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Main Street Garden Gets Dedicated With Speeches, Lasers, Dogs, Pigeons, and Great Promise

It’s not every dedication that has state senators, university heads, city leaders, dogs and babies. What were those last two? Dogs and babies? Yup, the dedication of the 1.7-acre Main Street Garden had very well mannered neighborhood pooches and adorable munchkins among the ranks.

While it was held after the sun had set, the darkness worked in favor of the dedication. Originally scheduled for November 5, the dedication had to be pushed back to last night because of the recent weather roller coaster. But even with the delay, the event might have been a bit premature since the park is still a diamond in the rough. Construction equipment (pictured) was parked near small hills of dirt and the patchwork squares of sods were still trying to settle in from a morning installation. Reminded one of a of divot stomping.

But the show had to go on because schedules had to be met! 

MSG has an agenda and so does Mayor Tom “Terrific” Leppert. You see Main Street is on schedule for some big, old hoopla “park warming events” starting on November 20 with the launch of an annual tree lighting ceremony,  so they had to get MSG dedicated before next week. By then, if prima donna Mother Nature cooperates, the bulldozers and backhoes will be replaced permanently by the park’s water features, groves of trees, garden shelters featuring a digital art display, the Lily Pad park cafe, Tot Lot, and Urban Dog Run.

And then there is the future senatorial candidate, or rather current mayor. Tom’s leaving for China and Friday was the only  date he could attend the dedication. Oh, the worker bees must have been in a tizzy trying to get all the scheduling migraines cured!

But the dedication took place with John “Mayor of Downtown” Crawford (pictured) looking like a proud father and playing a low profile. We all know that he’s the go-to man when it comes to the growth of downtown Dallas.

No, the man of the hour was Collier International’s Mark Noble, who along with Capital One Bank’s Kent Eastman (pictured with Noble on the right), was the brains behind the operation in fundraising efforts for the opening events and the maintenance fund to augment the payments for running the park. He was a gracious MC who had a full plate of speakers on hand. Luckily, the crowd including the pooches and kids listened patiently.

For their patience, they were rewarded with a green laser ribbon cutting that led to a green (we are environmentally correct, you know) beam across the park to the Mercantile Building. As the crowd was lulled into watching the beam edge its way down the Mercantile just like the New Year’s Ball in NYC, an explosion of mini-fireworks occurred behind the stage of dignitaries almost resulting in whiplash for some in the crowd. Before anyone could catch their breath, a flock of UFO’s launched from behind the stage. One person cringed asking if they were bats. Another person said, “No, they’re pigeons. Probably former downtown residents.”

But the talking wasn’t limited to the stage of VIP’s. There was talk in the downtown neighborhood crowd. Summer Musicals’ Michael Jenkins was telling about the company’s tours taking place in NYC, London and Germany. On a sign of good times, he went on to say Broadway was faring much better than many have rumored. Then he changed direction and reported on the amazing results of the various projects that have been orchestrated by the Summer Musicals to keep kids in school and off the streets.  . . . Jake Cigainero of Dallas Theater Center was all smiles. Seems that A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Wyly has been so successful, they’ve had to add another show. . . . Adolphus Children’s Parade’s Ashley Terrell was in the final stage of prepping for this year’s big show on December 5. SweetCharity will let you know if Ashley and the Parade elves need any help. If not, plan on getting to the parade early for a great view. . . . Neiman Marcus’s Shelle Sills (pictured) looked ethereal in the park’s lighting. . . . Dallas Observer’s Robert “Big Bob” Wilonsky was having an ongoing chat with Leppert spokesperson Chris Heinbaugh (pictured with Wilonsky on the right). Trust us. It didn’t appear that they were swapping turkey recipes. . . . University of North Texas Chancellor  Lee Jackson (pictured) laughed when asked if he thought he had been kicked off of Denton Mayor Mark Burrough’s Christmas card list. Let’s face it. The recent announcement of more of UNT moving to downtown Dallas has not endeared Lee to Denton’s city fathers. . . . City Councilperson Angela Hunt was the only politico not shaking hands. Seems she’s recovering from a nasty head cold and is being extremely appropriate. Good for you, Angela.

After the crowds had cleared and the work continued to polish up downtown Dallas’ latest gem, Mayor of Downtown Crawford reflected on his community in progress, “This was another wonderful event for Downtown. We have been working on the completion of MSG for six years which made it all worthwhile. This year has taken Downtown to a new level and the best is yet to come.”

One can’t help but wonder what MSG is going to look like after the last construction worker drives away, because she looked pretty darn good last night.

MSG’s founding sponsors were Weber Shandwick, Comerica Bank Tower, University of North Texas, Capital One Bank, Mercantile Place, Excitement Technologies Group, Corrigan Investments, BDO Seidman LLP, and Third Rail Lofts.