NEW MINI-PITCH SOCCER COURT PROVIDES HEALTHY AND SAFE PLAY OPPORTUNITIES IN SOCCER-PASSIONATE NEIGHBORHOOD

Austin, Texas - A soccer-passionate part of Austin has a new court to play the sport and the project partners celebrated today with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Through a partnership with the Austin Parks and Recreation Department (PARD), Soccer Assist, the U.S. Soccer Foundation, and financial contributions from the community, the Dove Springs Recreation Center now offers a new soccer/futsal court. Community support was coordinated by the Dove Springs Recreation Center in consultation with the Dove Springs Advisory Board. 

The court offers the neighborhood a new option for healthy play. This project was initiated as part of PARD’s Community Activated Parks Projects (CAPP) program, which offers a way for the community to initiate improvements on parkland. Soccer Assist, an Austin-based nonprofit organization, submitted a CAPP in October 2018 to transform an underused tennis court at the Dove Springs Recreation Center into a state-of-the-art soccer play space.

Notably, this will be the first U.S. Soccer Foundation mini-pitch collaboration in central Austin and part of 1,000 safe places to play mini-pitches that the U.S. Soccer Foundation is installing with partners across the country by 2026. These soccer spaces support the U.S. Soccer Foundation’s It’s Everyone’s Game campaign to ensure children in underserved communities can benefit from all that the game of soccer has to offer.

“The Community Activated Parks Projects program provided a way for the community to tell us what healthy play options they wanted, and we listened,” said Kimberly McNeeley, Director of PARD. “Austin Parks and Recreation Department is thankful for the partnerships that provided this healthy play resource at the Dove Springs Recreation Center.”

CELEBRATE JOHN TREVINO JR. METRO PARK AT COMMUNITY MEETING #4

The Austin Parks and Recreation Department invites the community to John Treviño Jr. Metropolitan Park to build community with neighbors, learn about the latest master plan development, and share priorities for what comes next.

 

John Treviño Jr. Metropolitan Park

9501 FM 969, Austin, TX 78725

Dec. 7, 2019, 10 a.m. to noon

 

A community open house and celebration will be held at the park site. While the land is currently not accessible to the public, the gates will be opened for this special event. Community members will be able to visit key areas of the site, including a rustic ranch building, open meadows, and spectacular heritage trees. The master-planning team will share the preferred plan, which has been developed based on community input from previous gatherings throughout the summer. The meeting will be in an open-house format with opportunities to ask questions and share thoughts and priorities with the team. There will be with free refreshments and nature activities for the whole family.

Gran Fondo Hincapie returns to Fort Worth in 2020 at new location

Mayor Betsy Price, herself an avid cyclist, welcomes riders to the 2019 event.

The acclaimed Gran Fondo Hincapie cycling series returns to Fort Worth for the second year in 2020, this time at a new location: Sundance Square Plaza.

The 2019 ride was overwhelmingly successful, bringing more than 1,000 cyclists from around the world to Fort Worth for a weekend filled with cycling, gourmet dinners and a live recording of Lance Armstrong’s “THEMOVE” podcast.

The March 28, 2020, ride promises to be even bigger, with proceeds benefitting FitWorth, a family-focused nonprofit promoting healthy and active lifestyles through health education and events.

The original Gran Fondo Hincapie in Greenville, S.C., now in its seventh year, has topped charts and received stellar reviews, acclaimed for the cycling celebrities in attendance, as well as the careful attention to safety, onsite viewing screens, course and segment timing, live tracking and streaming, live bands at the rest stops, and free family festival.

Key components of the Gran Fondo Hincapie series are standard routes of 15, 50 and 80 miles, as well as the high-end customer experience, highlighted by a celebrity chef dinner the evening before the ride.

Register for the ride and festivities.

Japanese Fall Festival returns to the Fort Worth Botanic Garden

The Japanese Garden consists of seven acres filled with cherry trees, Japanese maples, magnolias, bamboo, bridges and ponds that are home to 1,200 koi fish.

The Fort Worth Botanic Garden’s annual Japanese Fall Festival is back and bigger than ever, expanding beyond the walls of the Japanese Garden and into the surrounding areas — which means more vendors, more food trucks and more opportunities to celebrate Japanese culture.

The Japanese Fall Festival will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23, and Sunday, Nov. 24. Last admission will be let in at 4 p.m., and general garden admission fees apply:

• Adults: $12.
• Seniors (Ages 65+): $10.
• Children (Ages 6-15): $6.
• Children age 5 and under are free.
• Grow Members are free.

Entertainment will include performances by the Dondoko Taiko Drummers, Goisagi Daiko Drummers, Sakura & Okinawan Dancers, the University of Texas at Arlington’s Japanese Cultural Society Japanese dance group, demonstrations by G.K. Sugai, a traditional Japanese swordsman and Croft Taekwondo. The Fort Worth Japanese Society will have kimonos available for families to try on, and a Kamishibai theatre performance will occur each morning.

Additionally, families can enjoy Japanese crafts, games, calligraphy, origami and local mahjong groups will both play and teach the game.

Several vendors will sell anime, jewelry, antique Asian scrolls, stationery, art prints, bonsai trees and Raku pottery. Food trucks will include Spin Sushi, YIM Yam Food Truck and Bobaddiction.

A complete list of activities is available on the Fort Worth Botanic Garden website.

Sales tax collections up 1.9% in September

Fort Worth’s net sales tax collections in September totaled $14,714,848, up from September 2018 by $275,990, or 1.9%.

Year to date, sales tax collections are up 5.1%.

The city’s general fund actual collection exceeded the fiscal year 2019 amended budget by $1,400,938, or 0.9%. The Crime Control and Prevention District fund actual collection exceeded the FY2019 original adopted budget by $1,444,406, or 1.9%.

Sales tax revenue represents 22.3% of the city’s General Fund budget. This is the second largest revenue source, with property taxes being the largest.

For the Crime Control and Prevention District, sales tax revenue represents the largest revenue source.

Sundance Square Christmas tree arrives Nov. 18

The 50-foot fresh-cut tree from Michigan becomes the focal point of Sundance Square Plaza on Nov. 18.

Holidays are a special time of the year, and this Christmas, Sundance Square will make it even more memorable. The holiday season will kick off with the arrival of the Sundance Square Christmas tree at 9 a.m. Nov. 18.

Sundance Square President and CEO Johnny Campbell will continue the annual tradition of hoisting the giant 50-foot concolor fir from Hart, Mich., in the center of Sundance Square Plaza.

The official tree lighting ceremony, called one of the best in Texas, will take place at 6 p.m. Nov. 23. Kids Who Care, a nonprofit international theatre company, will perform at this year’s tree lighting.

Santa Claus will be prominently featured on the Plaza Stage, which will be transformed into a winter wonderland with a dramatic silver fabric backdrop and a sleigh backed by beautiful trees. The entire plaza will feature large, brilliantly lit sculptures as backdrops for photos with family and friends.

Parking is always free in Sundance Square after 5 p.m. on weekdays. Before 5 p.m., parking is free with validation from a Sundance Square restaurant or retailer. Validation is good for 2 1/2 hours of dining or shopping, or four hours for weekday movies. Weekends are free throughout the day and evening.

Guests also have the option to valet park for free throughout Sundance Square with purchase from a Sundance Square merchant. Look for the red umbrellas at nine locations throughout Sundance Square.

Meet the candidates for police monitor

Meet the candidates for the new City of Fort Worth police monitor on Nov. 20 at Fort Worth Central Library, 500 W Third St. A public forum begins at 6 p.m. in the library auditorium followed by a public reception at 7 p.m. in the gallery area.

During the public forum, the candidates will respond to questions. During the public reception, residents will have the opportunity to talk with the candidates.

Parking

Free parking is available at Sundance Square