I know there’s a lot going on this weekend, but you owe it to yourself to head over to the Deep Ellum Arts Festival. I checked out the scene last night and loved it so much I may go back today (and take a real camera).
I didn’t move to Dallas until after Deep Ellum was past its prime. People keep telling me what Deep Ellum used to be like. How great it was. How much they loved hanging out there. I always believed them, but it wasn’t until last night that I saw how great Deep Ellum can be. People (and dogs) filled the streets, artists and food vendors lined either side, and although there was a lot of jostling, a lot of friendly exchanges were also had.
One of the vendors said she was from Austin, and although she felt like Austin was more laid-back and receptive to her particular style of art, she said she was enjoying Dallas. Another artist was sitting in a director’s chair wearily watching people pass by. She said Saturday had been a long day (she’d been there almost 12 hours). She had only sold one piece of art. But she was optimistic in the number of cards she had passed out and how many times she had been asked about commission work. When we caught up with her an hour later, she was much happier. She had just sold two more pieces. Another vendor said he had talked to a lot of people and although he hadn’t moved many of his bigger pieces, he realized that it was better for his work to not be packed in a box in his truck. He said that the younger crowd tends to have less money than others, but he’d been having a good time.
As the musicians played on, the food vendors slowly started running out of food. Disappointed that we weren’t able to get a slice of Cane Russo, we headed across the street to the restaurant where we caught the end of last night’s game and ate way too much pizza. Deep Ellum’s on its way back. I can’t wait to see what’s next.
