This Week's Hot Headlines

Death of Dallas media personality tops this week's 5 most-read stories

Editor's note: A lot happened this week, so here's your chance to get caught up. Read on for the week's most popular headlines.

1. Nicole Barrett, Dallas media personality and Kinky Friedman Cigars mogul, passes away at 46. Nicole Barrett — Dallas talk show host, barrier-breaking entrepreneur, social justice advocate, and friend to many local charities — passed away unexpectedly on August 10; she was 46. Charismatic and charming, passionate and principled, Barrett felt just as comfortable discussing hot-button topics with politicians as she did cracking jokes with close friends over long lunches, her friends say.

2. New $120 million hospital delivered to Dallas suburb experiencing off-the-charts growth. The booming Dallas suburb of Celina is poised to get its first hospital. The $120 million, 85,000-square-foot Celina Regional Medical Center is planned for a 13-acre site at the northeast corner of Dallas Parkway and Punk Carter Parkway.

3. Dallas' best restaurant, chef, and more winners crowned at 2021 Tastemaker Awards. In a year that saw the food and beverage industry recovering from the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dallas-Fort Worth's talented and hard-working culinary stars deserved to be celebrated at the 2021 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards. The winners have finally been revealed.

4. Affordable Dallas jet service JSX launches new flights to Austin for $129. Dallas-based hop-on jet service JSX is buckling in for takeoff to another city in Texas — Austin. The regional carrier, which offers semi-private air travel at affordable rates, will start daily roundtrip service between Dallas Love Field and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on September 27, with flights at $129 each way. JSX is also expanding its service between Dallas and Houston.

5. City of Dallas puts major Oak Cliff street on a slimming 'road diet'. A major street in Oak Cliff is about to get calmed: A section of Jefferson Boulevard, which begins at I-35 on the east and runs west for more than 10 miles clear to Grand Prairie, will be partially closed by the city in order to slow things down and improve the situation for pedestrians and other non-car forms of transportation.

Nicole Barrett, April 6, 1975 - August 10, 2021.

Facebook/Nicole Barrett

Nicole Barrett, April 6, 1975 - August 10, 2021.

Drinking News

Meow Wolf in Grapevine to open new interactive bar experience

Photo by Imani Thomas

The new Prime Materia at Meow Wolf Grapevine offers special drinks and a deeper level of storytelling

Immersive art museum Meow Wolf Grapevine is adding some high-tech sips via Prime Materia, a new in-house bar with drinks, snacks, and interactive art.

Set to open on Friday, June 20, Prime Materia will be equal parts cocktail bar, snack station, and interactive installation, bringing together those in search of a drink with those in search of an art experience, to uncover secrets through custom drink recipes, environmental details, and conversations with mixologists.

This new space will operate within the facility's current installation The Real Unreal, blending one-of-a-kind drinks and immersive art. Designed for all ages, it offers a new way to explore and interact at Meow Wolf Grapevine, says general manager Jamie Weaver-Garia.

"Introducing our first in-exhibition bar allows us to expand how guests engage with The Real Unreal while offering something truly unique to the Dallas-Fort Worth area," Weaver-Garia says.

The new area will be in the tucked-away zone of Lamp Shop Alley within the Meow Wolf Grapevine exhibition. Cocktails and non-alcoholic elixirs will feature names like the Overclocked Margarita, Elderberry Gin Potion, and Cold Brew Tincture.

Light bites will include pretzel bits and popcorn in the varieties of Popped Pixels and colorful Kernel Panic, provided by local vendors, with special souvenir gifts for guests who want their drinks with extra flair.

The space will allow visitors to enjoy a deeper layer of storytelling with lore-infused elixirs, snackable curiosities, and a cast of high-tech bartenders known as the Gizmo_Mancers — alchemical technologists who have mastered the art of brewing drinks from digital code.

While Prime Materia features a menu of cocktails for those 21 and up, the bar is also stocked with non-alcoholic mocktails, snacks, and interactive art elements for guests of all ages.

Access to Prime Materia is only available with admission to The Real Unreal. Tickets for Meow Wolf Grapevine are available at meowwolf.com/tickets.

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