DART Adventures and Bass Performance Hall

*Editor’s note: I originally wrote this in December, but due to a series of personal events was never able to post it. I hope you enjoy this belated winter post!

Up to this point, my blog has mostly focused on the Dallas half of “DFW”, so I wanted to write a little about Fort Worth.  I was so excited when a friend invited me to see “The Nutcracker” at Bass Performance Hall in Downtown Fort Worth. I would never have guessed that the most memorable part would be the train ride there.

For those who have never been to the DFW area, it’s important to note that living in the Metroplex is a lot like living in Los Angeles: Most people have cars and public transportation is typically used only for special occasions.  However, in the last few years, the Dallas Area Rail Transit (DART) and the Trinity Railway Express (TRE) have made an excellent marketing effort to get more riders.

Because it’s about an hour drive from Dallas to downtown Fort Worth, including several highway changes, my friend and I opted to take the DART instead. It still takes about an hour to get there, but there’s way less road rage and some of the second floor tables have outlets where you can plug in a laptop or (in my case) a dying phone. On this ride, the windows were decorated with snowflakes and “Winter Express” labels.

As the train pulled away from Union Station, we noticed some people walking down the aisle, handing items to passengers. A young lady approached us and offered candy canes. She explained she was with DART handing them out.  Since I saw a family with young children eating the candy canes with no apparent signs of poisoning, I politely accepted and thanked her. My friend and I shared a mutual moment of joy over the candy.

At the next stop, more DART employees boarded and handed out candy canes. This time, they also were passing out paper reindeer antlers. Much to my friend’s chagrin, I gladly accepted and proudly wore my paper antlers. After all, how often does public transit make an effort to be goofy and fun?

A few stops later, four teenagers boarded the train dressed in holiday gear. They serenaded us with Christmas carols! As you will (hopefully) be able to see in the video, they were wonderful.

The Nutcracker was a fun ballet to watch, though I’m sad to say that during our matinee showing one of the dancers fell several times. Don’t let that stop you from catching a show at Bass Performance Hall though.  This privately funded theater features stunning 48-foot tall heralding angel figures on the outside, and beautiful high ceilings on the inside.  Originally built in 1998, Bass Performance Hall is a Fort Worth icon located in an easily accessible part of downtown, just off Sundance Square.

One fun thing to note is that the offices and rehearsal space for Bass Performance Hall are located in the Maddox Muse Center, a red brick building across the street.  The Bass Performance Hall website shares that this building was originally built as the Fort Worth Medical College in 1894, the medical department of Fort Worth University. This school had the distinction of training Francis Daisy Emery, the first woman medical school graduate in Texas.

Don’t have time to catch a show? Tours are available on Saturdays at 10:30 a.m., schedule permitting.

Bass Performance Hall
525 Commerce St., Fort Worth, TX 76102
(817) 212-4300
www.basshall.com


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