Mesmerizing Texas

Meow Wolf unveils trippy theme and opening date for new portal in Grapevine

Rendering of the Meow Wolf Grapevine lobby.

Courtesy of Meow Wolf

The most anticipated arts event of summer in Dallas-Fort Worth now has an opening date: Meow Wolf will open Friday, July 14 at Grapevine Mills with the intriguing theme "The Real Unreal." Tickets are now on sale.

According to a May 16 release, the immersive experience at the DFW "portal" will take participants on a "journey through a Technicolor wonderland that blends storytelling, technology, and immersive art." Guests will experience different dimensions of perspective and creativity through more than 30 rooms.

They further describe the journey like this: "A missing boy, a chosen family, and Hapulusgarrulus Lophoaquaflori all lie at the center of 'The Real Unreal’s' story, conceived by author LaShawn Wanak. It all begins with a blended family who has unknowingly unlocked portals to a different existence. As participants investigate these portals to the unknown, they will explore rooms that are both unfamiliar yet accessible through unforgettable psychedelic art."

Meow Wolf Grapevine will feature the work of 150 artists and fabricators, including 38 from Texas, who have created the artistic installations for 70 "unique and captivating experiences," they say. The local collaborating artists - muralists, sculptors, photographers, video game designers, and more - include Dan Lam, Emmanuelle John, Mariell Guzman, Lance McGoldrick, XaLaVier Nelson Jr., Riley Holloway, and Nico Salazar (Future Fantasy Delight).

In addition to the exhibition, "The Real Unreal" portal will include a retail store, live event venue, and cafe featuring 15 food purveyors.

Meow Wolf is a wildly popular, Santa Fe-based interactive adventure known for enchanting art lovers and amusement zealots with its mind-bending immersive experiences. The first-ever Texas portal (so called for Meow Wolf’s expertise in transporting visitors to fantastic realms of imagination), in Grapevine, has been in the works for more than a year.

The new Grapevine portal will be located in the Grapevine Mills shopping mall and encompass 40,000 square feet in the space formerly occupied by a big-box store. A Houston portal will follow, in 2024.

Meow Wolf got its start in 2008 as a DIY collective of Santa Fe artists, growing into a full-fledged immersive-art affair with the opening of the permanent Santa Fe location in 2016. In 2021, the company branched out with two additional permanent portals in Denver and Las Vegas. Each location hosts a unique art exhibition.

“It’s an exciting moment to share the opening date of our next exhibition. 'The Real Unreal' ... takes a bold step forward in our evolution of art and storytelling,” says Jose Tolosa, CEO of Meow Wolf, in the release. “As we pursue sustainable and thoughtful expansion, we are beyond excited to bring our unique brand of wonder unveiling this next chapter of the Meow Wolf universe and look forward to having new participants experience Meow Wolf.”

"The Real Unreal" will be open at 10 am daily beginning July 14. (Hours may vary.) Tickets are now available for pre-purchase starting at $50 for general admission ($45 for children). Pre-booking a time slot for entry is required.

Grapevine Portal Meow Wolf Summer Event galleries exhibitions-visual-arts

Season of Love

Dallas-Fort Forth theater stars 'sleigh' with original holiday album

Cherish Love Robinson Love's Holiday album

Photo by Jordan Fraker

undefined

Move aside, "Jingle Bells." Members of Dallas-Fort Worth's theater community have debuted a new holiday album full of original songs, all spearheaded by singer/musician Cherish Love Robinson.

"A few friends invite me to their annual Christmas parties, and I’m usually the last one to leave, hanging out at the piano with a group of others, singing holiday classics," she says. "Every year, I promise myself I’ll record a Christmas song, but either I remember too late or forget altogether. Then in January, after watching a documentary about Quincy Jones producing ‘We are the World,' I realized I’d been wanting to do this for years."

Titled Love's Holiday, the nine-song album was recorded, mixed, and mastered entirely in Dallas (in the digital liner notes, Robinson dedicates a special shout-out to Oak Cliff). Robinson fully composed and produced all the tunes, with rapper Cya Fix collaborating on the song "Better."

"I didn’t want to hassle with licensing or digging for public domain songs, so I made the decision to create original material instead," she says. "I just started writing like a madman and didn’t stop until June."

The song list spans comedic — "A Birthday Christmas," "Broseph & Mary" — to soulful with "I Pray" and sassy with "Slayeigh." Songs like "RSVP" and "Home" evoke classic Christmas vibes.

Frequent theatergoers will likely recognize many of the singers, including Justin Locklear, Lee Walter (as Jada Pinkett Fox), Brett Warner, Quintin Jones, David Lugo, and Dallas Theater Center Brierley Acting Company members Blake Hackler and Sally Vahle.

Area musicians like pianists Rebecca Lowrey and Cody Dry, guitarist Ian Ferguson, bassist Benjamin Brown, and fiddler Kat Glaze lend their talents as well, with Robinson herself accompanying several songs on keyboard and percussion.

"When I sat down to think about who I wanted to collaborate with, I was lucky that everyone I asked said yes," Robinson shares. "I didn’t just want to work with talented singers; I wanted to bring in musicians who really inspire me as well."

Cherish Love Robinson.Photo by Jordan Fraker

Some of Robinson's notable onstage work includes The Witch in DTC's production of Into the Woods, Doloris Van Cartier in WaterTower Theatre's Sister Act, the rock musical Hundred Days at Circle Theatre, and Theatre Three's original musical Solstice, which she also co-composed.

Robinson's voice and vocal production have been featured on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy and HBO’s Big Little Lies, with superstars Erykah Badu and The Roots of The Tonight Show, and on The Colbert Show as a background singer. As a producer, she has crafted and arranged vocals for artists such as Elle King, The Texas Gentlemen, and Paul Cauthen.

"My favorite time of year starts with my birthday in October, and it spans all the way through the holidays until New Year's Day," Robinson says. "Those months are absolutely my favorite. I have to remind myself not to start listening to holiday music too early!"

Love's Holiday is available for streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music, and can be purchased for digital download here.

holidays theater music shopping