Greater Denton Arts Council — Local services in Denton

The event space managers are very obviously biased, racist and demeaning to people they thought were "beneath them" in their "art gallery". They are not business savvy enough to realize the mistake they made mistreating people in a movement that would bring them a lot of future business. A friend of mine rented this space with the goal of bringing Zumba events to Denton, and brought Instructors both local and from far and wide for a Zumba masterclass at this space. She had conversations prior with management to set expectations. They verbally agreed about the music being loud (That's Zumba!), the microphone and sound equipment needs, and she was assured that the needs would be met. Needless to say, on the day of the event, those agreements were flipped on the head. We were met with aggressive management staff that had their noses up in the air, and who reprimanded my friend right in front of the whole crowd of people. They talked down to her and the rest of us who tried to have a reasonable conversation with them, as though we and the rest of the people who had come for the event were beneath them. Everything was a problem. The volume, apparently the sight of us in our skin, the colors, where we put our belongings, the way we breathed were met with hostility and disgust. It's stressful and hard enough to put on an event of that magnitude, so having the managers yelling at the event organizer caused her to break down crying. The managers were relentless, had no mercy and kept talking down to her and asking her to turn down the volume. The microphone stopped working which is horrible for a hosted Zumba event. The event organizer was never told that the event space would be open to the public and that people would be walking into an event that was paid for. One of the younger managers had the nerve to condescendly ask her if she hadn't looked at their website prior, to research what their organization was about. What does that have to do with someone paying you for an event that you agreed to? Let's be clear... These managers are racist and biased and don't want people such as "us" in their art gallery space. What kind of people are "we"? A teacher, an engineer, an actor/documentarian that is the inspiration behind you and your girlfriend's favorite Texan movie? CEOs of their own companies, business owners? These "kinds" of people. When the main manager saw the outpouring of love for my friend who put the event together, it literally dawned on her what the potential impact would be. Then she started to flounder, retract herself and start to make conversations to smooth things over. It was a little too late. At this point we already had such a bad taste in our mouths. It's such a missed business opportunity, because the Zumba community has events literally every other week. There would have been so many other Zumba events there if this had been a positive experience for us. It's quite unfortunate in this day and age that people are still so biased and judgemental. You have no idea who you are interacting with. Be careful how you...

My husband and I chose the Patterson-Appleton Arts Center for our wedding reception. From the very beginning, Rentals and Events Coordinator Brittni was attentive, responsive, and prompt in answering every one of our questions. She gave us a tour of the venue, explained all rental policies, and helped make suggestions when we asked for assistance with our reception layout. It was incredibly easy for us and for our vendors to work with Brittni. Everyone we have met who works at Patterson-Appleton Arts Center/GDAC is helpful and kind.

The space itself is beautiful. The natural light that came through at golden hour was absolutely stunning. The space is bright and big enough to be comfortable for the guests to move around, but just the right size to also feel intimate. We received many compliments on the placement of tables, how easy it was to move around the space, and the overall feel of the venue.

The tables and tablecloths were great - it was very helpful that we were able to include the table setup and the tablecloth rental in our contract. It was a great value and worth the ease of mind. The rental of the A/V system was also extremely convenient for our DJ, and the projector rental was perfect for our slideshow.

The venue has a dedicated parking lot, and our guests were able to easily find parking. This was important, as we had a lot of out-of-town guests, and our ceremony was at a different location, so many of our guests drove.

I would recommend the Patterson-Appleton arts center as a wedding reception venue, or for any dinner event. It exceeded our expectations in every way, and...

After eloping out of state in late 2024, my husband and I wanted to host a reception in January 2025 to celebrate our marriage with family & friends. The PAAC was the perfect space for our party!! Accessible for guests in terms of location & parking; modern, beautiful, and spacious to accommodate guests, dancing, food & drinks, and more. Hosting here is very easy as they are flexible with the vendors you'd like to work with. The staff we worked with were also incredible -- Brittni, the events coordinator, was patient, understanding, and so, so kind. Additionally, the staff present on the night of our event were accommodating, friendly, and patient, as well. And, to top it all off, our event was incredibly affordable! I cannot recommend hosting your event at the PAAC more. We would absolutely do it again in...