Downtown Wanderland

Downtown Dallas ramps up roster of festivities for 2015 holiday season

Downtown Dallas plans to celebrate the holidays in a very big way.

Photo courtesy of Downtown Dallas Inc.

Neiman Marcus no longer has to hold up the holiday fort on its own. Downtown Dallas Inc. to the rescue, ramping up for the holidays with an all-encompassing celebration called Downtown Wanderland, which includes pop-ups and special offerings from restaurants, bars, and cafes starting November 19.

Making its debut is a concept called Park It Pop-Ups, a series of rolling mini-boutiques rotating through downtown public spaces like Pegasus Plaza, Main Street Garden, and Stone Street Gardens. Offerings will include a Taschen Library reading room, Dallas Farmers Market, Weekend Coffee cart, Brad Oldham Studio, Charming Florals & Finds, Ro2 Art in the Park, Downtown Pawz, Pink Toes Mini Bar, and other selections from some of downtown's favorite spots.

There will also be a Wanderland partnership with Unbranded, the concept founded by Matt Alexander and Bryan DeLuca, that provides free space to entrepreneurs, designers, developers, coffee roasters, photographers, and artists at 1600 Commerce St.

"DDI is thrilled to partner with Unbranded to bring a new, fresh concept to downtown for the holidays," says DDI vice president Kourtny Garrett. "It will be a great complement to Neiman Marcus, The Joule retail, and all of the other great shopping and restaurant additions we've seen open over the last several years."

Demonstrations by artists such as Kyle Steed, Tiffany Mac, Lily Smith Kirkley, and Bruce Webb, including live mural works, will pop up on Thursday evenings at 1217 Main St. Fridays will have their own slate of special programs at lunch and happy hour. Weekends will feature family-friendly activities including live music, photos with Santa, and movie screenings.

Restaurants offering specials throughout the Downtown Wanderland season include Weekend Coffee, Midnight Rambler, CBD Provisions, Americano, Dallas Fish Market, Wild Salsa, Dallas Chop House, Oven & Cellar, Chop House Burger, City Tavern, The Woolworth, and Cafe Strada.

Unbranded and Park It Pop-Ups will be open Thursday-Sunday, 11 am-7 pm. From November 19-December 20, Thursday hours will be extended to 9 pm for Wander Walks.

For more updated information and a list of participating vendors, artists, restaurants, and bars, visit the Downtown Wanderland website.

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Politics News

Dallas narrows down field for new city manager to 4 candidates

Photo by R K on Unsplash

This is an Dallasite's sign to launch that small business they've been dreaming of.

After six months without a city manager, the city of Dallas has narrowed down the field of replacements to four semifinalists including one serving as current interim city manager, plus candidates from Fort Worth, Michigan, and Georgia.

Dallas has been without a city manager since May, when previous city manager T.C. Broadnax left to take a job with the city of Austin. Since that time, Broadnax's former chief of staff Kimberly Bizor Tolbert has served as interim city manager.

The city retained Baker Tilly, a consulting firm, to recruit and compile candidates. (Baker Tilly famously erred in the brochure it created for the position by featuring a photo of the Houston skyline instead of Dallas; they've since replaced it with Dallas.)

A spokesperson for Baker Tilly did not respond to inquiries but according to D Magazine, an email listing the candidates has been sent to the Dallas City Council.

The semifinalists include:

Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, Dallas’ current interim city manager
William Johnson, an assistant city manager in Fort Worth
Mark Washington, the city manager of Grand Rapids, Michigan
Zachary Williams, a county chief operating officer in Georgia

All have more than 25 years' of public administration experience and have worked in similar capacities in their respective cities.

Before working in Fort Worth, Johnson was Baltimore’s transportation director and Atlanta’s deputy chief operating officer and public works commissioner.

Washington worked in Fort Worth and Austin before becoming Grand Rapids’ city manager.

Williams has mostly worked in Georgia at the county level, including serving as county manager in Fulton County and chief operating officer in DeKalb County.

Tolbert began working for the city in 1998, first as the city manager’s assistant and later in the aviation department. Broadnax hired her as his chief of staff in 2017.

Unlike the Mayor and the Dallas City Council, the city manager position in Dallas is not elected but is instead appointed by the city council, and is tasked with executing policies, overseeing the annual budget, and managing staff at city hall.

The council’s Ad Hoc Committee will choose finalists, introduce them to the public, and make an offer in early 2025.

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