Weekend Event Planner

These are the 9 best things to do in Dallas this 4th of July weekend

While Fourth of July fireworks and events will be the main attraction this long weekend, there will be plenty of other great entertainment. On tap are two local theater productions, a trio of concerts featuring musicians of varying degrees of popularity, the start of another immersive art exhibition, two comedians with an international perspective, and a chorale with something to say.

Below are the best ways to spend your precious free time this weekend. Want more options? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.

Thursday, June 30

Outcry Youth Theatre presents The Spongebob Musical
The stakes are higher than ever in this dynamic stage musical, as SpongeBob and all of Bikini Bottom face the total annihilation of their undersea world. Chaos erupts. Lives hang in the balance. And just when all hope seems lost, a most unexpected hero rises up and takes center stage. The power of optimism really can save the world. Outcry Youth Theatre will present the production at Addison Conference and Theatre Centre through Sunday.

The Lords of 52nd Street in concert
The Lords of 52nd Street, featuring Richie Cannata, Liberty Devitto, and Russell Javors, aided in the creation of some of Billy Joel’s hit records, including Turnstiles, The Stranger, 52nd Street, Glass Houses, and Songs in the Attic. They'll perform a variety of hits from those albums in this special concert at Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts in Richardson.

Friday, July 1

Immersive Monet & The Impressionists
By Massimiliano Siccardi, creator of the original Immersive Van Gogh, Immersive Monet & The Impressionists is a tantalizing exploration of vibrant colors on a jaw-dropping scale. In pursuit of the ever-elusive effects of light and movement, Impressionists captured both the transient nature of beauty, and the timeless beauty of nature. The immersive exhibition features everything from Monet’s celebrated water lilies to Degas’ graceful dancers and more. The exhibition takes place through at least September 11 at Lighthouse Dallas.

Hyena's presents Ku Egenti
Ku Egenti is a Nigerian comedian, producer, and talk show host whose stand up comedy is observational humor mixed with a Nigerian flavor. He just released his second comedy album in five years, titled Kutastrophe. He'll perform four times through Saturday at Hyena's Comedy Club in Dallas.

Improv Addison presents Sheng Wang
Sheng Wang is a comedian, actor, and writer originally from Houston. He has toured with Ali Wong and was a featured stand-up on HBO’s 2 Dope Queens special. Sheng also wrote for the ABC show Fresh Off the Boat. He'll perform five times through Sunday at Improv Addison.

Fleet Foxes in concert
Indie rockers Fleet Foxes are one of those bands who have received consistent critical acclaim but have yet to break through to the mainstream. Coming out of the Seattle area, they released their debut self-titled album in 2008, and followed that up with two albums in 2011 and 2017 which both reached the top 10 on the Billboard 200. They'll play at The Factory in Deep Ellum in support of their fourth album, 2020's Shore.

Saturday, July 2

Outlaw Music Festival with Willie Nelson & Family and more
The Outlaw Music Festival will make a stop in Dallas, featuring performances by Willie Nelson & Family, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Brothers Osborne, Charley Crockett, Steve Earle & The Dukes, and Allison Russell. The 89-year-old Nelson recently released his 98th album, A Beautiful Time. The festival-style event takes place at Dos Equis Pavilion.

Turtle Creek Chorale presents Let Us March On!
Featuring choral works from a wide range of composers and artists of color, Turtle Creek Chorale presents a thought-provoking concert to inspire racial unity, reckoning, and hope. Utilizing male chorus, orchestra, and actors, the concert features the world premiere of Dreamland: Tulsa, 1921, telling the story of the Greenwood neighborhood of the Tulsa Race Massacre and acknowledging the efforts still needed to achieve a brighter future for people of color in our communities. Performances will take place on both Saturday and Sunday at the Meyerson Symphony Center.

Cara Mía Theatre presents Teatro en Fuga Festival
Cara Mía Theatre's Teatro en Fuga Festival continues with Fantazmx by Hector Cantu, writer of the nationally syndicated comic strip Baldo. In the style of a graphic novel, Fantazmx introduces viewers to Polo, who comes back home from college and finds himself caught in a power struggle for his barrio. Up against the city’s corrupt mayor and police, he is ready to do almost anything to protect his family and friends. When his options run out, Polo is left with only two options — to take his place among his family’s ancestral lineage as a superhero or let his enemies steal his supernatural birthright. The performance will be at Latino Cultural Center.

The Outlaw Music Festival with Willie Nelson & Family and more will be at Dos Equis Pavilion on July 2.

SXSW Supermensch Shep Gordon After Party Willie Nelson

Photo by Shelley Neuman

The Outlaw Music Festival with Willie Nelson & Family and more will be at Dos Equis Pavilion on July 2.

concerts comedy galleries event-planner theater music

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.

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