Coronavirus impact

Premier Fort Worth fall arts event postponed due to COVID-19 concerns

ArtsGoggle attracts more than 70,000 patrons.

Photo by Olaf Growald

With COVID-19 raging again, one of Fort Worth's biggest arts events has been kicked off the fall calendar, postponed to spring. ArtsGoggle, originally scheduled for October 16 in the Near Southside, will now take place April 23, 2022.

"Friends, this wasn’t what we hoped for, but in response to public health concerns and guided by our district’s health professionals, we have decided that we will not move forward with ArtsGoggle on October 16, 2021," organizers said in a September 14 email to patrons.

ArtsGoggle is Fort Worth's premier festival of local arts and attracts a crowd of more than 70,000 patrons. The nearly two-decades-old, family-friendly event annually hosts more than 1,000 visual artists, 50 musical performances, artistic displays of every kind, food, drink, and fun activations, primarily along Magnolia Avenue.

The festival exclusively focuses on highlighting the work of local artists, musicians, and performers of all mediums and experience levels.

The 2020 edition was canceled due to COVID-19, so 2021 was to have been a comeback. Arms jabbed and fingers crossed for 2022.

The Tarrant County health department currently classifies community spread level as "high." According to WFAA, COVID-19 patients currently make up 26 percent of the total hospital bed capacity.

All applications submitted for ArtsGoggle artists, food vendors, venues, and entertainers will be honored for the April date, organizers say. Applications will remain open until February 15, 2022 on their website.

It's the second major Near Southside event to be canceled due to COVID concerns. The Kindness Duck Project, a nonprofit that touts itself as throwing "the world's largest rubber duck party" in the name of spreading kindness, rescheduled its planned July 24 party and festival to October 29-31, which would be just weeks after the original date of now-postponed ArtsGoggle.

closings health galleries

In the Spotlight

Fort Worth's Hip Pocket Theatre names first-ever managing director

Courtesy photo

Gianina Lambert

The out-of-the-box Fort Worth theater company Hip Pocket Theatre is starting the New Year with a new managing director: Gianina Lambert.

The Texas Wesleyan University grad has previously worked as a stage manager at the al fresco Hip Pocket, and will now manage the day-to-day in the newly created position.

“We’re thrilled to add Gianina to the Hip Pocket Theatre staff in the new position of managing director,” says Holly Ellman, chair of the board of directors. “Her experience as a stage manager at Hip Pocket proved her ability to face problems head-on and develop creative solutions that benefit all."

Ellman notes in the press release that an anonymous donor's recent contribution has allowed the theater company to expand to a full-time, locally managed leadership team — a major help as Hip Pocket gears up for its rapidly approaching 50th anniversary in 2026.

"This critical support allows our co-artistic directors, Lake and Lorca Simons, to dedicate more time to their creative vision, ensuring Hip Pocket's continued growth and artistic excellence," says Ellman.

Born and raised in Connecticut, Lambert began her theatrical training at Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts, working most notably for Looking In Theater Company, a performance ensemble comprised of teenagers from the Greater Hartford area.

She continued her education at Texas Wesleyan University, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting. She has worked with Fort Worth Opera, Circle Theatre, Artes de la Rosa, Casa Mañana, and Stage West, and served as stage manager for several Hip Pocket Theatre productions, including A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Big Love during the recently concluded 48th season.

"I joined Hip Pocket Theatre in the summer of 2021 and my heart has not left since,” Lambert says. “I’m passionate about continuing the legacy of community, innovation, and technique that Johnny Simons, Diane Simons, and Douglas Balentine have built. I’m also thrilled to be working alongside Lake and Lorca Simons, two brilliant creatives whose artistry has shaped and molded me in beautiful ways. Together, I’m confident we can take Hip Pocket to new heights as we move toward the highly anticipated 50th season."

Based in Fort Worth, Hip Pocket Theatre is a unique, alternative theatre company known for its imaginative, experimental productions and its rustic outdoor setting.

Established in 1976, the theater combines an unconventional approach to storytelling with original scores, drama, humor, puppetry, mime, and movement. Hip Pocket produces a wide variety of works, including original plays, adaptations, musicals, and multimedia performances. Often incorporating elements of fantasy and fable, the theater creates an immersive experience filled with creativity and artistic exploration.

The 2025 season has not yet been announced.

theater