The Hilton Dallas Southlake Town Square is one of only seven properties in Dallas Fort Worth, and 650 worldwide, to be named an Expedia Insiders’ Select Hotel for 2015. This annual list represents a ranking of the world’s best reviewed hotels as determined by direct customer feedback on Expedia.com®. The 2015 class of Insiders’ Select hotels is based off of more than two million customer verified reviews, meaning Expedia® confirmed the traveler’s booking on Expedia.com in order to review the property. The winning hotels were identified this year by Expedia travelers as properties in top global destinations providing excellent overall guest service and maintaining a minimum guest review score of 4.7 out of 5.

Now in its eighth year, Expedia continues to leverage traveler reviews and local market expertise to deliver this highly comprehensive list of top hotels to help customers feel confident they are making the best-possible booking decision. The 2015 list names 650 exclusive properties as Insiders’ Select winning hotels from among bookable properties available on Expedia, Inc. websites worldwide.

Hilton Southlake Town Square General Manager Mike Hutchison stated, “We are honored that our guests take the time to recognize the efforts of our team members to make their stay with us a memorable one. We will proudly display this recognition.”

“We’re delighted to recognize this select group of hotels that have exceeded customer expectations in key aspects of the hotel experience,” said John Morrey, vice president and general manager of Expedia.com. “By empowering our travelers with real reviews penned by real hotel customers, we are providing the knowledge to make informed booking decisions.”

Visitors to Expedia.com can find Insiders’ Select-designated properties by sorting via the Hotel Preferences amenity drop-down menu. These hotels will also feature an Expedia Insiders’ Select badge on their hotel description page. For more information on Insiders’ Select, visit http://www.expedia.com/insidersselect.

The Hilton Dallas Southlake Town Square is located at 1400 Plaza Place in Southlake Town Square minutes from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. For reservations, call (817) 442-9900 or go to www.hiltonsouthlaketownsquare.com.

Grapevine, Texas, is known for its wineries, festivals, entertainment venues and bustling historic district. The city is also becoming known as a fine art destination, thanks to the Grapevine Art Dealers Association (GADA) which will host the Third Annual Spring Gallery Night May 2, from 5:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. Walk along historic Main Street and enjoy an exciting evening of fine art and fine food and wine while visiting the six GADA galleries:

• A Touch of Paris, 202 West Wall Street, is owned by French artist/instructor Dominique Galleron. Original art on display includes Dominiques’s French-inspired oil paintings done in her bold palette knife style.

• Great American West Gallery, 332 South Main Street, features the finest western artists in the world with both paintings and bronzes. Subjects include Native Americans, frontiersmen, cavalry, pioneers, cowboys, and ranchers as well as horses, cattle and expansive landscapes. Grapevine resident Sonya Terpening will conduct a painting demonstration at during the event.

• Giddens Gallery of Fine Art, 624 South Main Street, owned by Cherie and John Giddens, is known for its exceptional paintings and “up-cycle” creations from local artists including paintings by Cherie Giddens.  Visitors will be able to meet gallery owners and artists, as well as view resident artists demonstrating their techniques.

• The Tower Gallery, located at 636 South Main Street in the Grapevine Convention and Visitors Bureau headquarters, will host theCongressional Art Student Competition, featuring work from local high school students who entered the annual Art Contest hosted by the U.S. House of Representatives.

   

• Holder Dane Gallery and Art Studios, 701 South Main Street, located at the historic train depot area, features a variety of fine art, including paintings, bronze, wood, and clay sculpture, contemporary art jewelry and fine pottery.  Artists will be in attendance and highlighting their new work, including contemporary jewelry artist Jean Storm, sculptor Mark Hyde, traditional painter in oils Ann Hardy, figurative clay artist Pam Stern, impressionist pastel colorist Marie Maines, story teller in bronze Ann Ayres, and bold large scale painter MT Hunt. Introducing work by two new Holder Dane Gallery artists: sculptor Lorri Acott, World Citizen Artist and bronze sculptor Adam Schultz NSS.

• Vetro Glassblowing Studio & Gallery, 701 South Main Street, also located at the train depot, is owned by glass artist David Gappa who specializes in handblown art glass ranging from contemporary lighting to large scale sculpture installations. Glass artisans will be onsite during the event providing demonstrations. The Vetro Gallery also displays glass jewelry, decanters, rondels, vases and other pieces from many fine glass artists.

   

  New this year, several of the galleries are partnering with local Grapevine wineries to offer patrons complimentary tastings during Spring Gallery Night:

• Great American West Gallery is joining forces with Messina Hof Winery, which opened in Grapevine last fall in the historic Wallis Hotel on Main Street. A staff expert from the award –winning winery will be serving a selection of their Texas wines.

• Giddens Gallery of Fine Art is excited to welcome the wine tasting room of Bingham Family Vineyards located on the north side of gallery. For the GADA Spring Gallery Night, Giddens will be offering the “Taste of Portofino” and the fine wine of Bingham Family Vineyards.

• Holder Dane Gallery and Vetro Glassblowing Studio are partnering with the Umbra Winery, which is based in Little Elm, Texas and recently opened a tasting room at 415 S. Main Street in Grapevine. Umbra offers approximately fifteen wines at any given moment ranging from its award winning “My Cheeky Bastard” to its Pinot Gris that won Gold in its class at Houston International in 2014. “Cheeky” has been a six time winner and crowd favorite at GrapeFest in the Blush category.

   

  There is no cost to attend the Third Annual GADA Spring Gallery Night. Gallery owners and artists will be on hand to answer questions and facilitate purchases. For more information about the May 2 GADA Spring Gallery Night, contact any of the GADA galleries or visit the GADA Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/GrapevineArtDealers.

Want to add a little fire to Valentine’s Day this year? Vetro Glassblowing Studio & Gallery, located in historic downtown Grapevine, is once again offering special events on select dates in February for both couples and families to express their affection with hand-blown glass hearts and flowers. After all, nothing says love more than fuel, fire and hot molten glass!

Plan a Flaming Cocktail Hot Date Night with your special someone!  This unique Valentine experience includes cocktails (two per person), hors d’oeuvres and each couple creates their own glass heart or flower with the assistance of Vetro’s professional glassblowers. This fun, interactive experience takes approximately one hour. The glass art pieces are available for pick up the next business day after 3PM or shipped for an additional fee. Participants must be 21 and up.  Reservations are required and can be made online:

• Wednesday, February 11, 5PM-8PM: $195.00 per couple
• Thursday, February 12, 5PM-9PM, $195.00 per couple
• Friday, February 13, 5PM-9PM, $225.00 per couple
• Saturday, February 14, 1PM-9PM, $225.00 per couple

For a family-friendly experience, Vetro is also offering its popular Help-Create Hearts + Flowers sessions on February 6, 2PM-6PM, and February 7, 10AM-1PM and 2:30PM-6PM. Each participant selects colors from four pre-selected mixes and applies the colors to the hot molten glass gather. The participant stays by the glass artist while the colors are heated in the 2,000 degree furnace and then blown-out. Due to the annealing process, the glass art pieces will be available for pick-up the next business day after 3PM. The cost is $25 per
flower and $40 per heart. Reservations are not required and participation is available on a first come, first serve basis (under 18 must be accompanied by parent or legal guardian).

For more information on Vetro’s Valentine’s Day events and to make reservations, please visit www.vetroartglass.com. Vetro is located at 701 S. Main Street, Grapevine, Texas 76051.          

Known for creating one-of-a-kind, hand-blown glass art, Vetro  Glassblowing Studio and Gallery will take the ancient art form outdoors for its annual Glass on the Tracks XV Art + Fire Demolition event November 1, 7PM-10PM. The parking lot in front of Vetro will be transformed into a 1920s “steampunk” industrial era for an evening of food, beverages, music, glassblowing demonstrations, flameworking, and pyrotechnic effects. Open to the public, tickets are $45 online and $50 at the door (and include food and beverage).  

Located next to the train depot in historic downtown Grapevine, Vetro will setup a boxcar gallery with select hand-blown glass vessels for the famous “truth or consequences” auction. One of the most anticipated portions of the event, a patron is randomly selected from the crowd and asked a trivia question about Vetro. If the answer is correct, the art piece is given to the patron for FREE. If the answer is incorrect, the piece goes up for bid for 30 seconds, but if the highest bid doesn't beat the pre-determined secret reserve price, the piece is placed in the jaws of the “glass guillotine” and smashed before the crowd!

A longtime supporter of the Emergency Artists' Support League (EASL), which provides emergency grant funding to North Texas visual artists and visual art professionals, Vetro founder David Gappa will auction a hand-blown glass rondel and donate proceeds to the organization.

In addition to the auction, patrons may also take home a fine art vessel via three raffles (must be present to win):

• GOLD RAFFLE (tickets $25 each): Vetro founder David Gappa will create a signature series of five fine art glass rondels worth $3,000. The lucky winner will receive a composition of five rondels that measure 4' x 6' in the series, ready for installation. 
• SILVER RAFFLE (tickets $15 each): Bring a friend with you for a Vetro Glassblowing Beginner Paperweight Workshop worth $350. You’ll be introduced to the art of glassblowing in a hands-on studio setting and work with some of the best artists in the industry. Each participant takes home two custom, hand-blown paperweights.
• BRONZE RAFFLE (tickets $10 each): Worth $250, this fluted bowl filled with ornaments is ready to kick-off your holidays.  

This year's event features fire performer Jenin Gonzales, blacksmith artist Will Frary, bronze sculpture artist Linda Lewis-Roark and pyrotechnics by flame artisan Greg Shaatt, who engineers fire stage shows for Metallica and Guns N Roses.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.GlassOnTheTracks.com. Vetro Glassblowing Studio and Gallery is located at 701 S. Main Street, Grapevine, Texas 76051.

ABOUT VETRO GLASSBLOWING STUDIO & GALLERY

Centrally located between Fort Worth and Dallas, Vetro Glassblowing Studio and Gallery is a focal point of the historic downtown district of Grapevine.  Vetro exhibits a gallery of fine art glass, including founder David Gappa Signature pieces, and is a full working studio with a team of artisans holding live glassblowing demonstrations daily.

The City of Southlake will host a groundbreaking event for its long-awaited community recreation center (CRC) September 27, 9:00am to noon, at its home in Bicentennial Park. Community leaders encourage the public to attend and tours will be provided, along with breakfast, lunch and entertainment.

To help attendees better envision the size and scope of the CRC, the 105,000 square foot building will be outlined in chalk and interior spaces will be marked with display boards. City staff members will offer guided tours through the facility and answer questions. Though attendees will be able to get a feel for what the entire facility will offer, the groundbreaking marks the start of construction for phase 1 of the CRC, which is fully funded with cash set aside for the project since 2009, Phase 1 will include an events hall, multipurpose conference and meeting spaces, a club lounge, catering kitchen, senior center, an outdoor amphitheater and events space. Estimated completion for phase 1 is December 2015.

“This is more than just a typical groundbreaking ceremony and we’re pulling out all the stops to engage citizens from the beginning. We want the community to be involved in this facility every step of the way,” said Chris Tribble, director of community services for the City of Southlake, noting there will be a design center where attendees can learn more about the facility and the Southlake Community Band will play in the space designated for the amphitheater. Below is a schedule of events:

• 9:00AM: Breakfast served
• 9:30AM: Presentation and groundbreaking ceremony
• 10:00AM: Tours and giveaways
• 11:00AM: Lunch served

The CRC has been in the Parks Master Plan since 1996 and became a top priority when it was frequently cited in the 2009 and 2011 citizen surveys. In August 2013, City Council put the plan into action when it approved $1.72M to design phase 1 and the site plan was approved at the June 3 City Council meeting. When complete, the CRC will be the city’s largest public facility, as well as the most expensive, with the current planned budget at $46.5M.

Phase 2 of the CRC, which requires voter approval, will include spaces for fitness, performance training, gymnasium, indoor jog/walk track, indoor aquatics, indoor playground, party rooms, early learning classroom, child watch and multipurpose classrooms for programs. In May 2015, Southlake voters will be asked to consider re-purposing an existing sales tax revenue source to construct and offset a portion of the facility operating cost. If approved, Phase 2 construction would begin in fall 2016.

Because of the magnitude of the project, the CRC will be built in phases and has a multi-year development timeline:

• August 2013 – Phase 1 design
• June 2014 – Site plan for Phase 1 approved
• September 2014 – Phase 1 construction begins
• March 2015 – Tax repurpose election to fund Phase 2
• Summer 2015 – Proposed Phase 2 design
• December 2015 – Phase 1 opens
• Fall 2016 – Proposed Phase 2 construction begins
• Early 2018 – Proposed Phase 2 opens

The Southlake CRC is located at 315 North Shady Oaks Drive in the southwest corner of Bicentennial Park. For more information, visit www.SouthlakeCRC.com.