Plan It Out

Grab your calendar for this ultimate list of upcoming downtown Dallas events

Lovers of art, fashion, food, and music aren't strangers to downtown Dallas, since most of the city's major festivals and events are held there. Want to make sure you don't miss any of these fun happenings? Get out your calendar now.

Chefs for Farmers, November 3-5
With a mission to bring chefs, artisans, and culinary influencers together to celebrate supporting local and regional farmers, this three-day culinary blowout promises to be even bigger and better than years past. More than 30 nationally acclaimed chefs — most of whom are James Beard nominees and winners — are jetting to Dallas to cook alongside local culinary heroes and Texas farms. Attendees will also sip the best selections from select wineries, local breweries, and top-shelf distillers.

Dallas Bike Ride, November 4
This celebration of bicycling in Big D is the only day you can adventure around the city by bike with no cars. A fun, family-friendly event, the 20-mile ride offers beautiful skyline views and ends at City Plaza with the Finish Festival, hosted by Grammy Award-winner DJ Spinderella, of Salt-N-Pepa fame.

The Edge of Texas, November 10-11
A weekend-long exploration of people, ideas, and subjects shaping the future of Texas and the world, this series of immersive sessions presented by Texas Monthly and VisitDallas will feature artists, innovators, chefs, and musicians who are taking the Texas experience forward. From Friday's opening celebration at Fashion Industry Gallery to Saturday's programming at The Joule to Sunday's grand finale at the Longhorn Ballroom, expect to become engaged about our state's possibilities.

Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot, November 23
Start your Thanksgiving off right with this healthy tradition. There are two courses: a 5K and an 8-mile race, and you have the choice to be timed or not. Trotting is a family affair, with, and even your dog can participate with the right registration.

Reliant Lights your Holidays, December 2
"Oooh" and "aaah" at the thousands of dazzling LED lights that are placed around the AT&T Performing Arts Center's iconic venues and trees, then stay for a free concert and pictures with Santa Claus.

Celebrate the Holidays at Klyde Warren Park, presented by Nissan, December 2
Listen to Big Band classics, create some crafts, write letters to Santa, sample from the food trucks, watch the lighting of the Klyde Warren Park Christmas tree.

Dallas Holiday Parade, December 2
The 30th annual Dallas Holiday Parade will march down Commerce Street to ring in the holiday season, featuring marching bands, festive floats, and fun family activities. This year, the parade features a grand opening in front of The Adolphus Hotel and a grand finale in front of The Statler Hotel.

Shaken and Stirred, December 2
Shaken, stirred, muddled, and mixed — and everything in between — Savor Dallas’s popular event returns for a festive soiree. Seven of the city's best mixologists will sling their best drinks and battle it out to be The Official Cocktail of VisitDallas 2018. Enjoy a truly uncommon experience with cocktail tastings, a live band, and a sneak preview of the restaurants of The Statler, led by chef Graham Dodds and chef Angela Hernandez.

Candlelight at Dallas Heritage Village, December 9-10
With 13 acres of decorated buildings, flickering candles lining the paths, strolling carolers, carriage rides, and crafts for those young and young at heart, Candlelight captures the holiday spirit for all and has been a tradition for 46 years.

Downtown Wanderland, each weekend in December
The pop-up shop Unbranded is returning, this time in a new downtown location, along with a pop-up art gallery by Ro2 Art, movie nights, arts and crafts demos and classes, photo booths, and happy hours. Keep on eye on the website for announcements.

When 2018 hits, keep these major annual events in mind too:

Dallas International Film Festival, April 2018
Dallas Art Fair, April 2018
Deep Ellum Arts Festival, April 2018
Old 97’s County Fair, April 14, 2018
Dallas Arts District Block Parties, April and June 2018
Dallas Book Festival, April 2018
Festival of Ideas, April 2018
Taco Libre, April 2018
Architecture Tours, Saturdays throughout 2018
Homegrown, May 12, 2018
Soluna Dallas, May-June 2018
Reunion Lawn Parties, June-August 2018
DFW Restaurant Week, August 2018
PARK(ing) Day, September 21, 2018
Aurora, November 2018

Loosen your belt for Chefs for Farmers, held November 3-4.

Photo courtesy of Chefs for Farmers

Loosen your belt for Chefs for Farmers, held November 3-4.

festivals holidays event-planner families promoted

Good as gold

Dallas gymnast Skye Blakely wins gold at 2026 world championships

Day 7 - Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Rotterdam 2026

Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images

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ROTTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) — American Skye Blakely soared to the women's all-around gold at the world gymnastics championships on Friday, putting together four stellar routines as other top competitors faltered.

The 21-year-old's total of 55.733 included a dazzling set on uneven bars and a stoic and steady performance on balance beam and no major form breaks or falls, giving the Dallas native a moment of redemption after bids to make the 2020 and 2024 U.S. Olympic teams ended due to injury.

Blakely was born in Dallas and lives and trains in Frisco, at the World Olympic Gymnastics Academy (WOGA); she's also a student-athlete at the University of Florida.

Blakely broke into tears when she walked off the podium at the end of her floor exercise in the final rotation, her long and painful journey with an unforgiving sport hitting a high note that seemed far away during lengthy rehabs that taxed both her mind and her body.

Liudmila Roschina earned silver at 55.199. Ke Qinqin of China took bronze at 55.032.

Algerian Kaylia Nemour's bid to become the first gymnast from Africa to win an all-around title at worlds ended with a fourth-place finish. The 19-year-old's finals got off to a rough start in her first rotation when her feet didn't land squarely on the springboard while vaulting, forcing her to do a simpler vault that cost her valuable points.

While Nemour recovered spectacularly thanks in large part to an uneven bars routine that is one of the hardest routines done on any apparatus by any gymnast — male or female — in the world, it wasn't quite enough to reach the podium.

American Claire Pease's hopes of joining Blakely on the medal stand ended when she hopped off beam on her way to a seventh-place finish. Pease, a Sunnyvale native, also trains at WOGA in Frisco.

Blakely and Pease were competing two days after the U.S. saw its long run of gold medals in the team finals at worlds end with a second-place finish to resurgent China. That up-and-down night included Blakely failing to get credit for a connection during her beam routine that cost the Americans nearly a point in a meet where they missed out on gold by a fraction of that.

There were no such issues this time around. Blakely headed to beam atop the leaderboard after an excellent start on vault followed by a bars routine that's pretty good in its own right.

Still, beam is something different. And this time there were no missed connections and barely a wobble. Her score of 14.200 kept her in front and turned her floor exercise largely into a victory lap.

The tears after she saluted the judges were real. So were the ones when her spot atop the sport became official about 15 minutes later.

Blakely then draped the American flag over her back while posing for the cameras becoming the ninth U.S. woman — and sixth this century — to win a world all-around crown.

While the picture figures to get considerably more crowded in the next two years ahead of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, Blakely's perseverance and talent have thrust her back into the conversation.

gymnastics olympics sports

Plan It Out

Grab your calendar for this ultimate list of upcoming downtown Dallas events

Loosen your belt for Chefs for Farmers, held November 3-4.

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Good as gold

Dallas gymnast Skye Blakely wins gold at 2026 world championships