The Dallas-Fort Worth region is huge. Gigantic. Texas-sized, in fact. And as a result, there are loads of things to do here.
So Who Has the Best Activities?
There’s a lot of rivalry between Dallas and Fort Worth. Also a lot of working together on things for the North Texas region, but still a lot of rivalry as to which is the best town. Dallas is more metropolitan, Fort Worth more laid back, and this is reflected some extent in the types of activities and events held there. What do you think?
Arts Festivals
- Artfest | Dallas Festivals | Fair Park Events
- Signature fundraising event for The 500 Inc. in the Dallas area. Returns to Fair Park where it started more than 30 years. For 39 years, ARTFEST has featured hundreds of artists from around the country, food, entertainment, and a children’s interact…
- Dallas CityArts Festival
- Head on down to the arts district for the city’s annual celebration of the varied arts available in Dallas. Check out the art museums for free, chomp on some carny food and listen to great bands play on the various stages. (Don’t forget to come by t…
- Main Street Arts Festival | Fort Worth Arts Festival | Fort Worth, Texas
- The Southwest’s largest, four-day visual arts and entertainment festival, four days of fine art, food, fun, and festivities! Rated as the Number 1 Arts Festival in Texas, the 9th largest Arts Festival in the country as rated by the Harris List and the…
- Wildflower! Arts & Music Festival
- 17th edition of one of the best art and music festivals in the area. The Wildflower! Arts & Music Festival began in 1993 as a small community event held in a local park in northeast Richardson, Texas. In just a few years, the festival has grown to be…
- Deep Ellum Arts Festival | Deep Ellum | Dallas Festivals
- Biggest weekend of the Year for the Deep Ellum Entertainment District. The Deep Ellum Arts Festival exemplifies everything that makes this eclectic area rock. April 4-6. 2024.
At Local Attractions
- Dallas Blooms | Dallas Arboretum | Largest Outdoor Floral Festival
- Hooray for flowers!! It’s time again for the Dallas Blooms festival at the Dallas Arboretum. The 2024 theme is The Star of Texas, and one of the best things about our great state – the incredible beauty of the arboretum – will be highlighted throughout…
- Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament
- Return to the days of yore when chivalry reigned and knights roamed the earth! Too much? Well, go visit Medieval Times and you’ll get a good dose of over-the-top entertainment. It’s the kind of place that seems to take itself seriously, but you can’t…
- Dallas Roars | The Dallas Zoo | Events at the Zoo
- Welcome to Dallas Roars! Bring the family and enjoy six weekends of roaring good fun featuring special Dallas Roars! children’s activities and entertainment. Now in its third year, the Dallas Zoo’s annual festival includes children’s activities.
Music Festivals
- Wildflower! Arts & Music Festival
- 17th edition of one of the best art and music festivals in the area. The Wildflower! Arts & Music Festival began in 1993 as a small community event held in a local park in northeast Richardson, Texas. In just a few years, the festival has grown to be…
- National Polka Festival | Ennis Texas | Polka Music
- 42nd Annual National Polka Festival celebrating Czech heritage in Ennis, Texas Held annually on Memorial Day Weekend, the National Polka Festival offers an abundance of activities to be enjoyed by the entire family in the small town of Ennis, just s…
- Dallas International Guitar Festival & Musicfest | Dallas Music Events
- The Dallas International Music Festival celebrates 30 years of bringing musicians, guitar makers, collectors, celebrities and music enthusiasts.
Fun For the Kids
- Plano Balloon Festival
- Join the more than 70,000 people expected to show up this year for one of the biggest balloon festivals in Texas! The EDS Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival, a spectacular three-day event beginning at 4 p.m. Friday, September 19, will provide spect…
- Dallas Roars | The Dallas Zoo | Events at the Zoo
- Welcome to Dallas Roars! Bring the family and enjoy six weekends of roaring good fun featuring special Dallas Roars! children’s activities and entertainment. Now in its third year, the Dallas Zoo’s annual festival includes children’s activities.
- Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament
- Return to the days of yore when chivalry reigned and knights roamed the earth! Too much? Well, go visit Medieval Times and you’ll get a good dose of over-the-top entertainment. It’s the kind of place that seems to take itself seriously, but you can’t…
- Day Out With Thomas | Thomas the Tank Engine | Dallas Railway Museum
- Day Out With Thomas is a family event that offers children and their grownups the opportunity to ride with classic storybook friend Thomas the Tank Engine at heritage railroads nationwide. The Day Out With Thomas experience will engineer miles.
Food Events
- Dallas Wine & Food Festival | Wine Tastings | Dallas Events
- The annual event includes chef demos, food and wine tastings, seminars and entertaining tips. Runs April 23-27 this year. The annual Dallas Wine and Food Festival offers five days of exquisite meals, fine wines and tastings at various venues.
- Taste Addison | Addison Texas | Food & Music Festivals
- More than 60,000 people are expected for this three-day festival highlighting all the great restaurants to be found in Addison.
Restaurants
- Breakfast in Dallas
- Dallas has quite a wide variety of restaurant options and I love going out to try new places. Figuring out a good place for breakfast to meet friends or colleagues or clients has always been a bit of a challenge, however, if you want to step out of…
Around North Texas
- National Polka Festival | Ennis Texas | Polka Music
- 42nd Annual National Polka Festival celebrating Czech heritage in Ennis, Texas Held annually on Memorial Day Weekend, the National Polka Festival offers an abundance of activities to be enjoyed by the entire family in the small town of Ennis, just s…
- Scarborough Renaissance Festival | Medieval Festival | Renaissance Fair
- Spend the day in the 16th century and have the time of your life at this year’s Scarborough Renaissance Festival down in Waxahachie. 2024 dates are April 5 through May 26.
- Bluebonnet Trails Festival | Texas State Flower
- The 57th annual salute to the state flower, sponsored by the Ennis Garden Club, includes free maps for self-guided driving tours of about 40 miles of bluebonnet trails along country roads (good for use throughout April). At the festival, expect arts…
Other Special Events
- AFI Dallas International Film Festival
- Time for the AFI Dallas 2024 International Film Festival!! The stars will be hitting the town as various indie films make their world premieres and others are screened for the first time in the U.S.
- Real. Texas. Festival.
- Three days of country music and cowboy fun in Mesquite, the Real. Texas. Festival. includes live country music, a marketplace featuring made-in-Texas arts and crafts, children’s activities, Old West shootout re-enactments, and a car show.
- Texas Scottish Festival & Highland Games
- Let the wee bit of Scot out in you at the 22nd annual Texas Scottish Festival and Highland Games. Watch the caber toss, catch the Scottish fiddlers, scarf down some haggis. This three-day festival is a Scottish delight.
- Plano Balloon Festival
- Join the more than 70,000 people expected to show up this year for one of the biggest balloon festivals in Texas! The EDS Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival, a spectacular three-day event beginning at 4 p.m. Friday, September 19, will provide spect…
- Quilt Celebration 2024 | Dallas Quilt Show | Quilters Guild of Dallas
- Quilt Celebration is an annual quilt show put on by the Quilt Guild of Dallas. This year’s theme is Timeless Traditions, which should lead to some interesting interpretations of classics such as the log cabin, flying geese, and vine borders. It runs M…
Traders Village
Traders Village is centrally located in Grand Prairie – halfway between Dallas and Fort Worth. The grounds play host to a huge flea market and a series of festivals, one of the most unique being a Native American celebration and pow wow. Traders Village Flea Markets in Grand Prairie and Houston is nationally known as the most-visited weekend flea markets and festival complexes in Texas. Each year the market’s 4-million guests shop for treasures from more than 5,000 vendors. Each market has over 100 acres to browse, shop, trade, and play. Shoppers from around the world come for the bargain hunting and discover everything from hand-made crafts to one-of-a-kind treasures. Besides the great shopping, there’s always something happening at Trades Village. Festivals and special events abound all year long with American Indian Pow Wows, BBQ Cookoffs, Cajun Festivals, Auto Swap Meets, and much more.
- Traders Village | Grand Prairie Texas | Dallas-Area Festivals
- Traders Village is centrally located in Grand Prairie – halfway between Dallas and Fort Worth. The grounds play host to a huge flea market and a series of festivals, one of the most unique being a Native American celebration and pow wow.