Weekend Event Planner

These are the 13 best things to do in Fort Worth this weekend

No matter what your entertainment interests may be, you'll likely find something to do around Fort Worth this weekend. Choices include a new Halloween event, a new art exhibit, screenings of an acclaimed documentary, a world premiere theater production, a classic ballet, an annual air show, a celebration of monarch butterflies, and more.

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

Thursday, October 17

The Arlington Historical Society and 3DI Sign + Design present The Village on Front
The Village on Front is a new haunted experience in Downtown Arlington. Located in Knapp Heritage Park, The Village on Front tells the story of an 8-year-old girl named Mary from the 1800s who has lost her parents and is searching for them throughout the village with many challenges, obstacles, and strange encounters along the way. Benefiting the Arlington Historical Society, the event will take place through November 2.

Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth presents Robyn O'Neil: "We, The Masses"
"We, The Masses" is a 20-year survey of the work of Robyn O'Neil. Organized by the Modern's associate curator Alison Hearst, the exhibition explores the artist's fruitful career from 2000 to the present and includes major multi-paneled drawings, signature works of graphite on paper, collages, and the 2011 animated film, We, The Masses. The exhibition will be on display through February 9, 2020.

Friday, October 18

Magnolia at the Modern: Where's My Roy Cohn?
One of the most controversial and influential American men of the 20th century, Roy Cohn was a ruthless and unscrupulous lawyer and political power broker. His 28-year career ranged from acting as chief counsel to Senator Joseph McCarthy's Communist-hunting subcommittee to molding the career of a young Queens real estate developer named Donald Trump. The film will screen seven times through Sunday at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.

Amphibian Stage Productions presents She-Wolf
Despite being taken prisoner of war, then ransomed off by her father to the feckless king of a foreign country, Margaret of Anjou went on to command armies. Shakespeare was so entranced with her that he included her in four of his plays. The play is written by Stephan Wolfert, who will work with local veterans of the armed forces to create a world premiere based on this powerful immigrant Queen of England. The play will run at Amphibian Stage Productions through November 10.

Texas Ballet Theater presents The Sleeping Beauty
Accompanied by the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Texas Ballet Theater will present The Sleeping Beauty. Doomed by fate and awakened by love, beautiful Princess Aurora dances her way through curses and dreams to find her Prince Charming. Filled with gorgeous costumes, lavish decor, and enchanting music, this ballet will have you under its spell. The production will have five performances through Sunday at Bass Performance Hall.

Saturday, October 19

Bell Fort Worth Alliance Air Show
The world-famous U.S. Navy Blue Angels Flight Demonstration Squadron will soar through the North Texas skies at the Bell Fort Worth Alliance Air Show. The first-class air show also includes the Bell 429, F-22 Raptor Demo Team, U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team, and four new acts. The event will also have a variety of static and historical displays, interactive exhibits, and two Kids Zone areas. The show will be at Fort Worth Alliance Airport through Sunday.

ArtsGoggle
ArtsGoggle is Fort Worth's premier festival of local arts that features more than 1,000 visual artists, 50 musical performances, artistic displays of every kind, food, drink, and more. Visitors can stroll artists' booths on Magnolia Avenue that stretch more than a mile in length, as well as displays inside businesses at South Main Village. There will also be entertainment from local musicians and performances from a variety of cultures and styles.

Dallas Cowboys presents Rally Day
Rally Days give NFL fans a fun experience the day prior to Dallas Cowboys home games. Visitors can get a behind-the-scenes tour of AT&T Stadium, get autographs from Dallas Cowboys Alumni and Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, enjoy a performance by Dallas Cowboys Rhythm & Blue Dancers, test their skills in a variety of on-field games and activities, and more.

22nd Annual Butterfly Flutterby
The annual Butterfly Flutterby celebrates the migration of the monarch butterfly from Canada to Mexico by way of Grapevine. This year’s theme is “Plant America for Monarchs” and stresses the importance of cultivating a habitat where monarch butterflies can thrive. The event includes a costume parade followed by a festival featuring butterfly crafts, exhibits, butterfly releases, and more. The event takes place at Grapevine Botanical Gardens at Heritage Park.

Ranch Bash
95.9 FM The Ranch has rejected mainstream country while supporting Texas, red dirt, and Americana music. The annual Ranch Bash will celebrate those genres with a lineup that includes Casey Donahew, Shane Smith & The Saints, Sam Riggs, Josh Weathers, Copper Chief, Kolby Cooper, Vincent Neil Emerson, Ross Shifflett, James Cook, and more. The music festival will take place at Panther Island Pavilion.

Water Lantern Festival
The Water Lantern Festival is a floating lantern event that is all about connections. The event includes food, games, activities, vendors, music, and the beauty of thousands of lanterns adorned with letters of love, hope, and dreams reflect upon the water. Guests can watch their unique lanterns drift out into the water as they joins other lanterns carrying hope, love, happiness, healing, peace, and connection. The event will take place at Mark Holtz Lake next to Globe Life Park in Arlington.

TZOM Films presents Stacy Has a Thing for Black Guys
Three people sit in a living room. A white married couple. And a black man. Drinking lemonade. And making small talk. However, as the night goes on, what starts as a safe and silly sex farce suddenly becomes darker and more violent as hidden prejudices bubble up to the surface. Stacy Has A Thing for Black Guys, a screen adaptation of a stage play written by Ruben Carrazana, will screen at Stage West Theatre.

Sunday, October 20

Fort Worth Chorale presents Songs and Sonnets
A choral collage of timeless gems and brilliant new works opens Fort Worth Chorale's 57th season. The program will include Bruckner’s Motet Os Justi, Mozart’s Regina Coeli K. 276, settings of two American folk hymns by Shawn Kirchner and Abbie Betinis, Jake Runestad’s provocative “When the Caged Bird Sings,” and Elaine Hagenberg’s moving “When We Love.” The concert will be at I.M. Terrell Academy.

The Bell Fort Worth Alliance Air Show will take place at Fort Worth Alliance Airport on October 19 and 20.

Photo courtesy of U.S. Navy Blue Angels

The Bell Fort Worth Alliance Air Show will take place at Fort Worth Alliance Airport on October 19 and 20.

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Weekend Event Planner

These are the 11 best things to do in Fort Worth this weekend

GM Financial Parade of Lights Fort Worth

Photo courtesy of Parade of Lights

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The weekend before Thanksgiving is when the holiday season really kicks into high gear, and this year features a Broadway musical, multiple local festivals, and a big parade. Other non-holiday choices include screenings of an acclaimed new film, three country concerts, a great comedian, an opera, the opening of a new art exhibition, and a small-scale symphony concert.

Photo courtesy of Parade of Lights

The annual GM Financial Parade of Lights takes place in Downtown Fort Worth on November 24.

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

Thursday, November 21

Performing Arts Fort Worth presents Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical
Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical features the hit songs "You're A Mean One Mr. Grinch" and "Welcome Christmas” from the original animated series. Max the Dog narrates the action as the mean and scheming Grinch, whose heart is "two sizes too small," decides to steal Christmas away from the Holiday-loving Whos. The production runs through Sunday at Bass Performance Hall.

Friday, November 22

Holiday events
In addition to the special one-off holiday performances, the Fort Worth area will have several holiday festival-style events start their run this weekend. They include Texas Christkindl Market at Texas Live in Arlington (running through December 23), Coca-Cola’s Classic Christmas at Choctaw Stadium in Arlington (through December 29), and Lightscape at Fort Worth Botanic Garden (through January 5).

Magnolia at the Modern: Blitz
Sir Steve McQueen’s Blitz follows the epic journey of George (Elliott Heffernan), a 9-year-old boy in World War II London whose mother Rita (Saoirse Ronan) sends him to safety in the English countryside. George, defiant and determined to return home to his mother and grandfather (Paul Weller) in East London, embarks on an adventure, only to find himself in immense peril. Meanwhile, a distraught Rita searches for her missing son. The film will screen seven times through Sunday at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.

Little Big Town in concert with Sugarland
Country group Little Big Town and country duo Sugarland have a long history together, first collaborating on the song "Life in a Northern Town" in 2008. Sixteen years later, they teamed up again for the new song "Take Me Home," after which this tour is named. Little Big Town has released 10 albums in their career, most recently Mr. Sunin 2022, while Sugarland has released six albums in their career, most recently Bigger in 2018. They'll play at Dickies Arena.

Big Laugh Comedy Club presents Dulce Sloan
Comedian Dulcé Sloan was most recently a correspondent on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, and has been hailed by Variety, Rolling Stone, and Timeout LA as a Top Comedian to Watch. She has also been honored as the NBC Stand UpShowcase Winner, a Montreal Just For Laughs New Face, and as a Comedian to Watch on The Steve Harvey Show. She'll perform four times through Saturday at Big Laugh Comedy Club.

Fort Worth Opera presents Little Women
Mark Adamo’s operatic adaptation of Little Women brings Louisa May Alcott’s classic coming-of-age novel to life in a fresh and powerful way. The American opera is celebrated for its emotional depth and resonant themes of family, sisterhood, growing up, and coming home. Adamo captures the internal conflict of iconic central character, Jo March, who fears that growing up inevitably means growing apart from her family and her sisters, Meg, Beth, and Amy. There will be performances on Friday and Sunday at Arts Fort Worth.

Randall King in concert
A throwback to classic country, Randall King formed an Americana group in college called the Randall King Band, which released an album called Old Dirt Road before splitting. He then debuted as a solo artist in 2016 with the EP Another Bullet before releasing his first self-titled album in 2018 and his second album, Shot Glass in 2022. He'll play once again at Billy Bob's Texas.

Saturday, November 23

Dylan Wheeler in concert
A native of the East Texas town of Edgewood, Dylan Wheeler has made a name for himself on the Texas country music scene. The success of his debut EP, Tell Me I'm Wrong, in 2018 convinced him to quit his job in the oil & gas industry and pursue music full-time. He released his debut album, Times Are Changing, in 2022, and now he returns again to play at Billy Bob's Texas.

Sunday, November 24

Amon Carter Museum of American Art presents Rufino Tamayo: "Innovation and Experimentation"
Exploring more than 60 years of Rufino Tamayo’s prints, "Innovation and Experimentation" showcases the artist’s extensive engagement with prints and his ambitions to add volume and texture to a traditionally two-dimensional medium. In these works, Tamayo's depictions and abstractions of the human figure are highlighted as fertile ground for formal experimentation. A selection of Mesoamerican sculpture complements the prints on view, examining an important source of inspiration for the artist. The exhibition will remain on display through April 20, 2025.

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra presents Chamber Series: "Mozart, Schulhoff, and Korngold"
The composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold is remembered best for his film scores to silver-screen classics like The Adventures of Robin Hood and Captain Blood, but his concert works are also a testament to his prodigious talent. In this first FWSO Chamber Program featuring members of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Korngold’s music appears alongside Mozart’s Serenade in C minor and a Divertissement by Schulhoff, whose music was buried by the Nazis but has been reemerging in recent years. The performance takes place at Kimbell Art Museum.

GM Financial Parade of Lights
The annual GM Financial Parade of Lights will brighten up the streets of Downtown Fort Worth for its 42nd year, marking the City of Fort Worth’s official kickoff to the holiday season. The parade features the Texas Rangers baseball team as Grand Marshal, along with floats, vintage cars, horse-drawn carriages, marching bands, carolers, and Santa Claus along the 1.59-mile route.

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