VR News

High-tech sports bar with walls of taps opens at buzzy Lewisville mall

High tech sports bar.

Photo courtesy of icompete

A new sports bar with a lot of extras is opening in Lewisville. Called iCompete, it features augmented reality versions of "sports" including simulated golf, baseball, digitized darts, axe-throwing, and immersive-tech billiards.

According to a release, it'll open in February at Lewisville's Music City Mall, at 2405 S. Stemmons Fwy. #200.

The release describes iCompete as a hybrid sporting venue and sports bar with entertainment, food, and private functions, including corporate and charity events.

There are two bars: a main bar featuring a 20-foot LED TV, and a mixology bar, with a wall of 40 taps where you can pour your own beer and wine.

Features include:

8 augmented reality golf simulators
6 batting cage simulators
10 digitized dart boards
8 axe-throwing lanes
2 immersive tech pool tables
2 cocktail bars

There's also a food menu, created by John Franke, former corporate chef for FrontBurner (Haywire, Velvet Taco, Whiskey Cake, Mexican Sugar). iCompeteX's executive chef is Phil Hoy.

It's a global menu dubbed "WTF", which stands for Wings, Tacos, & Flatbreads, featuring tacos, flatbreads, wings, and sushi.

iCompete was founded by Bill Choung, a PGA Tour instructor and VR whiz who also founded CompuGolf Center in Carrollton, which offers lessons and training for golfers.

Grand opening weekend will begin on Friday, February 11.

Is Music City Mall the center of the universe? Maybe. They're already home to a store dedicated to plushies, and will soon be home to a restaurant dedicated to all things corned beef.

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Flower Picking

Tulipalooza flower fest in Waxahachie lucks out on weather in 2025

Texas Tulips/Instagram

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Spring in Dallas-Fort Worth is always an unpredictable time, but 2025 is a good year for tulips — just in time for the 7th Annual Tulipalooza in Waxahachie from February 28-March 16.

Tulipalooza is an annual tulip festival that has become a North Texas tradition, with over 300,000 tulips and daffodils from Holland blooming across Getzendaner Park at 400 S. Grand Ave. in Waxahachie.

Tulip bulbs and daffodils are imported from Holland and planted at Getzendaner Memorial Park in December. By March, they’re in bloom and ready for pictures and picking alike.

The weather is propitious, which helps pave the way for the festival's slightly early start; in prior years, it started in mid-March.

Tulipalooza was founded in 2018 by Waxahachie resident John Poston as an extension of his work with Daymark Living, a community for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Inspired by his son Michael, Poston launched the first tulip festival in 2019 with support from local and Dutch tulip experts.

“Tulipalooza brings a touch of Holland’s tulip magic to Texas,” says the festival’s tulip expert Bill Van Houten. “Each bulb is carefully chosen and prepared to bloom here, sharing a piece of Dutch heritage with the community.”

It hasn't always gone easy for the event. Like everything else, Tulipalooza was affected by the pandemic, shutting down in the middle of their 2020 season and nearly canceling 2021 because they couldn't afford to buy bulbs. But the community rallied around to help raise funds and prop it back up.

Half of the proceeds from online ticket sales support local charities. Visitors can choose to direct their ticket proceeds to one of eight selected charity partners that include Special Olympics of Texas, Lonestar Easterseals Texas, and Waxahachie Senior Activity Center.

In addition to the tulips, the event features food vendors, live entertainment, and photo-opps.

The festival is open daily from 10 am-7 p.m. General admission is $15 for adults, $5 for 12 and under; seniors get a special $10 ticket rate on Wednesday, March 5.

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