In case you missed it, American Idol held auditions for its ninth season last week in Dallas. Amongst the contestants was a Richardson resident who was impressive enough to head to Los Angeles. What did the bloggers say about Maegan Wright? Let's find out...
 

The Richardson Echo is proud to announce a new section dedicated to the preservation of local Richardson history. The purpose of this section is to preserve and exhibit pieces from local history. The materials on display are all a part of a private collection of printed materials and ephemera. You can contribute to the collection.

Bill McCalpin gives us a personal description of the Wildflower! Festival, how that experience highlights changes in Richardson's transit policies over twenty years and that those policies are helping Richardson change for the better.

Vision Bank of Texas, a local bank in Richardson, has will host a fundraiser for Take Me Home Pet Rescue.(TMHPR) There will be at least nine artists participating in this event and several are from Richardson. All artists will be donating a portion of their sales to TMHPR.

The Richardson Theatre Centre has decided to transport the intriguing “who dunnit?” murder mystery play, “The Hollow” from the quaint English country side to the steamy Mississippi city of Vicksburg.

Lazer Vaudeville combines high-tech laser magic with the traditional arts of vaudeville to create an original theatrical production. This exciting event will be held at the Charles W. Eisemann Center on Sunday, September 28, 2008 at 2:30 pm in the Hill Performance Hall. Complete with superlative juggling, black light illusion, acrobatics, zany comedy, and audience participation, Lazer Vaudeville offers clean, classy fun for the entire family.

Creative Focus By Two Gutsy Broads invites you to come see Greece & Turkey, Bryce & Zion at a reception Sunday, Aug. 10, 2-4 p.m. at the Manske Library in Farmers Branch. Westward HO!, a photo exhibit by the Gutsy Broads of Creative Focus, runs Aug. 2-22 at the Manske Library. Along with the photography of Sarah Scott and Carol Stum, the works of potter Randy Findley and folk artist Cynthia Erdei will also be featured. The four artists met while teaching at Richardson High School.

Cheaper by the Dozen at the Richardson Theatre Centre on July 11 and running through August 2. What do you get when you mix a blunt-talking, famous efficiency-expert father and a brilliant, compassionate psychologist mother with twelve rambunctious offspring of various sizes? You get one of America 's all-time best- loved memoirs. This Christopher Seagel dramatization is based on the 1946 book by Frank Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey.

Dr. Dennis M. Kratz, dean of the School of Arts and Humanities at The University of Texas at Dallas, is the 2008 recipient of the Heart For The Arts award. The honor is given annually to an outstanding community leader who has devoted time and financial resources to further the arts in the greater Richardson area.

The City of Richardson and Texas Instruments Foundation announced today a grant of $500,000 from the TI Foundation to the Charles W. Eisemann Center for Performing Arts and Corporate Presentations to help fund the center’s much-needed Phase II capital projects. The donation will boost performance capabilities and enhance patron amenities, further establishing the Eisemann Center as one of the leading performing arts and corporate meeting facilities serving the Dallas/Fort Worth area.