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By: Jennifer Shertzer

Dancing girl

Srijaa Kannan has been learning the classical dance of India, Bharata Natyam, for 11 years at the Arathi School of Dance. She was one of several performers at NorthPark Center’s ArtsPark event in April, put on by Business Council for the Arts. In 2013 she also was awarded the Arathi School of Dance scholarship, instituted through the Dance Council of North Texas, and danced at its honors banquet in October. She performed with the Indian Cultural Heritage Foundation through the Community Arts Program at the city’s Office of Cultural Affairs.

—Emily Toman

Bush Presidential Library opening

April

2013

By: Danny Fulgencio

An arresting act

Wearing prison stripes and giant papier-mâché bobble heads, two men portraying George W. Bush and Dick Cheney deliberately got themselves arrested at the opening of the Bush Presidential Library in April 2013. Police arrested Dennis Trainor (Cheney) of Massachusetts and Gary Egelston (Bush) of Fort Worth and charged them with misdemeanors.

Egelston served in the Air Force and is a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War. Trainor is an activist and filmmaker who makes short documentaries for Acronym TV.

Interestingly, the arresting officer pictured here, Officer S. Egglston, shares almost the same name as his George W. Bush-playing perpetrator. —Larra Keel

Off camera

March

While the subject of our March 2013 Q&A, Ellen Porter, wrangled her four kids, Laura Anderson sat in for a test shot, so our photographer could adjust his settings.

Anderson is the Director of Operations of BraveLove, the nonprofit Porter founded to change our culture’s perception of birth mothers who give their children up for adoption.

“These women motivate me to work hard,” Anderson says. “I make sure this adoption movement is moving. I never tire of their stories.”

Anderson originally started with BraveLove in 2012 as an event planner, but was thrilled to stay on as the organization’s only full-time employee.

“I wear lots of hats,” she says. “This day it included going to a photo shoot.” —Larra Keel

“Eat, Drink, Repeat.”

April 2013

By: Danny Fulgencio

More than a bartender

Celebration Restaurant owner Ed Lowe calls Jon Radke an “overeducated bartender.”

Twenty-seven years ago, Radke responded to a newspaper ad for a job at Celebration and never left. He has an anthropology degree from the University of Chicago, “which is fitting,” Radke says.

“I am unearthing the active culture that is Dallas and the people who come into Celebration. I could write a book.”

A girl who waited tables in those early days became Radke’s wife, and at the baby shower for their twin boys, several Celebration regulars were present. When Radke’s father died, another regular didn’t hesitate to donate his airline miles.

“Things like this happen, and you start to realize, this is not me serving you some food and you tip me and that’s it,” Radke says. “We’ve gotten to know each other.” —Keri Mitchell

Be Neighborhood Famous

Enter our romantic photo contest. Advocate editors want your favorite photo of your spouse, significant other and/ or one true love. It’s part of our latest project, “my favorite picture of you.” Send a digital copy of the photo to editor@advocatemag.com. Please place “picture of you” in the subject line, and the name of the person in the photo, where you (and the subject, if applicable) live now and about 200 words telling us why you love the photo. Be sentimental, heart wrenching or hilarious. Selected entries will appear in the Valentine’s edition of the Advocate.

Prestonwood Baptist Church egg drop

March 2013

By: Danny Fulgencio

Like manna from heaven

On an overcast Saturday morning before Easter, some 10,000 sugarinfused plastic eggs rained down on Lake Highlands North Park.

Thousands of children had gathered — looking like small, welldressed ruffians ready to rumble, if necessary — to collect.

Even more surreal than the colorful plunging ovoids was the sight of the vehicle from which they fell — a helicopter co-piloted by the Easter Bunny.

Prestonwood Baptist Church in Preston Hollow was responsible for the helicopter egg drop, which was free for all children ages 2 to third grade.

Pastor Chris Kouba called on Brian Dunaway and his Fort Worthbased company Epic Helicopters. Dunaway was happy to help.

He, EB and pilot Jason Miles offered services pro bono.

Prestonwood provided the eggs and candy.

After several drops, one executed for each age group, the helicopter landed across the street from Lake Highlands High School and EB posed for at least 100 photos with attending families.

Over the years Dunaway has donated helicopter rides to young natural-disaster survivors and children living with incurable illness, to name a couple of charitable examples.

For profit, he has been known to provide traffic-free trips from Meacham Airport to Texas Motor Speedway for NASCAR fans who can afford the $350 fare. —Christina Hughes Babb