Community Blog

Get ready to celebrate Labor Day with a fabulous weekend of smokey blues and BBQ in nearby Bedford! The Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival is taking place Saturday and Sunday next to Harris Methodist Hospital, just 10 minutes from Oakmont of Bear Creek Apartments!

This weekend-long event includes a KCBS (Kansas City BBQ Society) sanctioned BBQ cook-off with $8,200 worth of prizes in a number of categories. And this year, you can be one of the judges! For just $10, you can taste the BBQ offerings yourself and vote for the People’s Choice winner. Your $10 tasting ticket gets you ten tokens, and each tasting is one token. There are 39 competitors in this competition, all battling it out to make the best BBQ and win the prize!

But of course, this festival is about BBQ and Blues, and the lineup of musicians can testify to the fact that Bedford has a serious case of the blues! The headliners are Robert Cray and Taj Majal, both of whom are blues legends and Grammy winners. You can check out the full schedule for both stages of music online.

Don’t miss this fabulous event! Tickets range from $5 to a full family VIP package for $275. Check out ticket packages on the site.

photo by deneyterrio

Congratulations to the winner of the Oakmont of Bear Creek Facebook Resident Referral Contest- Tim Lane! Tim got the most friends to click the “Like” button on Facebook, so he wins a $50 Visa gift card! Remember, you could be the lucky winner if you participate in our next contest. Make sure to check back regularly to find out about it!

photo by dchapell

Do you ever watch Dancing with the Stars or any of the other myriad dancing shows on TV? There’s so much grace, skill, and athleticism involved that it constantly amazes me. It seems like there are two camps as far as dancing is concerned- those that love to dance and can’t wait for the next opportunity to show their stuff, and those who would like to dance but don’t really know how, and are too self-conscious to try. Unfortunately, I must admit to my membership in the latter group.

But we humans were made to dance. Just look at little kids, who have not been taught to be embarrassed or self-conscious yet and thus have no qualms on bobbing their heads, twirling in circles, and generally gyrating like whirling dervishes when the music speaks to them. All we need to do is channel those uninhibited little selves (Yes, I totally brought up your inner child! The horror!) and give them a little training in the basics.

There is hope for those of us with two left feet. Just cha cha yourself on down to the Mid Cities Dance Center in Bedford for a dance class! The Center offers everything from Tango and Merengue to the Texas Two-Step and Country Swing. Besides your dancing skills, ballroom lessons are also good for your fitness. You can burn a lot of calories just from dancing, but it’s so fun that you dont’ even feel like you’ve been exercising! (Until the next day.) Check out the Mid Cities Dance Center website for a listing of classes, packages, and other information. The studio is located just 12 minutes from Oakmont of Bear Creek.

photo by The Intrepid Traveler

This Saturday is Back to School Kids Fest at Campus West Building, just 5 minutes from Oakmont of Bear Creek Apartments!

The Tarrant County Public Health Department and the United Way, together with the City of Euless, are throwing a fun event to educate parents and kids about how to stay healthy and happy! Parents will be able to get information about kids organizations and ways to help kids stay active and healthy throughout the school year, while kids get to enjoy a number of fun activities and active games.

There will be cooking and fitness demos, a petting zoo, pony rides, a giant slide, and free games! Help your child get off to a healthy, happy start by attending this great event.

Kids Fest Details:

• Saturday, August 28, 10 am-1 pm
• Campus West Building, Euless
• Free!

photo by Umair Mohsin

Enjoy a wonderful meal while raising money for Children's Medical Center of Dallas at Back to School Restaurant Week!

Children’s Medical Center of Dallas is a wonderful, award-winning hospital whose goal is “making life better for children.” Obviously supporting this not-for-profit institution is a cause we can all get behind, and it is super easy to help! All you have to do is go out to eat. Yep, I said it was “super easy”!

Today is the first day of Back to School Restaurant Week, and each day you can choose to dine at a Dallas restaurant where a portion of the price of your meal will be donated to Children’s. The participating restaurants are donating between 10 and 20 percent of their sales on these days to the hospital when you say you’re there to support Children’s!

Our community here at Oakmont of Bear Creek is less than 30 minutes from downtown Dallas, so all of these restaurants are in easy reach. Bon apetit, and thanks for helping make children’s lives better!

Friday, August 20-Sunday, August 22 @ The Common Table 11 am-4 pm ($1,000 gift commitment when diners show up for lunch on these 3 days)

Saturday, August 21 @ Campisi’s (15% of sales on total bill)

• 1520 Elm, #11, Dallas 75201 (downtown) 11 am and 10 pm
• 5405 W. Lovers Lane, Dallas, 75209  4 and 11 pm

Sunday, August 22 @ Rafa’s Cafe Mexicano 11 am-9:30 pm. (15% of sales on total bill)

Monday, August 23 @ Chick-Fil-A 5-7 pm (20% of sales on total bill)

Tuesday, August 24 @ Sonny Bryan’s Smokehouse (15% of sales on total bill)

• 2202 Inwood Road, Dallas, 75235 11 am-4 pm
• 5519 W. Lovers Lane, Dallas, 75209 4-9 pm

Wednesday, August 25 @ City Cafe to Go and City Cafe Restaurant (15% of sales on total bill)

• City Cafe to Go 11 am-8 pm
• City Cafe Restaurant 5:30-9 pm

Thursday, August 26 @ Shinsei 5-10 pm (10% of sales on total bill)

photo by Geoff Peters 604

Oakmont of Bear Creek is giving away a $50 Visa gift card, and you could be the lucky winner! All you have to do is invite your friends to “like” our Facebook page (by clicking the thumbs up button  ), and ask them to leave a comment saying “[your name] referred me.” Whichever resident drums up the most fans wins the $50 gift card! (Each fan will be counted once, regardless of the number of comments left.)

Start inviting your friends now and you could be the winner. You  have until noon on Tuesday, August 31st.

Ready…Set…Go!

photo by Mooganic

Wow, can you believe the summer is already over! I’ve been out of school for years, but I still get a little twinge of empathy for the kids when the school year rolls around again. It’s almost upon us.

We’re so lucky here at Oakmont of Bear Creek Apartments to be located in the Grapevine Colleyville Independent School District (GCISD), one of the best school districts in the Dallas Fort Worth Area. We are conveniently located just minutes from Bear Creek Elementary School, Heritage Middle School, and Colleyville Heritage High School. The kids start back to school on Monday, August 23, and teachers are hard at work now to get ready!

The  site is a treasure trove of information if you’re trying to get ready for the school year. From signing up for electronic newsletters (no more, “I forgot it was in my backpack!”) to finding supply lists, to paying for school lunches online, you can do it all!

And stay tuned, because I’ll be posting more helpful information to make the first day of school a smashing success for our residents here at Oakmont of Bear Creek!

photo by Lel4nd

This is the interview you’ve all been waiting for- an up-close-and-personal chat with the style icon known as Gustov. He stole our hearts with his outlandish fashion sense, and a taste for accessories that would make Lady Gaga proud. Meet the runner up in Oakmont’s Cutest Pet Contest- Gustov!

Oakmont of Bear Creek: Gustov, it’s such a pleasure! Thanks for allowing us into your inner sanctum for this exclusive interview.

Gustov: I’m excited to do this interview, as I know my fans are eager to know more about me. Mind if I sunbathe by the window while we talk?

OBC: Please do. Gustov, we’re all very impressed by your impeccable fashion sense. How did you develop such a great sense of style?

G: I’ll admit that I get a little help in the style department from my assistant, Cheryl. I told her that I needed to look kingly for our Halloween party, so she went out to get me my pharaoh hat. I would have done the shopping myself, but I had a play date with my string that afternoon.

OBC: You seem very mysterious, in a James Bond sort of way. How does such a well-dressed cat spend his days?

G: Every morning I begin my day with my assistant, Cheryl, lounging on the bed & letting her know that her work for me is appreciated. Then we get up & talk while she prepares a breakfast of fresh crunchies & a small treat. The rest of the morning is sunbathing. Lunchtime involves a piece or two of lettuce, or bit of sandwich meat. The afternoon is spent on the stairs, in my chair, sprawled on the floor, chilling with Cheryl, or a combo of all four. Sometimes, I get an urge to “make biscuits”, and do that for a while. Occasionally, Cheryl & take field trips to the balcony for bird watching, or put on the harness & step outside to roll in the grass. In the evenings, I dazzle my family with my “claws of fury” on the scratching post. My trainer, Ron, whips out the string, or we play chase for my evening exercise. Then, it’s time for bed, to get rested for the next day.

OBC: Do you think Cheryl is going to give you a special treat for being so dang adorable and popular? And if so, what sort of treat does a high-class kitty like yourself require?

G: Cheryl knows my exacting tastes fairly well by now. She’ll give me a treat, for sure. Usually, my treats are dried salmon chunks. Maybe for this occasion she’ll break out a little Newman’s Own wet food. I also like snacks of lettuce, spinach, and deli meat. No raw meat for me, thank you!

OBC: Finally, what is your favorite part of living at Oakmont of Bear Creek?

G: I love living at Oakmont because of all the great views from my apartment. The are windows in two directions, so I can sunbathe at any time, and plenty of trees in the area for bird watching. I also love the large balconies for rolling around. Our private stair well is great too, for exercise, races with humans, and watching june bugs at night.

The Euless Public Library has a free concert coming up next Friday, August 13, at 7 p.m, featuring a great musician named Verlon Thompson. This music industry veteran has written songs for everyone from Trisha Yearwood to Jimmy Buffett!

Thompson will be joined by Brian Burns, whose music celebrates the rich history and culture of Texas, and jazz bassist Mike Brown. It’s going to be a great evening of music at the library, so don’t miss it! The Euless Public Library is less than 10 minutes from Oakmont of Bear Creek.

The performance is free, but you must make a reservation. Call 817.685.1679 to make a reservation. There will be refreshments starting at 6:15 p.m.

photo by dgtlchkn

It’s the interview of the year, a candid chat with the winner of the prestigious title “Cutest Pet at Oakmont of Bear Creek.” That’s right, today, we take you behind the scenes to meet Sebastian, who beat out some stiff competition! This fine feline was kind enough to take some time out of his busy schedule for an exclusive interview. (Rumor has it, Barbara Walters was quite incensed when she heard the news.)

Obviously, Sebastian speaks Meowglish; however, his human, Crystal Smith, has been kind enough to serve as translator. Crystal said, “Sebastian is very excited that he won! Being the graceful cat that he is, he said that he is more than willing to answer some questions for his loving fans.” So, without further ado, meet Sebastian!

Oakmont of Bear Creek: Sebastian, you are obviously a handsome guy.

What’s your secret?
Sebastian: Meow, meooooow, meow! Meow meeeeoooow meow. (Translation: Lots and LOTS of daily grooming! I have a routine I do gracefully everyday after I eat breakfast.)

OBC: How does a famous and popular cat like yourself spend his days?
S: Meow, meow….purrrrrrrrr….meow meeeeoooow, meow….purrrrrrr!! (Translation: After grooming, I love to bask in the morning sun shining through the window….oh how good that feels….then I like to find something to chase around the house, but my FAVORITE thing to do is sleep….awwww yeah!!

OBC: Do you have a favorite band or musical genre?
S: Meow Meow!! (Translation: The Stray Cats!!)

OBC: What kind of gourmet kitty delicacies do you expect Crystal to reward you with for your stunning victory?
S: Meow meow MEOW, meow!! PURRRRRRRRR!!!! (Translation: only the VERY best, tuna!! YES!!!!)

OBC: And last, but not least, what is your favorite part of living at Oakmont of Bear Creek Apartments?
S: Meow meow meow, meeeoooow…purrrrrr….meow meow meow meow. MEOW, meow meow meow! (Translation: gazing off my balcony at the swimming pool below….it is SOOOOO relaxing…listening to the peaceful waterfalls as they run into the pool and watching all the birds fly around. BUT the best thing is the wonderful office & maintenance staff making sure we have this marvelous place to call home!

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Don’t forget to check back next week for another exclusive interview, this time with runner-up and style icon Gustov!

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