OLD TOWN more on MARSHA SINGER

AND YOU HAVE ANIMALS?

We probably have more dogs at our festival than you’ve ever seen. The Irish love their dogs. We donate money to the SPCA, and this year, we have 18 rescue groups signed up so far, and we’ll probably cap it at 20. It started with Irish wolfhounds, but now we have rescue groups for rabbits, cats, guinea pigs — anything you can think of. One of our big things this year is horses. Horses are very important to the Celtic culture. We’ve got everything from the Dallas mounted police, a horse-riding team out of Florida, horse trainer Robert Liner, who is doing the ‘Spirit of the Celtic Horse’ exhibit. We’ve got a horse chiropractor — so horses are our new element. We try to put something different into the mix that makes people want to get out and see it.

WHAT ARE PEOPLE SURPRISED TO LE ARN ABOUT CELTIC CULTURE?

They’re surprised by how many countries it encompasses — there are seven nations — and how many people have Celtic heritage in their genealogy, if you look far enough. And just the richness of the heritage — the dance and the song and the exuberance of the whole culture — I think people are surprised to find that. We have to call it the Irish festival in Texas, even though it’s really a Celtic festival, because not everyone knows what Celtic means.

WHAT ELSE WILL WE SEE AT THE FESTIVAL?

There’s a Scottish clans village, where they display their coats of arms, and a lot of kilts. A lot of kilts. It surprises people to find out how old the culture is and how well-documented it is. You can go find your coat of arms with these genealogy vendors. It’s a very colorful history. There are large Celtic and Irish populations in Africa and South America, and a lot of people are surprised to learn that.

WHAT ABOUT THE FOOD?

Oh, you’ll find scotch eggs, Irish stew and a lot of the traditional foods. And then we have 20 or 25 other vendors selling stuff like kettle corn and hot dogs. There’s also Irish wine, mead, cider — there’s something for everyone. But this is a family event. It’s not St. Patty’s Day. It’s a Celtic festival, and it’s a family event.

—RACHEL STONE

THE FESTIVAL RUNS from March 6-8. Tickets are $15 for adults, and free for children under 12 and members of the military and police departments. Also, anyone who arrives between 6-7 p.m. on Friday, March 6 gets in free.

? My street is VERY DARK How would I go about getting a STREETLIGHT installed?

Although there is no fee for installing a streetlight in your neighborhood, the installation process can be pretty time-consuming. Here’s how it works:

1. Call the city’s service request number, 311, and tell the operator that you are requesting a streetlight installed on your street.

2. After you make the request, a work order will be issued to the district engineer within your zip code. The engineer will send you a petition request; eight signatures are needed from surrounding homeowners for your request to be considered. One stipulation of the installation process is that if you want a streetlight installed between two houses, you need the other homeowner’s consent and signature as well as your own. If you cannot get your neighbor to sign the petition, the streetlight will not be installed.

PATIENT QUOTE OF THE MONTH:

“Thank you and your staff for a wonderful visit to a place most people dread! I am elated to have found a place where I feel comfortable and has GREAT service!! I am no longer a Dental Nomad!!”

– Eric Blomquist

3. After signatures for the petition are obtained and given to the city, the petition is then sent to Oncor, the company responsible for the city’s streetlights and electricity. The approval process may take up to 45 days to finalize, but once it receives an OK, your streetlight will immediately be installed.

4. By the way, to report a streetlight outage, call Oncor at 1.888.313.4747. Because Oncor owns all of the streetlights, the city is not involved in any repairs or maintenance, only in the initial installation request.

5.

For more information, visit the Oncor website at oncor.com, or visit dallascityhall.com/services/ transportation2.html and click on “Street Lighting”.

—ASHA GWIN GOT A MAZE YOU CAN’T FIND YOUR WAY THROUGH? Email howitworks@advocatemag.com with your question.

Another murder this weekend at the same intersection Search: fatally shot

Instead of trying to tack onto the success that the Lakewood neighborhood has had in lifting up its school, Ridgewood Park should push to make Dan D. Rogers have higher standards.

S earch: rogers attendance zone

Parts of Lakewood and East Dallas will switch from alley to curb pickup, which should no doubt irritate quite a few people.

S earch: picking garbage