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Dallas-Fort Worth festivals and annual events

The Adolphus hotel suggested a holiday parade to Children's Medical Center Dallas in 1987, and staff from the two put on the first one on December 3, 1988, for a crowd of 70,000. In Fort Worth, Opal Lee was 89 when she set out in 2016 to walk the 1,400 miles to Washington, D.C. and press Congress to make Juneteenth a national holiday. Her petition passed 1.5 million signatures. Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021.

106 events come back to Dallas-Fort Worth every year, and October is the busiest month with 18. 47 of them are free. A card marked Expected is still waiting on the organisers to confirm a date.

Coming up: Things to do in Dallas-Fort Worth in November 2026

Month by month: JanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJulySeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember

Follow Dallas-Fort Worth in your calendar: Google CalendarApple or Outlook Confirmed dates only. New ones appear on their own.

Next 30 days

Soonest first. If an event has been cancelled or moved, it says so.

Vitruvian Lights, photo 1 of 2
November 2026

Vitruvian Lights

Expected November 2026 Vitruvian Park, Addison

Vitruvian Lights wraps the trees of Vitruvian Park in Addison in colored lights for the holiday season. UDR, the park's developer, puts it on, and the Town of Addison has been a sponsor. The season opens on a Saturday in late November and runs to January 1, with the tree lights on daily from 5 to 11 p.m. Entry is free. Event parking has been $15, cash only, in the park's Bella Lane and Ponte Avenue lots and at the Alfred J. Loos Sports Complex on Spring Valley Road. Bad weather can affect the lights, and UDR posts cancellations on the Vitruvian Park website and social pages.

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Christmas Capital of Texas Holidays & Parades

Christmas Capital of Texas

Monday, Nov 23 to Wednesday, Dec 30 Historic Main Street, Grapevine
Ticketed
Anime Frontier Conventions & Expos

Anime Frontier

Friday, Dec 4 to Sunday, Dec 6 Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth
Ticketed
Christmas in the Stockyards Holidays & Parades

Christmas in the Stockyards

Saturday, Dec 5 Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District, Fort Worth
Ticketed
Dallas Holiday Parade Holidays & Parades

Dallas Holiday Parade

Saturday, Dec 5 Commerce Street, downtown Dallas (starts at Commerce and Houston streets), Dallas
Free
BMW Dallas Marathon Sports & Fitness

BMW Dallas Marathon

Friday, Dec 11 to Sunday, Dec 13 Dallas City Hall and downtown Dallas, Dallas
Ticketed
Arlington Holiday Lights Parade Holidays & Parades

Arlington Holiday Lights Parade

Saturday, Dec 12 West Abram Street, Downtown Arlington (Levitt Pavilion to Cooper Street), Arlington
Free
Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo Sports & Fitness

Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo

Friday, Jan 15 to Saturday, Feb 6 Will Rogers Memorial Center and Ariat Arena, Fort Worth
Ticketed
Dallas MLK Day Parade Holidays & Parades

Dallas MLK Day Parade

Monday, Jan 18 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to Fair Park, Dallas
Ticketed
Denton Black Film Festival Arts & Culture

Denton Black Film Festival

Wednesday, Jan 27 to Sunday, Jan 31 Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Denton and venues around Denton, Denton
Ticketed
Krewe of Barkus Holidays & Parades

Krewe of Barkus

Expected February 2027 Dr. Glenn Mitchell Memorial Park, McKinney
Ticketed
Oak Cliff Mardi Gras Parade Holidays & Parades

Oak Cliff Mardi Gras Parade

Expected February 2027 Davis Street, Oak Cliff (start near the Kessler Theater), Dallas
Ticketed
Dallas Blooms Arts & Culture

Dallas Blooms

Expected February 2027 Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden, Dallas
Ticketed
Fort Worth Music Festival Music

Fort Worth Music Festival

Expected February 2027 Tannahill's, Love Shack and White Elephant Saloon, Fort Worth Stockyards, Fort Worth
Ticketed
Cowtown Marathon Sports & Fitness

Cowtown Marathon

Saturday, Feb 27 to Sunday, Feb 28 Will Rogers Memorial Center, Fort Worth
Ticketed
Thin Line Fest Arts & Culture

Thin Line Fest

Wednesday, Mar 10 to Sunday, Mar 14 Campus Theatre and venues across downtown Denton, Denton
Free
Trinity Flyfest Family & Kids

Trinity Flyfest

Expected March 2027 Clear Fork of the Trinity River, River Park Trailhead, Fort Worth
Free
Arts in Bloom Arts & Culture

Arts in Bloom

Expected April 2027 Historic Downtown McKinney, around the courthouse square, McKinney
Free
South Street Art Festival Arts & Culture

South Street Art Festival

Friday, Apr 9 to Sunday, Apr 11 East South Street, Downtown Arlington, Arlington
Free
Dallas Art Fair Arts & Culture

Dallas Art Fair

Thursday, Apr 15 to Sunday, Apr 18 Fashion Industry Gallery, Dallas
Ticketed
Art in the Square Arts & Culture

Art in the Square

Friday, Apr 23 to Sunday, Apr 25 Southlake Town Square, Southlake
Free
Lone Star Smokeout Food & Drink

Lone Star Smokeout

Expected April 2027 AT&T Stadium, Parking Lot 10, Arlington
Ticketed
Open Streets Fort Worth Community

Open Streets Fort Worth

Expected April 2027 Magnolia Avenue, Near Southside (8th Avenue to Hemphill Street), Fort Worth
Free
Mayfest Community

Mayfest

Thursday, Apr 29 to Sunday, May 2 Trinity Park, Fort Worth
Ticketed
Main Street Fest Community

Main Street Fest

Friday, May 14 to Sunday, May 16 Historic Main Street, Grapevine
Ticketed
Texas Frightmare Weekend Conventions & Expos

Texas Frightmare Weekend

Friday, May 28 to Sunday, May 30 Irving Convention Center, Irving
Ticketed
Dallas Pride Community

Dallas Pride

Expected June 2027 Main Street Garden Park and downtown Dallas, Dallas
Ticketed
FAN EXPO Dallas Conventions & Expos

FAN EXPO Dallas

Friday, Jun 11 to Sunday, Jun 13 Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, Dallas
Ticketed
Arlington Pride Community

Arlington Pride

Expected June 2027 Levitt Pavilion, Arlington
Ticketed
Denton Juneteenth Holidays & Parades

Denton Juneteenth

Thursday, Jun 17 to Sunday, Jun 20 Fred Moore Park, Denton
Ticketed
Trinity Pride Fest Community

Trinity Pride Fest

Expected June 2027 South Main Street, Near Southside, Fort Worth
Free
Kaboom Town! Holidays & Parades

Kaboom Town!

Expected July 2027 Addison Circle Park, Addison
Ticketed
Fort Worth's Fourth Holidays & Parades

Fort Worth's Fourth

Expected July 2027 Panther Island Pavilion, Fort Worth
Free

August 2027

North Texas Fair & Rodeo Sports & Fitness

North Texas Fair & Rodeo

Friday, Aug 20 to Sunday, Aug 29 North Texas Fairgrounds, Denton
Ticketed
Garland Labor Day Parade Holidays & Parades

Garland Labor Day Parade

Expected September 2027 Main Street, Downtown Garland, Garland
Ticketed
Addison Oktoberfest Food & Drink

Addison Oktoberfest

Expected September 2027 Addison Circle Park, Addison
Ticketed
GrapeFest Food & Drink

GrapeFest

Thursday, Sep 16 to Sunday, Sep 19 Historic Main Street, Grapevine
Ticketed
Plano Balloon Festival Family & Kids

Plano Balloon Festival

Thursday, Sep 16 to Sunday, Sep 19 Oak Point Park (Red Tail Pavilion), Plano
$10
Autumn at the Arboretum Family & Kids

Autumn at the Arboretum

Expected September 2027 Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden, Dallas
Ticketed
Denton Blues Festival Music

Denton Blues Festival

Expected September 2027 Quakertown Park (Denton Civic Center), Denton
Free
Fort Worth Oktoberfest Food & Drink

Fort Worth Oktoberfest

Thursday, Sep 23 to Saturday, Sep 25 Trinity Park, Fort Worth
Ticketed
McKinney Oktoberfest Food & Drink

McKinney Oktoberfest

Expected September 2027 McKinney Square, Historic Downtown McKinney, McKinney
Free
Butterfly Flutterby Family & Kids

Butterfly Flutterby

Expected October 2027 Grapevine Botanical Gardens at Heritage Park, Grapevine
Free
Lone Star Film Festival Arts & Culture

Lone Star Film Festival

Expected November 2027 Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth and the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth
Ticketed
Holiday at the Arboretum Holidays & Parades

Holiday at the Arboretum

Expected November 2027 Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden, Dallas
Ticketed
Dallas Zoo Lights Holidays & Parades

Dallas Zoo Lights

Expected November 2027 Dallas Zoo, Dallas
Ticketed

On every week in Dallas-Fort Worth

Markets and walks that run year-round, not one-off dates.

Dallas Farmers Market Food & Drink

Dallas Farmers Market

The Shed: Saturdays 9 a.m Dallas Farmers Market, Dallas
Ticketed

Concerts & shows

Live, ticketed events near Dallas-Fort Worth.

All events →

Planning the trip around it

What a Dallas-Fort Worth hotel night costs once fees and parking are added.

Dallas Marathon weekend

The BMW Dallas Marathon is Sunday, December 13, and every race starts at City Hall Plaza. On October 27 all fourteen hotels within a 20-minute walk had Saturday night open. There is no packet pickup on race morning.

New Year's Eve at Reunion Tower

The tower's page, still written for last year's show, rules out watching from its lawn unless you are a guest of the Hyatt Regency or Crown Block. On October 27, 13 of 17 downtown and Uptown hotels sold December 31 as a single night.

Staying in downtown Fort Worth

The Stock Show & Rodeo is listed for January 15 to February 6, 2027, on grounds in the Cultural District, not downtown. Of eleven downtown hotel screens, only the Worthington's showed a flat fee, $20.

Grapevine at Christmas

The Carol of Lights opens the season on Monday, November 23, 2026, and Main Street closes for it. Hotel Vin is the one hotel within walking distance of Main Street. The Gaylord charges a $28 resort fee and $29 a day to park.