Weekend Event Planner

These are the 9 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

The Fourth of July weekend has arrived, and with it comes a slew of fun holiday-related events in Dallas and the surrounding area. But there are also a variety of non-patriotic happenings, including a national tour of a classic musical, a new production seemingly ripped from the headlines, and more.

Below are the best options for your precious free time Thursday through Sunday. Don't like what you see? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.

Thursday, June 30

Dallas Arboretum Cool Thursdays Concert: The Dallas Wind Symphony
With temperatures hovering near 100 degrees, attending a Cool Thursdays concert at the Dallas Arboretum isn't so cool anymore. The Dallas Wind Symphony brings the spring/summer portion of the series to a close with a Fourth of July-themed concert, featuring patriotic favorites and more.

Dallas Summer Musicals presents 42nd Street
The 2015-2016 Dallas Summer Musicals season comes to an end with the classic Broadway musical 42nd Street. The production about a young girl looking to make it big on Broadway may seem like it has been around forever, but that's only because the musical, which debuted in 1980, is based on the 1933 movie. The national tour will stay at Music Hall at Fair Park through July 10.

Second Thought Theatre presents A Kid Like Jake
Second Thought Theatre brings its 2016 season to a close with the area premiere of A Kid Like Jake, a play about a young couple struggling to do what is best for their 4-year-old gender-fluid son, who happens to prefer Cinderella to G.I. Joe. The play follows the parents as they try to get a good education for him. The production will run at Bryant Hall through July 23.

Friday, July 1

Feeding Texas presents the 2nd Annual Lone Star Beer Texas Heritage Festival
The Lone Star Beer Texas Heritage Festival is a unique experience with an array of music, food, and fun curated by Lone Star Beer, the National Beer of Texas. The second annual event at the Bomb Factory features performances by Shovels & Rope, Okkervil River, Matthew Logan Vasquez, and Girl in a Coma. This event also includes an assortment of delicious food options, along with activities, arcade games, a photo booth, and more.

Dashboard Confessional in concert with Taking Back Sunday and the Early November
Emo band Dashboard Confessional, like most emo bands, hit their peak in the mid-aughts, thanks to a couple of hit albums. They haven't released new music of any kind since 2009, but true fans are sure to enjoy this concert at South Side Ballroom, which is part of the Rockstar Energy Drink Taste of Chaos tour. Taking Back Sunday and the Early November are also playing.

Saturday, July 2

Dallas Wings vs. Connecticut Sun
The WNBA's newest team, the Dallas Wings, has gotten off to a somewhat slow start at 7-9 through 16 games. But that's good enough for third place in the Western Conference, and with 18 games left to go, there's still plenty of time to get better. Catch Odyssey Sims, Skylar Diggins, and the rest of the Wings in action at College Park Center in Arlington as they take on the Connecticut Sun.

Sunday, July 3

Lone Star Park presents Lone Stars & Stripes Fireworks Celebration
The annual Lone Stars & Stripes Fireworks Celebration features two nights of spectacular fireworks at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie. Kids can enjoy the Family Fun Park featuring pony rides, a petting zoo, an obstacle course, a zip line, bounce houses, face painters, tattoo artists, and more. Music lovers can enjoy live music by Vegas Stars between the races. Following the last race each night on July 3 and 4 is a spectacular, 20-minute firework display choreographed to music.

Addison Kaboom Town!
Addison’s most explosive party of the year, Kaboom Town!, features fireworks choreographed to music, plus food, bands, spectacular historic warbird flyovers by Cavanaugh Flight Museum, and more. The celebration is city-wide, with a party in the 12-acre Addison Circle Park; watch parties at many of Addison’s 180-plus restaurants and 22 hotels; and the Addison Airport Air Show.

Levitt Pavilion presents Light Up Arlington
For a more low-key Fourth of July celebration on the day before the day, you can head to Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts in Arlington. Light Up Arlington is an evening of food, fun, fireworks, and free music. The event features Hannah Kirby and Brad Thompson in a back-to-back concert.

Dallas Summer Musicals presents 42nd Street at the Music Hall at Fair Park through July 10.

Photo by Chris Bennion

Dallas Summer Musicals presents 42nd Street at the Music Hall at Fair Park through July 10.

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Scares for Days

Best Dallas-area haunted houses to scare up Halloween frights in 2026

Photo courtesy of Dark Hour Haunted House

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Halloween has long been about way more than the day itself, with all sorts of spooky and not-so-scary events throughout October to get people in the mood for the season.

But haunted houses/attractions are what really bring out the spirit of the season, and the Dallas area has plenty of great options from which to choose.

Each of the nine venues below offers up lots of frights for anyone who can handle it.

Galleria Dallas presents The BooMont Hotel
The BooMont Hotel at Galleria Dallas has been upgraded with two brand-new rooms, more square footage, bigger thrills, and different ways to explore the hotel. New for 2026 is a ghost pool that will have visitors diving into the deep end of the unexplained, a haunted mirror maze that will force them to find themselves before finding the exit, and a master key scavenger hunt with 13 stops. The event is open daily through November 1.

Six Flags Over Texas presents Fright Fest
Fright Fest at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington features haunted mazes, outdoor scare zones, multiple live shows, and Halloween-themed food and beverages to celebrate the fall season. The haunted attractions are inspired by immersive nightmares and iconic horror franchises, including Doc Varnum’s Hybrid Hell Pit, The Conjuring Universe, The Strangers: No Escape, SAW: Legacy of Terror, EverSmile Industries, and Terror at the Polynesian Palm. Fright Fest will be open on select dates through November 1.

Dark Hour Haunted House
Dark Hour Haunted House in Plano is one of the Dallas-Fort Worth’s most immersive haunted attractions, where elaborate theatrical sets, terrifying creatures, state-of-the-art effects, and unexpected scares are around every corner. The 2026 season features more animatronics than ever before, the all-new Medusa’s Lair and Strega Chamber, and an ever-growing goblin horde taking over the labyrinth. It will be open on select dates through November 13.

J&F House of Terror
J&F House of Terror in Garland is a haunted house maze torn down and built up every year, so it is never the same. Official details about the attraction are scarce on their website, but they claim the "haunt is very scary" and "has jump scares and something hiding in each corner." Located within Firewheel Town Center, it is open on select dates through November 1.

Scarborough's Hollow: A Fall Fantasy Festival
While the majority of the Fall Fantasy Festival at Scarborough's Hollow in Waxahachie is family-friendly, with a pumpkin garden, games, photo ops, light displays, and a fun house, they also have a trio of haunted attractions for those who like to be scared. They include Blackthorn Castle Haunted House, Secrets of Rottingwood Cemetery, and Raptus and Krane's Mythical Monster Museum. The festival will be open every Saturday through October 31, plus Sunday, November 1.

Haunted Shadows Lake Trail
This haunted attraction in The Colony has the distinction of being one of the only outdoor haunts in the area. The trail is a little over a mile in length, taking visitors on a self-guided journey through the woods and weeds along the shore of Lake Lewisville. There is no guide — only a trail. Through the dark, scary woods. The wind rustling through the trees. The snap of a twig from a footstep. The moon shining off the lake. The shadows that provide refuge for some unseen horror. Haunted Shadows is open on select dates through October 31.

Cucuy Nights
Cucuy Nights is one of the newest haunted houses in the Dallas area, having opened in 2025 at a location in Garland and moving to Dallas proper this year. It is is an immersive maze-style haunted attraction rooted in Latino and indigenous mythology. Visitors will step into total darkness, thick practical fog, and rooms filled with culturally iconic characters drawn from living folklore. Located at 423 Singleton Blvd., it will be open on Fridays and Saturdays through October 31.

Junkyard Haunted House
The Junkyard Haunted House is a unique haunted house made out of junk locally picked up by the JunkGuysDFW. The family business takes the time to build a new and different haunted house every year. Imagine rusted machinery groaning in the darkness, flickering lights revealing glimpses of horrifying creatures, and the chilling feeling that you're not alone. It will be open on select dates through October 31.

Junkyard Haunted House at City Park
Junkyard Haunted House is collaborating with the Dallas Parks Department to provide the city with a haunted house experience at City Park. Visitors can enjoy a sprawling haunt stretched across 21 acres, a journey through seven distinct, fear-inducing haunted houses. It will be open on select dates through October 31.

The Parker House
The Parker House in Denton features two main attractions: The Haunted Walkthrough at The Parker House, in which guests are engulfed in the murderous mayhem in which Mary Parker subjected her victims; and Outbreak, where guests can take an interactive ride around the property in specially equipped attack vehicles with a mission to defeat zombies and save the world from chaos. There is also Mary's Not-So-Scary Trick-or-Treat event on October 14 and 21, a tamer version of the normal haunted house. It will be open on select days through November 1.

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