Happy New Year

12 epic New Year's Eve celebrations around Dallas to ring in 2026

The fireworks at Reunion Tower will be far from the only way to celebrate New Year's Eve in Dallas.

Photo courtesy of Reunion Tower

New Year's Eve across Dallas is full of different ways to celebrate the end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026. We've compiled some of the most fun and interesting ways to have a good time ringing in the new year, from family-friendly daytime events to comedy shows, dance parties, and fireworks galore.

Below are the 12 of the best happenings around the Dallas area on New Year's Eve. For a longer list of events, head to our calendar.

Epic Waters presents Epic Family New Year
At Epic Family New Year, families can splash into 2026 during a celebration featuring more than $10,000 in hourly giveaways and prizes, live entertainment, games, and the waterpark’s signature slides and attractions. From 1 pm to 1 am, visitors will enjoy an array of programming, including music and duck races in the lazy river. A highlight of the celebration is the Epic Waters Duck Drop, offered multiple times throughout the day so younger guests can enjoy an early countdown before bedtime. The event takes place at Epic Waters indoor waterpark in Grand Prairie.

DJ Diesel's Cotton Bowl New Year's Eve
Just down the road from the big Cotton Bowl/College Football Playoff quarterfinal game will be DJ Diesel's Cotton Bowl New Year's Eve, which includes all-day access to Texas Live! in Arlington beginning at 10 am, and features the post-Cotton Bowl New Year's Eve celebration with a performance by DJ Diesel (a.k.a. Shaquille O'Neal). Game day activities include a Cotton Bowl tailgate party in the Arlington Backyard, live entertainment, and a watch party of the College Football Playoff game at AT&T Stadium on the massive media wall in Live! Arena.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents New Year's Eve
Assistant conductor Shira Samuels-Shragg will lead the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in this “So long 2025!” and “Hello! 2026” celebratory concert on New Year’s Eve, featuring Principal Second Violin, Angela Fuller Heyde. The high-spirited musical revels will include beloved waltzes, polkas, marches, overtures, favorite operetta excerpts, plus a few surprises to help ring in the new year. The event takes place at Meyerson Symphony Center.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents New Year's Eve Photo courtesy of Dallas Symphony Orchestra

Pegasus City Brewery presents NYE Under the Stars: Pegasus Prom
New Year's Eve is going to look a little different (and much more silly) at Pegasus City Brewery in Dallas. They’re rewriting prom night with beer, music, and zero awkward slow dances. Guests are encouraged to dress in any decade/style/vibe of prom-wear and ask their fav person to the dance. Tickets include beer, cider, seltzer, NA options, and Pegasus prom punch; a champagne toast at midnight; late night munchies; games, arcades, pool, and more; and validated parking.

Emerald City Band presents Rock the '26
Emerald City Band will present their annual New Year's Eve party, Rock the '26, featuring a night of high-energy music. Kicking off the night will be a special performance by Lover: The Unofficial Eras Tour with Charity Eden, singing all the favorite Taylor Swift songs. A percentage of every ticket sold will benefit Wipe Out Kids' Cancer, an organization dedicated to fighting pediatric cancer in Dallas-Fort Worth. The event takes place at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving.

Comedy Trio
If you prefer to laugh while welcoming the new year, you can attend one of three big comedy events. They include New Year’s Eve at Stomping Ground Comedy, featuring Year in Rearview, an interactive improv comedy show fully powered by the biggest life moments of year of the audience members; The Comedy Arena presents New Year's Laughing Eve, featuring a headlining performance by Aaron Aryanpur at the McKinney venue; and Four Day Weekend presents NYE Celebration, taking place at the Dallas location only now that the local improv comedy troupe no longer has a permanent venue in Fort Worth.

Four Day Weekend will perform in Dallas. Photo courtesy of Four Day Weekend

Meow Wolf presents Cosmic Cabaret
Meow Wolf at Grapevine Mills will present Cosmic Cabaret, a New Year’s Eve celebration that brings performance, music, and late-night energy. The exhibition shifts into an after-hours environment shaped by Dallas-Fort Worth performers, roaming characters, and a countdown moment woven through the space. Guests will have full access to explore Meow Wolf Grapevine at night while moving between live DJ sets, special entertainers, and unexpected encounters. The evening’s centerpiece is a feature performance by Nightshade Burlesque.

Gaylord Texan presents Glass Cactus New Year's Eve Bash
Gaylord Texan in Grapevine will ring in the New Year with a performance by Le Freak at their Glass Cactus New Year's Eve Bash. Attendees are encouraged to wear cocktail attire or silver and stone-themed attire; '70s disco/'80s rock 'n' roll flair is acceptable. General admission includes a sparkling rose toast at midnight.

NYE at Hotel ZaZa Dallas
One of a handful of "traditional" New Year's Eve celebrations will take place at Hotel ZaZa in Dallas. At the black and white Masquerade Ball, guests can mask up, mingle, and toast to a sparkling New Year with wine, beer, and cocktails. There will also be a hors d'oeuvres station, live entertainment, midnight countdown, bubbly toast, and photo-ops.

Lone Star NYE at Reunion Tower
Reunion Tower will once again ring in the new year by presenting the annual Lone Star NYE at Reunion Tower fireworks show. The show will feature a display of over 5,000 pyrotechnic special effects, a 259 LED light display, and nearly 300 drones. There is no viewing allowed near the tower; viewing can be done at nearby parties or city streets. Reunion Tower’s Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube channels will livestream the entire event, allowing viewers from around the world to join the celebration.

holidays kids families drinks music fairs-festivals new years new years eve parties

Movie Review

Shaun the Sheep gets PG-spooky in new movie for the Halloween season

Photo courtesy of Aardman / Sky UK LTD / StudioCanal 2026

Shaun the Sheep in Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom.

Since his introduction over 30 years ago, the Aardman Animations character Shaun the Sheep has been almost as popular as the studio’s flagship characters, Wallace and Gromit. There is never a shortage of trouble Shaun can get into as he leads his flock and proves to be a thorn in the side of his farmer and Bitzer, the farmer’s loyal sheepdog.

His antics lead everyone down some slightly spooky roads in the new film, Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom. At first, things are only slightly awry as Shaun and the flock are growing a secret pumpkin patch to have their own jack-o-lanterns. But when the farmer accidentally destroys the pumpkin patch, Shaun tries to regrow it quickly with a Frankenstein-esque experiment.

However, disaster looms when Shaun uses an old bottle of Hair-Gro as the container for the serum he creates. Naturally, the balding farmer uses it on his head, and everyone soon discovers how truly successful it is, with pumpkins growing out of control and the farmer sprouting hair all over his body. Through a series of mishaps, the farmer becomes the titular beast, creating mayhem while Shaun and others try to stop him.

Directed by Steve Cox and Matthew Walker, and written by Mark Burton and Giles Pilbrow, the film goes down just as easy as every other Aardman project has. They get the Halloween vibes started from the opening credits, with things like the sheep doing the “Thriller” dance, and continue the fun throughout, referencing everything from Psycho to Friday the 13th in a nice, PG way.

With no script — every character is mute save for reaction noises — the movie relies on sight gags for its humor, and the Aardman team is endlessly inventive in that respect. Sometimes it’s small things like a sheep using toilet paper rolls as binoculars, and sometimes it’s something like forcing the Bigfoot-like farmer to be shaped into a rectangle as he escapes through a window. But there’s a never-ending stream of such moments, so even if one doesn’t tickle your funny bone, chances are the next one will.

The biggest benefit of the characters not talking is that there’s no need for deep character development. The filmmakers do a great job of giving the basic traits of each character, and then use those attributes to color everyone’s actions for the rest of the film. Shaun is the troublemaker, the farmer is a bumbling fool, Bitzer is preternaturally smart, and the town’s vet is empathetic, and the combination of those characters and others makes for a highly entertaining blend.

Like all Aardman creations, Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom is a fun lark that doesn’t make its audience think too hard. With just enough references to keep viewers engaged but not so many as to be overbearing, the film puts its well-worn characters to good use once again, delivering a Halloween season story that can be enjoyed by people of all ages.

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Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom is now playing in theaters.

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