• Small town, big time: Music City Texas Theater in Linden
Christmas in July
On the weekend before the first Monday of each month, approximately 7,000 vendors and 300,000 shoppers convene in a wildly creative entertainment-and-shopping wonderland, nestled on the edge of the East Texas Piney Woods. That's First Monday Trade Days in Canton. Imagine that you're shopping for home decorations, fixtures, appliances, antiques, fine art, funky crafts, clothing, electronics, food, fabric, beaded lampshades, sunglasses, shoes or the kitchen sink – and you're not in a shopping mall or a big-box retail store. Instead, you may be in a mock Old West shopping area called the Mountain. Or you may be in any number of funky shops, covered pavilions and outdoor bazaars that make up the hundreds of acres in the First Monday Trade Days shopping district. The city owns the original 100-acre parcel, which includes an open-air market, four pavilions and a civic center building. Also, there's a privately owned pavilion complex called the Arbors, which is considered by some to be a must-see. Many other privately owned spaces and shops are shoehorned into the area. This weekend, the Old Mill Marketplace, which includes the Mountain, will put on the Idlers Car Show and the fourth annual Christmas in July bazaar. Don't be surprised if you stumble upon some guys and gals who put on a Wild West gunfight skit at the Mountain. Entertainers and music are all part of the ambience.
• First Monday Trade Days: June 29 through July 1. Most vendors open at 8 a.m. and close at 6 p.m. Some vendors stay open until dark. State Highway 64 just south of Interstate 20, Canton (about 55 miles east of downtown Dallas). 903-567-6556 or 903-567-5445. www.firstmondaycanton.com or www.oldmillmarketplace.com. Free admission; $3 for parking.
– Nancy Moore
Published in The Dallas Morning News: 06.29.07
The 2007 Festival-Institute Summer Season
Annual summer programming of International Festival-Institute at Round Top includes recitals, orchestra and chamber music concerts, and master classes. The season runs June 9-July 14 at Festival Concert Hall on the Festival Hill campus in Round Top, Texas. Visit www.festivalhill.org for more information on schedule, tickets and directions. 979-249-3129.
– Bindu Varghese
Published in The Dallas Morning News: 03.23.07
