NIGHT & DAY
Jingle All the Way
The holidays are here, all of them, and we’re here for it.
Tanstaafl Pub (409 N Bowen Rd, Arlington, 817-460-9506) is continuing its pre-Thanksgiving tradition of hosting a jam session where local musicians cover songs from The Last Waltz, the legendary concert film directed by Martin Scorsese about The Band’s final performance on Thanksgiving in 1978. This will be the 13th annual There’s No Such Thing as a Last Waltz. Admission is free, and the music starts at 10pm.
Every Thanksgiving, high school marching bands from around the country journey to New York City to perform in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC (and the Peacock app) starting at 8:30am. The invitations are very exclusive, so it’s a big honor to be included. This year, the only band from Texas chosen to participate is the L.D. Bell Blue Raider Band from Hurst, who will be performing two songs: “Deep in the Heart of Texas” and Dua Lipa’s “Houdini.”
The newly reunited local thrash outfit Gammacide, whose members are a who’s-who of metal awesomeness — Varnam Ponville of Cauldron, and Alan Bovee, Joey Gonzales, Rick Perry, and Scott Shelby of WARBEAST (all oldschool members except for Joey) — will be opening for Dirty Rotten Imbeciles (or D.R.I.) at the Turkey Throwdown at Haltom Theater (5601 E Belknap St, Haltom City, 682-250-5678) along with Arkhon, Chemicaust, Scattered Guts, Skull Archer, TowerHigh, and Warhog. Tickets are $20 in advance at TicketStorm.com or $25 at the door. With today being part of a four-day weekend for many, the festivities start early: 5:30pm.
This weekend marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season. Along with Black Friday, we now have Small Business Saturday, Museum Gift Shop Sunday, Second-Hand Sunday, and Cyber Monday.
While you’re seeking out the best deals possible, don’t forget to #KeepItLocal. To that end, be sure to check out this week’s Shop Local section in the center spread of this very paper.
Speaking of seasonal shopping, our Dec 3 issue is a special edition called Holidays 2026 This full-color, glossy-covered magazine will be filled from cover to cover with the best places for eats, drinks, entertainment, and shopping now thru the end of the year. For maximum awesomeness, we’ll be sending this thing to the printer on Monday instead of our usual Tuesday. Want in? Speak up now. Email marketing@fwweekly.com with your event listings, ideas, and space-reservation requests. Happy Holidays from the Weekly!
Depending on how yesterday’s early deadline went, I’ll be seeing one of my favorite bands, Shinedown, at tonight’s iHeartRadio Jingle Ball at Dickies Arena (1911 Montgomery St, Fort Worth, 817-402-9000). They’ll be joined by Alex Warren, Jessie Murph, JO1, mgk, Nelly, Renee Rapp, Rachel Chinouriri, Zara Larsson, and The KPop Demon Hunters. This lineup sounds like a hot mess but also a hell of a time. Tickets start at $40 at Ticketmaster.com.
By Elaine Wilder
This year, the only high school marching band from Texas chosen to participate in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is the L.D. Bell Blue Raider Band from Hurst.
Finish off that last slice of pumpkin pie, then head to the Haltom on Friday for the Turkey Throwdown with D.R.I.
LIVING LOCAL
Shop Local This Holiday Season
By Jeff Burdett
Before the trick-or-treaters even make it back home, big-box stores flood mailboxes and inboxes with Black Friday ads. But the big box stores aren’t the only place to find a good bargain.
Small Business Saturday, the day after Black Friday, offers shoppers an opportunity to find high-quality items at competitive prices and to invest in their community. It has become a great way to kick off the holiday season. What began 15 years ago as a way to promote small businesses recovering from the Great Recession has blossomed into one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Last year, shoppers spent roughly $22 billion at their local businesses.
Between rising prices, a tight labor market, and a decline in sales, small businesses across the country are heading into this holiday season with
a little less cheer. But, back in July, Congress made the 20% Small Business Tax Deduction permanent, averting a major tax hike at the end of the year. Then, in November, voters overwhelmingly supported Prop 9 to raise the inventory tax exemption, resulting in annual combined tax savings of over $500 million. These federal and state tax victories will help our Texas small business owners navigate an uncertain economic environment.
On Small Business Saturday and every day of the year, shopping small plays a big role in supporting our communities. In Texas, small businesses are the beating heart of our economy, accounting for more than 99 percent of businesses in the state and employing 5.1 million working Texans, according to the Small Business Administration.
When you stop in at your favorite coffee shop, locally-owned boutique, or family-run hardware store, your dollars go further. Nearly 68 cents of every dollar spent at a small business stays within the community where it’s spent and creates another 50 cents in local business activity.
This holiday season, don’t forget to shop small. Our local businesses keep our communities strong and our economy growing. When Main Street prospers, we all prosper.
About NFIB
Jeff Burdett is the State Director of the National Federation of Independent Business, the “Voice of Small Business” in Texas. NFIB is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, member-driven organization that advocates on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington D.C. and in all 50 state capitals. For more promotional information from this nonprofit, go to NFIB.com.
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