Weekend Event Planner

The Rolling Stones and Tim McGraw top 10 best weekend events in Dallas-Fort Worth

One show lords above all others this weekend in Dallas-Fort Worth, but the first weekend of June promises to be a memorable one whether you're into classic rock or not. Among the other worthy events are a fundraiser with an '80s headliner, two big country concerts and a festival custom-made for people looking to escape the heat.

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 4

2015 Cool Thursdays Series: Bruce in the USA
Prior to Bruce Springsteen's appearance at 2014's March Madness Music Festival, it had been six years since he had played a concert in Dallas. You never know when you'll get a chance to see him live again, so the only way to get your fill of "Born in the USA," "Glory Days" and more right now is by seeing tribute band Bruce in the USA at the Dallas Arboretum.

10th Anniversary MetroBall featuring Belinda Carlisle
The annual MetroBall is a fundraiser designed to give money to a variety of organizations that deal with HIV/AIDS patients. To celebrate the event's 10th anniversary, organizers have brought in a blast from the past: '80s pop singer Belinda Carlisle, best known for songs like "We Got the Beat" with the Go-Go's and "Heaven is a Place on Earth." The event takes place at Station 4.

Friday, June 5

Shelby Lynne in concert
There have been two peaks in the career of Shelby Lynne: winning New Female Vocalist of the Year at the 1990 Academy of Country Music Awards, and then somehow also winning the Best New Artist Grammy 11 years later thanks to her most acclaimed album to date, I Am Shelby Lynne. Lynne has reinvented herself again, and she plays at Dallas City Performance Hall in support of her new folk album, I Can't Imagine.

WaterTower Theatre presents Manicures & Monuments
The penultimate production of WaterTower Theatre's 2014-2015 season is Manicures & Monuments, a play from local playwright Vicki Caroline Cheatwood about residents of an Oklahoma nursing home and the young manicurist-in-training, Janann, who comes to volunteer. It runs through June 28 at Addison Conference Centre.

Saturday, June 6

PantherFest 2015
The culture of Fort Worth is celebrated at PantherFest, a free outdoor festival that showcases local craft beer, musicians and restaurants. Also expect something you won't see anywhere else: people sliding down the longest Slip-n-Slide. If you weren't able to secure a ticket to "Slide the City," you can still station yourself on the sidelines and cheer on the participants. The event takes place on Main Street just north of downtown, near Coyote Drive-In.

VolunteerNow presents Voly in the Park
Many people want to volunteer their time, but they're often not sure where to start. Voly in the Park at Klyde Warren Park not only features activities and information for around 75 nonprofits, but it also connects volunteers with more than 1,000 other organizations via VolunteerNow. Expect games, performances and more.

Tim McGraw in concert with Billy Currington and Chase Bryant
There are few things more reliable than country singer Tim McGraw playing a concert at Gexa Energy Pavilion every year. Having put out a new album each of the past three years, including 2014's Sundown Heaven Town, he's certainly given his fans a lot of new songs with which to sing along. He is joined by opening acts Billy Currington and Chase Bryant.

The Rolling Stones in concert with Grace Potter
The legendary rock band kicks off the list of best summer concerts with this blowout at AT&T Stadium. If early reviews are any indication — this is the Stones' fourth stop on their Zip Code Tour — Mick, Keith and the boys still have what it takes to put on a great show. Plus, you get to see the UT Arlington a cappella choir accompany the legends on at least one song. Grace Potter serves as opening act.

Sunday, June 7

Butch Walker in concert with Jonathan Tyler and The Dove & The Wolf
Butch Walker is a 45-year-old rocker who's only just now starting to make it big after years of toiling in bands. Walker's last three solo albums, including 2015's Afraid of Ghosts, all hit No. 1 on Billboard's Heatseekers Albums chart. He's joined at Majestic Theatre by local singer Jonathan Tyler and The Dove & The Wolf.

Concerts in the Garden: 1812 Overture and Symphonic Sparklers
The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra's summer tradition of holding concerts at Fort Worth Botanic Garden returns this weekend with a trio of shows, culminating with this one that includes Tchaikovsky’s popular 1812 Overture set to fireworks. You can also choose to see Pink Martini on Friday night or Classical Mystery Tour on Saturday night.

The Rolling Stones play at AT&T Stadium on June 6.

Photo courtesy of Phil Rudolph

The Rolling Stones play at AT&T Stadium on June 6.

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Holiday News

A list of Christmas trees in Dallas, from tallest to shortest

Skaters on an ice rink skate around a 95-feet tall decorated Christmas tree inside a three-level shopping mall.

Photo courtesy of Galleria Dallas

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year, when all the malls and cities and outlet centers around Dallas do their ceremonial raising and lighting of the Christmas tree. There's a new twist in 2024, and it's quintessential Texas: It's become a contest for who has the biggest tree? More than one has posited a claim to being the tallest tree of all.

With everyone vying to be DFW's version of Rockefeller Center in New York (which this year comes in at 74 feet tall), we thought it was time to take a measuring stick.

Here is our roundup of lighted Christmas trees in DFW in order from tallest to shortest:

Galleria Dallas

The North Dallas mall purports to have the tallest indoor Christmas tree in Texas. ("Everyone from USA Today to Martha Stewart has declared it so," says a Galleria spokesperson.) Installed in the center of their trademark ice rink, it's a 95-foot-tall beauty with 700 branches, hand-sewn twigs, thousands of ball ornaments, and a 10-foot LED star topper that weighs 100 pounds — all told, it takes nearly 50 people and five days to erect. Best of all, the tree is synthetic — so much better than killing a real tree.) They'll do a tree lighting on November 29 and 30.

Sundance Square, Fort Worth

Coming in at second tallest is the 82-foot-tall Norway Spruce at Fort Worth's Sundance Square. It's the largest live tree in Texas and made its grand arrival from Cadillac, Michigan to Sundance Square Plaza on November 25. It's 8 feet taller than this year's Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center in New York City so you know Fort Worth is going for bragging rights. There will be a tree lighting from 6-7 pm on December 3.

Peace Plaza,Main Station in Grapevine

Grapevine, the Christmas Capital of Texas, has a sizable entry at 60 feet. It's right next to the outdoor skating rink on the plaza lawn. There wasn't a ceremonious lighting of the tree this year in favor of a street lighting for the Parade of Lights. However, the lights will be on twinkling each night.

Kaleidoscope Park, Frisco

Newly opened Frisco park has put up its first-ever Christmas tree, featuring a 50-foot tree decorated with 42,000 twinkling lights synchronized to festive music. The tree was first lit by Frisco Mayor Jeff Cheney on November 22. The tree is located on the park's Activity Lawn.

Klyde Warren Park, Dallas

Downtown Dallas park will host the lighting of the Mayor’s Christmas Tree, a 50-foot-tall, 5,000-pound tree with nearly 40,000 LED lights. They'll host a tree-lighting celebration on December 7 at 6 ;pm, with festivities and music, including a Nutcracker performance and music from the Emerald City Band.

Allen Premium Outlets Mall, Allen

Allen has an admirable entry for an outlet mall: a 38-foot synthetic tree wrapped in 2,000 lights. Extra points for the synthetic. The lights first went up on November 21. Find the tree in the central court, right behind the Allen Premium Outlets sign.

Addison Circle, Addison

As part of Addison's Rockin' Around the Circle holiday activities, the town has set up a 32-foot tall tree, perched on top of a six-foot base, coming in at approximately three stories high. For an added touch, lights on the tree are even synchronized to Christmas music.

Hotel Drover, Fort Worth

The Stockyards hotel has installed a 30-foot Christmas tree located in The Backyard. They'll host a tree lighting on November 29, but only open to guests who stay overnight.

City of Carrollton, Carrollton

Carrollton has a 20-foot-tall tree located on the historic downtown square and they are doing up their tree lighting on December 7 with great fanfare, including photos with Santa, toy soldier stilt walkers, face painting, photo booth, and a 175-foot drone show to accompany the tree lighting. It starts at 7 pm.

Grand Prairie Premium Outlets, Grand Prairie

The outlet mall has a 20-foot-tall synthetic Christmas tree which they installed on November 22.

BONUS: Vitruvian Park, Addison

This isn't a singular tree lighting, but the park's 455 trees are wrapped in over 1.2 million sparkling LED lights as part of a tree lighting display on November 30. Additionally, there will be free Santa photos, letters to Santa, a live reindeer, classic holiday characters, an elf ballon artist, food trucks, and vendors.

holidays