THIS IS US

A year in the life of Oak Cliff

They tore down old things. They built new stuff. Oak Cliff is changing every day. But one thing that hasn’t changed yet: We are all in this together. Advocate photo editor Danny Fulgencio spends his days, and some nights, documenting our neighborhood. These are a few of the Oak Cliff places and faces he came across in 2017.

PHOTOS BY DANNY FULGENCIO

A crowd gathered for Heritage Oak Cliff’s preservation town hall at Arts Mission Oak Cliff in June. The neighborhood was in an uproar after El Corazon de Tejas restaurant was demolished to make way for a CVS store.

Two Day of the Dead revelers take a break from the festivities at La Maroches Bakery on West Davis in November.

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Performers from Texas Burlesque Peep Show greet guests in the lobby during the 1980s themed New Year’s Eve party in 2016 at the Texas Theatre.

Cheerleaders are silhouetted in the afternoon sky during the annual Adamson vs. Sunset pep rally in the Bishop Arts District in September. Go Oak Cliff began throwing annual pep rallies for the intraneighborhood football rivalry in 2012.

A Mardi Gras dancer twirls down West Davis during the annual Oak Cliff Mardi Gras parade in February. The parade draws thousands of people to the neighborhood and is one of the biggest events in Oak Cliff.

Flirtation abounds at Bastille on Bishop. The annual July event in Bishop Arts celebrates “all things French.”

Children await the cutting of a birthday cake at La Rondalla, a nonprofit music school for elementary-high school students. Oak Cliff native Edie Brickell had played a benefit concert with the New Bohemians at the Kessler Theater in April to raise $17,000 for the school.

Kids participate in a painting demonstration at the Tyler/Davis block party in October.

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Nonprofits

DON’T DO GREY BOXES FOR OC IN 2018

Exxon Mobil Corp. gave $50,000 in December to Oak Cliffbased Promise House, which supports homeless, runaway and at-risk youth in North Texas. Promise House has helped some 75,000 kids and families since it opened in 1984.

Stevens Park Elementary School has a new outdoor classroom thanks to adjacent neighborhood associations and Heritage Oak Cliff Stevens Park Estates and Stevens Park Village donated the outdoor classroom, a plaza with flower beds and four picnic tables, with grants they received from Heritage Oak Cliff earlier this year.

Free pet spay and neuter services are available to anyone in Oak Cliff or South Dallas via Let’s Fix This, a privately funded campaign dedicated to ending dog bites and attacks in southern Dallas. Make an appointment and pay a $20 refundable deposit by calling 972.472.3500 or visiting spayneuternet.org.

Foundation 45, a support network for artists and musicians struggling with addiction or mental illness, now offers a weekly group meeting in Oak Cliff. The meetings are led by licensed professional counselors at the Common Desk, 633 W. Davis, every Thursday at 7 p.m.

People

Heritage Oak Cliff awarded its Ruth Chenoweth preservation award to Dallas Landmark Commission member Michael Amonett and architect Alicia Quintans, two Oak Cliff residents who “have worked tirelessly in recent years to help identify and protect historic buildings in Oak Cliff.” The nonprofit gave a new prize, the “neighborhood champion award,” was given to park board member Barbara Barbee who works “to build stronger, healthier, safer, more inclusive and beautiful neighborhoods.”