Adventures in and Around Fort Worth

A small-framed man with huge piercing blue eyes, fair skin and a thick Italian accent stands in the middle of an unfinished brewery on Magnolia just next to SiNaCa glass blowing studio. He's covered in dirt and sweat. His name is Carlo, and yes, he's the man behind the pub's moniker. A loud generic beer truck pulls up in front of his place. An older man with a mustache and a uniform pops out to meet the owner of the pub. He asks when Carlo was going to get his liquor license so he could sell Carlo beer. Carlo grins and politely tells the man he won't be selling that kind of beer. The distributor seemed surprised. He kept pushing as if Carlo would change is his mind, but he stood his ground as he wiped sweat from his brow. Carlo is mostly brewing his own beer. Carlo moved here from Torino, Italy. He said in the last ten years microbreweries are popping up all over his native country. They brew and sell European-inspired beer from the likes of Germany, Belgium, etc....

I'm sure you've noticed I haven't posted as frequently. For the next few weeks, I will only be posting about once a week. I'm busy teaching summer school. Stay tuned, and don't give up on me just yet!

Concert in the Gardens  will devote an evening to the famous 1969 Woodstock Festival 8 p.m. June 10 in the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens. Um ... sounds awesome. Even cooler, the tunes by Jefferson Airplane, Joe Cocker, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Band and more will be backed by a full orchestra. Bring a blanket, your favorite six pack of beer (or soda) and wear something to noodle in. Definition of noodling according to Urban Dictionary - "The constant movement and flailing of limbs and head attributed to [...]. Often characterized by sudden movements, such as jerking one's arms out from the body as if trying to pull up long sleeves off your arms, although you are undoubtedly shirtless."

Cruising through Fort Worth's south side I passed a sign that read " Fairmount Community Garden " with a list of sponsors below it. What is a community garden? I wondered. According to the American Community Gardening Association (ACGA) website , it is any plot of land gardened by a group of people. It can be urban, suburban and it can have flowers or vegetables. Located on 5th just across from Fairmount Park, Fort Worth's neighborhood garden has 76 leased plots, director Susan Harper said. Harper said Andrew Schoolmaster, TCU's dean of liberal arts, and Paul Paine, Fort Worth South, Inc. president, approached her in 2008 to start the garden. It took them two years to get everything together because it was the first and only community garden of its kind in Fort Worth. There was some red tape. Schoolmaster (what a name for a dean) is an urban geographer, so it made sense to him that Fort Worth needed a spot like this. The community garden has a few plot...

Looking at my calendar I noticed some fun things coming up this weekend! June 3 is another First Friday on the Green   at the small park between Magnolia and Rosedale. This event is packed full of great local flavors, drinks and live music. And this next concert features one of my favorite local bands — Calhoun! Saturday, June 4 is my favorite Concert in the Gardens  show. The Classical Mystery Tour , which is a Beatles cover group that tours the globe, will captivate all ages with popular tunes we can sing along to. Lawn passes are $16. We bring our own snacks and wine, sit on a blanket and have a picnic-style night out with friends. Children under 10 get in free.