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Arlington resident Lori Sullivan, 68, builds a model from \u201cKPop Demon Hunters\u201d on Aug. 26 at 1851 Club in Arlington. Sullivan attended a craft night that was put on at the bar.<\/p>\n
Photo by James Ward<\/a><\/p>\n Tracy Bennett, 66, sat on the black barstools of 1851 Club, hunched over. <\/p>\n With her eyes glued on a YouTube video, the Fort Worth resident meticulously folded colored paper. She paused and rewound the video when she missed a step.<\/p>\n Her end goal was a tiny origami bird. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m actually not a real crafty person, so they\u2019re kind of rubbing off on me,\u201d Bennett said. <\/p>\n On the last Wednesday of every month, a small group gathers in the club for a craft night.<\/p>\n Some color. Others spend the night building animals out of blue cardboard puzzle pieces. Throughout the night, participants unwind with people they consider a second family. <\/p>\n 1851 Club hosts karaoke, open mics, poker nights and drag shows throughout the week. <\/p>\n Bedford, Texas, resident Maxwell Arsenault, 29, flips through a binder of Pok\u00e9mon cards Aug. 26 at 1851 Club in Arlington. Arsenault opened packs of cards throughout the event.<\/p>\n Photo by James Ward<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThis is our only little gay bar that we have here in Arlington,\u201d city resident Samantha Raynes, 55, said. \u201cWe\u2019d like to keep it alive, and if we can get people in here just for something as simple as craft night and hanging out with other individuals and making friends, that\u2019s what it\u2019s about for me.\u201d <\/p>\n Raynes started the monthly event to meet like-minded individuals. The first craft night was hosted in March, and the events typically draw in around 10 to 20 people, she said. <\/p>\n She spent Wednesday night adding to her fall bucket list, made on the box of a McDonald’s Happy Meal she ate the day before. <\/p>\n \u201cI’m going to just have my list here, and then I\u2019m just going to fill it with junk,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n As the month-long project progresses, Raynes said, she\u2019ll add polaroids, stickers and ticket stubs from the Pumpkin Nights festival. <\/p>\n \u201cInstead of keeping a lot of stuff, I can have it all on one little book for October or for fall, and I can pull it out at any time,\u201d she said. \u201cIt just makes me smile to be able to go back and look at those things that we\u2019ve done together.\u201d <\/p>\n Crafts weren\u2019t the only thing group members worked on.<\/p>\n Arlington resident Joshua Berry, 33, grabs colored pencils Aug. 26 at 1851 Club in Arlington. Berry said that events like craft nights can bring out people\u2019s inner child.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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