Belmont Hotel to giveaway Free One Night Suite Stay during “Get Into the City”

I’m proud to announce that Belmont Hotel will be holding a raffle at “Get Into the City” on Friday night.  There will be three prizes awarded to members of the Dallas South family and other friends who attend:

  • 2 Free Belmontinis – the hotel’s signature martini
  • 2 Free Appetizers
  • 1 Night Stay in a Garden Suite with a Downtown View

Dallas South “Get Into the City” May 8th at Belmont Hotel Dallas

We’re proud to announce that the next Dallas South “Get Into the City” event will be held Belmont Hotel Dallas on Friday May 8th starting at 7:00 p.m.  If you missed the last Dallas South GITC, you don’t want to be caught slipping again next month.

The Belmont Motor Hotel was built in 1946 and is situated on a hill on the outskirts of West Dallas and just north of Oak Cliff.  After years of decline, the hotel was restored to it’s original glory by local developer Monte Anderson in 2005.

My wife and I hit up the patio of the Belmont last summer, and the view of Downtown Dallas is unparalleled.  The hilly terrain and Art Moderne design – with emphasis on horizontal lines, rounded corners and stucco facades- give the Belmont a California feel.  BarBelmont and Cliff Cafe are a perfect compliment for folks looking for a great dinner or a place to hangout with friends.

Get Into The City is an event that introduces the Dallas South family to locations around town which may not currently be on their radar.  Last month we kicked off the concept at Texas Caribbean Foods in the Old Sears Building (Southside on Lamar) and everyone kept asking when and where would the next one be.

We’re excited about showcasing this West Dallas asset that many folks drive by on I-30 everyday and don’t even know it exists.   Sponsorship opportunities are available, so if you would like to showcase your company to the send me an email at shawn@dallassouthblog.com .  Make sure to mark you calendars for May 9th and make plans to Get Into the City with Dallas South.

Who:    Dallas South Family and Friends

What:  Get Into The City

Where:  Belmont Hotel Dallas

901 Ft. Worth Avenue, Dallas

When:   May 8th, 2009 @ 7:00 p.m.

Important Dallas South Survey

In the next two months, Dallas South will take critical steps towards providing unprecedented coverage and commentary to the Dallas area. The first step to that end is soliciting feedback from the Dallas South Family to understand what’s going well, what we can improve on, and what you are seeing elsewhere on the web.

Please take a few moments to take the following survey. Your opinions are extremely important to us.

Click Here to take survey

Thank You,

Shawn P. and Dallas South

Dallas South to participate Poynter Institute’s weeklong “Sense Making” conference on media

On Sunday I’ll be traveling to St. Petersburg, Florida to participate in a media conference at the invitation of the Poynter Institute and the Ford Foundation.  The Poynter Institute is a school for journalists, future journalists, and teachers of journalism.

The conference is bringing together a relatively small group of folks from old an new media to discuss the direction of journalism. Some of the publications, outlets, and websites that will be represented include:

New York Times

BBC

Fark.com

Daily Kos

Huffington Post

Racialicious.com

Wire Tap Magazine

It will be business as usual at the website next week, but follow my Tweets in the sidebar where I will post updates on topics and discussions at the forum.

Dallas South’s “Get Into the City” a huge success

dsc05341

Despite the bad weather, we had an outstanding turnout at Dallas South’s initial Get Into The City. Thanks to Ms. Jan Gore who provided an excellent atmosphere at Texas Caribbean Foods, as well as The Beat Condos and Southside on Lamar who were sponsors of the event. And thanks to John Spriggins who’s art was on display for the evening.

Those who joined us asked when we’re going to have our next GITC. We’re scheduled to hold an official Get Into the City in June, though we may have a warmup prior to that. Stay tuned to Dallas South for updates.

In the meantime, check the photo gallery below and see all of the fun that you missed.


TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT: GET INTO THE CITY @ TEXAS CARIBBEAN FOODS

Don’t miss tonight’s first “Get Into the City” hosted by Dallas South. It’s a time for us to all get together and learn about new places in town that may not always be top of mind. In may involve getting outside of our normal routine, but there are many hidden jewels in this city that are waiting to be uncovered.

Meet the Dallas South Family at 7 p.m. Friday March 13th at Texas Carribbean Foods (1409 S. Lamar) for an evening of food, fun, and fellowship. The night will also feature the work of local artist John Spriggins. The Beat Condos will also give tours of their new offerings around 8:30 P.M.

Send me a quick response (also known as an RSVP) if you plan to attend.

RSVP here for Dallas South’s “Get Into the City” at Texas Caribbean Foods

The early response on Facebook has been amazing to the invitation sent out for our initial “Get Into the City” event at Texas Caribbean Foods. I want to make sure that the blog family is well represented as well, so please let us know by commenting on this post if you plan to attend next Friday.

For those who don’t know, the quarterly gathering is planned as an opportunity for Dallas South readers to experience more of Dallas by visiting venues they may not otherwise have ventured out to.  “Get Into the City” will be held at Texas Caribbean Foods at the South Side on Lamar and feature the work of local artist John Spriggins.

We hope to see you there and take a second to let us know that you’re coming.  And an early thanks to our initial sponsors Southside on Lamar and Pegasus News.

Dallas South to get up close look at Super Bowl XLV planning as Shawn P. Williams selected as part of North Texas Host Committee

Readers of Dallas South will have a unique perspective of the North Texas Super Bowl as I am honored to announce that I will be part of the Super Bowl XLV Host Committee. In addition to the Executive Committee and Board of Directors, the North Texas Host committee consists of over 200 business, civic, cultural, education, and religions leaders from throughout the community.

The Host Committee will meet four time annually, and our first meeting was held last week. In that meeting it was announced that for the first time, the NFL has designated an NFC and AFC Championship City for Super Bowl XLV. Dallas will serve as the NFC Host city, while Ft. Worth will be the AFC Championship City.

There are many reasons that the North Texas Super Bowl will be the biggest ever, besides the biggest host committee ever assembled. A couple of examples would include the North Texas budget vs. that of Tampa which hosted the most recent Super Bowl.

The Tampa host committee had a budget of around $8 million, while North Texas is working with a $30 million budget. Also, Tampa had about 5,000 volunteers for their Super Bowl where North Texas expects 10-12,000 citizens to help with the production. In the end, the North Texas Super Bowl will generate millions of dollars in economic activity for this region.

Super Bowl XLV will also include an unprecedented 12-month countdown designed to bring the Super Bowl experience to North Texas families, companies, and organization. A Super Bowl Concert series will be the cornerstone of the countdown, with three major productions featuring internationally renowned entertainers and artists.

The first concert will take place at the Bass Performance Hall in Ft. Worth, with the second performance presented in Dallas’ Winspear Opera House which is currently under construction. The grand finale will occur at the new Cowboys stadium in Arlington prededing the Cowboy’s first come game of the 2010 season.

As information becomes available regarding this historic event, I will make it available on Dallas South as soon as I can. And rest assured I’ll solicit volunteers from the Dallas South family (get in early by commenting on this post).

SAVE THE DATE: Dallas South to host first “Get Into the City” event on March 13th

Photo by John Spriggins


On Friday, March 13th, Dallas South will host our first “Get Into the City” event.   The quarterly gathering is planned as an opportunity for Dallas South readers to experience more of Dallas by visiting venues they may not otherwise have ventured out to.

The first “Get Into the City” will be held at Texas Caribbean Food at the South Side on Lamar and feature the work of local artist John Spriggins.  Feel free to use this and subsequent post to R.S.V.P. to let us know that you are dropping by.  Everyone reading this message is invited.

Dallas South’s “Get Into the City”

Texas Caribbean Food at the South Side on Lamar
1409 South Lamar Street, Unit 011
Dallas, TX 75215-6800

Friday March 13, 2009
7:00 p.m.

“BEST DAY EVER” to conclude “BEST WEEK EVER” at Dallas South

In case you haven’t noticed, we’ve put out more content on Dallas South this week that I can ever remember (What do you think Ben?). So why not end it with a Friday we can all be proud of?

Today Dallas South is committed to at least one post an hour from now until 5 p.m. That plus pushing out the Dallas South Newsletter. Oh you’re not getting our newsletter where we’ll announce the location and date of Dallas South’s first “Get Into the City?” Well e-mail me at shawn@dallassouthblog.com and I’ll get you the list.

And for those who want to get a jump on the weekend, feel free to meet me at Brooklyn tonight around the 5 o’clock hour. I think I will have earned it.

OBTW

If you haven’t had the chance to donate to Dallas South this week feel free to do so using the button below. THANKS and enjoy our best day ever!