Staycationers can travel to France this week via a brand new Fort Worth cooking school or find some relief from the heat at an ice cream shop celebrating Christmas in July. There’s also an opportunity for parents to entertain the kids at a breakfast that’ll be “wild” in more ways than one. Vegetarians, take note: one of Fort Worth’s finest restaurants will hold a special wine dinner just for you, with eight courses to boot. For the meat-eaters, there’s a rib-eating contest with some major cash for the winner, plus full bellies for all.

Friday, July 26

Evening in Paris at The Cookery
Fort Worth’s newest cooking school opened just this month, and the hands-on classes feature elegant and flavorful meals in a festive dinner party atmosphere. Participants will discover the rich flavors of France at this Friday evening class, which will cover three courses with steak au poivre as the entrée. There’ll also be French red and white wines and a pre-class appetizer. Plan for three to four hours, and the $95 class (plus tax) begins at 6:30 pm.

Saturday, July 27

Breakfast with the Beasts at Fort Worth Zoo
Little ones can meet some new furry, feathered, and scaled friends at this monthly breakfast club featuring animals from Fort Worth Zoo’s outreach program. Designed for kids ages 3 to 10 years old, the event takes place from 9-10 am in the zoo’s education building and comes with breakfast and zoo admission. Parents must accompany their children, and tickets are $30 for adults and $22 per child.

Riscky’s Rib-Eating Contest
Barbecue lovers will roll up their sleeves and go head-to-head to be crowned the rib-eating champ of Cowtown in the 13th annual event. The first 30 participants to arrive (and pay a $10 entry fee) will get to compete. They’ll have 60 seconds to eat as many beef ribs as possible, and the winner will take home $500. (There are cash prizes for second and third place, too.) The event will take place at Riscky’s Stockyards location on East Exchange Avenue in conjunction with the National Day of the American Cowboy. The carnivorous festivities will begin at 11 am.

Christmas in July at Melt
The weather outside is frightful, but in a scorching sort of way. That’s not stopping the West Magnolia Avenue ice cream shop (which will open a new location in Sundance Square next month) from spreading a little Christmas cheer. Patrons can partake in Melt holiday favorites like Snowflake white chocolate ice cream blended with peppermint candy; Santa’s Little Helper, made with Craftwork Coffee and house-made Kahlua; Santa’s Cookies, blended with Snickerdoodle cookies; and the vegan Rudolph’s Dreams, made with dark chocolate coconut milk and homemade cranberry jam. There’ll also be Christmas tunes and festive décor. The store will be open noon to 11 pm.

Vegetable Wine Dinner at Grace
Vegetables take center stage at this eight-course dinner at the downtown fine dining restaurant. There’ll be heirloom tomato tarts, tempura battered Cipollini onions, blue corn tostadas with summer squash, sweet corn tortellini, and more. Wines from Italy and Oregon (including lots of rosé) will be paired with each course. Dinner is $135 per person, plus tax and gratuity, and begins with a bubbly reception at 6:30 pm.