Christmas in the Square

Wow, what an evening. The Frisco Square folks, along with the City of Frisco and many other partners, put on a fun evening for the entire family. Christmas in the Square continues to grow every year and this year was no exception. Val and I and the kids arrived there at 5:00PM to see a line already formed for the ever-popular snow slide. Val and the kids gave it a shot this year. I, of course, watched the purses. Last year, I had to test it out to make sure it safe for our citizens. After my fifth slide down, I figured I would let the kids waiting in line get a turn.. er, I mean, let them slide down since I made sure they would not get hurt!

Jeff did a great job with the light show again this year. If you saw it last year, go ahead and see it again this year as several new components were added. My favorite is the half-moons in the median of coleman blvd.

The above video was taken on November 28, 2008 - which was the first night of fun at Frisco Square! Seen here is My wife, two daughters, Alisa and Layna and my niece giving the snowslide a try. Now, the first person who tells Val that this video is up for public consumption gets removed from my friends list!! :-) The first one to slide is Val in the far left lane with Layna, my 10-year old a close second in the far right lane. My 16-year old daughter was last to go in the far left lane. She is the one in the brown jacket that is trying her best to make it look like it was really boring (except the smile on her face gave it away :-) ).

My Son, Brandon and my daughter, Alisa and their friend, Lauren Hill, decided to go flying the night that Frisco Square was turned on for the sponsors (last Tuesday). Alisa took a quick video with her digital camera. I hope to improveupon this by taking the real video camera up the next nice evening.

All in all, between the great music, outstanding light show, snow machines, model railroad (you have to see this!), the train rides, Santa and an Elf being dropped out of a plane, the bounce houses and lots of games, we had a great time. I can't forget the free hot chocolate by Mattito's! Christmas in the square will include some very special weekends, so keep an eye out for additional information. The complete schedule can be found HERE.

Don't forget, the City of Frisco tree lighting will take place on December 6th in Frisco Square. Join us at Merry Main Street from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. in Simpson Plaza at City Hall for this free event for the entire family. Join me and the rest of our Council on stage as we officially kick-off the holiday season in Frisco. For an entire list of holiday happenings, visit HERE.

I will leave you with two of my favorite "Frisco" light display videos - both are from our very own wizard, Jeff Trykoski. Jeff is an amazing person, as you can see from these two video's. One is of Jeff's home and the other is of his masterpiece at Frisco Square. Come see the real thing if you have time, I promise you will not be disappointed.

Frisco Citizens Fire Academy

I had the opportunity to thank some of our citizens who just graduated from the Citizens Fire Academy operated by the Frisco Fire Department. It is always an exciting time to be with our citizens who have decided to attend this class as they finally receive their certificates.

The next class begins this coming spring and is free to the residents of Frisco. You will get to experience the professionalism of our Fire Department and also learn the many thngs they do to protect our city. You will come out of this class a better informed and safer citizen. Keep your eye out for the next open date.

Traffic Update - Eldorado

Eldorado Parkway will be closed to through traffic between FM 423 and Teel Parkway starting at 7:00 PM Friday night, November 14, as part of TxDOT’s widening project. It is expected that the roadway will reopen by 3:00 PM on Saturday, November 15.

During the closure, only local traffic will be allowed on Eldorado Parkway up to a certain point in each direction and through traffic should use Panther Creek Parkway or Main Street to go around the closure. (See the attached map.) In the westbound direction, only local traffic will be allowed to continue west past Teel Parkway to Grayhawk Boulevard. All westbound through traffic will have to turn left or right at Teel Parkway and use Panther Creek Parkway or Main Street as an alternate route. In the eastbound direction, only local traffic will be allowed to continue east past FM 423 to Hawk Creek Drive. All eastbound through traffic will have to turn left or right at FM 423 and use Panther Creek Parkway or Main Street. There will be no access to Rio Grande Drive from either direction of Eldorado Parkway during this time.

Mayor's Youth Council

I just want to take a moment and say how proud I am of the Mayor's Youth Council. This group of High School young men and women have done a great job of organizing and planning their involvement in our City. I look forward to seeing some great things from this group. Please keep an eye out for our team as they attend functions and help our community and teens.

Also, they need your support. The Mayor's Youth Council is looking for sponsors for the 2008/2009 year. Please e-mail me if you can help at mmaso@friscotexas.gov

Besides volunteering at Frisco events, the Mayor's Youth Council provides valuable input to our Council on teen issues. Also, look for special events such as a teen job fair, middle school drug awareness programs and elementary school recognition programs. Please help our youth become involved in our City.