Compiled by Meda Kessler
There’s a lot to see and do out there.
Get up. Get out. Get going.
GO OUTSIDE
While the pandemic closed some of our most beautiful outdoor attractions at the peak of the blooming season, many have reopened. Check websites for admission information, hours, safety practices and other details.
- Chandor Gardens, Weatherford, chandorgardens.org
- Clark Gardens Botanical Park, Mineral Wells, clarkgardens.org
- Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden, dallasarboretum.org
- Fort Worth Botanic Garden, fwbg.org
- Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge, fwnaturecenter.org
- Fort Worth Zoo, fortworthzoo.org
EXHIBITS
Southlake Town Hall and Southlake Public Library
At least one of the names is a familiar one, as it graces a nature center, a park and a road in Southlake. “Bob and Almeady Chisum Jones: A true story of resilience, courage and success” explores the story of the Joneses, who both had white fathers and mothers who were slaves. They arrived in Texas under separate circumstances (Almeady and her sister and mother were given to a cattle baron as collateral for livestock). The couple married in 1875 and had 10 children. They amassed 1,000-plus acres in the Southlake area, most of which is lying beneath Lake Grapevine and the rest forming part of what is now Bob Jones Nature Center & Preserve. Their children went on to establish various businesses, including what historians think might have been the first integrated cafe in Texas. The Jones family has loaned everything from clothing and letters to photographs and legal records to the exhibit July 10-Sept. 4. Southlake Town Square, 1400 Main St., southlakehistory.org
Photo courtesy of the Southlake Historical Society
THEATER
Archival photo of the embalmed body of Julia Pastrana
Amphibian Stage
The True History of the Tragic Life & Triumphant Death of Julia Pastrana, the Ugliest Woman in the World was the opening production for Amphibian when they unveiled their new theater in 2012 on Fort Worth’s now rapidly developing Main Street. Performed totally in the dark, it was a revelation to us and everyone in the audience — an experience that gave us goose bumps and forced us to truly listen. A true story, it is as mesmerizing as it is sad. Set in the world of traveling circuses and freak shows, the play shows Pastrana holding on to her hopes and dreams despite the cruel intentions of her husband/manager. She shows us beauty although we never see her. While the theater remains closed, you can immerse yourself in audio performances of the play at home. Amphibian encourages you to turn off the lights and turn up your headphones. Performances run July 16-30; tickets, $13 at amphibianstage.com.
Jubilee Theatre
The intimate theater in downtown Fort Worth reopened mid-June with How I Got Over, a musical about the song of the same name that was movingly sung by Mahalia Jackson at Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 march in Washington, D.C. Despite having to reduce seating to 74, along with other safety measures, this is one show that will go on. It runs through July 19. Tickets available on the website. 506 Main St., Fort Worth,
817-338-4411, jubileetheatre.org
MUSEUMS
Kimbell Art Museum
If you missed the collection of Renaissance and Baroque works from Italy, here’s your chance. The Kimbell reopened in late June and announced the extension of the “Flesh and Blood: Italian Masterpieces From the Capodimonte Museum” show through July. Don’t miss Artemisia Gentileschi’s Judith Beheading Holofernes, which was scheduled to leave the exhibit early. For this first phase of the Kimbell’s reopening, the buffet and the cafe are temporarily closed. 3333 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, 827-332-8451, kimbellart.org
Jusepe de Ribera, Saint Jerome, 1626, oil on canvas.
Photo courtesy of the Kimbell Art Museum
Mark Bradford’s “End Papers” exhibit has been extended.
Photo by Joshua White
Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
The Modern reopens July 1, with the “Mark Bradford: End Papers” exhibit continuing through Jan. 10, and Red Grooms’ “Ruckus Rodeo” on view through Aug. 16. While Magnolia at the Modern is on hold, the museum has kicked off a Modern TV program with free streamings of films and video available at viewers’ homes 7 p.m. every other Saturday. See the schedule at themodern.org/modern-tv. Café Modern resumes lunch service only for now. 3200 Darnell St., 817-738-9215, themodern.org
Amon Carter Museum of American Art
It’s your last chance to check out “The Perilous Texas Adventures of Mark Dion,” “Looking In: Photography From the Outside” and “Eliot Porter’s Birds,” which remain on view until July 5. For now, the Museum Shop is closed, as are the library, study room, food cart and bag check. Enter from the main doors only; the Lancaster Avenue side entrance is not in use. Find more information about reopening procedures on the website. 3501 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, 817-738-1933, cartermuseum.org
Eliot Porter, Purple Gallinule, Everglades National Park, Florida, March 2, 1954, dye imbibition print
Photo courtesy of the Carter