[Music] welcome to its happening in Grand Prairie I'm Georgia Clemson and we have a great show for you today and we're going to start out with one of our favorites Miss Sarah dulic welcome Sarah thank you thanks for having me now Sarah tell our viewers what your title is yes so I'm tourism manager for visit Grand Prairie which is the tourism arm for the city which is a big job it is and you have many you work in many other areas but today what are we focusing on solar eclipse oh wow yes mark your calendar for April 8th I'm sure you've you know your viewers I'm sure are hearing about it on the news and things but we are going to have a solar eclipse on April 8th here in Grand Prairie we are smack dab in the middle of the um path of totality and so if if you know if you're wondering what is a solar eclipse it's basically when the moon passes directly between the Earth and the Sun and it creates darkness and like this weird Eerie glow from when it goes dark so it's going to go dark in the middle of the day um about 1:4 142 is when we are scheduled scheduled when the moon is when the eclipse is going to take place um we're good but we didn't schedule anything this is just happening and we're preparing for it but it's going to last about 3 and a half minutes however the the time Tim line will you know it'll start earlier and then it'll take longer for the for the sun to move so um but total totality will be about three and a half minutes yes and Sarah what's the big deal about that does it happen very often so it it's interesting because solar eclipses do happen around the world um fairly often however um for us Grand Prairie won't experience another um total solar eclipse for another 300 and something years now that's not to say that in you know um 20s something years you can go up to Montana and view that one or that you didn't view one another part of the world you know another time but as far as Grand Prairie having this experience it it really is once in a lifetime it is once in a lifetime for us and tell us how the city is going to celebrate the eclipse yes so safety is definitely our number one priority um so we have lots of information on our website talking about driving safety viewing the solar eclipse so we want to remind our viewers to make sure that if they plan on viewing the solar eclipse that they definitely get a pair of solar eclipse glasses because it will damage your eyes if you try to you know you won't be able to see it it'll be so bright and then um you know all you'll see is spots so make sure you get your solar eclipse glasses that are ISO certified so you protect your eyes driving is um you know we want everybody to be safe we want to keep tra traffic moving we don't want um cars to stop on the highway or even on the shoulder like find a safe place around that timeline to properly view the solar Clips if if you choose but definitely you know police fire Emergency Management are all involved to make sure that safety is the number one priority for our residents right and you mentioned uh ISO rated yes and I know there are some U things out there that are not so they need to be very careful be because it could damage our eyes yes just make sure and if they are ISO certified it does say it on the glasses um if you're looking for a pair we're selling up at the T information center for $3 a pair uh while supplies last but we we think we have plenty so um feel free to stop by and pick up your pair of glasses and is the city doing anything at Epic Central yes so we have lots of events scheduled leading up to totality so our library is doing lots of fun programming you can register for that um it's opening weekend of farmers market so that's happening on Saturday we're doing Market on the Move On Sunday you can also um go to the Planetarium that's at South G Prairie register for that it's $5 you get a free pair of glasses and uh view a IMAX type movie over um eclipse and the information for that but the big watch party is on April 8th at Epic Central near the Jambox from 12:00 to 3: we'll have live music and vendors and lots of good times so bring your lawn chair and come come watch the eclipse with us and the main thing it sounds like fun the main thing is to be safe to make sure you and your kids or whoever you're responsible for will have proper protection yes or just don't look and then watch it later on TV right right right so we have all of this information and lots of safety tips and all of that on our website which is visit gr prair tx.com so I would definitely encourage you to check that out and tell us the date one more time in case they've missed it yes Monday April 8th um 1:42 is is when it's all supposed to happen um that day from 12:00 to 3: will'll be atep epic Central That's so exciting and I'm so proud of our city for making this uh event available and getting the glasses to everybody keeping everybody safe yes yes we're we're really looking forward to it thank you so much Sarah yes thanks for having me and we'll be right back Grand Prairie is changing the schedule for garbage and recycling pickups starting October 2nd garbage pickups north of warrior Trail will be on Tuesday and Friday garbage pickup south of warrior Trail will be on Monday and Thursday and recycling pickups will change to Wednesday for the entire city for more information about the new pickup schedule visit gptx.org welcome back and we will welcome our next guest Mr Kelly Ed Edelman thank you for being here Kelly thanks for having me and tell our viewers what your title is with the city of Grand Prix sure I'm the administration and Community engagement manager for the parks arts and Recreation Department oh wow Parks arts and Recreation that covers a big territory we got a lot going on yes always and you do such a great job of that tell us what we can expect soon sure well uh I want to talk to you about Main Street Fest today coming up uh the end of April April 26th 27th and 28th Main Street Fest and this is how many years have we done Main Street Fest uh this is our 11th annual we started in uh 2013 it was a one-day event back then and it's expanded to a three-day Festival now three-day festival and uh what happens at the festival uh a lot is going to happen this year at the festival um guests are going to see uh much larger event this year uh with enhanced experiences throughout um this year we're going to have 74 Artisan vendors uh arts and crafts Goods vendors um we have lots of food opportunities for our guest uh 16 food vendors and food trucks this year a variety of food from barbecue catfish uh street tacos snow cones all the festival food you can imagine um including the food that the carnival has throughout their area and speaking of Carnival with that enlarged area we're going to bring approximately 50% more rides so a lot more Carnival this year oh wow including and I'm excited to announce uh we're no longer a onewheel town we are now a two Ferris wheel town so uh that's pretty exciting that's one of the most popular attractions within the carnival is the ferris wheel so we're going to have two for everybody to enjoy this year yes that keeps them busy and let's see I think um one of the most exciting things the people that really that really draw our people in is the entertainment absolutely we have uh three stages of entertainment um one is our community uh stage at the market square which our partners at the Grand PRI Arts Council will be uh programming with a variety of entertainment including local groups such as uh gpisd students uh and the St John's Men's Choir from right here from Grand Prairie great and that's right by Farmers Market correct yes and there's also a Kids Zone in that area as well so a great place for families to hang out during the day uh and then we have a new stage on the city hall lawn this year that'll have a DJ just providing some entertainment throughout the day and of course our main stage with all the the big acts and and entertainment in the evening times and where is the main stage the main stage is right in front of City Hall this year so right front and center we've got some exciting entertainment on the stage each night this year uh Friday night we have uh Mark Chestnut is our headliner that night Kyle Park is going to open up for him uh on Saturday night we have Michael Sado as our headliner and Jay Perez is is going to be his opener and then on Sunday we have uh Parliament Funkadelic featuring George Clinton and all Funk radio show opening for him so we've already gotten a lot of great feedback from people who've heard our Headliners and we think it's going to be a great turnout for those shows yes and Kelly if I come to the entertainment for the stages is there any charge for that no absolutely not the uh admission to the festival is free um so yep just come out and bring your family and enjoy all that we have to offer yes so they're they're responsible for their food correct they're responsible how about the rides so uh thank you for bringing that up the uh of course all the the goods from the vendors there's a fee and the and the food um as well as the carnival rides um you can buy individual tickets for the rides all of which have different uh ticket of Mount or you can buy a all you can ride wristband those are normally $40 uh but we do have an offer this year for a $25 all you can ride wristband um you have to have a coupon um but we are Distributing those to Grand prair residents uh to utilize any of the three days before it was only available on Friday this year we're excited to uh extend that all the way Friday Saturday or Sunday so they have to choose one of those days so it's good for one day corre corre you can use that for one one day and that wristband allows you to ride rides all day long as much as you can handle two Ferris wheels and everything that's right it sounds like fun Kelly and um how about parking parking is uh free you can find that anywhere throughout the downtown area but there's there's lots of opportunities uh kind of coming from all different directions uh one other thing that's new this year is we are uh going to have several dedicated entry points throughout the event so that's just to you know add a layer of safety and just enhance that flow of people coming in and out of the events those areas will be well lit and well marked Kelly is there anywhere that we could get a little map of uh where things are located yes great question we're going to have a map on Mainstreet fest.com as well as some maps throughout the festival you can so you can find uh all the things that you want to uh take part in while you're there and where can I go to get my 25% off coupon or $25 coupon uh we uh you may have received a life is grand uh magazine in the mail in mid to late uh march on the back cover of that we have one single coupon you do have to have one per person so if you need more than that one we have those uh in recreation centers throughout town as well as our libraries so uh you can a family can go and get up to four per family with proof of residency that's great that's a great deal and uh tell our viewers recap one more time if there's anything else but especially the date time sure uh again those dates are Friday through Sunday April 26 27 and 28 and all the information about the event including the full lineup of entertainment is at Mainstreet fest.com that's excellent we're looking forward to it we know it's going to be great again thank you we are too it's going to be a fun year thank you so much Kelly for being here and we'll be right back Grand Prairie it's time to bag the bag and grab the bin the city is no longer colle ing recycled items in plastic bags because plastic bags damage processing equipment instead use your recycling bin to hold items for pickup and remember only glass bottles and jars metal cans and paper products are okay for more information please visit gptx.org recycling welcome back and Welcome to our next guest Rodney Nelson from Lon D Park welcome much it's great to see you and it's that time of year again isn't it that's right we're getting ready to start our thoroughbread season it's going to start on April the 18th so just a few weeks away uh from the beginning of that Thad season and uh we're really excited for this one yes and tell us now you have some kickoff events don't you right our opening weekend of the 2024 th bread season is a great weekend the Thursday night when we start uh we're going to have we're going to kick it off with some good races including our Blue Bonnet Stakes race that's going to be the first Stakes race of the Season we also have Craig Parker going to perform on stage he is a world famous Elvis impersonator we have him out there almost every year um and then continuing through opening weekend dollar day one of our fan favorites where we have dollar admission dollar hot dogs dollar beer and more is going to happen on Saturday April the 20th and then on the 21st we'll have our annual crawfish b as well so opening weekend of the season is going to be a great reason to be out at the racetrack yes April is going to be a busy time at the racetrack and tell us a little bit more about the people who may NE have never visited tell them what the best event would be to come to in April well I will tell you any event at the racetrack is a good event to be to be at so you get your choice we um Run April 18th through July the 14th this year generally our race days are Friday nights Saturday and Sunday afternoons so any day that you pick is a great day to be out there General Mission cost you $10 to get into the track so not very much at all General parking is free and then for those of you out there that are looking for a deal every Sunday during the thir bread season you can bring a Pepsi can with you to the gates and you'll get free general admission and a free large pepsy as well I didn't know that see that's why I like to share that yes I'm so glad you told us free admission on a what day Sundays every Sunday throughout the season with Pepsi can yes bring a Pepsi can and you get that free large Pepsi as well so it's a really good reason to get out to the racetrack on a Sunday yes and you can make you can really make a a day of it can't you that's right there's a lot of different places that you can go in the Metroplex especially here in Grand Prairie that you can get out and have some fun but the racetrack is totally different for just that little general admission fee you can get out there and be within feet of the ecoin athletes and hear them thundering down the racetrack it's a great experience if you've never been out there and we'd love to have everybody out there this season and you have some different places for food right what can we do is if we want to eat out there that's right we have our regular concessions that are on the ground level of the grand stand where you can get you a hot dog a hamburger stuff like that or you can upgrade your dining experience to our silks dining room where we have an amazing Buffet you're watching the races from a climate controlled part of the grandstand so when it gets warm out later this year you're going to be inside in the air conditioning eating that Buffet all day long and having an amazing view of the racetrack and hopefully picking some winning horses yes and tell us what some of the very special races are and how how do you place a bet all right so our biggest race day of the year happens on Memorial Day that is Lone Star million day where we have over a million dollars in purses that we will pay out to winning owners of the horses so on Memorial Day our top race of the season is the grade three Steve ston mile we also have the Texas Derby as well that day a lot of good racing on Memorial Day and we're giving away a car as well and how do you uh how do you put your name in the Hat for that all right to get your name in the Hat to win that car that we're getting from Grand Prairie Ford you got to come out to the racetrack on Memorial day we'll let you know a a special secret number to text we'll have a keyword to text everybody can get in from their digital from their phones and uh we'll select 10 people to come down to the Winter Circle each one will get a key and the person who has the key that unlocks the car is going to win it wow that sounds like a a motivation to get out there on Memorial Day if definitely I think the races are a big draw and the car doesn't doesn't hurt as well that's right what kind of vehicle is it it's going to be a Ford Escape I believe we'll give away this year that is really exciting now um tell me about how long you've been at Lone Star Park I've been at Lone Star since 2011 so um I'm going on 13 years years or so now at the RAC track and I love every minute of it and what is your job there I'm a marketing manager along with some other roles that I do as well but the main role that I have is to get out there and spread the word about the racetrack and let everybody know how great it is yes and about how many visitors could we expect this year well I I want to say throughout the entire year we have two different seasons we have our thorough bread season that comes up in the spring and the summer and then we have a fall season for the quarter horses the champion quarter horses um throughout the throughout the course of the Season we'll get over a half a million visitors out to the racetrack and Rodney I know that Lone Store park has a great Foundation that you do so much for the different um nonprofits in the city and is there any way um any activity that's coming up that we might want to attend to support that well one of our big big drivers for the City of Grand Prairie for the Charities is we have the lonar park charitable Foundation which we uh generate we raise money all year long and we distribute grants throughout worthy charities in the City of Grand Prairie they put in an application and um we're able to distribute that grant grant money uh we just had our ceremony for the checks last week I believe yes and then we have a um nice event coming up miday which is like the big Gala that we have to um kick off the fundraising efforts for the year and I think that's the one where the the ladies sometime get to wear their pretty hats that's right you don't only have to wear a fancy hat on Kentucky Derby Day anytime you come out to the racetrack you can wear a nice hat and that Galla for the lonar park charitable Foundation brings out a lot of fancy fancy outfits and hats and and some of the great people that we need to get out there and support the Charities and Grand Prairie well you know uh we can expect a a great April at Lone Star Park and it goes through what July the 14th will be our final day for the spring our spring THD season this year it's going to be a great great season I I I can already tell it's going to be a great season and you all have done so many beautiful upgrades to our Lone Star Park it's wonderful just to go out there to see the grounds to see the beautiful animals the horses it's just amazing so we're looking forward to this season with Lone Star Park is there anything else you want to add oh you know obvious if you looking for more information on the promotions or our race days check out our website www. lonar park.com should tell you all the information that you need to know for this thir bread season perfect thank you so much Rodney for being here looking forward to seeing you at lonar Park thank you and we'll be right [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] back hey hey hey hey come on together now coming up together now together [Applause] now [Music] go hey hey hey hey come on together now come on [Music] together come on together now welcome back and we welcome our next two guests welcome to Taylor bun and Cory Johnson thank you it's great to have you all today and we have something very exciting to talk about and that is hope for all now Taylor why don't you start us out and tell our viewers what is hope for all yeah so hope forall is a public charity that Corey Johnson and I founded back in August 2019 so our mission is to cultivate equal access to Hope and opportunity in our communities for us Grand Prairie is the majority of our community this is where we do most of our work by raising awareness volunteering ing making Financial contributions and collaborating with other nonprofits in the area and that is such a needed thing that feels such a need in our city and of course every city but uh we're glad you're in Grand Prairie and thank you we're so glad to be here thank you so much for the many contributions I know the first time I heard about you was through um your help with Lifeline for families yes and um at first when I heard about your organization with you and Cory I thought it was just for animals oh for horses and uh of course and I know that that's one of your connections of course but uh tell us about that sure so um we have four giving areas that we focus on so one is of course equin initiatives we also work in Community Development education and equity and so for us Equity is anything we can do to help level the playing field or close a gap so that every one can can have hope and opportunity yes and Corey we know you have history with Grand Prairie with Lone Star Park and uh tell us just briefly about your history and then tell us how you and Miss Taylor got connected on this Mission okay I came to Grand Prairie in 1994 I was the general manager and the first employee hired for lonar Park and there were a few uh stops and starts early on in the Pro the project as as you know but we opened in 1997 and then I stayed there until 2007 ended up being the president and I owned a small part of lonar park at Grand Prairie and it was just such a wonderful time for me I just um Grand Prairie is such a special place and when I left to put together a group in Kentucky to buy a track there I always wanted to come back and give back to Grand Prairie because it had me so much to me not only professionally but personally I mean when you know my mentor I had many mentors but one of them was Wayne Hanks um and Wayne Hanks is the was the ultimate let's give back to the community you know he led me to the Grand Prairie YMCA I ended up being president I think for about 4 years and then Wayne and I were co-chairman of the fundraising group that raised the money so that we could improve the South Grand Prairie YMCA I'm sure you remember all this but I just had such a great time and when I was at lonar Park we wanted to kind of formalize our role with the community and we came up with the idea to start the Lone Star Park charitable Foundation and that entity I think has really worked out well in giving back to the community and the many nonprofits so when I was part of that I got to see how many really strong public Charities there are and how many fine people run those Charities and are on their board so that motivated me even more when we were able to sell our company in Kentucky that we wanted to uh form hope for all a nonprofit public charity so we could give back to Grand Prairie and so that's part of the that's a long answer to your question but that's part of the Genesis of where we are today and then Taylor and I obviously have known each other for a long time is that fair to say yes yes and so I have so much respect for her not only is she highly Ed educated with a doctorate from Baylor a double masters from SMU but her level of energy is just um unparalleled I'll say it that way and her and her want to give back into like as she said you know let's let's narrow that Gap let's give hope to people that maybe just aren't quite as blessed as the the three of us and so that's been our goal in candidly Georgia it was difficult because we had a number of plans and then all of a sudden Here Comes Co yes and then what we found is we were not able to do some of maybe our bigger plans but there was a lot of need with the Charities the fundraising was down so so we kind of got in there and tried to help any way we could and by doing that and Taylor can elaborate on this she's been able to bring together the leaders of the different charities and to promote communication well what is does that mean that promotes cooperation and so what we're seeing is all the Charities working together in Grand Prairie and improving things for the citizens oh that is wonderful what a mission and how wonderful it is to be a part of it and that you all made it happen it's so exciting now Taylor what do you do you do events to raise funds to fund uh your organization we do we we started as we started raising money for the Grand Prairie ecoin Center uh we started having an event at Lone Star Park for a race day so we're going to be bringing that back in November for the quarter horse races it was a lot of fun last year we'll have a live auction there of course will be racing we're going to feed you uh there will be a bar so there will be lots of opportunities to come and watch these beautiful animals do their job and help us as we start continuing to race funds for the grand PR equin Center interject something real quick because and this kind of is close to me it was 20 years ago that we hosted the Breeders Cup World Thoroughbred championships at lonar Park at Grand Prairie and as you know the entire Community got involved and many people say it was the most successful Breeders Cup in history because the entertainment and the energy and the monthlong festival was UN surpassed in any Market well part of our fundraiser is we're going to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Breeders Cup so and you know there are many people that need to be recognized for their role in getting the Breeders kept to Grand Prairie and so we're going to honor those people at this fundraiser and then also raise money for our Grand Prairie ecoin Center project yes and exactly what is an ecoin center right so this will be a facility uh we we think it's a one-of-a-kind facility in our area where we are going to be bringing in steps with horses which is a an ecoin assisted mental health facility so they have 11 ecoins that help when people need to come and seek therapy but in office therapy isn't working for them so they're able to go out into the pasture and work with the horses and open up in a different way than they could in an office so that's really going to be our first phase so the center will have a classroom an office space stalls for the horses um a nice covered Arena and then we'll also have several fenced pasture areas where those Therapy Services can take place and then down the road hope for all we'll be helping out with some thorough bread after care opportunities and that is in Grand Prairie Texas it is in Grand Prairie Texas right across Belt Line from Lone Star Park that's going to be exciting we're really excited about we see that progress that is such a wonderful wonderful opportunity for people in that that are in need in that area yes yes it is a critical need so we're glad to be a part of that it's in your District so you'll know where it is it's basically one mile west of lonar Park and where the new road is going from belt line to the toll road it's just right there and we could not have done this without the City of Grand Prairie I mean they have been unbelievably helpful and then also U we'll be working with of course lonar park on the you know the the Thoroughbred after care and then a lot of people don't realize but the Grand Prairie Police Department has a mounted Patrol well that group will have a barn on the ecoin center site yes so we'll share it we can share facilities we can share the riding arena and all those things and and really the the I would say this Taylor one of the focuses or the focus is on equin assisted uh counseling or mental health you know type situation you know we have uh atrisk youth we have veterans we have First Responders and they many of them have mental health issues and we all know about veterans and PTSD and First Responders well you inject a horse into that counseling session and it's magic there is research that's been done that talks about the success rate of veterans and First Responders with PTSD injecting the horse into the counseling session it's amazing and we have been fortunate to have a relationship with Dr H shade who's a worldwide expert in this area she is leasing their their entity is leasing ground in south of Fort Worth well now our goal is to put them in the middle of Dallas Fort Worth in Grand Prairie give them solid facilities so we can really expand their reach yes and what a fabulous Mission and um you can tell you have passion and a heart for the mission and for the city and for people and we can't thank you enough for what what doing for Grand Prairie and I'm so excited it's in District One in Grand Prairie as well at the best location the best city in the Metroplex yep it's going to be fabulous and we could spend a whole show talking about this but we're going to have to wrap it up and um what an honor to have uh Corey here to reflect on your history with Grand Prairie and we know you're a famous hor horseman in your own right and we could talk about that too and Taylor bun you're doing an amazing job with the nonprofits all of them and bringing them together and keeping us on the right track so thank you both for being here it's been a pleasure having you and God bless you both in what you're doing thank you thank you for having us thank you and thank you for joining joining us today and as always I'm Georgia Clemson reminding you that it's happening in Grand Prairie [Music] [Music]