In football parlance, we're at the two-minute warning. Valentine's Day is Monday, but Valentine's "weekend" is now. If you've failed to make a strategy to woo your beloved or wow a hot date, you're running out of time. In honor of Super Bowl Sunday (which, love it or leave it, further complicates the weekend), here are some winning game plans — beyond dinner-and-a-movie — you can still execute with a few hours' or days' notice. Meaning: They're ticketed events across Dallas-Fort Worth that, as of press time, still have spots left.
A word about dining: We've got long lists of restaurants doing special Valentine's weekend menus in Fort Worth (here) and Dallas (here). Tables are filling up quickly, so if you see your favorite place on the list, be sure to check online for reservations, and at this late hour, call to see if they have anything available. (Tip: You might have better luck on Sunday while everyone's watching the big game.)
Want to treat your sweetie to the most decadent desserts around? Here is a quick list for Fort Worth, and here are some ideas in Dallas.
Special food and booze events
February 12-14: Decadent Valentine's Dreams Chocolate Tour
Dallas by Chocolate Tours presents Decadent Valentine's Dreams Chocolate Tour, featuring magnificent bonbons, a decadent chocolate shot, swoon-worthy French chocolate pastries, and other temptations. Guests travel around Dallas via heated motorcoach; admission includes transportation in a private motorcoach, a wide variety of dessert samples, great beverages on-board, and a rose for the sweethearts. Guests can also purchase add-ons like a dozen roses, and a 16-piece box of chocolates from one of Dallas' finest chocolatiers. Tours are offered at 1 pm and 6:30 pm Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Other Valentine's-themed tours are also available; find a list here.
February 14: Virtual Beignet Making Class
The owner of Dusty Biscuit Beignets in Fort Worth will lead a Valentine's night virtual class in which he gives step-by-step instruction on how to make his famous beignets at home. All skill levels are welcome, even kids (with adult supervision). It's $20 per group, and the class takes place from 7-8 pm. Tickets and more information here.
February 14: Valentine’s Latte Art Class
Skip the crowded restaurants and take a latte art class instead. Lazy Daisy Coffee, a coffee shop on Fort Worth's Camp Bowie Boulevard, will treat class participants to a glass of prosecco while they learn how to create a heart out of latte foam. The class is $20 per person and begins at 5:30 pm.
February 14: Rainbow Vomit presents Valentine’s Day: Rainbow in the Dark
Rainbow Vomit will present Valentine’s Day: Rainbow in the Dark, an immersive art experience designed to transport patrons to a world of art, light, and sound reminiscent of a journey into the fantasy of flight. The event is created by award-winning chefs and designed to take senses into a smorgasbord of culinary delights. To add to the experience, there will be a special surprise designed to connect patrons to their senses and help them deepen their connection with love. It all gets started at 7:30 pm, and at this point, call for ticket availability, 469-248-0953.
Find more Valentine's-related food events here and here.
Love on stage
February 12: Major Attaway's Magical Cabaret Disney Date Night
Fort Worth native Major Attaway was the first actor to take over the Tony Award-winning role of The Genie in Aladdin from James Monroe Iglehart, and he currently holds the title of Broadway longest running Genie with over 1,500 performances. At this event at Downtown Cowtown at the Isis, he will sing the best of Disney love songs to help bring true love to everyone in the audience.
February 12-14: Backdoor Comedy Club presents Champagne, Chocolates & Comedy Valentine’s Day Celebration
Backdoor Comedy Club's Champagne, Chocolates & Comedy Valentine’s Day Celebration will feature comedian Paul Varghese from Comedy Central, Last Comic Standing, and Showtime. Also performing will be Emmy winner Linda Stogner, former Funniest Comic in Texas winner, plus other Backdoor favorites. Tickets to the nightly show in Richardson include a glass of champagne, a box of chocolates, and a ticket to a future show.
February 11-14: Upright Theatre Co. presents Duets
Duets is a gloriously funny examination of the chaotic world of love, relationships, and why the grass is never greener. The production, playing at Upright Studio on Main in Euless through February 20, contains four stories, four sets of characters, and four crucial moments, including two people on a blind date, a couple on holiday in Spain to finalize their divorce, and a woman getting married for the third time to the dismay of her brother. Playing nightly, plus a Sunday matinee. (Continues through February 20).
February 11-14: Amphibian Stage presents The Pleasure Trials
When Rachel and Callie start clinical trials on their new female libido enhancement drug, willing participants come out of the woodwork looking for an internal revolution. Quickly after the first dose, the effectiveness of the medicine is undeniable, but the overwhelming pressure for its success may corrupt the experiment and everyone involved. Playing nightly, plus a Sunday matinee. (Continues through February 27.)
February 11-14: Art Centre Theatre presents The Vagina Monologues
Through her interviews with more than 200 women, Eve Ensler chose some of the greatest stories about vaginas to include in The Vagina Monologues. The stories range from happy, to sad, to angry, to confused, but they are all spoken in an effort to empower women and celebrate the vagina. Nightly performances (through February 19) at Art Centre Theatre in Plano.
Romance with dance
February 12-13: Ballet Frontier presents Swan Lake
Fort Worth's Ballet Frontier will present the hauntingly beautiful classical ballet Swan Lake, in which the princess Odette is turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The ballet will feature Tchaikovsky's dynamic score, brand new sets & costumes, and iconic choreography. The production will be performed at I.M. Terrell Academy on both Saturday and Sunday.
February 11-13: Texas Ballet Theater presents "A Tchaikovsky Evening"
Texas Ballet Theater presents "A Tchaikovsky Evening," a mixed repertoire production featuring George Balanchine’s iconic Serenade and two world premieres — Star Crossed by Ben Stevenson and Violin Concerto in D by TBT Associate Artistic Director Tim O’Keefe. There will be four performances, Friday through Sunday, at Dallas' Wyly Theatre before the production heads to Fort Worth next weekend.
February 11-12: Avant Chamber Ballet presents "Bach, Brahms, and Bartok"
Avant Chamber Ballet presents a trilogy of epic ballets with live music. The production will include Brahms Trio, a famous musical trio performed by violinist Lauren Haseltine, pianist Mikhail Berestnev, and horn Kevin Haseltine; George Balanchine's Concerto Barocco, music made visible as two ballerinas each depict one of the instrumental soloists in Bach’s virtuosic double violin concerto; and a world premiere by Katie Puder with music by Bela Bartok. There will be performances on Friday and Saturday at Dallas' Moody Performance Hall.
Culture and pop culture
February 12-14: National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame presents "1883: The Journey West"
Visitors to the National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame can get up close with props, costumes, and photography from the Paramount+ series 1883 when viewing the new exhibition, "1883: The Journey West." 101 Studios, the studio responsible for 1883 and Yellowstone, curated items for the exhibition, including an authentic wagon, a camp set-up, and wardrobe worn by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill (who play everyone's favorite new TV couple James and Margaret Dutton), Sam Elliott, and LaMonica Garrett; along with behind-the-scenes photography. The museum is open daily (exhibition runs through March 20).
February 11-13: Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra presents Back to the Future
Calling all nostalgia geeks: The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra will highlight the music of Back to the Future, starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson and Crispin Glover. The film is the 1.21-gigawatt blockbuster that topped the 1985 box office chart, spawned two wildly successful sequels, and stamped an enduring imprint on pop culture. The film will play on a big screen while the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra performs Alan Silvestri’s dazzling musical score. There will be three performances, Friday through Sunday at Bass Performance Hall.
February 12-14: "Immersive Frida Kahlo"
Immersive Frida Kahlo is a space where visitors can explore the world through the eyes of Frida Kahlo, a brilliant, uncompromising painter who created some of history’s most awe-inspiring artwork. Visitors will see the Mexico-born artist’s work come to life on a grand scale thanks to large-scale projections accompanied by a musical score. Guests will be able to discover the people, events, and obstacles that made Kahlo the extraordinary woman she was. The immersive exhibition is on display daily at Lighthouse Dallas (through at least April 17).
February 11-13:Stolen Shakespeare Guild presents Hamlet
Young Hamlet returns home from university to the shattering discovery that, not only is his father newly dead, but that his mother has married his uncle, Claudius. Late one night, the ghost of Hamlet's father appears to him, accusing Claudius of his murder and urging Hamlet to revenge. This sets in motion a train of events that cause Hamlet to examine both his own mortality and his sanity. The production, part of the Stolen Shakespeare Festival, runs in repertory with The Merry Wives of Windsor (starting February 18) at Fort Worth Community Arts Center through March 5.
Special V-day concerts
February 14: Kacey Musgraves in concert
Country star Kacey Musgraves, who's come a long way from her little hometown of Golden, performs in Dallas in support of her new album, Star-Crossed. This is the big-ticket concert of the night, at American Airlines Center, and it starts at 8 pm.
February 14: Valentine's Love Jam featuring Stephanie Mills and The Whispers
Stephanie Mills and The Whispers come to Dallas for a special Valentine's Day concert at Music Hall at Fair Park. Mills launched to stardom in 1975 when she created the iconic role of Dorothy in Broadway’s The Wiz. She is a Grammy Award-winning recording artist with five bestselling albums and ten Billboard No. 1 singles. The Whispers are one of the longest-running R&B supergroups ever to grace the stage and one of only a few “old school” groups that can boast of having 40+ years in the industry with all of their original members.
February 14: Granada Theater presents A Valentine's Day Double Feature with Ricki Derek
Granada Theater will present A Valentine's Day Double Feature with Ricki Derek. The evening begins with performances from Derek and The Vegas Six, followed by a screening of the classic film Casablanca. The event starts at 8 pm at the Granada.
You can't go wrong in the romance department with a ballet called Serenade.
