DALLAS — The Deep Ellum neighborhood was busy over the Memorial Day weekend. Large crowds gathered to attend the inaugural Deep Ellum Community Arts Fair.
“This is the 150th year of the founding of Deep Ellum,” said Breonny Lee, president of Deep Ellum Community Association.
The historic celebration of Deep Ellum’s history brought about new momentum and interest this year in revamping and reorganizing a celebration for visual, performing and culinary arts.
Organizers said the fair has a strong local focus. Many of the artists and vendors were celebrating that move.
”The traffic has been excellent,” said Dennis Casey, a local photographer.
Some local artists said the new Deep Ellum Communty Arts Fair welcomed positive changes.
“The old Deep Ellum show, I loved it. It was awesome. But it became kind of high end. Like it became very strict and very rigid,” said folk artist Aaron Hunt. “What we are seeing right now, is an expression of what I would believe is like a true culture of the essence of Deep Ellum. Like we’re capturing that culture.”
The Deep Ellum Community Arts Fair incorporated a new route. Tents for vendors were lined along Crowdus Street this year. The location gave visitors a better chance to explore a variety of restaurants and businesses in Deep Ellum.
“We’re hearing the business community say they love the event. They love the community spirit of the event. They love that we’re not blocking their businesses,” Lee explained.
Several local and nationally recognized performers graced two stages at the Deep Ellum Community Arts Festival, which ends at 8 p.m. Monday, May 29.
“The response has been so overwhelmingly positive, it’s really difficult to not envision a future,” Lee said.