Annual Events & Festivals - Annual Events
If you can’t find a party going on in some corner of the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex on any given weekend, you’re not trying very hard. Rain or shine, in January or June, there’s always a big selection of festivals and special events that give you a reason to celebrate, enjoy the arts, spend time outdoors, or explore Texas culture.
People in North Texas spend ample time finding parties that showcase rodeos, headline-making football contests, African-American and Hispanic heritage, good food and drink, fun and games in the park, great music, and fit friends who run 26.2 miles. And you can bet that there’s celebration aplenty when it comes to holidays that honor romance, the Irish, independence, and Christmas.
Dallas and Fort Worth play host to lots of these gatherings; to see a complete listing, month by month, visit www.visitdallas.com and www.fortworth.com and click on Events Calendar. Other cities with a full schedule of special events include Addison and Grapevine; see those calendars at www.addisontexas.net (click on Events/Festivals) and www.grapevinetexasusa.com (click on Event Calendar). Here are highlights of some of the biggest events of the year.
1. At&T Cotton Bowl Classic
City: Dallas, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Description: The 2010 Cotton Bowl classic, played on New Year’s Day or thereabouts, is the first in the tradition’s 73-year history not played in the Fair Park stadium. Moving to its new home at the Cowboys Stadium, it remains the college football contest—usually played close to New Year’s Day—between teams from the Big 12 and Southeastern conference. Tickets sell out and are usually expensive.
2. Martin Luther King Birthday Parade
City: Dallas, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (214) 670-8438
Address: 1500 Manilla Dr.
Description: The parade usually begins at 10 a.m. on the Saturday prior to MLK Day to commemorate the late Dr. King’s legacy. The parade brings floats, bands, and community, civic, and church groups together in a march through downtown Dallas, past the MLK Community Center to Fair Park.
3. Cowtown Marathon
City: Dallas, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (817) 735-2033
Description: Usually held on the last Saturday in February, this massive marathon race is a qualifier for the Boston Marathon. The race begins and finishes in downtown, with routes for the whole and half-marathons, as well as the 5K and 10K races, coursing through the city.
4. Sweethearts Dessert Fantasy
City: Dallas, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (817) 255-2500
Description: Usually held in latter February, this romance-themed annual event extends Valentine’s Day a bit for those who love sweets and want to contribute to a great cause. It’s a mega-tasting of signature desserts and fantasy cakes by independent restaurants and chefs from around Fort Worth, benefitting the children and families of Lena Pope Home, a facility that provides preventive and rehabilitative services for improved family life. Attendance is often more than 500, bringing between $75,000 and $90,000 in fundraising.
5. Dallas Irish Festival
City: Dallas, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (214) 821-4173
Description: A gigantic festival held the first weekend in March brings more than 60,000 to celebrate the Emerald Isle and its heritage. There is a huge schedule of music and dance, and you can find plenty of souvenirs, beer, and Irish food, too.
6. Savor Dallas
City: Dallas, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (866) 277-7920
Description: Food lovers convene for a gastronomic adventure over a full weekend in early March. Programs are offered all over downtown and in the Arts District, including a wine stroll in the Dallas Museum of Art, the Meyerson Symphony Center, and the Nasher Sculpture Center; various wine seminars; and a grand tasting, at which you can sample dishes from some of the great restaurants around the city. Tickets are moderate to expensive.
7. St. Patrick’S Day Parade
City: Dallas, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (214) 368-6722, (972) 480-0621
Description: Over 30 years, this has become an enormously popular event, drawing some 90,000 people to the near-east Dallas neighborhood. Bars, restaurants, boutiques, and other merchants throw the bash, leading with a parade of more than 100 floats. It’s a free party and families come in droves, but it becomes rowdier into the night. A band may play a little after noon—in 2009, it was the Old 97s—and that event carries a moderate charge. Parking can be an issue, so try to take the DART Light-Rail to the Park Lane or Lovers Lane station.
8. Big Taste Of Fort Worth
City: Dallas, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Description: The premier food-tasting event in Fort Worth benefits Big Brothers/Big Sisters. Now more than 30 years old, the party takes place in late April, typically at a country club or downtown hotel. The popularity is such that the event keeps outgrowing its venues, as several hundred people will show up for this one-night eating extravaganza. Restaurants and catering companies from around the region donate the food, with chefs coming to prepare and dispense their best work. Numerous wines are sampled, too. Ticket prices are on the high end of moderate.
9. Grapevine New Vintage Wine And Arts Festival
City: Dallas, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (800) 457-6338
Description: The wine-centric town by DFW Airport throws many a party each year, and this one’s always a huge hit. You’ll taste wines from the growing stash of vineyards and wineries in town, hear music, shop, eat, and ride the vintage train over a weekend of grape-fueled merriment in mid-April. Ticket prices vary.
10. Main Street Arts Festival
City: Dallas, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (817) 336-2787
Description: Fort Worth’s downtown bash over four days in mid-April brings tens of thousands of people together to celebrate the visual arts, entertainment, and fabulous food. There’s a juried art fair, live concerts throughout the day on various stages, and much more. Admission is free.
11. Usa Film Festival
City: Dallas, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (214) 821-3456
Address: 6116 North Central Expressway
Description: A prestigious gathering of film fans and film stars for eight days in April has grown to international significance. Films screened for members have included Valkyrie, Julie and Julia, Slumdog Millionaire, Stop-Loss, and The Hangover. Year-round events are offered, as well.
12. Mayfest
City: Dallas, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (817) 332-1055
Description: Begun in 1973 to help beautify Trinity Park, the river areas, and greenbelts, Mayfest continues to take place in Trinity Park over the first weekend in May. Thousands of patrons of every possible age and description show up for the fun, which includes dance and musical performances, an art show, face-painting, kids’ games, and loads of food and beverages.
13. Taste Of Addison
City: Dallas, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (972) 450-2851
Description: A two-fisted punch of great food and music takes place on the grassy town green near Addison Circle over a weekend in early May. Several dozen restaurants whip up food to dispense from booths, and there’s an ample amount of beverages for all ages to wash it down. Day and night, find music and dance performances happening on various stages.
14. Shakespeare Festival, Shakespeare Dallas
City: Dallas, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (214) 559-2778
Address: 3630 Harry Hines Blvd. 3rd Floor (Event
Description: Stretching over a season lasting from late June into October, Shakespeare in the Park includes three or more presentations on the amphitheater stage in Samuell-Grand Park. It’s not Shakespeare as usual, however: in 2009, presentations included The Taming of the Shrew as an 1850s western, for example. Productions since the company began in 1971 have been top-shelf. Bring a blanket to watch under the stars in a lovely old park. Ticket prices are inexpensive to moderate.
15. Texas Scottish Festival And Highland Games
City: Dallas, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (800) 363-7268
Description: Golfers dressed in kilts are among the revelers taking part in a happy celebration of Scottish heritage in early June. The weekend-long party includes dance contests, athletic competitions, musical performances, and much consumption of food and drink.