With spring now in full swing, it's time to enjoy the outdoors, which you can do at two different festivals in Fort Worth this weekend. You can also revel in the music of women from the '60s, see a musical about Gloria Estefan, laugh along with a national comedian, see new local theater, 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, April 11
Main St. Fort Worth Arts Festival
Now in its 34th year, the Main St. Fort Worth Arts Festival spans more than 27 city blocks in downtown Fort Worth, showcasing 223 juried artists, a world-class music lineup, sweet and savory cuisine, and family-friendly arts and crafts. Music performers will include Reckless Kelly, Jenny and the Mexicats, Austin Allsup, Larry gEE, Danni & Kris, and more. There will also be a revamped kids area focused on creativity. The free festival will take place through Sunday.
Thin Line Film Festival
While there's a much bigger film festival happening in Dallas this weekend, film lovers should not dismiss the Thin Line Film Festival in Denton. It's a five-day event where visitors can enjoy world-class international documentary films, nightly live music, and photography from around the world. The festival will take place at various venues in Denton through Sunday.
Casa Mañana presents Carole J. Bufford —You Don't Own Me: The Fearless Females of the 1960s
With music made famous by Janis Joplin, Dusty Springfield, Tina Turner, Carole King, Lesley Gore, Dionne Warwick, Shirley Bassey, Nancy Sinatra, Cher, Jeannie C. Riley, and more, Carole J. Bufford celebrates the songstresses of the 1960s in this special show. Putting her own inimitable spin on these classics, she will delve into and celebrate a time of great change and transition in America and across the pond. The show runs through Saturday in the Reid Cabaret Theatre at Casa Mañana Theatre.
Broadway at the Bass: On Your Feet!
From their humble beginnings in Cuba, Emilio and Gloria Estefan came to America and broke through all barriers to become a crossover sensation at the very top of the pop music world. But just when they thought they had it all, they almost lost everything. On Your Feet! goes behind the music and inside the real story of this record-making and groundbreaking couple who, in the face of adversity, found a way to end up on their feet. The musical will be at Bass Performance Hall through Sunday.
InterHarmony International Music Festival: The Invisible Shape of Music
This program at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth will feature cellist Misha Quint and pianist John Owings, who will play selections including Beethoven's Sonata No.4, J.S. Bach's Unaccompanied Cello Suite No. 2, Robert Schumann's "Adagio and Allegro," and Debussy’s "Clair de Lune."
Maverick Theatre Company presents Princess Mia and Eurydice
UT Arlington's Maverick Theatre Company will end its season with two new productions. Princess Mia is the story of two women whose very different worlds collide. An older half-sister is suddenly faced with the guardianship for her intellectually disabled sibling ... a half-sister she never even knew existed until the sudden death of their father. The production will run in repertory with Eurydice, in which Sarah Ruhl reimagines the classic myth of Orpheus through the eyes of its heroine. The productions will play in the Fine Arts Building through April 18.
Friday, April 12
Magnolia at the Modern: Diane
In Diane, a woman (Mary Kay Place) fills her days helping others and desperately attempting to bond with her drug-addicted son. But as those around her begin to drift away in the last quarter of her life, she is left to reckon with past choices and long-dormant memories. The film will screen seven times through Sunday at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.
Improv Arlington presents Eddie Griffin
A popular comedian-turned-actor who started his career on-stage as a dare, funnyman Eddie Griffin has built an ever-growing fan base since jumping onto the comedy scene in 1990. He has a long filmography, including appearances in The Meteor Man, Undercover Brother, and A Star is Born. He'll perform twice on Friday and twice on Saturday at Improv Arlington.
Stolen Shakespeare Guild presents The Secret Garden
Orphaned in India, 11-year-old Mary Lennox returns to Yorkshire to live with her embittered, reclusive uncle Archibald and his invalid son Colin. The estate's many wonders include a magic garden that beckons the children with haunting melodies and the "Dreamers," spirits from Mary's past who guide her through her new life, dramatizing The Secret Garden's compelling tale of forgiveness and renewal. The production will run at Fort Worth Community Arts Center through April 28.
Saturday, April 13
Fort Worth Botanic Garden presents Japanese Spring Festival
At Fort Worth Botanic Garden's Japanese Spring Festival, visitors can enjoy traditional Japanese dance, martial arts, sword demonstrations, raku pottery, tea ceremonies, and more in the garden. The festival will take place on both Saturday and Sunday.
On Your Feet! will play at Bass Performance Hall through April 14.
Hoisting of a nearly century-old tree in Sundance Square.
Sundance Square