UPDATED: Part of DART Green Line to open early for Carrollton’s festival in October

by Sarah Blaskovich

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In its first year, the city is enticing local music lovers with The Polyphonic Spree, The Old 97's, and Robert Earl Keen.

Robert Earl Keen

CARROLLTON — We've had our eye on Carrollton's Festival at the Switchyard ever since they gave us the lineup for the October 22 and 23 event: Friday night, The Polyphonic Spree opens for The Old 97's; and Saturday night, the headliner is Robert Earl Keen.

At a preview meeting Thursday night, we also learned that part of the DART Green Line slated to open in December 2010 will open for Carrollton's October festival and then close again until December. Update: Three stops along the Green Line's “northwest corridor” -- Downtown Carrollton, Trinity Mills, and the Frankford stations -- will be open for the festival only. According to a city update on August 19, two stops along the Green Line's northwest corridor will be open for the festival only: Downtown Carrollton and Trinity Mills.

With the festival located at I-35E and Beltline Road, the Green Line will drop off passengers “steps from the festival's front gates,” said Ryan Thompson, president and CEO of Ariamedia, the Addison-based company organizing the event for Carrollton.

The event will cost $250,000, Thompson said. The money will be covered by sponsorships first, with the remainder covered by the city. (They'll also make money from front-gate admission and concessions.) “We don't expect to operate with a profit this year,” Thompson said, “but it is possible.” The city has put aside other events this year to make Festival at the Switchyard their “one big splash,” Thompson said.