Governor Certifies Grand Prairie as Texas Music Friendly Community

Grand Prairie—The city of Grand Prairie held a ceremony to accept an award fromGovernor Greg Abbott and the Texas Music Office certifying the city as a Texas Music Friendly Community at Firehouse Gastro Park on Saturday, Sept. 11.

Awards like this are difficult to have approved.The Music Friendly Advisory Committee spentabout a year and a half working to obtain this honor.

“Only 27 cities in Texas have this certification, and we’re one of them,” Mayor Ron Jensen said. “There’s a lot of things you have to fill out and turn in, but we have music everywhere in this city, so we knew we could qualify. A lot of people had to research and do the paperwork, which our team did.

“I’m sure it was a lot of paperwork and a lot of hours. I didn’t have to do any of it. All I have to do is be here, but I couldn’t be here without the efforts of our amazing team. Music is another thing Grand Prairie is getting to be well known about.”

“It’s not a surprise to me, because Grand Prairie has been a music friendly community for many years,” Councilwoman Jorja Clemson said. “When I was in high school, we did a Broadway musical. We have many, many venues andavenues to be music friendly. Music is such a universal language.

“We are so proud of our beautiful musicians here, some who are famous all over Texas. There are so many people from Grand Prairie that are professional, like Selena Gomez.The list goes on, and they are just your average people, but many of them are great musicians. Even better, you have to have an audience. Many people here love to go out and hear music.”

“It’s such an honor for the city of Grand Prairie to be recognized, because only 27 cities have achieved this certification. For Grand Prairie to be in that in that number and to be considered for this award is amazing,” Parks board member Angela Luckey said. “Music is a big part of our city. Many artists have come through Grand Prairieprobably before the award even got established.

“It brings your family and community together. We like music. We like to be entertained. We like to entertain others with our music. I’m excited to be a part of the music and to be a part of the celebration today.”

“We’re extremely excited to have Grand Prairie complete all of the steps [for the award],” Jason Allen Smith, a member of the Music Friendly Advisory Committee, said. “There arearound 30 other cities that have been able to become music designated in this way. Texas has half a million cities, so I think we’re in the minority and that’s really exciting.

“This is going to open up new music opportunities across the city. Getting recognized is huge for us.”

Chip Adams, the community relations and outreach specialist for the Texas Music Office, spoke about the role of music in Texas.

“This is an important day for us to gather in our local communities for events like this and to be together,” Adams said. “Nothing brings us together quite like music.

“I grew up in your sister city, just down the road in Arlington,but my mom was a schoolteacher in Grand Prairie. I’ve spent a lot of time here. I absolutely love the city, and I’m happy that we’re here today to bring it into the music community family.

“The Texas Music Office is a 31-year-old state run office. We are the only state in the country to have an economic development music office. I think it’s really special, because it shows how much value Texas putson our music industry. We were also the only state in the nation and really the only entity on the planet that is developing a truly connected network of music cities like we are with our Music Friendly Communities Program.”

After the presentation of the award, the entertainment began, which included Cas Haley, who appeared on season two of “America’s Got Talent,” and local artist Remy Reilly.