Courtesy Facebook
1.) Friday nights are Unwined Nights at Songbird Live (210 E Henderson St, Cleburne, 682-248-8424). Every Friday from 4pm to 9pm, receive 15% off Bull Lion Vineyard bottles or enjoy a $5 sangria in the foyer of “the best little listening room in Texas.” Bull Lion Ranch & Vineyard is the Texas wine company based in Hico which runs the wine bar at Songbird. “We chose to plant in the rocky portion of our Texas ranch land to emulate the vineyards of Italy,” Bull Lion says. “The characteristics of our high mineral content soils bring out a unique old-world character in our Bull Lion Ranch wine.”
2.) In honor of National Donut Day, TX Whiskey (4250 Mitchell Blvd, 817-840-9140) is collaborating with FunkyTown Donuts (@FunkyTownDonuts) 6pm-9pm Fri. Enjoy three mini donuts, three TX Whiskey cocktails, and music spun by DJ Jason Esquire. The first pairing is a Peachy Keen (TX Whiskey with tea, peaches, chipotle honey, and lemon) with a Mini Blueberry Glaze Bullseye Donut (filled with house-made peach jam). Next, try a Pecan Old Fashioned (TX Bourbon with a brown sugar/pecan simple syrup and Angostura bitters) with a Mini Maple Bacon Grilled Sandwich. Finally, enjoy The Bluebonnet (TX Whiskey, guava nectar, lemon, blueberries, honey, and rose water) paired with a Mini Lemon Glazed Donut (filled with strawberry mascarpone whip). All attendees must be 21 and up. Tickets are $25 at FRDistilling.com.
3.) Help families in need and see some cool cars at the 16th Annual Car Show & Food Drive at House of Hotrods (2301 FM 1187, Ste 201, Mansfield, 817-466-9942), benefiting the food pantry of Bethlehem Baptist Church (1188 W Broad St, Mansfield, 817-473-1236). The entry fee is a donation of one nonperishable food item. According to CentralTexasFoodBank.org, think of nutrition, usefulness, and quality when considering food donations. Some of the canned items that do the most good are fish (like salmon or tuna), meats (like chicken or turkey), vegetables (low salt), and jars of nut butter (like peanut butter). Along with the beautiful classic cars and trucks, enjoy a facility open house, a used parts sale, hourly prizes, and DJ music. Food trucks will be on-site, with snacks and drinks available for purchase.
4.) Head to Little Elm Park (701 W Eldorado Pkwy, 972-731-3296) on Lake Lewisville 4pm-8pm Sat for the annual Little Elm Craft Brew & Que Festival. Highlighting more than 200 craft beers from all over the region, the event also features larger distributors representing national and international brews. Tickets for beer sampling are $30 in advance and $40 at the gates for 12 2-oz samples and a commemorative pint glass. Parking is $10 plus a fee per vehicle in advance and $20 at the gate. New this year is a VIP BBQ Event for $60-100. From 3pm to 4pm, “VIP ticket holders get all-you-can-eat barbecue samples from Hurtado Barbeque and Tender Smokehouse, plus nonalcoholic beverages and a chance to ‘meet and greet’ with the owners/pitmasters and learn their secrets to Texas’ top-rated BBQ.” For ticket info and links, visit Facebook.com/LittleElmSpecialEvents.
5.) Mark your calendar for the Carter Society Midsummer Mingle at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art (3501 Camp Bowie Blvd, 817-738-1933) 5:30pm-7:30pm Thu, Jun 16. This year’s theme is Fire and Ice. There will be craft cocktails and “light bites,” plus you’ll be able to chat with Justin Ginsberg about his site-specific installation. Inspired in part by Sargent, Whistler, and Venetian Glass: American Artists and the Magic of Murano, Ginsberg will work with a glass kiln on the museum lawn throughout the summer. He will use the 30-foot-long glass threads that he will pull to create a “waterfall” sculpture in the Carter’s main gallery. While tickets are $25 for nonmembers at bit.ly/3kt53ZD, you can join the Carter Society — a social club for young professionals — and attend for free. Call 817-989-5060 for details.
6.) Levy Event Plaza (501 E Las Colinas Blvd, 972-721-2501), which overlooks Lake Carolyn, is the place to be 2pm Sat, June 18, when the inaugural Lone Star BBQ & Music Festival hits Irving. Tickets include samples from food trucks and 30 barbecue restaurants — including the famous Smokey John’s, which beat out Pecan Lodge in the first round of the Good Morning America barbecue competition — from 2pm to 5pm. Then, from 5pm to 10pm, food will be available for purchase, and there will be music by Le Freak and six other bands. VIP packages include early access, unlimited food sampling, and access to a VIP bar with the first drink free. Tickets are $35-190 at Prekindle.com. Attendees are encouraged to bring blankets or lawn chairs.
7.) At 11am-3:30pm Sun, Jun 19, Bendt Distilling Co. (225 S Charles St, Lewisville, 214-814-0545) hosts Oaked & Smoked VI: A Celebration of Dad. Reservations are available for 11am, noon, 1pm, and 2pm. General admission tickets are $37 for adults and $15 for kids 12 and younger. Your admission includes a barbecue lunch by Chef Ken Rathbun, your image sketched by a caricature artist, and live music by Hightower. Specials on beer, cocktails, craft sodas, and wine will be available for the 21+ crowd. Reserve your tickets at BendtDistillingCo.com/Tour-Booking.
8.) As we visit Fred’s Texas Cafe at its new location at 7101 Camp Bowie West (817-332-0083), let’s all be patient and kind. (You’ve waited this long for the reopening. You can wait a few extra minutes for those loaded cheese fries.) In a recent post on social media, the folks at Fred’s addressed some issues. The restaurant will be closed Sundays and Mondays for training; weekend brunch, to-go orders, and live music are temporarily on pause; and all customers must check in with the host for a seat. “The patio will be temporarily used as a waiting area with no food service, but you can order as many #coldassbeers as you like!” Congratulations on your reopening, Fred’s!
