant Week/Month is around the corner (pg. 19), and at Broadway Baptist Church on the Near Southside, there’s an academy for aspiring young musicians interested in pretty much any fine instrument (pg. 12). Similarly, for the kids (or adults) who can’t sit still, multiple private companies throughout Tarrant County exist for the express purpose of getting the “Led” out (as in “Zeppelin and others”) (pg. 22).
All that and so much more await inside. We know that kiddom and parenthood aren’t easy — nothing worthwhile ever is — but maybe one or more of our stories will afford you a little bit of relief, like when the current rollercoaster you’re on finally stops, you unstrap yourself, and you step wobbly but gladly back onto terra firma (perhaps, understandably, dreading the next ride). The guy in the epigraph, John Updike, the man who famously never wrote a bad sentence and who is easily my favorite literary fictionalist (sorry, Pynchon; sorry, Rushdie; sorry, Toni), had parenthood wrong. For all his greatness, you can’t just call us “junk” or used “flower stalks” (from the Rabbit series) once our kids reach a certain, mature age. Parenthood is never finished. For good and for bad. But it’s a high calling, one that no reasonable, humane person should shirk at any point.
And that’s why we here at the Weekly will go “back to school” next year and hopefully for many years after that. Class dismissed. — Anthony Mariani, Editor
BACK TO SCHOOL 2026
2 Introduction By
Anthony Mariani
METROPOLIS
4 What Would Jesus Do? // A panel discussion at Broadway Baptist Church endeavors to see democracy through His eyes. By Jennifer Bovee 5 Period Poverty // It’s not everything, but local nonprofits can help some students lacking hygiene products. By Amber Chadwick
7 Texas vs. FWISD // Good teachers remain, but will they be enough to make up for the 1,000+ who have left the district since the state takeover? By Ken Wheatcroft-Pardue
FEATURES
8 Buck U // Fall Actually: Snnnnffff! Can ya smell it? Football season is almost here. By Buck D. Elliott
12 After School Music Academy // At Broadway Baptist Church, music education in voice, piano, strings, guitar, and bells is available for every student. By Mark Henricks
ARTS & CALENDAR
11 Night & Day // Back to school means back to shopping, the theater, and even Hogwarts. By Elaine Wilder
15 School Play Preview // TCU, UTA, TCC, and more universities and colleges greet the fall with big- and little-name stage productions. By Kristian Lin
EATS & DRINKS
16 Casino Night // For scholarship monies, the Tarrant County chapter of the Texas Restaurant Association will host a fundraiser at Los Vaqueros. By Cody Neathery
19 DFW Restaurant Week // Dining out at select restos later this month will benefit the local kidfocused nonprofit Lena Pope. By Elaine Wilder
MUSIC
21 Keep Duane Tyree Rockin’ // The owner of the popular Platinum Music Complex is battling Stage IV cancer. By Steve Steward
22 Schools that Rawk // Tarrant County has multiple opportunities for kids and adults looking to learn an instrument. By Steve Steward
CLASSIFIEDS
9 Living Local // Teen Art Showcase
23 Living Local // Financial Awareness
24 Bulletin Board // Class Listings
STAFF
Editor-in-Chief: Anthony Mariani
Art Director: Ryan Burger
Special Projects Manager: Jennifer Bovee
Calendar Editor: Elaine Wilder
Film Editor: Kristian Lin
Music Editors: Patrick Higgins, Steve Steward
Proofreader: Emmy Smith
Editorial Board: Anthony Mariani, Emmy Smith, Steve Steward, Elaine Wilder
Contributors: E.R. Bills, Jennifer Bovee, Jason Brimmer, Todd Camp, Amber Chadwick, Jess Delarosa, Buck D. Elliott, Danny Gallagher, Ozzie Garza, Juan R. Govea, Mark Henricks, Patrick Higgins, Laurie James, Patrice Jones, Kristian Lin, Cody Neatherly, Rush Olson, Jeff Prince, Emmy Smith, Kena Sosa, Steve Steward, Jennifer Zooki Sturges, Teri Webster, Ken Wheatcroft-Pardue, Elaine Wilder, Cole Williams
Owner / Publisher: Lee Newquist
Director of Operations: Bob Niehoff
Director of Sales: Michael Newquist
Director of Marketing: Jennifer Bovee
Account Manager: Julie Strehl
Sr. Account Executive: Stacey Hammons
Account Executives: Tony Diaz, Wendy Maier, Sarah Niehoff, Wyatt Newquist
Brand Ambassador: Clint Newquist
COPYRIGHT
The entire contents of Fort Worth Weekly are Copyright 2025 by Ft. Worth Weekly, LP. No portion may be reproduced in whole or in part by any means, including electronic retrieval systems, without the express written permission of the publisher. Please call the Fort Worth Weekly office for back-issue information.
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What Would Jesus Do?
He wouldn’t side with Christian Nationalists, and he would probably attend the democracy panel at Broadway Baptist Church 10am-noon Sat.
BY JENNIFER BOVEE
While I don’t completely understand where Christian Nationalists are coming from, I do know where they came from. Some of them, anyway. While attending public elementary school, my weekends as a fourth grader included going to church with my grandfather, the hellfire-and-brimstone preacher with whom my single mother and I lived. It was a small Baptist church, the kind where the women kept their opinions to themselves and where questioning
church doctrine was unheard of. I loved both school and Sunday school and trusted my family and my teachers equally, so it’s no surprise that when the question of the origin of the universe came up on a science quiz at school-school, my innocent, wide-eyed answer was, “God made the Big Bang.” I’ll never know why, but the teacher marked it correct and gave me an A By junior high school, my mother had remarried a former pastor (go figure), and I was transferred to a private Christian school. The textbooks were from Pensacola Christian College and had all the supposed answers. In (pseudo) science class, we memorized “the limitations of science,” one being that science
cannot deal with spiritual things. (Why was that again?) Carbon dating? Not valid. God simply created rocks with apparent age. (Was he trying to trick us?)
Questioning church doctrine and your elders is likened to blasphemy in many Christian circles. This level of expected obedience hinders parishioners’ ability to read the bad signs and disengage. Instead, they push down their feelings and soldier on rather than admit that they really need a new church home. Some of my fellow high school alumni are still keeping up the toxic faith of our youth and are most likely Christian nationalists, based on what I see in their Facebook feeds
So, where are they coming from? It’s a place of trust and blind obedience. Bad leadership has led them to lose track of the main question: What would Jesus do? Sometimes, I let the music do the talking for me. Everclear sums up my feelings perfectly in their hit song “Jesus Was a Democrat”:
If Jesus was a Democrat like the Bible says he was / I don’t think he’s going to want to take the blame / For all the awful things you people do and say in his name / If Jesus was alive today, he would be sad to see / That it is no different than it used to be / Someday he’s going to call you out / I am pretty goddamned sure … / He is going to be … mad
A few of my other classmates grew up to be atheists. Me? I’m agnostic at best. If I were to take up churchgoing again, I’d start somewhere like Broadway Baptist Church (305 W Broadway Av, Fort Worth, 817-336-5761), where the pastor
is currently and literally preaching to the choir.
In late July, ahead of a screening of Jesus Was a Migrant, a film shown as part of the church’s Justice in July Sunday School Series, Pastor Ryon addressed his congregation in a letter that showcases the type of leadership he provides to the community at large on the Near Southside: “Powerfully, the film confronts us with Jesus’ own migrant journey and begs the question: If Jesus were at our own border, would we let him in or turn him away, as our government did to 270,000 asylum seekers in just one day in 2025? At the heart of the film is a profound moral and theological crisis facing American Christianity. We know that Jesus told us he would come to us as the desperate and searching stranger, yet it’s so often Christians ourselves who close the door and the heart.”
Pastor Ryon goes on to say that the film asks us to open our eyes and see what we are doing — to see Jesus as a migrant
Even though Broadway Baptist’s Justice in July programming is finished, the church is continuing the fight with an informative upcoming event. At Faith, Freedom, and Democracy from 10am to noon on Sat, Aug 8, at Broadway Baptist, faith leaders, election experts, and free-speech advocates will discuss church and state, religious influence in our government, and the rise of religious nationalism, particularly Christian Nationalism’s influence in Tarrant County and across Texas
This important educational opportunity is free to attend. Come out and learn something. Believers in nothing to every faith are welcome. I may even join you. l
Besides joining the Democratic Party, what else would Jesus do? Learn the answer at Broadway Baptist Church this Saturday.
METRO
Period Poverty
Due to cruel policy, one in three low-income Texas students regularly misses school for not having enough supplies for periods.
BY AMBER CHADWICK
I recently met up with several of my fellow volunteers for one of Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas’ period-packing parties. Surrounded by boxes of donated feminine hygiene products, we assembled hundreds of period kits for the local community. Our goal for that evening? To help those experiencing period poverty, including children.
The American Medical Women’s Association defines period poverty as the inadequate access to menstrual hygiene tools and education. In North Texas, one in four teenagers struggles to afford period products. Without access to proper supplies, students improvise with wadded-up toilet paper or wear pads and tampons for longer than recommended, exposing themselves to severe infections like toxic shock syndrome.
In Texas, one in three low-income students regularly misses school for not having enough supplies for periods. During back-to-school shopping, tight household budgets force many families to choose between buying groceries and essential hygiene products.
Until state representatives prioritize basic health care for our students, organizations like Planned Parenthood and She Supply will continue to step up and advocate for our community.
In the Fort Worth school district, more than 95% of its campuses qualify for Title I federal funding, which allows schools to allocate funds toward academic resources but rarely allows them to be used for personal-hygiene products. Fort Worth ISD does provide free menstrual products to its students, but this isn’t common practice across North Texas. In neighboring school districts, nurses and teachers buy menstrual products for students with their own money.
In 2023, the Texas Legislature passed SB-379, eliminating the state sales tax on menstrual hygiene products. Removing the “tampon tax” was a victory, but this alone doesn’t make products more affordable. Texas doesn’t require free period products in public school restrooms, though it’s mandated in 27 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. Sex education also isn’t required by state law. When districts do teach it in schools, conservative state guidelines favor abstinence-based teaching that rarely discusses basic reproductive health, leaving many students without information about their bodies.
One in six women and girls live below the federal poverty line, based on data from She Supply,
Tight household budgets force many families to choose between buying groceries and essential hygiene products.
a nonprofit that supplies free period products and undergarments to community members in need. Government assistance programs like SNAP and WIC explicitly prohibit people from purchasing menstrual products. For low-income families living in food deserts without reliable transportation, corner stores are the only option to meet everyday needs. However, local shops rarely maintain consistent stock and carry a limited selection of period products at marked-up prices. The costs aren’t sustainable, leading some desperate residents to resort to shoplifting.
There are multiple mutual aid and nonprofit organizations in North Texas actively combating period poverty. She Supply has successfully distributed more than 2 million hygiene products to more than 15,000 women and girls across North Texas, delivering supplies directly to local homeless shelters, food pantries, and domestic violence centers.
Fort Worth Community Collaborative (FWCC) provides free and dignified access to clothing, food, and hygiene products (including for periods). At their Camp Bowie location, they keep period kits on-site for anyone who needs them. FWCC will also host their annual Back-to-School Bash from 10am to 2pm on Sat, Aug 8 (8629 Camp Bowie West, Fort Worth, 817-382-2877), offering
Tight household budgets force many families to choose between buying groceries and essential hygiene products.
families free school supplies, food, haircuts, physicals, and eye exams.
Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas regularly hosts period-packing parties, assembling kits for local mutual-aid organizations like FWCC and Fort Worth Food Not Bombs. We also distribute period kits at our tabling events. These period-packing parties also serve as teach-ins, where we discuss topics like voter engagement and the upcoming midterm elections. Through Planned Parenthood Texas Votes, we travel to the State Capitol during active legislative sessions and speak directly with lawmakers about reproductive rights, so that more issues like period poverty can get addressed.
For me, advocating for my community through this work has been incredibly rewarding. It’s why I volunteer and what motivates me as a writer, because issues like period poverty deserve more attention and awareness, but they also require solutions. Until state representatives prioritize basic health care for our students, organizations like Planned Parenthood and She Supply will continue to step up and advocate for our community. l
Ride
Reverse Midas Touch
Good teachers remain, but will they be enough to make up for the 1,000+ who have left FWISD since the state takeover?
BY KEN WHEATCROFT-PARDUE
His name was Mr. DeVore. When I was in ninth grade, he was my world geography teacher. Somehow, he recognized the 14-year-old punk me had some talent for social studies. Once when I was through with my work early (a usual occurrence), he sent me with an older student from one of his upper-level courses to the roof of the school, where I helped him stretch a metal line to serve as an antenna to pick up Radio Moscow’s shortwave signals. I have no idea if it worked, but just the fact that Mr. Devore let me out of class to get on the roof of the school made me feel super-special.
Over the years, I had him a couple more times. He always expected the best from me and would continually pass me books he knew I’d be interested in. To me, Mr. DeVore was what a teacher should be. He cared about his students and tried to inspire them. Ask most teachers, and they will tell you a similar story about that one educator who most inspired them to become teachers.
So, now that the state has taken over my former district, Fort Worth ISD, promising scripted lessons and rigid curricula that tilt way to the right
METROPOLIS
— an essay by the saint of College Republicans, Ayn Rand, is now required reading — will there be any teachers who inspire their students? I am positive there will be. Regardless of who is in charge, I am always on the side of teachers and students. I believe there will be many teachers, even this school year, even at FWISD, who will do extra to reach and teach their students — though I am afraid there won’t be nearly as many as there should be.
Thousands of teachers, especially experienced ones, have left the district, and that was totally predictable. After the state’s takeover in Houston in 2021, a huge educator exodus followed, so déjà vu, the state’s tone-deaf, ham-handed management totally “succeeded” in doing it again, running off the best teachers. By Fort Worth ISD’s June resignation deadline, more than 1,000 teachers had gotten the hell out, a 58% increase over the previous year.
Here’s a little clue to the state. If your plan is to use scripted lessons, you’re basically telling your employees, the teachers, that they are the problem with education. So, of course, the ones who can are going to leave.
Who will be left to teach our children? The Board of Managers, appointed by the state’s pick for superintendent, have voted to get a waiver from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to hire more uncertified, random people. I refuse to call them “uncertified teachers” until they last a few months, at least. As a high school teacher for more than two decades, I worked with a few colleagues who started with emergency certifications who ended up becoming good teachers but only a few.
My guess is a significant number of those who are not certified will be gone by November.
Regardless of what some chuckleheads think, teaching is not easy and not everybody can do it. During my first year teaching high school, a newbie teacher like myself lasted all of one month. The students saw him, figured rightly they could run him off, and did. So, long-term substitute teachers and more uncertified hires are going to be the backup this year.
While the stated reason for the state takeover is to improve educational outcomes, everything the state and Fort Worth ISD are doing guarantees the opposite. Common sense and any number of studies prove that experienced and certified teachers are better than random people. Politicizing education by singling out a highly touted Muslim principal and investigating so-called left-wing teachers is not going to help student achievement. Forcing a poorly written Christian-based curriculum on students doesn’t help either.
But what should we expect from our far-right Christian nationalist overlords, who purport to believe that a framed piece of paper of poorly translated Hebrew will somehow magically change the behavior of students, who even if they are supposed to be walking in total silence during
passing periods (good luck with that!) will not stop to read what Moses toted off Mount Sinai? If anybody needs to read the Ten Commandments, it’s the Republican politicians who seem to be in a contest to see who can break the most.
Retired Fort Worth ISD teacher Ken WheatcroftPardue is in total awe of today’s public-school teachers dealing with a state government that’s actively anti-public school.
This column reflects the opinions and fact-gathering of the author(s) and only the author(s) and not the Fort Worth Weekly. To submit a column, please email Editor Anthony Mariani at Anthony@ FWWeekly.com. He will gently edit it for clarity and concision. l
Politicizing education by singling out a highly touted Muslim principal and investigating so-called left-wing teachers is not going to help student achievement.
Fall Actually Football
season is on the burning horizon — let’s gorge ourselves with three consecutive days of excellent games to begin the season.
BY BUCK D. ELLIOTT
I feel it in my fingers. I feel it in my toes. Football is all around us, and so the feeling grows. It didn’t take long walking around my local high school’s campus to be reminded that the best part of the year is coming. Bands are in the parking lots sweating, drill teams are stepping along to odd counts, and football teams are either braving heat that feels like we’re nestled in the Devil’s taint or grinding in indoor practice facilities with garage doors open. No matter the particular facet that appeals to you, Fall — the sports season, not the weather — is upon us.
Clear your extended weekend calendars for three consecutive days of gridiron goodness during the last week in August. Funkytowners can watch 12 quarters’ worth of God’s gift to humanity with little to no travel necessary.
This weekend begins, as the wicked ones in college always did, on a Thursday, with Texas Wesleyan (who competes in the NAIA division of college football) opening their season with the University of Central Oklahoma. The TWU Rams are hoping to return to their prolific offensive styling of 2024, when they went 10-1 and set school records for scoring. Wesleyan has made a steady rise after winning only two games in as many seasons after the program was restarted. Now, they hold consistent winning records.
are easily the two best teams in the Fort Worth area, and a non-district matchup should be quite the local treat, since the two are in different size classifications and won’t have a chance to meet during district or in the playoffs. Both squads will be eager to prove themselves after deep playoff runs last season which ended with fourth- and fifth-round exits, respectively. There are some other heavy-hitter games in Week 1 of the highschool season, but this one is easily the best in this part of North Texas.
As much as I’ve searched, there is no practical way to watch Friday night’s lights and make it to Saturday’s contest in person, so my best advice is to sleep off the tailgating beverages you definitely didn’t imbibe on Friday — it’s a highschool game, you degenerates — and watch TCU start their season across the Atlantic in Dublin, Ireland, at 11am in front of your television on Saturday morning.
The Frogs will face Bill Belichick’s Tar Heels for the second year in a row. This isn’t one to miss but for completely different reasons than last year. Plainly, this is Week 0 and is the most notable game among a list softer than my desire to take my kids to Disneyworld in the spring (which I probably can’t avoid any longer), so unless you were planning to dissect San Jose State versus USC, you were probably watching the Frogs anyway. There’s not even another game in the timeslot. TCU is literally the kickoff for the entire major college football season, and that’s pretty rad. Also, no longer is the narrative centered on Bill’s now 3-year relationship with a woman who could be his granddaughter, but it is the enigmatic Frogs who have undergone as much of an offensive overhaul as one could imagine without changing head coaches.
The Rams have made the playoffs in consecutive seasons but have yet to realize a postseason win. Since football returned to Fort Worth’s smaller private university in 2017 after a 76-year hiatus, they’ve won the Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) four times consecutively. The Rams’ season kicks off on Aug 27 at 6pm at the Crowley ISD Multipurpose Stadium, which hosts Wesleyan for all their home contests.
Friday, drive yourself back to the same Crowley ISD stadium at 7pm to watch the highschool season light up with a non-district contest between North Crowley — who have been in the mix of the most dominant teams in 6A Division 1 (the largest in Texas) — as they host the Aledo Bearcats, whose student population growth has landed them in 6A Division 2 for the first time in the school’s history. The Panthers and Bearcats
I refuse to forecast anything about TCU football this season because to do so would be irresponsible ESPN(-ish) drivel about a subject that no one — including the coaches — really has a bead on. Yet it’s inordinately exciting to consider that the purple and white will no longer be shackled to the reckless and questionable style of Kendal Briles and are now being led by Gordon Sammis. Formerly of the UConn Huskies, the former offensive lineman will inevitably bring a new style of physicality and emphasis on offensive balance. Josh Hoover, now with the defending champion Hoosiers, is likely to be replaced by graduate transfer Jaden Craig from Harvard, the most prolific player of the position to come out of that program. Do any of these changes amount to a more successful team on the field? Only time tells, but I’ll assure my loyal readers — if there are any — that the first successfully executed read-option in this new scheme will be a sexual experience, even if it’s only for two yards. l
Jaden Craig is TCU’s new QB1, and his most impressive stat from Harvard is 60 pass attempts for every interception, something fans of the Frog should be very excited about.
LIVING LOCAL
Teen Showcase Night in Sundance Square
Summer painting program culminates in an evening showcase this Thursday.
Promotional Feature
Sundance Square will celebrate the work of eight young Fort Worth area artists during Showcase Night on Thur, Aug 6, from 5:30pm to 7:30 pm in its Plaza Pavilion. The public exhibition features high school artists who just completed a nine-week mentorship with 2026 Texas Artist-in-Residence instructor Sari Shryack.
Over the course of the summer, students from local high schools met weekly in Shryack’s studio above Sundance Clay in downtown Fort Worth, developing their skills in drawing, composition, color theory, and acrylic painting while creating original works that reflect their own artistic voices. The showcase will feature one to three finished paintings by each student, presented in a pop-up gallery celebrating both their technical growth and creative development throughout the program.
“A big goal of this residency for me was to not only create a body of work centered on this city, but also do outreach based on art lessons with the community,” said Shryack. “I had an amazing painting professor come into my life when I was a teenager who gave me art as an outlet to express
myself. I truly think this shaped the course of my life. As a teacher myself now, I’m lucky to know these students and have the space and time to be able to share my passion with them.”
This painting program was created as part of Shryack’s year-long residency, which combines the development of a new body of work for a solo exhibition with community-centered arts programming in Fort Worth. In addition to her professional art practice, Shryack teaches painting via workshops, retreats, and online courses.
Growing up in a low-income household, Shryack did not realize until college that painting could become both a career and a lifelong creative practice. That experience inspired her to create opportunities for young artists to explore professional pathways while building meaningful artistic communities.
Applications for the program began with recommendations from visual art teachers across the Fort Worth area, who nominated students demonstrating artistic interest, self-motivation, and commitment. The selected students represent several North Texas high schools and arrived with a wide range of artistic experience.
“I heard about the course from my art teacher in middle school,” said Laila J., a freshman-to-be. “She told me this would be a fun opportunity. It has been; and I’ve gotten a lot better at my painting”
“I will take the knowledge that Sari shared with us,” said Anna M., a rising junior. “I get to practice my acrylic skills, which I’m happy about.”
Throughout the workshop, students completed observational studies, master studies, drawings, and paintings before transitioning into original projects that explored personal style,
storytelling, and creative expression. Their final works demonstrate not only technical achievement but the individual perspectives each student has developed over the course of the program.
“One of our dreams within the Sundance Square Art Department has been to host more community art classes, especially for young artists. We’re so proud of what Sari has built with these local students. We hope to continue providing North Texas with accessibility to the arts, but also to creative outlets, whether you’re an experienced artist or have never picked up a paintbrush,” added Sarah Ayala, Art Director at Sundance Square.
The Showcase Night is free and open to the public. During the event, attendees will have the opportunity to meet the student artists, view their work, and celebrate the accomplishments of the inaugural class. Shryack will deliver remarks at 6pm.
CALENDAR
Night & Day
Aaaaand we’re back!
BY ELAINE WILDER
Beyond saving a few hard-earned tax dollars, there are also many free resources available this weekend for Back to School. Along with all the school-supply procurement happenings, you’ll also find some fun themed events for your entertainment in the listings below. That’s how we roll.
Supply Line
Along with passing out their own after-school care program info, the Downtown YMCA (512 Lamar St, Fort Worth, 817332-3281) has lots of freebies available at the Back to School Bash. From 5:30pm to 7:30pm, there will be free school supplies for the first 50 students, plus free haircuts and ice cream. There is no cost to attend.
Before you decide to pack the kids and head to the YMCA event above, first check to see if you are eligible for the 20th annual Tarrant County Back to School Roundup at Tarrant County College South Campus (5301 Campus Dr, Fort Worth, 817-515-8223). This signature event provides free school supplies and essential services to 3,000+ students in pre-K thru 12th grade who meet certain criteria. Recipients must be schoolchildren ages 3-18 who reside in Tarrant County and whose families meet the income guidelines. School supplies will be provided to eligible students in grades pre-K thru 12th attending any public school in Tarrant County. Backpacks will also be provided to children in grades pre-K thru fifth grade. To find out if your family qualifies and to pre-register (required) for a timeslot, visit BacktoSchoolRoundup.org/ event-details.
This weekend is the annual back-to-school sales tax holiday throughout the State of Texas. From Friday thru midnight on Sunday, shoppers can buy most clothing, footwear, school supplies, and backpacks priced under $100 per item completely tax-free, according to guidelines set by the Texas comptroller.
Riverside Barber & Beauty School (707 N Riverside Dr, Fort Worth, 817-386-9719) is hosting its annual Back-toSchool Community Event from 9am to 1pm to help students start the school year with confidence. Student practitioners and licensed volunteer barbers will provide free haircuts for students (pre-K thru 12th grade). There will also be free food and drinks, plus free backpacks and school supplies while supplies last and a community pop-up market with resources, giveaways, and more. There is no cost to attend, but RSVP is recommended at RBBITx.com.
Fun Ed
Does anyone else remember that magazine promoting recreational classes? You know, the one called Fun Ed? Just me then? Cool. My back hurts, and I need a new eye cream.
Facts: Not everyone is college-bound, and nearly every toddler is fascinated with heavy equipment. With these two things in mind, consider taking your youngsters on a field trip to Dig World Construction Adventure Park (2200 W Grapevine Mills Cir, Grapevine, 214-884-7865, 9am-4pm), where they will be able to experience learning to dig by operating real full-size excavators, drive a real skid steer through a highway-style course, and race mini tractors. While much of it is aimed at younger kids, the older ones in tow will have fun too. Tickets are $30 at DigWorldNation.com.
After last week’s run of Hamilton, Broadway at the Bass presents another learning opportunity in musical format. Today thru Sunday at Bass Performance Hall (525 Commerce St, Fort Worth, 817-212-4280), the Tony-winning Suffs: The Musical focuses on brilliant, passionate, and funny American women like Alice Paul and Carrie Chapman Catt, who fought tirelessly for women’s right to vote. It’s worth noting that
Now boarding Hogwarts Express! For many Potterheads, back to school means back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and at the Gaylord Texan, ICE! will celebrate Harry’s world this holiday season.
“suffs” is short for “suffragists,” which is what these American women called themselves. “Suffragette” was a term coined in the British press to mock the women in the movement in England. Tickets start at $50 at BassHall.com.
Now boarding Hogwarts Express! For many Potterheads such as myself, back to school means back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. While I never read the books, I do enjoy the film series and binge-watched the whole thing again recently while working on this very column. Of course, I was super-excited to learn that the Gaylord Texan (1501 Gaylord Trl, Grapevine, 817-778-1000) just unveiled Harry Potter as the theme for its annual holiday production of ICE! (Fri, Nov 13, thru Sun, Jan 3).
For the first time in history, elements inspired by the wizarding world will come to life in 2 million pounds of hand-carved ice. Visitors will be greeted by a towering ice sculpture of Hedwig, Harry’s beloved owl, before stepping into 10 rooms filled with photo-op scenes of Hogsmeade Station, the Forbidden Forest, the Three Broomsticks, the Great Hall, and Hogwarts Castle, where you can race down six impressive two-story ice slides that lead toward the Quidditch Pitch, where the room will burst into light and color in celebration of each Hogwarts house. Tickets for ICE! featuring Harry Potter are already available at ChristmasatGaylordTexan.com starting at $35, but if you purchase by Mon, Aug 10, you will receive a 30% off discount code.
For the 32nd year in a row, Arts Fifth Avenue (1628 5th Av, Fort Worth, 817-923-9500) is offering a 10-week program for homeschooled kids, with the goal of introducing them to the arts and instilling a lifelong love of them. Every week on Wednesday, the students will have classes in art, dance, musical instruments, and theater. From 10am to 4pm, aspects of each discipline are taught, and each session varies according to students’ levels and the artists-in-residence’s teachings. Then on Fri, Nov 20, there will be a showcase performance at 6pm. The Homeschool Arts Program is for ages 7-12 and costs $400 per student, plus a 10% discount for each additional child enrolled in your family. For more information or to register, visit ArtsFifthAvenue.org/homeschool-program.
Built around the tagline “Opera for Everyone,” the new Fort Worth Opera Family Series invites children, parents, family members, and first-time attendees to experience opera together through four engaging productions, interactive activities, and performances done with families in mind. Designed specifically for children in pre-K through third grade, The Ugly Duckling celebrates kindness, confidence, and self-discovery through an engaging production and character photo opportunities. The performance will take place at the Fort Worth Zoo (1989 Colonial Pkwy, Fort Worth, 817-759-7555) on Sat, Sep 26, at 11am, with every ticket including zoo admission and an interactive animal encounter. Tickets start at $30 FWOpera.org.
The Gnome Knows...
How to save water.
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FEATURE
After School Music Academy
At Broadway Baptist Church on the Near Southside, music education is available for every student.
BY MARK HENRICKS
Nate Krieger talks a lot with his hands, and when the subject is music education, he gets into it. Clearing off a space on his desk at Broadway Baptist Church, the executive director of Fort Worth After School Music Academy spreads a pair of big, freckled appendages out on the surface much like his music-teacher father must have done when sitting down at the organ keyboard.
“I’ve watched it transform people,” Krieger said of music education, his resonant tenor voice quivering with passion.
Music and music education have demonstrably been central to his life, first and most fundamentally as son of the late George Krieger, then with the Texas Boys’ Choir, Fort Worth’s Dorothy Shaw Bell Choir, scholarship student in TCU’s vocal performance program, and continuing today as a Fort Worth Opera chorus member and professional soloist for First Presbyterian Church.
For the past two years, after long stints with Billy Bob’s Texas and his own marketing company, Krieger has funneled much of his organizational, promotional, and musical talent and energy into the after-school music program. FWASMA began as a re-boot of the 60-year-old bell choir, which had been put on hiatus during the pandemic.
When Krieger was recruited to help get the choir going again, instruction and performance in voice, piano, strings, and guitar were added to bells. This past June, the music education program wrapped up its summer music camp. For a week, 25 kids from across the city studied children’s choir, guitar, drums, recorder, and piano, finishing with a 45-minute recital concert.
“They were so enriched by this,” Krieger said. “The confidence I saw in these kids by Day 3 was amazing, and some of them had never touched an instrument before.”
Supplying that enrichment to anyone regardless of prior experience or financial resources is the purpose at FWASMA. And, in an era of declining public-school funding, it’s particularly relevant.
“Music is one of first things to get cut,” Krieger said.
Still, Fort Worth’s public-school music education program was this year named for the 13th time one of the National Association of Music Merchants’ Best Communities for Music Education. But the district’s lengthy roster of recent and planned school closures can reduce local students’ access to music education. FWASMA aims to help keep that loss as small as possible.
One academy initiative supports local public schools’ existing music education efforts. Last year, the group worked with after-school programs at W.M. Green and Mary Louise Phillips elementary schools. FWASMA supplied the schools, both in economically disadvantaged areas, with instruments, training and transportation, and other resources to access competitions.
With the help of individual donors and grants from the Sid Richardson Foundation and others, FWASMA aims to remove financial as well as logistical and material barriers to music education. continued on page 13
The FWASMA children’s choir performed in Sundance Square during the 2025 Christmas season.
Fort Worth After School Music Program’s Nate Krieger: “Music is not a privilege. It should be available for everyone.”
Music
from page
The academy’s weekly private lessons normally cost $275 a month, for instance, but students with financial needs can qualify for a discount of up to the full amount.
“We’re not going to turn anybody down,” Krieger said.
The academy’s lessons currently are taught to 62 children. Seventeen adults attend bell music lessons. Scholarships are anonymous so no one knows which students are getting financial assistance.
At Broadway Baptist, the Southside congregation that dates to 1882, the academy occupies a suite of spacious group instruction and individual breakout rooms at other times used for Bible classes. There’s plenty of room to expand in the massive Gothic Revival building completed in 1952. Pete Nelson, Broadway’s director of community ministries and partnerships, said this partnership is good for the long term.
“Broadway, for all its history, has been very committed to music education,” Nelson said.
Fort Worth’s favorite musical personage, Van Cliburn, was a long-time member, Nelson pointed out. The church’s organ, the largest in the state, is named for the famed pianist’s mother, Rildia Bee O’Bryan Cliburn.
This fall, FWASMA plans to expand from supporting two elementary school campuses and teachers to 10. Krieger hopes to go from helping 100 students to assisting 300. The private lesson program, if all goes to plan, could double to 120 school-age students.
Another big development is partnering with Tulips FTW, the venue just around the corner from Broadway Baptist. This will add sound engineering to the academy’s offerings. Students will get hands-on, real-world experience and micro-certificates attesting to their ability running soundboards, recording software, and other tools of professional sound engineers.
Publicly sharing the love of music through performance is a big part of FWASMA’s mission. The children’s choir entertained at Sundance Square last Christmas, and bell and vocal choristers did a joint concert with the Plano Symphony in Addison.
For all these efforts, Krieger’s lifelong Fort Worth roots and deep engagement with the city’s music industry seem well-positioned to provide access to whatever support is needed to keep the program going. The keyboard instruments and music scores for the FWASMA piano program, for instance, come from TCU, where he studied vocal performance.
And he’s been gratified at the number of small and large individual donors who’ve stepped up to augment the grants that provide primary funding. But there’s still lots to be done. Before offering a firm handshake and heading off to rehearse for a principal role in a local musical, he reiterates their mission of keeping music education accessible for all students.
“We eliminate any financial barrier that gets in the way of music,” Krieger said. “Music is not a privilege. It should be available for everyone.” l
continued
12
Shown at Broadway Baptist Church with the Rildia Bee O’Bryan Cliburn Organ, the largest instrument of its kind in Texas, Fort Worth After School Music Program Director Nate Krieger said, “We’re not going to turn anybody down.”
When resurrecting the bell choir, instruction and performance in voice, piano, strings, and guitar were added to bells.
FWASMA
The bell chorus and children’s choir recently combined with the Plano Symphony for a joint concert in Addison.
STAGE
School Plays Our colleges gear up for the fall theater season.
BY KRISTIAN LIN
When it comes to live theater, serious fans know that you can’t sleep on the universities. College theater productions might not have the same polish, prestige, or production values as plays put on by professional outfits, but they have provided a starting point for the likes of Moises Kaufman’s The Laramie Project, Jeremy O. Harris’ Slave Play, and Greg Kotis’ Urinetown. Maybe the next great theatrical sensation receives its start at one of North Texas’ universities. With that in mind, we hereby present our preview of what’s to come this fall at our local schools.
TCU will kick off its theatrical season with a one-night staged reading at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art. The event called Stethoscope Stage features monologues and playlets by various authors that take on health-related subjects like body image issues and GLP-1 use, which is certainly a hot topic these days. The event is accompanied by a panel discussion with health professionals, so the evening will be of interest to more than just theatergoers. Following that in October is a proper run of The Moors, Jen Silverman’s patch on English gothic thrillers about two sisters and their dog whose lonely life in their family mansion is interrupted by the arrival of a governess and a bird. (The animals are portrayed by human actors, which should give you an idea of the play’s sense of humor.)
It’s fall, which means university theater is on tap.
If that’s too weird for you, TCU will also put on A Chorus Line in November. The Pulitzer Prize-winning musical about dancers aiming for a last shot at the Broadway stage has lost little of its relevance in the 50 years since it premiered. And since the film versions of The Odyssey and Hadestown have whetted our appetites for Greek mythology, TCU’s fall concludes with Anna Ziegler’s The Minotaur, telling a whimsical, contemporary version of the story from the half-bull/ half-man’s point of view as he’s driven by his desire to eat people but also yearns for human connection and love.
Speaking of humans portraying animals, details have been doled out drop by drop about
Maybe the next great theatrical sensation receives its start at one of North Texas’ universities.
Tarrant County College’s upcoming theater shows, but Theatre Northwest’s next production will be an adaptation of Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows, so Mr. Toad will ride again for your kids to see.
Meanwhile, UTA begins fall with a bang. Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater’s much-feted rock opera about German teens coming to terms with their sexuality, Spring Awakening is a collaboration with Dallas’ Theatre Three. It runs concurrently with another UTA collab, this one with Dallas’ Second Thought Theatre. Clare Barron’s Dance Nation is about a group of pre-teen girls in Ohio trying to keep their morality as they focus on reaching and winning a national dance championship.
UTA stays focused on music and dance with an October production of Into the Woods, featuring fairy-tale characters singing some of Stephen Sondheim’s most tongue-twisting songs. If musicals aren’t your thing, UTA will follow that with one weekend’s run of Waiting for Lefty, Clifford Odets’ 1935 play about a group of New York taxi drivers debating whether to go on strike for higher wages and chafing against their union leaders for shady labor practices. The fall season at UTA concludes with their Fringe Festival, a run of short plays and sketches by student and faculty playwrights, musicians, and designers.
As of this writing, we have not received word on upcoming theater productions at UNT, SMU, Texas Wesleyan, or Texas Woman’s University. However, once those schools set their schedules for the season, our Night & Day page will keep you informed, so be sure to check our print and web editions. As long as our colleges and universities continue to contribute to North Texas’ cultural life, we will stay abreast of their doings onstage. l
EATS & drinks
Casino Night
The local chapter of the Texas Restaurant Association has a fundraiser coming up for food-industry scholarships.
BY CODY NEATHERY
Since the pandemic, historic levels of inflation, a never-ending supply-chain meltdown, and petty tariffs have forced the restaurant industry to evolve based on self-preservation. From January to June of this year, Texas accounted for more than 1,000 restaurant closures, leading the nation. DFW ranked third among metro areas, with 240 losses behind New York’s and Chicago’s. Individually, Dallas came in at No. 8 and Fort Worth at 11, based on a report by RestaurantData.com. Fastfood chains and sandwich shops were hit the hardest, and roughly two-thirds of the restaurants that shuttered did not serve alcohol.
That news seems grim, but on a positive note, Texas leads the nation in new restaurant openings — as evidenced by the orange cones and construction sites covering the entire state. That silver lining doesn’t dilute obstacles like high food and labor costs or a lack of disposable income plaguing the public. Being a member of the food and beverage industry is definitely not for the weak-spirited.
Fortunately, the Texas Restaurant Association (TRA) is an organization whose mission is to ease the pain that restaurateurs often face. Being a member comes with access to affordable insurance options for both business and staff and an array of vendor relations, legal advice, and resources, plus an overall sense of community. Led by CEO Dr. Emily Williams Knight, the TRA sends representatives to state and federal government legislative sessions to lobby on behalf of the hospitality industry.
Another invaluable element is that the TRA is a resource that assists in shaping the industry’s future with numerous educational opportunities for students and at-risk youth. Every year, the Tarrant County chapter of the TRA holds Casino Night to raise funds for scholarships for the young men and women who dream of being chefs, restaurant managers, and, maybe one day, owners themselves. The next Casino Night is at the end of this month.
“Casino Night strictly raises funds for the chapter to award scholarships and donates funds back to the restaurant foundation,” said Corey Mobley, Tarrant County TRA director, adding that the fundraiser also allows the chapter to give continued on page 17
Casino Night “strictly raises funds” for the Tarrant County chapter of the TRA to “award scholarships and donates funds back to the restaurant foundation.”
to local teachers’ classrooms and helps pay for the TRA scholarship tied to the annual Fort Worth Food and Wine Festival.
The restaurant community here is closeknit, and the members truly care about making a positive difference on local kids’ futures.
“Each year,” said TRA Foundation Executive Director Heather Pickett, “the foundation awards scholarships made possible through generous donors and corporate partners. This year, we awarded approximately $45,000 in foundation scholarships to students pursuing culinary arts, hospitality, or restaurant management degrees after high school.”
Texas ProStart, the TRA’s “flagship workforce development program,” serves more than 34,000 high school students in approximately 265 Texas high schools, Pickett said, explaining that the students take culinary arts and restaurant management courses through their Career & Technical Education (CTE) programs with the curriculum by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation.
The TRA also offers the Texas Restaurant & Foodservice Management (TRFM) CTSO, the hospitality Career and Technical Student Organization which provides “leadership development, competitions, service opportunities, and career-readiness experiences.”
The TRA prepares students for “careers and connects them with the industry through guest chefs, mentors, competitions, restaurant tours, networking, internships, job fairs, and our restaurant members.”
internships and jobs through those relationships, but they are hired directly by employers rather than through the foundation. In short, what we do is build the pipeline.”
Lastly, the ProStart Educator Training Conference (PETC) is professional development for culinary educators to “strengthen
Plus, the Texas ProStart Invitational (TPSI) is the foundation’s annual statewide culinary and restaurant-management competition. This year, Pickett said, more than 850 students participated, and colleges and universities from across the country awarded more than $3.1 million in scholarship monies.
classroom instruction and ultimately improve student outcomes.”
The TRA, Pickett added, prepares students for “careers and connects them with the industry through guest chefs, mentors, competitions, restaurant tours, networking, internships, job fairs, and our restaurant members. Many students obtain
The local TRA’s Casino Night, with lots of grub, booze, and gambling, will take place in the Stockyards from 6:30pm to 9:30pm on Mon, Aug 31, at Los Vaqueros, owned by TRA board member Vicki Cisneros. Tickets are $75 dollars and can be purchased via TXRestaurant.org or at the door. All tickets include food and drink. l
Los Vaqueros owner and TRA board member Vicki Cisneros believes Casino Night is great for generating scholarship funds for aspiring hospitality-industry students.
EATS & drinks
Where Are Your Manners?
Take your well-behaved littles out to eat during (or after) DFW Restaurant Week.
BY ELAINE WILDER
Twice a year, area restaurants band together to not only give diners a chance to try gourmet meals at a discount but also to help a local nonprofit. For every meal purchased at a participating restaurant during the fall DFW Restaurant Week, which is now actually a full month, 20% will be donated to Lena Pope, a Fort Worth nonprofit that provides prevention
and early-intervention services to support child development and improve the behavioral and mental health of children and families.
If you are currently in the middle of raising some well-mannered, compassionate children who care about other people and the world around them, the kind who can sit through a meal and not throw a tantrum, perhaps this is a teaching moment about helping other children in need and about showing off those newly acquired table manners. While you may want to get a babysitter and do #DateNight during Restaurant Week, here are some of the family-friendly places on the list for when you want to circle back and bring the whole fam. Hey, those kids gotta eat too.
City Works Eatery & Pour House (5288 Monahans Av, Fort Worth, 682-207-1500) offers a well-rounded kids’ menu with staples like burgers, chicken tenders, mac ’n’ cheese, and pizza, all safe bets for young eaters.
Del Frisco’s Grille (1200 E Southlake Blvd, Southlake, 817-527-4800) features a kids’ menu with elevated versions of classics like cheeseburgers, chicken tenders, and fries in a slightly polished setting.
Dumpling Queen (1050 Flower Mound Rd, Flower Mound, 972-355-2323) doesn’t have a traditional kids’ menu, but there are shareable options like dumplings, noodles, and fried rice that are easy for kids to enjoy.
Mac’s on Main (909 S Main St, Grapevine, 817251-6227) offers a classic steakhouse-style kids’ menu with items like chicken tenders, steak bites, and simple sides that feel a bit more elevated.
Moxies (1472 Main St, Southlake, 682-688-5000) features a familiar kids’ menu with favorites like burgers, chicken dishes, and pasta.
Rise Soufflé (2001 W Southlake Blvd, Southlake, 817-251-4743) serves simple kid-friendly choices like cheese soufflés and light, approachable dishes that tend to appeal to younger diners.
The Sicilian Butcher (3200 Tracewood Way, Fort Worth, 817-912-1096) is especially kid-friendly with meatballs, pasta dishes, and customizable plates which naturally double as a de facto kids’ menu.
Tinie’s Mexican Cuisine (113 S Main St, Fort Worth, 817-882-9840) doesn’t have a traditional
kids’ menu but does dish out options like tacos, quesadillas, and sides that are easy to adapt for younger diners.
Forty-three of Tarrant County’s finest dining destinations are gearing up for a major milestone this summer: the historic 30th anniversary edition of DFW Restaurant Week. The month-long culinary celebration officially kicks off next week (Mon, Aug 10), and runs thru Labor Day (Mon, Sep 7).
Lunch menus start at $29, dinner menus at $49 or $59, and every meal helps support Lena Pope’s mission to help kids and families. For the full scoop on what these businesses are offering during DFW Restaurant Week, visit DFWRestaurantWeek.com and follow them on socials. l
Participating in DFW Restaurant Week will benefit Lena Pope’s mission of helping kids and families.
Lena Pope
MUSIC
Keep Duane Tyree Rockin’
The owner of the popular Platinum Music Complex is battling Stage IV cancer.
BY STEVE STEWARD
Of all the arbitrary cruelties in the world, cancer is easily the most insidious. This May, Platinum Music Complex owner Duane Tyree learned that the colon cancer he’d been fighting for months had spread to his liver, and the 56-year-old now has a Stage IV diagnosis. Tyree, who loves the Lord at least as much as he loves Van Halen and is trusting in God to take him through this struggle, continues to devote as much energy as possible to the North Richland Hills rehearsal, education, and performance space and the hundreds of musicians and fans who have grown up around it. So far, his friends and family have put on two benefit concerts for him, one in June at the Blue Bayou in Fort Worth and another at
PMC. Both featured a stacked lineup of hard rock, blues, and Texas country, and the outpouring of support was tremendous. Yet Tyree is still undergoing chemotherapy, and his bills are staggering. His fiancée, Mariha Fauth, has started a GoFundMe to help raise money for his treatment, and of their $9,000 goal, $915 has been donated so far, so if you’d like to help a helper, please visit GoFundMe.com and look under “Support Duane & Platinum Music Complex NRH .” l
Battling Stage IV cancer, Platinum Music Complex owner Duane Tyree could use some financial and spiritual help right now.
Duane Tyree
In North Richland Hills, Platinum Music Complex has been a home away from home for countless North Texas musicians over the years.
Duane Tyree
MUSIC
Schools that Rawk!
Whether
your kiddo is a savant or just wants to let off steam, or you’re in it for yourself, North Texas is full of musiceducation opportunities.
Group settings only help.
BY STEVE STEWARD
Fun fact: I’ve been playing bass for nearly 30 years, and in all that time, I’ve taken only two lessons. The only way I really learned the instrument was by playing it in a band. I bring this up because private lessons are but one way to learn to play music, and in my experience, I only got better by playing with better musicians. Below are some local music schools that, in addition to private lessons, offer group practices, camps, and even opportunities to play concerts at local venues. It’s great to get good at guitar or piano via solo and/or private instruction, but it’s even better to get good by learning to play with others.
Across six locations in Fort Worth, Colleyville, Keller, Southlake, and Lewisville, Creative Soul Music School has classes geared for everyone from li’l tykes on up to adults, with a variety of camps that get kids rocking out together. Creative Soul even does “Band Date Night,” in which an instructor shows you and your friend(s) how to play a song together. (Think: a cooking-class date night, but replace the souffle attempt with learning how to play “Wonderwall” or some such.) Creative Soul also offers team-building
classes, which I would hope you and your officemates would use to learn to pound out “Working for the Weekend” and really mean it.
Founded in 1983 by the late, great virtuoso J. Michael Dailey, The Guitar Studio is the iconic Cultural District guitar school (4455 Camp Bowie Blvd, Fort Worth, 682-355-0190) that, along with its sister locations in Grapevine (211 W Northwest Hwy, 945-998-6039) and San Antonio, has helped develop the talent of hundreds of classical guitarists. Each location offers both private and ensemble lessons for players of all skill levels, and they also sell Altamira classical guitars and accessories.
On the Near Southside, Music Junkie Studios (1617 Park Place Av, Fort Worth, 817-919-0761) endeavors to get kids hooked on music at an early age, offering “lessons, classes, and camps for wiggly toddlers, curious kids, teens, and lifelong learners,” so if your kids fit any of those descriptions or you yourself need to scratch that itch to finally learn the drum parts to the first Strokes album, Music Junkie is a fantastic resource, staffed by local musicians with serious chops and great rapports with their students.
Platinum Music Complex (301 NE Loop 820, North Richland Hills, 817-381-5408) is possibly the only studio in America that used to be a city jail, and it still has fully functional cells and whatnot. But it is also unique in that it is indeed a complex, offering everything from rehearsal spaces, a recording studio, a 170-capacity performance venue, and private and group music lessons, so whether you want to film a video that has an incarceration theme or need a teacher to help you and your buds learn how to play 311’s “Prisoner,” Platinum is a great spot to get locked in.
School of Rock is probably the best-known of the bunch, since it’s been around since 1998 and its franchises are somewhat ubiquitous. In Tarrant County, you’ll find School of Rock locations in Fort Worth (4608 Bryant Irvin Rd, 817-332-7625), Arlington (5760 Pleasant Ridge Rd, 817-482-9723), Saginaw (6944 Blue Mound Rd, 817-985-7625), and Southlake (3220 W Southlake Blvd, 682-5930990). No matter where you end up, School of Rock’s highly engaging and effective instruction method is still based on the idea that founder and music teacher Paul Green had nearly 30 years ago: Get students to play popular songs together. From beginners to musicians interested in the mysteries of digital recording, School of Rock has something for aspiring rockers of all ages. l
Tarrant County rings with the sound of assorted music schools.
CLASSIFIEDS
Empowering Communities Through Financial Awareness
By Antoine Fischer
Being financially savvy and stable is key to having a strong and healthy local community. When a resident is financially aware, they can better make decisions to not only help themselves but also help grow their community financially.
When individuals and/or households have financial awareness, they are able to make sound decisions that support the long-term economic health of their community. People with financial awareness have control of their money and are prepared for financial situations that may arise. They will have access to safe and affordable housing, be able to start and grow their own businesses, be prepared for financial emergencies, and make smart purchasing decisions, to name a few.
Building Confidence in Everyday Financial Decisions
Many everyday financial decisions have long-lasting effects. Setting up a payment plan, using a credit card to make purchases, signing up for services with complex terms and conditions, and taking out loans to cover expenses are just a few examples of financial decisions that can have effects for months or even years to come.
A key element of being financially aware is to understand how to budget. Creating and sticking to a budget can help to ensure that you have enough money for everyday living and that you have enough money to spend and save on things such as holidays and long-term savings products. It can also help to identify areas where you could cut back to avoid a financial crisis before it actually happens. Knowing how much you can afford to spend and how much you have available for savings each month can help to make a wide range of financial decisions, ensuring that you choose the option that best fits your circumstances and avoid paying too much for a financial product.
People with control of their finances are in a better position to make appropriate comparisons between different financial services and products and understand the terms and conditions of agreements before they enter into them. They are also more likely to choose financial services that are suitable for their circumstances, to manage their finances effectively and to be less vulnerable to financial pressure. As a result, they are able to make consistent progress towards their financial goals.
Expanding Access to Stable Housing
For many, the largest expense is housing, whether that is a home to own or a place to rent. As someone who is financially aware, you will know what your budget can afford to pay for rent before you start applying for apartments to rent. In addition to the monthly rent, there are usually several
other costs associated with renting a home. In addition to the first month and last month of rent as a security deposit, there are also application fees. You should also budget for the cost of utilities, whether that is individually for each or as a flat rate for all. Additionally, you should factor in the cost of moving into a rental property, as well as the cost of a renter’s insurance policy.
Landlords use several criteria to determine whether a potential renter is a good candidate for a rental property. These criteria include the income of the potential renter, the rental history of the potential renter and the credit score of the potential renter. By knowing what the landlord is looking for before you start searching for a rental property, you can be better prepared and have all of the necessary documents for the potential renter in order before you apply for a rental property. Knowing how much you can afford to spend on rent in advance will also help you to avoid getting into financial trouble by choosing a more affordable option.
Using Credit Awareness as a Planning Tool
Credit information can affect many areas of financial life. It may influence rental applications, loan approvals, interest rates, and access to certain financial products. For small business owners, personal credit may also be reviewed when applying for financing, especially during the early stages of a company.
For this reason, it can be helpful to periodically check credit score information as part of a broader financial routine. Reviewing a score allows individuals to understand how their borrowing history may appear to lenders or landlords. It can also provide an opportunity to identify errors, unpaid accounts, or signs of unauthorized activity.
Regular review can help people track improvement and prepare for future applications. Paying bills on time, keeping balances manageable and limiting unnecessary credit applications may support a healthier credit profile over time. These habits can also encourage greater discipline in other areas of financial management.
Supporting Small Businesses and Local Entrepreneurs
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STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF: LANCASTER IN THE MATTER OF: TIMMY LEE WITHERSPOON Decedent Alleged Incapacitated Individual Jamie Lee Witherspoon Petitioner(s), vs.
Timothy Demarcus Witherspoon, Marquis Witherspoon, Bradley Coleman Witherspoon and Teshauna Witherspoon, Respondent(s).*
IN THE PROBATE COURT CASE NUMBER 2025-ES-29-00____
SUMMONS
*For Guardianship/Conservatorship matters, you must include the alleged incapacitated individual as a Respondent.
TO THE RESPONDENT(S) LISTED ABOVE:
YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED and required to Answer the Petition in this action, a copy of which is herewith served upon you, and to serve a copy of your Answer upon the Petitioner(s) listed above at the following address(es): Please Type or Print.
T. ALSTON DEVENNY, Attorney for Petitioner (Name of Petitioner/Attorney for Petitioner) POST OFFICE BOX 1657 (Street Address or Mailing Address)
LANCASTER, SC 29721
(City, State, and Zip Code)
Your Answer must be served on the Petitioner at the above address within thirty (30) days after the service of this Summons and Petition upon you, exclusive of the day of such service; and if you fail to answer the Petition within that time, judgment by default will be rendered against you for the relief demanded in the Petition.
s/ T. Alston DeVenny T. ALSTON DEVENNY
Date: SEPTEMBER 30, 2025
Probate Court recommends that all interested parties be represented by counsel licensed to practice law in South Carolina. If any interested party wishes to represent him/herself, he/she will South Carolina Rules of
*When sending Notice of Hearing to interested parties upon whom pleadings were not required to be
FORM #326ES (1/2016) 62-1-401 IN THE PROBATE COURT NOTICE OF HEARING CASE NUMBER: 2025ES2900636
BULLETIN BOARD
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Complete a ballot for the Readers’ Choice portion of Best Of 2026 now thru Sun, Sep 13 at FWWeekly.com.
CONSUMER CELLULAR
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ELEMENT COCKTAIL LOUNGE
Best Monday Happy Hour In Town!
We have Champagne, Silver Star Texas Mules, and vodka strawberry limeade on draft, along with over 20 varieties of beer.We offer specials every day and live music on the weekends. Sunday Funday kicks off with Mimosa Flights all day, starting at $12. Late Night Cocktail Hour is Mon-Thur 9pm-12am. Join us at 200 N Mesquite St in Arlington #105, Arlington!
EMPLOYMENT
Economist I
General Motors Financial Company, Inc. has one opening in Fort Worth, TX: Economist I (Ref#22029.136.2). Req. MS in Finance, Econ, Math or rel. field (or foreign equiv). & 2 yrs exp. in job offered or an Economist-related occupation using Data Analysis, Data Warehousing, Model Documentation and Rational Datasets. 100% telecommuting permitted. To apply, please send email to recruitment@gmfinancial.com. Reference #22029.136.2.
EMPLOYMENT
General Motors Financial Company, Inc. has one opening in Fort Worth, TX: Software Development Engineer III (Ref# 22029.149.2). Req. BS in Computer Science, IT or the foreign equivalent & 5 yrs of progressively responsible experience in a software development engineer occupation. 5 years of experience using ASP.NET, C#, MVC, JQuery, Javascript, HTML, SQL. 100% Telecommuting Permitted. To apply, please send email to recruitment@gmfinancial.com. Reference #22029.149.2
EMPLOYMENT
IT Data & Analytics Applications Analyst sought by Lhoist North America, Inc. in Fort Worth, TX to design, develop & maintain custom software applications to support enterprise reporting & analytics needs. Troubleshoot, optimize application performance & document technical specs. Collaborate w/business stakeholders to translate requirements into scalable software solutions for data integration, reporting & visualization. 5% travel required to Lhoist manufacturing sites in the US. Telecommuting allowed 2 days per week. Must live within commuting distance to the office. Interested candidates should submit resumes to Emily Kelley, Senior HR Manager, LNA.Recruitment@lhoist. com. Reference code ITDA85 in subject line.
EMPLOYMENT
The Romance Store is NOW HIRING at BOTH locations. Full and part time positions available. Email Romancestore2@gmail.com to apply
EMPLOYMENT
UString Solutions, LLC seeks Senior Software Engineer to develop front-end applications. For job duties and requirements visit https://www.ustringsolutions. com/careers-detail.php?jid=44. Relocation required. Send resume to UString Solutions or email: HR@ ustringsolutions.com.
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PUBLIC NOTICE
The following vehicles have been impounded with fees due to date by Sega Tow (VSF0576658) at 2711 S Riverside Dr, Fort Worth TX, 76104, 817-572-7775; 2024 Tesla Cybertruck, VIN: 7G2CEHEE7RA011815, $1,997.49; 2015 Jeep Cherokee, VIN: 1C4PJLAB0FW695566, $3,890; and Hyundai Translead Trailer, VIN: 3H3V532CXHT282018, $7,333.13.
VETERAN CAR DONATIONS:
Increase Your Tax Deductions!
Donate your car, truck, boat, RV and more to support our veterans! Schedule a FAST, FREE vehicle pickup and receive a top tax deduction. Call 1-844-450-1590 today!
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