Al Fresco Music

Fort Worth Symphony's 2023 Concerts in the Garden series brings Beatles, Star Wars, and Pat Green

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra Concerts in the Garden

The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra's annual Concerts in the Garden series runs May 26-June 11 at Fort Worth Botanic Garden.

Photo by Julien Lambert

The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra will offer 11 concerts as part of the 2023 Concerts In The Garden Summer Music Festival, taking place May 26 through June 11 at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden.

The earlier dates for this year's season mean that the series will not include the traditional Fourth of July concerts. Instead, the orchestra will presents Patriotic Pops on Saturday, May 27, featuring favorite patriotic songs and marches in their first-ever Memorial Day celebration. The concert will also include a brand new drone fireworks display.

The season will kick off with Windborne’s The Music of Queen on May 26, where the FWSO, under conductor Brett Havens, will welcome singer MiG Ayesa and a full rock band to capture Queen's distinct sound.

After the Patriotic Pops concert, the Memorial Day weekend slate will be wrapped up with The Music of Harry Potter on May 27, where the orchestra will conjure favorite tunes from the eight films in the Harry Potter series that took young witches and wizards to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The weekend of June 1-4 will be mostly orchestra-free. Preservation Hall Jazz Band will perform by themselves on June 1, celebrating 60 years of making great music in New Orleans and around the world. They'll be followed by Radio Highway Performs The Music of The Eagles on June 2, delivering many of the classic band's biggest hits.

The orchestra makes a return on June 3 with Chicago Nights starring Jason Scheff, highlighting the longtime vocalist/bassist for Chicago singing the group's songs. Finally, Classical Mystery Tour: A Tribute to The Beatles will take the stage without accompaniment to presents more than two dozen Beatles tunes performed exactly as they were originally recorded.

That visit to the '60s will be followed a flashback to the '70s with The Music of Led Zeppelin on June 8. A full band and orchestra playing Led Zeppelin’s hits. Then it's on to the '80s with REWIND: The Music of the '80s on June 9, as the orchestra tackles the greatest songs of the decade from artists like George Michael, Mister Mister, Kool & The Gang, Joan Jett, The Cure, and more.

June 10 will bring a visit to a galaxy far, far away with Star Wars, in which the orchestra will play selections from several Star Wars films. The series will come to a close on June 11 with a solo performance by Texas country music legend Pat Green, playing songs from throughout his long career.

Tickets for the series go on sale for VIPs and subscribers on March 27, followed by Botanic Garden VIP and Members on March 28. The general public will finally get their shot on March 29.

Lawn tickets are $28, with children 10 and under admitted free if accompanied by a paid adult. Reserved seating at round tables of 4 is $40-$79, with a 20 percent discount for children 10 and under in price levels B and C.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.fwsymphony.org or by calling the FWSO Box Office at 817-655-6000. Advanced parking is also available.

Pat Green concerts music symphony

Animal News

Seaquest declares bankruptcy following closure of Fort Worth aquarium

Courtesy photo

One of the many unfortunate critters at SeaQuest Fort Worth.

SeaQuest Holdings, LLC, owner of Seaquest aquariums at shopping malls such as Ridgmar Mall in Fort Worth, has filed for Chapter 11 banrkuptcy protection, following a series of investigations into animal cruelty.

The bankruptcy follows the October 2024 closure of the Fort Worth location at Ridgmar Mall, which had been the target of numerous reports of animal abuse and an undercover investigation by the Humane Society of the United States.

The Boise, Idaho-based company claimed less than $1 million in assets, but between $10 million and $50 million in liabilities.

According to court records, Vince Covino is still listed as a CEO and consultant and was paid more than $128,000 between December 2023 and November 2024, despite announcing in August that he was stepping down from his role.

PETA Associate Director of Captive Wildlife Rebecca Smudzinski said in a statement that "SeaQuest’s financial failure offers yet more proof that animal exploitation is a losing business model, as compassionate consumers don’t want to fork over their dollars to look at fish, otters, and birds suffering in cramped, filthy enclosures and forced into stressful public encounters."

Smudzinski said that PETA was calling on SeaQuest "to shut down its remaining locations and surrender the surviving animals to reputable, financially responsible facilities that can finally get them the care they desperately need."

PETA’s ongoing campaign against SeaQuest included numerous complaints filed with federal and state authorities regarding injuries to customers and animal welfare issues, including animals who drowned, were burned, were intentionally deprived of food, or were stomped or crushed to death by customers.

According to an ABC News investigation, SeaQuest was cited more than 80 times in the past five years for issues including human injuries, disease hazards, animal neglect, and animal deaths.

In addition to the Fort Worth location, SeaQuest has closed three other locations in the last two years in Littleton, Colorado; Trumbull, Connecticut; and Stonecrest, Georgia. There are five locations still open in Las Vegas, Layton, Utah; Folsom, California; Roseville, Minnesota; and Woodbridge, New Jersey.

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