Deep Ellum keeps district alive with history, arts, music, food and a ...

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Home / Scene / Deep Ellum keeps district alive with history, arts, music, food and a diverse community

By Brittni Barnett/ Senior Staff Writer

The soft glow of streetlights shines down on a small circle of men dressed in loose-fitting shirts and pants. Using drums connected to straps slung over their shoulders, the performers pound out a steady beat. Women adorned in saris dance around the drummers playing tambourines and chanting to the music. An ever-growing crowd of onlookers soon joins in, clapping and tapping their feet to the rhythm.

It?s just another evening at the Deep Ellum Arts Festival.

The 18th annual free three-day event opens today and is expected to bring in thousands of people hoping to enjoy the sights, sounds and tastes of one of the city?s premier arts and entertainment districts.

?The festival is a great tradition for the Deep Ellum art and music scene,? said Sean Fitzgerald, president of the Deep Ellum Community Association. ?It is great for the long-term identity of the area.?

This year?s festival will feature 200 decorative and visual fine artists, and 100 bands and musicians, said Stephen Millard, president of Main Events International, the company that organizes the event every year.

?It takes about three to four hours to make your way down the street and back up again if you really want to do everything,? he said. ?Just when you think you?ve heard and seen it all, there is something new.?

Keeping Art Alive

Musical artists at this year?s festival will perform on five separate open-air stages, Millard said.

?Artists will perform all original songs,? he said. ?Some of the people that will play here will go on to be superstars someday.?

This year?s lineup features several well-known Denton artists such as Brave Combo, whose sound is described as a mix between polka and punk, Jessie Frye, who was deemed an artist to watch at this year?s South by Southwest Festival in Austin by the New York Times, and Seryn, a folk band that also played at SXSW this year.

Paste Magazine named Seryn ?Best of This Year?s SXSW? for 2011.

?Deep Ellum is such a cool hangout, not just Deep Ellum in general but the festival specifically,? said Nathan Allen, guitarist and banjo player for Seryn. ?It?s a meeting of art and music, and they work really hard to put it all together, and it?s really cool to be a part of that.?

New to this year?s festival is the Deep Ellum Texas Stage. The stage will feature only artists from the Deep Ellum district.

?It?s a smaller, more intimate stage,? Fitzgerald said. ?The artists will play homegrown stuff, signature to Deep Ellum.?

Some of the other stages include the Dallas Songwriter?s Stage, which features local artists performing original compositions, the Artists Underground Stage ? the only 21?and-up area of the festival ? and the Texas Lonestar Stage, featuring the ?Texas Road House Blues Tour.?

This year?s festival features visual and performing artists from around the country. Festivalgoers will have a chance to browse art in a variety of mediums, including ceramics, painting, photography, jewelry, glass, wood and metal.

Dave Piper has been with the festival since it began. He has made custom leather sandals for more than 40 years.

?Outdoor art and craft festivals are a totally American concept,? Piper said. ?They are unique in that at these major shows everything is custom-made.?

Good Eats

More than 30 restaurants will provide a variety of food options for guests, including Mexican, Caribbean, Mediterranean, Asian, American, Italian, specialty desserts, crepes, health foods, barbecue and more.

Beer and wine are also available throughout the festival grounds. Those hoping to enjoy cocktails can purchase them in the Artist Underground and Hard Bar area.

In another attempt to pay homage to the district, the festival will feature Deep Ellum Texas Village, where local restaurants will be serving up some of their most popular dishes, according to the festival?s website.

This area will also feature local Deep Ellum visual and performing artists, Fitzgerald said.

To remain a free event, the festival itself receives a portion of all food and beverage sales, Millard said. As a result, all transactions are conducted using coupons. The coupons are sold in strips of 10 for $10. Food vendors will not accept cash, and guests are not allowed to bring in their own food and beverage to the festival.

Distinctive District

The festival began in 1995 and occupied one block, Millard said.

At the request of what is now known as the Deep Ellum Foundation, Millard and his company were asked to create an event to help promote the district, said Barry Annino, president of the Deep Ellum Foundation.

They have produced other festivals such as the Main St. Fort Worth Arts Festival and the Dallas Festival of Art and Jazz.

?It?s become one of those events that people look forward to every year,? Annino said. ?Deep Ellum features a wide range of specialties. There is a subtle type of creativity here. The local tattoo artist and the multimillionaire live together in this neighborhood.?

In addition to helping start the festival, the Deep Ellum Foundation helps raise funds for the maintenance of the district.

Some of its projects include a mural under I-75, a neon sign welcoming visitors and a dog park, Annino said.

?It?s a diverse and urban neighborhood built on a culture of creativity,? Fitzgerald said. ?Deep Ellum doesn?t care who you are or where you come from, and I think that is what draws people in.?
For more information visit deepellumartsfestival.com.

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