Fresh Ideas 2026 Hands Out Its $1,000 Prize Tonight. Plus, Meet the LISD Trustee Who Chose This District on Purpose.

Tuesday, September 22nd (today).

Wednesday, September 23rd.

Thursday, September 24th.

Friday, September 25th.

Saturday, September 26th.

The Visual Art League wraps up its "Fresh Ideas 2026" juried show tonight with a reception and awards ceremony at Lewisville Grand Theater, and there is real money on the table. The exhibit's top prize pays $1,000 and comes with a solo show at The Grand next summer, judged this year by juror Shelby Bennett.

Fresh Ideas is VAL's annual showcase for new work from artists across North Texas, built specifically around current trends rather than an artist's full body of work. It hangs in the theater's Education Hallway Gallery alongside two other current shows, Crys Nelson's "She Found Her Way" and Yoonsoo Nam's now-closed "Tears to Glory."

VAL itself is an all-volunteer group of Lewisville artists and craftspeople who put on exhibits, workshops, and pop-up events around town year round. Tonight's ceremony is free and open to the public, no ticket required.

Both "Fresh Ideas 2026" and "She Found Her Way" come down after this Saturday, September 26, so tonight is also close to the last chance to see the winning work hanging before the gallery turns over to "Eye Candy!" on October 3.

Event Details

📅 Date: Tuesday, September 22

🕐 Time: 7 to 9 PM

📍 Location: Lewisville Grand Theater, 100 N. Charles St.

💲 Admission: Free

Source: Visual Art League of Lewisville

LISD's latest Board Spotlight profile introduces trustee Paige Dixon, a military veteran who moved to the Lewisville area with her two sons after leaving the Army and picked this district on purpose. She wanted a place where her boys could do well in school and actually build a community, not just attend classes.

That search turned into years of hands-on involvement. Dixon served two years as PTA president at Rockbrook Elementary, worked booster clubs for her son's band program, and sat on multiple district committees before ever running for the board.

Her framing of the job is simple: a school district is more than its buildings, it is the teachers, counselors, bus drivers, custodial staff, and cafeteria workers who shape a kid's experience every day. She says running for trustee was her way of paying that investment back.

Source: Lewisville ISD Board Spotlight

Lewisville ISD announced Gene Yarrobino as its new Chief Human Resource Officer earlier this month, filling one of the district's cabinet-level leadership seats. The district's own announcement was a welcome post rather than a full profile, so the specifics of the transition are still thin, but the role itself is not small.

LISD employs thousands of people across dozens of campuses, and the Chief Human Resource Officer oversees recruiting, staffing, benefits, and the day-to-day personnel decisions that keep that many classrooms covered. According to Yarrobino's own professional profile, he arrives from a human resources leadership role at Frisco ISD.

We will pass along more as the district shares it. For now, worth knowing simply that there is a new name to know at the district's administrative center.

Source: Lewisville ISD News

The city's Streets and Drainage Division is repairing the sidewalk in front of 2535 Sir Percival Lane this week, and the work comes with the usual list of minor headaches for anyone nearby. The sidewalk itself stays closed for the whole project, and drivers should expect lane closures along that stretch.

If you live or park near that address, the city is asking residents to move parked vehicles away from the work zone before crews arrive. Heavy equipment will be operating on site, so a little extra caution walking or biking past is worth it this week.

It is a small, routine repair in the scheme of things, the kind of city work that rarely makes news but affects whoever lives on that block. Questions go to the Streets and Drainage Division at 972.219.3512.

Event Details

📅 Date: Monday, September 21 through Thursday, September 24, weather permitting

🕐 Time: During normal city work hours

📍 Location: Sir Percival Lane in front of 2535 Sir Percival Lane, Lewisville

Source: City of Lewisville Streets and Drainage Division

The Lewisville Hotel went up in 1898 at Main and Kealy streets, and for decades it served as a boarding house for the men who came through town for work.

It was not fancy, just a roof and a bed for the traveling salesmen, laborers, and railroad men passing through a small farm town. The building stood for the better part of eight decades before a fire destroyed it in 1976, taking with it one more piece of the original Main Street streetscape.

Source: City of Lewisville Historic Sites

Lewisville Lake is still holding at 84.4% full. Water Data for Texas has not posted a newer reading since September 20, so this is the same figure Monday's issue ran rather than a fresh one.

The water sits at 518.62 feet, about 3.4 feet under the 522-foot conservation pool. The slower slide is still visible over a longer window: 86.1% a week ago, 91.9% a month ago, and 100% back in June. This time last year the lake was at 92.8%.

No advisories are in effect. Boat ramps, swim areas, and Party Cove all have plenty of water under them at this level. Three and a half feet off full pool is not a problem for most of the lake, but it is enough that shallow launches get a little fussier and cutting close to an unfamiliar shoreline is not a great idea right now.

Source: Water Data for Texas

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