Fun after dark

Texas' first glow-in-the-dark playground to light up in Farmers Branch

Joya will be filled with interactive, LED-illuminated features.

Facebook/Farmers Branch Parks and Rec

Fair warning to parents: A new Dallas-area playground will have kids wanting to stay up past their bedtimes. Joya at Oran Good Park in Farmers Branch, set to open this summer, will be the first glow-in-the-dark playground in DFW and all of Texas.

Meaning: When the sun goes down, the true fun begins.

"Joya will be an inclusive glow playground that, while fun in the daytime, will come alive at night with interactive features that glow, allowing for day and evening play," a description on the Farmers Branch website says. (Watch a video rendering here.)

Translated as "jewel" in Spanish, Joya will feature both a main playground (for ages 6+) and a tot playground (for ages 2 to 5).

The main playground will span about 18,000 square feet, and highlights will include:

27-foot sphere with 6 levels of climbing, swings and slides
Zip line with interactive lights
Spin Zone with LED lights
Swings
Obstacle course
Glowing seating

The 7,000-square foot tot playground will be in a fenced area and include:

Lit seating area under custom shade structures
Turf embankment play
Natural sensory play area
Two gated entrances
Ground level and ramp structured play
LED uplit spin zones

Oran Good Park is located at 13300 Dennis Ln., at the corner of Tom Field Road and Valley View Lane, in Farmers Branch.

According to Local Profile, it will open in late August and will offer not just a fun, light-up playground for the kids, but also activities for the whole family, with daytime and nighttime events year round.

The project is funded by a $750,000 grant from the State of Texas Parks & Wildlife and $4,000,000 from the Federal American Rescue Plan Act, the city says.

"The Oran Good Park location was strategically selected for Joya not just for its central location and visibility but also for the unique topography and natural features of the site, most of which will stay intact," the website says. "The location features Farmers Branch Creek and walking trails which will remain."

As part of the planning process, city staff studied potential environmental impacts an negative effects of light pollution. All of their specifications are expected to meet International Dark Sky Association (IDA) and National Audubon Society guidelines, they say.

"A riparian buffer will be planted around the creek to help with runoff, pollutants and erosion, and will invite wildlife." they say. "Birds, toads, butterflies, and all other creatures will exist in perfect harmony at Joya."

To keep up with the park progress, visit the park's website and follow along on Facebook.

Glow-in-the-dark playground Joya at Oran Good Park families parks

Movie Review

Andrew Garfield leads peasant rebellion in medieval film The Uprising

Photo by Betina La Plante/Focus Features

Andrew Garfield in The Uprising.

Writer/director Paul Greengrass made his name with a cinéma vérité style of filmmaking that brought immediacy and depth to three Jason Bourne films, United 93, Captain Phillips, and more. In The Uprising, he uses those skills to tell the story of the so-called Peasants’ Revolt in 14th century England.

Greengrass wastes no time starting the main plot as Ploughman (Andrew Garfield) and his fellow villagers object to onerous taxes put on them by the country’s nobility, led by the young King Richard II (Woody Norman), to fund an ongoing war. Ploughman initiates a violent response over the tone-deaf — and unseemly — way the king’s guard go about their business, and the rebellion soon starts to spread across the countryside, with the citizens looking for a degree of autonomy.

The ever-expanding group makes their way toward London to try to make their case to the king himself. Meanwhile, the king’s top advisors, including Archbishop Sudbury (Stephen Dillane) and Treasurer Hales (Tom Hollander), try to usurp power from the inexperienced monarch even as the king’s mother (Katherine Waterston) tries to get him to be more assertive.

The history of the English monarchy is long and lurid, as Shakespeare detailed in multiple plays, including Richard II. Though the events in the film took place almost 650 years ago, it’s easy to see parallels between what the peasants were fighting for and modern-day politics. Greengrass’ storytelling intent is solid, and the righteous anger the citizens feel is initially relatable and palpable.

But the populism theme of the story soon gets bogged down in drudgery and minutiae that is difficult to understand, especially when the details are lost in the thick regional English accents. The leaders of the rebels — including John Ball (Jamie Bell), Wat Tyler (Cosmo Jarvis), and Alyce (Thomasin McKenzie) — are shown doing a lot of planning, but the strong feelings they have about their quest don’t come across well, leaving the audience as passive observers.

When there is action, Greengrass and his team employ a frenetic style that is not great for comprehension. While the gist of what is happening and what side is winning is legible, individual moments go by so quickly so as to be nearly meaningless. Save for Ploughman, any connection that has been made with various characters proves futile, as Greengrass doesn’t seem to have any time for emotion. Scenes that should feel thrilling or heartbreaking instead come off as empty.

Garfield is a two-time Oscar nominee who has done great work across multiple genres. He’s fine in this role, but whether it’s the story, the filmmaking, or something else, he’s not as captivating as usual. The same goes for other strong actors like Bell, McKenzie, Dillane, Hollander, and Waterston, who each seem to be giving their all to their performances but are somehow muted in the process.

Done right, The Uprising could have been a rip-roaring account of people standing up against their oppressors. What Greengrass has made, though, is a film that can’t translate its medieval story for a modern audience and concentrates too much on unexciting elements and too little on thrilling ones.

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The Uprising is now playing in theaters.

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