The Former Chesapeake Energy Parade Of Lights Bringing Holiday Spirit To Downtown Fort Worth

Incoming email from Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. has among its plethora of information what appears to be a bit of misinformation.

This upcoming day after Thanksgiving, November 28, 2014, to be precise, for the 32nd year in a row, the annual Parade of Lights will take place.

The message from Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. is calling this the 32nd annual XTO Energy Parade of Lights.

I know my memory is shot, but I know for a fact that XTO Energy has not been the sponsor of this parade for 32 years.

Why, just a year or two ago it was the now disgraced and run out of town (for the most part) Chesapeake Energy which had its name attached to this parade.

How did the Chesapeake divorce from this parade take place? Did Chesapeake Energy leave the parade after Fort Worth and multiple prominent people in Fort Worth sued Chesapeake Energy? Or did Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. kick Chesapeake Energy out of the house, so to speak?

And why, oh why, after having this parade sponsored by one disgraced gas driller, would whoever decides such things agree to have it sponsored by another gas driller?

All I know for sure is the Parade of Lights, whoever the sponsor is, is a very good parade, attended by thousands, even if the temperature is uncooperative.

I have watched the Parade of Lights twice and found myself impressed twice, with how downtown Fort Worth can go from being a ghost town on the busiest shopping day of the year and then that night come alive with an extremely bright, extremely well done parade.

But, after the parade is over, in downtown Fort Worth there are no department stores for the parade goers to go to to continue their Christmas shopping....

Having Fun Looking For Black Friday Shoppers Today In Downtown Fort Worth

Today, Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, the busiest shopping day of the year, I drove myself to downtown Fort Worth, well known to local propagandists as the most lively big city downtown in Texas, to check out Sundance Square Plaza for the first time and to enjoy the hustle and bustle of the throngs of shoppers flooding downtown Fort Worth.

Well.

The first picture is the aforementioned Sundance Square Plaza, at noon, on the busiest shopping day of the year.

As you can see, there are not many people in the plaza. Plenty of available seating.

Those of you reading this who have never been to downtown Fort Worth are probably thinking that all the people are busy shopping in downtown Fort Worth's stores.

Well, you would be wrong.

Downtown Fort Worth does not have any stores of the sort you might see in other big towns in America. Not a single department store. Not a one. No vertical malls. Not a one.

Not even a grocery store.

As you can see, via the photos, there is not a lot of life on the streets of the most lively town in Texas on this busiest shopping day of the year. Or vehicular traffic.

Below, looking south towards the location of Sundance Square Plaza there is so little street action that pigeons have taken up peaceful residence, sort of like panthers of long ago, napping in downtown Fort Worth, supposedly.

I got way too much material for one blogging today, which means there will be subsequent bloggings about that which I saw today in downtown Fort Worth, including what I thought of Sundance Square Plaza.

I have to say that this Black Friday visit to downtown Fort Worth was not nearly as lifeless as the first time I visited downtown on this particular day.

When I left downtown Fort Worth I headed west to West 7th to check out the new bridge. I really like the new bridge. It is way more impressive in person than via photos. Four lanes, plus sidewalks on the outside of the arches. I've never seen a bridge like this before.

I should have stopped and parked at Trinity Park and walked back to take pictures of the new bridge, but I was hungry and in need of lunch mode.

In case you who are not familiar with Fort Worth are sitting there worrying that the locals have no where to shop, what with their ghost town of a downtown, well, rest assured, there are plenty of places to shop in Fort Worth. West 7th is one of those location. Today West 7th was booming with Black Friday shoppers.

And tonight downtown Fort Worth will not be a ghost town because thousands will be there watching the Parade of Lights. Presented by Chesapeake Energy, according to signs I saw today.

I thought Chesapeake Energy had opted out of sponsoring this type thing, what with money woes and being sued by entities like Fort Worth.

Well, I am off to do myself some Black Friday shopping. Upon my return I have some more blogging to do.....

Chesapeake Energy's Thanksgiving Gift To Fort Worth

The day after Thanksgiving is the busiest shopping day of the year. The downtowns all over America are human gridlock.

Except for Fort Worth. The deadest downtown in America on the busiest shopping day of the year. Which is perfectly easy to understand due to the fact that Fort Worth is the only city in America with a population over 300,000 with not a single downtown department store. No Neiman Marcus. No Nordstroms. No Macy's. No Bon Marche. Not even a Sears or a Penneys.

Now, Fort Worth may be a ghost town during the day of the busiest shopping day of the year, but that night downtown Fort Worth gets really busy with a lot of people on the earlier deserted streets.

People stream into downtown Fort Worth for the annual Parade of Lights. I've been to the Parade of Lights once. It was a very well done, fun parade. Fort Worth does real good parades.

In fact, I've seen more good parades during my relatively short time in Texas than all my years in Washington. Granbury's 4th, Arlington's 4th, the Ennis National Polka Festival Parade, Fort Worth's Stock Show Parade, it being the world's biggest non-mechanized parade. Meaning it's all horses and cows and people. Nothing vehicular pulling anything.

The Official Name for Fort Worth's day after Thanksgiving event is the Chesapeake Parade of Lights, presented by Chase. I guess this means that Chesapeake put up some money for naming rights and Chase bank also paid for something? I don't know. Chesapeake must have made this investment before they fell on hard times with the price of natural gas collapsing and Chesapeake CEO Aubrey McClendon losing a couple billion bucks.

Chesapeake Energy is still paying for billboards, like the one you see above. It is by the Tandy Hills Gas Station were I filled up today for $1.61 a gallon. Chesapeake Energy's propaganda messages are still plastered on Fort Worth buses. All this signage must have been pre-paid.

And, like I said, Chesapeake Energy is going to give Fort Worth a Parade of Lights in about 4 days. I wonder if they will be natural gas powered lights?

Start time? 6pm.
Where? Throckmorton and Belknap Street.
Theme? The Sights and Sounds of the Season.