This Week's Hot Headlines

Dallas 4th of July fun tops this week's 5 most explosive stories

Editor’s note: Another week has come and gone, and there’s a lot we all probably missed. But we’re looking out for you, kid. Here are the most popular stories from this past week:

1. You’ve never had shaved ice like the stuff at this East Dallas stand. One Dallas food group that could use a serious makeover is shaved ice — and here comes Ruby's Sno-balls to the rescue, a new stand opening in East Dallas the first week of July.

2. The official list of top 4th of July events around Dallas-Fort Worth. Celebrating the Fourth of July around Dallas-Fort Worth is easy, as the wealth of parties big and small leads to an embarrassment of riches when it comes to event choices. These are the biggest and best ones for your oohing — er, viewing — pleasure.

3. Big-name Dallas chefs sign on with Plano's trendy new food hall. Legacy Hall, a booming new food hall from Jack Gibbons and Randy DeWitt of Front Burner Restaurants (Velvet Taco, Whiskey Cake, Mexican Sugar), is opening in Plano and has signed up a slew of high-profile Dallas restaurateurs.

4. Crafty new Irish pub fulfills all kinds of needs for downtown Dallas. An essential category of bar is debuting in downtown Dallas: the Irish pub. Crafty Irishman Public House will open in fall 2016 in the Mercantile building on Main Street.

5. Young professionals may fight over this $190,000 downtown Dallas condo. Listed at just under $200,000, unit 905 at Soco Urban Lofts, located at 1122 Jackson St. in downtown Dallas, was so affordable that it's already under contract. And while it's compact at 933 square feet, it's really all a young professional needs.

This SoCo condo was listed for $190,000; it's already under contract.

Photo courtesy of Shoot2Sell

This SoCo condo was listed for $190,000; it's already under contract.

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Video Game Fun

Immersive version of Minecraft videogame makes world premiere in Plano

Photo courtesy of Mojang Studios

The Minecraft Experience: Villager Rescue will be in Plano starting on October 18.

A new interactive game experience will make its world premiere right here in Dallas. Called Minecraft Experience: Villager Rescue, it's an immersive event that combines gaming with a scavenger hunt, and it will make its debut on October 18 in Plano, in a former Buy Buy Baby location at 2712 N. Central Expwy., adjacent to DART's Parker Road Station.

The limited time event will take place through at least January 5. A release claims it will hit additional cities around the world, but to be announced at a later date.

Minecraft is a game first invented in 2011 that gives players a virtual sandbox where they can explore, create, and survive. It's one of the most popular video games of all time.

This immersive experience gives gamers a chance to enjoy an in-person version — to be heroes in real life as they go on a one-hour journey featuring an interactive scavenger hunt.

Participants embark on a rescue mission with a team of fellow Minecrafters and travel through multiple Minecraft biomes while building structures and interacting with iconic mobs, aka creatures from the game.

No prior knowledge of Minecraft is required to enjoy the event, as organizers promise that new players, creators, and longtime Minecrafters will experience the game in an entirely new way.

All guests will receive a code to get a commemorative half-zombie, half-villager cape that can be used to customize their in-game character in Minecraft: Bedrock Edition.

The event was originally announced in May with a debut forecast for September; at that time, the original Stockholm-based developer of Minecraft, Mojang Studios, was involved. But the current producers are two entities identified as Experience MOD and Supply + Demand.

Single ticket prices start at $32, with friends and family multipack tickets starting at $28 per person. Tickets can be purchased in advance at minecraftexperience.com.

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