Mark Your Calendar

Make time for year-round fun in family-friendly Frisco

Even though summer is already waning, there's always something to look forward to in Frisco. This north Dallas suburb has a year-round calendar of awesome events and festivals.

Whether you're looking for your next getaway or planning further ahead, take a look at what's coming up in the City That Plays.

August
Watch America's Team training practice at its headquarters, The Star in Frisco, during Dallas Cowboys Training Camp. Admission and parking are free and open to the public, and available on a first-come, first-served basis. In addition to open practices, the team hosts a week-long Back To Football celebration that includes family-friendly activities, a movie night, special offers from The Star District retail and restaurants, and more.

Coming soon in 2021:

September
Come see what life was like for the cowboys during Shawnee Trail Cowboy Day. The free event offers something for everyone, including food trucks, live entertainment, a beer and wine garden, costumed photos, kids crafts and games, armadillo races, and more.

October
Willkommen to Frisco Oktoberfest, which kicks off with an opening ceremony and traditional keg tapping. From the bierstein hoisting competition to the bratwurst eating tournament, there's plenty of fun brewing.

Lace up your sneakers and bring the whole family to enjoy the Frisco Arts Walk and Run at Hall Park. The run route takes you through the scenic Texas Sculpture Garden with pop-up musicians, dancers, vocalists, actors, visual artists, and more along the way. You'll even pass by the future spot for the Frisco Performing Arts Center.

Celebrate the latest class of inductees during the National Soccer Hall of Fame Induction Weekend, which always includes a big-name concert to cap it all off.

November
Christmas in the Square draws over 750,000 visitors annually to enjoy the free daily holiday light and music show that features 180,000 lights, 200 dancing snowflakes, 10 miles of wiring, and eight miles of extension cords.

The Texas Legends begin their season in November — they are are the National Basketball Association’s G League affiliate team of the Dallas Mavericks.

December
Ring in the holiday season with Merry Main Street, which begins with a Santa and friends parade and follows with a holiday gift market, kids holiday store, food vendors, a tree lighting ceremony, and performances from Frisco Elementary School choirs.

The 2021 college bowl season returns to Frisco with the Tropical Smoothie Cafe Bowl at Toyota Stadium, which ESPN will air for the fourth year.

Coming in 2022:

January
College football continues into the new year with NCAA Division I Football Championship Series. Frisco has hosted the game every year since 2009 and has the contract to host through 2025.

February
The WOGA Classic and Valeri Liukin Invitational is four great competitions in one iconic location, Ford Center at The Star in Frisco. It brings together competitors from countries all over the world in women's and men's artistic gymnastics, acrobatics, trampoline, and tumbling. See future Olympians compete from such participating countries as China, England, Russia, Canada, Mexico, the U.S., and more.

March
The Frisco College Baseball Classic is a premier early-season NCAA Division I collegiate baseball tournament that takes place annually at Riders Field.

The Texas Pinball Festival features more than 470 games and draws nearly 5,000 attendees, who savor three consecutive days of unfettered gamer bliss (games are set to free play with the price of your admission). Sample bites from a variety of food trucks and be on the lookout for this year’s celebrity guest. Famous past guests have included Lou Ferrigno, Cassandra Peterson, and John Rhys-Davies.

Arts in the Square is a juried fine arts and crafts festival featuring over 120 of the best local and regional artists selling their handmade creations. Feast your eyes on incredible art, sit and relax by Simpson Plaza, listen to local talent, watch ongoing performing arts, enjoy interactive art activities, and treat yourself to the food and spirits available at the variety of award-winning restaurants onsite.

FC Dallas starts its season of exciting Major League Soccer during March, with matches continuing through November.

Conference USA returns to Frisco with its premier basketball event at Ford Center at The Star. The Air Force Reserve C-USA Basketball Championships features 24 men's and women's basketball teams playing 22 games with C-USA titles and NCAA automatic bids on the line.

April
Sip on delicious wines, listen to live music, go grape stomping, eat tasty food, and do lots of great shopping with local vendors at Frisco Uncorked.

Catch a Frisco RoughRiders game when the season kicks off in April, and cheer on players in the Class AA affiliate of the Texas Rangers.

May
Frisco StrEATS Food Truck and Music Festival is North Texas' longest-running food truck festival, with live music, a unique shopping experience, craft beer and wine gardens, and countless children’s activities.

From rides to games and food to music, the Frisco Fair has it all and more. Admission is free — you just pay to play, ride, and chow down.

Watch the area's newest professional sports team, the Frisco Fighters, as they compete in the Indoor Football League beginning in May.

June
Music in the Square, the free summer concert series, returns with a diverse set of local performing artists. This year will see the addition of professional staging, sound, and lights to showcase the artists in the best possible way.

July
The real star of Frisco Freedom Fest is one of the largest fireworks finales in all of North Texas, following the annual FC Dallas match. But there's also Party in the Plaza, a Children's Expo, and the Taste of Frisco to be enjoyed.

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For a complete list of events in Frisco, head to www.visitfrisco.com/events.

Frisco Oktoberfest is coming in the fall.

Photo courtesy of Visit Frisco

Frisco Oktoberfest is coming in the fall.

festivals promoted

Your Expert Guide

Oak Cliff: The underestimated historic and culturally rich 'hood

Photo courtesy of Briggs Freeman

Kay Wood

There are so many great places to live in Dallas that it helps to have an expert on your side. The Neighborhood Guide presented by Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty gives you insider access from the agents who live and work there, providing in-the-know info about your possible new community.

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Bishop Arts is a huge attraction, but Realtor Kay Wood wants people to know that Oak Cliff is a lot more than just Bishop Arts.

"Oak Cliff has a really rich and complex history," the Briggs Freeman agent says. "I think it's one of the most underestimated neighborhoods in Dallas."

Wood has lived in Oak Cliff with her high school sweetheart-husband since 2008, but she's been helping people buy and sell homes there for the past 15 years, currently with her business partner Brian Davis.

"The neighborhoods here are close to everything but still relatively affordable compared to other areas of DFW," she says. "I love all the historic homes with their architectural interest and variety, the strong sense of community engagement, and how there's so much to explore. Whether you're looking for the best new restaurant, the most authentic taco, film festivals, the zoo, the best public high school in Texas, parks, nature preserves — I could go on all day!"

Wood offered up a few of her personal favorites about life in "the Cliff." Here's her guide to the area:

Where to eat & drink
The list is long: Nova ("you have to get the hummus," Wood says), Encina (pro tip: don't skip the blue cornbread), Cibo Divino for pizza and wine on the patio, coffee from Peaberry ("my husband swears their Vietnamese coffee is the best in town"), oysters at Boulevardier, the Perfect Picnic at Eno's Pizza Tavern, tio's elotes next to El Si Hay, the pistachio ice cream at Joy Macarons, and the spicy lobster ramen at Ten Ramen.

Wood advises picking up a great bottle of wine from Neighborhood Cellars and some steaks from Cooper's Meat Market. And, of course, there are tons of taco options in the neighborhood: "We can't get enough of Maskaras, Trompo, and Taco y Vino," she says.

Where to play
Marvel at the best skyline views in town while playing a round at Stevens Park Golf Course, take a walk through Twelve Hills Nature Preserve, bike along the Trinity River, or play disc golf at Founders Park.

The Kessler Theater is "such a great and intimate venue" for concerts, while the Texas Theater adds a touch of history to movie-watching. Escape to The Wild Detectives for books, music, and poetry, or head to the Dallas Zoo for a wild day out — "our whole family loves to feed the giraffes," Wood says.

What to see
Oak Cliff is home to the Stevie Ray Vaughan Memorial at Kiest Park and the La Reunion Monument at Stevens Park Golf Course that honors some of Dallas' earliest settlers.

On Jefferson Boulevard, you can pop into the Oak Cliff Cultural Center for regular art shows, and "my daughters love to walk down the street and look at all the quinceañera dresses in the shop windows," she says.

Where to live
A few years ago, Wood helped her buyers purchase 626 Rainbow Dr., a rare, two-acre midcentury modern estate that's wrapped on three sides by a babbling creek.

"When you're there, it's really hard to believe you're less than four miles from downtown Dallas," she says. The buyers hired local architect Eddie Maestri to update some aspects of the house while carefully preserving its midcentury style. There was an original barn that had been previously converted to a studio, but the buyers reinvented it as a guest house and added a pool and outdoor kitchen.

"It's hard to say what a 'typical' Oak Cliff house would be, because we have some of the very best examples of almost every architectural style in town," Wood says.

"In Winnetka Heights, you'll find Craftsman architecture (four squares, bungalows, Sears catalog, etc). Kessler Park has Tudors and Colonials and Texas eclectics from notable local architects like Charles Dilbeck and David R Williams. Stevens Park has all of these, as well as Spanish Revival and Dutch colonials. Wynnewood, North Kiestwood, and Wynnewood Hills have some of the best midcentury moderns in Dallas, as well as wonderful ranches. East Kessler has cutting-edge contemporaries that take advantage of the rare-to-DFW hilly terrain. You could teach a pretty comprehensive architectural history of Dallas without ever leaving Oak Cliff."

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Kay Wood lives, works, and plays in Oak Cliff. For more information on buying and selling a home in the area, click here, email kwood@briggsfreeman.com, or call 214-908-5442.