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2016 Isn’t Over Until Grand Prairie’s ‘Chewbacca Mom’ Gets A Gig With TLC

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In May, Candace Payne published a Facebook Live video wearing a Chewbacca mask and it has since received more than 164 million views.

Five stories that have North Texas talking: Secret Santa gave $150,000 to Dallas ISD teachers; wind chills will drop to single digits this weekend; it’s the last day to vote for the best of “Think”; and more. 

One of the lighter moments of the year came from Candace Payne. The North Texas woman laughed straight through a four-minute Facebook Live video, wearing a plastic Chewbacca mask, sitting in a Kohl’s parking lot. The video has received more than 164 million views since she published it in May. Six months later, Payne is set to host two online shows for TLCme, TLC’s digital video hub. In the first series called “2 Truths & A Lie with Candace,” she’ll post three crazy stories and fans will be invited to guess which one is untrie in the Facebook comments of the post. The next day, she’ll share a Facebook Live video revealing the answers. In the second show, “Sing-a-long with Candace,” Payne will take lyric suggestions from her fans on social media and create and perform an original song. She’ll being going live on Monday, according to Mashable. In a short promo video, she concludes “TLC, who would have ever thought, right?” [Mashable]

  • An anonymous donor gave $150,000 to more than 300 teachers at Dallas schools. The Dallas Morning News covered the Secret Santa surprise at Dade Middle School this week. During a “Teacher Appreciation Celebration,” 75 teachers were told to look under their chairs where they found a note and a $400 Target gift card. The teachers were ecstatic. Blanton, Mills, Pease and Umphrey Lee elementary schools and Edison and Zumwalt middle schools were also selected as recipients of the donor’s contribution. [The Dallas Morning News]

  • On Saturday, prepare for a drastic change in weather. A strong cold front will move into North Texas during the day forcing temperatures to drop approximately 50 degrees by the evening, according to the National Weather Service. Highs will be in the 60s and 70s but an arctic front will result in frigid temperatures in the teens and 20s that night. Factor in north winds blowing 15-25 miles per hour with the low temperatures and wind chills will likely be in the teens and single digits by Sunday morning. Read more about the forecast. [KERA News]

  • WaterTower Theatre Thursday announced its new artistic director, Joanie Schultz. Schultz replaces Terry Martin, who led WaterTower for 17 years, Art&Seek reports. Schultz has two decades of experience directing theater and opera in Chicago. She’s also worked with Steppenwolf Theatre, Victory Gardens, the Cleveland Play House and Chicago’s leading resident company, the Goodman. “Schultz may be the first ‘outsider’ to run WaterTower, but as a female artistic director, she joins a long-standing North Texas tradition: women running stage companies.” Read more about Schultz. [Art&Seek]

  • Today’s the last day to vote for your favorite “Think” episode of the year. In 2016, host Krys Boyd talked with best-selling authors, cutting-edge researchers, elected officials and other guests from both North Texas and across the world. That’s more than 350 hours of interviews. The “Think” team has narrowed them down to its favorites, and it wants you to help choose the shows for Best of “Think” Week, Dec. 26-29. Vote here! [Think]