Julie McCullough Kim’s handmade outpost for shoppers and crafters alike has a new name as of today: Make and Made. The Bishop Arts District supply store and studio has also undergone a total overhaul. Can’t wait to see it!

Edwin Cabaniss

Preservation Dallas, a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and revitilization of Dallas’ buildings, neighborhoods, and other historical, architectural, and cultural resources, named Kessler Theater as a 2011 Preservation Achievement Award winner for rehabilitation and adaptive use of a commercial, institutional, or mixed-use property.

Owner Edwin Cabaniss bought the old theater, renovated it, and opened it last year as a live music venue, gallery space, dance and music studio, bar, and restaurant. Oak Cliff’s Richard Davis was the architect on the renovations.

Huge Congrats Edwin! Thanks for making Kessler Theater so fab!

Katherine Clapner owns Dude, Sweet Chocolate. (Staff photo by Chris McGathey)

According to this account at People.com (unaffiliated), Oak Cliff’s own Dude, Sweet Chocolate contributed treats to the gift bags that guests received Saturday at the wedding of Tony Romo and Candice Crawford. Betcha they were a big hit with Wade Phillips.

If you don’t have your tickets yet, hop to it! Next Friday night, June 3, is the 2011 annual Oak Cliff Chamber of Commerce Gala. This year’s theme? The Mask Comes Off…Oak Cliff Revealed!

We admit the tickets are a bit pricey, but worth the cause for your community and the dinner, entertainment, and auction. Plus, how often to you get to go to a masquerade ball?

THE DEETS:
Doors open at 6 p.m.
Dinner served at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $125 per person
Tables of 10: $1,250
Attire: Business formal — and an enchanting mask (if you have one)

THE LOCALE:
The Sheraton Dallas
Chaparral Banquet Hall
400 N. Olive Street
Dallas, Texas 75204

THE GOODS (live and silent auctions):
…but a mere sampling of what could be yours!
~Six-month lease on an apartment at the Indigo Highrise
~Dining room set from Ambella Home Collections
~Round of golf for three at the Dallas National Golf Club
~Week vacay in the Virgin Islands
~Wine reception at the home of Domingo & Elba Garcia
~Couples retreat to Sag Harbor, New York
~Entertainment cabinet from Ambella Home Collections
~Vacay in El Salvador (airfare included)
~Vacation in Crested Butte, Colorado
~Dinner with the mayor of Dallas…it’s a mystery!
~Lee Harvey Oswald bike tour with Jason Roberts
~Airplane ride over Dallas
~Secretary cabinet from Ambella Home Collections

For more info or to purchase tickets, call 214-943-4567 or go to www.gala.oakcliffchamber.org.

And best of all, your adoring Oak Cliff People staffers will be there to meet ya! Come one; come all!

METRO PAWS Animal Hospital is opening a new locale on Fort Worth Avenue adjacent to Smoke and the Belmont Hotel. With 4,000 square feet, the facility will have a full-service veterinary hospital and a wellness care clinic.

Paws said it’s excited to be a part of the revitalization efforts of Fort Worth Avenue, and that the building will fit the urban character of the area with pedestrian-friendly streets, enhanced sidewalks, parallel parking, and a large green space to serve their OC dog and cat patients.

“With a large number of our clients traveling from Oak Cliff, we determined Fort Worth Avenue to be the ideal place for a new clinic,” a spokesperson from Animal Paws said in a press release. “We are excited about the possibility of adding a service to a community that values animals as members of their households.”

Dr. Jennifer Lavender and Dr. Kathryn Junkins Sarpong opened the original Animal Paws in 2006 on Skillman Street in the Lakewood area. For more info go to www.dallasmetropaws.com.

This a grand news for all our OC dog and cat lovers…a great vet clinic just around the corner!

The boy you see here is 12-year-old Cameron Ordinario, who is finishing his first year at DISD’s Greiner Exploratory Arts Academy. Until Version 5.0 of the district’s 2011-12 budget was unveiled yesterday afternoon, Cameron and his peers thought the academy — which counts my wife and my baby brother among its alums — was going to be shut down. As is, the academy is still likely to lose half of its faculty.

I chatted with Cameron’s mom, Rebecca, outside DISD headquarters yesterday. “It is an environment that embraces the arts,” she said of Greiner. “At most schools, these kids would be bullied. There’s not even a private middle school that has an intensive arts program. Greiner is all we have.”

CONGRATS to Debra Witter! Our weekend rundown name: “What’s Cookin’ in The Cliff?” Happy Memorial Day to OC vets, friends, and family!

FRIDAY, MAY 27
Texas Theatre: Hobo With a Shotgun, 5:40 & 10:30 p.m.; The Birthday Boys, 8 p.m.
Belmont Hotel: Bill Longhorse, 7 p.m.
Kessler Theater: Shaun Martin and his 12-piece band, 8 p.m.
Jack’s Backyard: Tommy Katona Band, 9 p.m.
Eno’s: Floramay Holliday, 10 p.m.
Mesa: Ribbon-cutting grand-opening ceremony with City Councilwoman Delia Jasso, time TBA; for dinner reservations, call 214-941-4246

SATURDAY, MAY 28
Jack’s Backyard: Ciao Bella, 2 p.m.; Deborah Vial, 3 p.m.; The Bright, 9 p.m.
Texas Theatre: Hobo With a Shotgun, 3, 5:15, 7:45, & 10:30 p.m.
Kessler Theater: Whiskey Folk Ramblers & Sorta, 8 p.m.

SUNDAY, MAY 29
Belmont Hotel: Pool party, 1 p.m.
Texas Theatre: The Birthday Boys, 3 and 5 p.m.; Hobo With a Shotgun, 7:40 & 9:45 p.m.
Jack’s Backyard: Kathy & Bella, 5:30 p.m.

MONDAY, MAY 30
Texas Theatre: Hobo With a Shotgun, 5 & 9 p.m.; Dead Hooker in a Trunk, 7 p.m.

Apologies to anyone who showed up last Saturday for the graffiti-cleaning day. Due to the rain last weekend, the event was cancelled and has been rescheduled for June 11, from 9 to 11:30 a.m. And if you show up a 8, you get a lil’ breakfast! (NOTE: You do need to show up before 9 to register; all volunteers must register and minors must be accompanied by an adult.)

Meet at the Martin Weiss Recreation Center at 1111 Martindell, Dallas, Texas 75211. Be sure to wear paint clothes, athletic shoes, and sunscreen — and get ready to clean up District 1. Graffiti Be Gone!

To volunteer or for more information, call 214-670-4052.