Jingle Bells on Bishop celebrated on December 7 & 8

A “Vintage Christmas” in the Bishop Arts District

by PegNews wire

OAK CLIFF — The weekend of December 7 and 8 will mark the twelfth year that the Bishop Arts District has served up its creamy mix of holiday entertainment, dining, shopping, and hanging out – Jingle Bells on Bishop. Music in the streets begins at 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday night, and merchants will keep the apple cider hot for customers until 10:00 p.m.

The two-evening event, a perennial favorite in Oak Cliff, now attracts neighbors from the north fleeing malls in search of old-style good cheer. With the historic buildings outlined in Christmas lights, the shop windows draped in garlands, and the restaurants warm with steaming platters, the effect is not unlike a Frank Capra movie.

This year’s theme – “A Vintage Christmas” – will be played out in carnival-style activity booths throughout the district. For children, merchants will offer face-painting, go fish, a bounce house, pin-the-hat-on-Santa, bean-bag throw for burgers, ornament-making, and fortune-telling by a certified wizard. For the dunking booth, invitations have been issued to all major presidential candidates.

More than a dozen acts will perform over the weekend. Among the entertainers are the Happy Bullets, a wannabe-Salvation Army brass band; La Parranda, a troop of percussive Venezuelans; jazz duo Sarah and Robert Aberg; and the Alegre Ballet Folklorico. Children’s choirs, carolers, and the real Santa fill out the schedule.

Since last year’s festival a whopping five new restaurants have opened in the Bishop Arts District. Café Madrid has brought its tapas magic from its Uptown location. Café Italia just opened a second location in the old Piggly Wiggly building. Zen Sushi serves up oriental from a smartly decorated storefront. Quinn has convincingly converted an old Long John Silvers into a neighborhood pub. The faithful Tillman’s Corner emerged from the Todd Fiscus hip-factory as Tillman’s Roadhouse.

But the boutiques in the Bishop Arts District remain the stars of the show during this gift-giving season. Some things you can only find behind a 100-year-old storefront and under a tin ceiling. There is one disadvantage to Christmas shopping during Jingle Bells on Bishop – the constant interruption of running into friends.

Jingle Bells on Bishop, Fri. & Sat., Dec. 7 & 8, in North Oak Cliff’s Bishop Arts District, N. Bishop Ave. at W. Davis St., a half-mile south of Methodist Hospital.

Source: Bishop Arts District Merchants’ Association

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