This Week's Hot Headlines

Portillo's Beef Bus parks atop this week's 5 hottest Fort Worth headlines

Editor's note: A lot happened this week, so here's your chance to get caught up. Read on for the week's most popular headlines. Looking for the best things to do this weekend? Find that list here.

1. Portillo's deploys food truck to Dallas-Fort Worth to preview its famed Chicago hot dog. Chicago-style hot dogs are popping up via Portillo's. The fast-casual restaurant concept known for its Chicago-style street food is bringing its Beef Bus food truck to tour Texas from July 11-23, offering a preview of its menu ahead of its first restaurant opening in Texas, later this year. Fortunately for Tarrant County fans, they're including Arlington in the mix.

2. Fort Worth's July 4th fireworks show abruptly ended by disastrous grass fires. Fort Worth was forced to shut down its Fourth of July fireworks show due to a series of grass fires that ignited along the Trinity River. Advertised as the largest July 4 fireworks show in North Texas, the show took place at Panther Island Pavilion, and was canceled only a few minutes after it started, when fires immediately began to break out on the Trinity River banks.

3. These Dallas-Fort Worth businesses punch in among Texas' best employers, report says. Half of the state’s top 20 small and midsize employers to work for are right here in Dallas-Fort Worth, according to a new ranking. Great Place to Work, which helps employers improve their workplace culture, and Fortune magazine teamed up to select the Best Companies to Work For in 2022 in two categories: small and midsize employers, and large employers.

4. Former TCU tennis star Cam Norrie earns royal salute as 2022 Wimbledon semifinalist. Former TCU tennis superstar Cameron Norrie became a surprise king of the court at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, and his hard-fought battle into the semifinals even earned him a bow from real royalty. Ex-Horned Frog Norrie, Britain's No. 1-ranked player and the ninth seed at Wimbledon, defeated Belgium’s David Goffin in a thrilling five-set quarterfinal match cheered on by the The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on Tuesday, July 5. The royals later tweeted him their congratulations.

5. These are the 8 best food and drink events in Fort Worth this week. July means it’s officially ice cream season, and there are several events this week to celebrate the creamy, cool treat. Summer produce is also ripe and ready, and there's an annual festival happening this weekend dedicated to the beloved peach. Also find produce bursting with flavor at a local farmers market that takes place only once a month.

Arlington-based Texas Health Resources made the list.

Facebook/TexasHealth

Arlington-based Texas Health Resources made the list.

Holiday News

All the Christmas trees in Dallas-Fort Worth, ranked by size

Photo courtesy of Galleria Dallas

Galleria Dallas and its very big Xmas tree.

Holiday 2024 is shaping up to be the most festive ever in Dallas-Fort Worth, and we have a new benchmark: The Christmas tree. Cities and malls across Dallas-Fort Worth are raising and lighting their community Christmas tree with a new imperative: Whose is biggest?

With everyone vying to be DFW's version of Rockefeller Center in New York (which this year comes in at 74 feet tall), we thought it was time to take a measuring stick.

Here is our roundup of lighted Christmas trees in DFW in order from tallest to shortest:

Galleria Dallas

The North Dallas mall purports to have the tallest indoor Christmas tree in Texas. ("Everyone from USA Today to Martha Stewart has declared it so," says a Galleria spokesperson.) Installed in the center of their trademark ice rink, it's a 95-foot-tall beauty with 700 branches, hand-sewn twigs, thousands of ball ornaments, and a 10-foot LED star topper that weighs 100 pounds — all told, it takes nearly 50 people and five days to erect. Best of all, the tree is synthetic — so much better than killing a real tree.) They'll do a tree lighting on November 29 and 30.

Sundance Square, Fort Worth

Coming in at second tallest is the 82-foot-tall Norway Spruce at Fort Worth's Sundance Square. It's the largest live tree in Texas and made its grand arrival from Cadillac, Michigan to Sundance Square Plaza on November 25. It's 8 feet taller than this year's Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center in New York City so you know Fort Worth is going for bragging rights. There will be a tree lighting from 6-7 pm on December 3.

Peace Plaza,Main Station in Grapevine

Grapevine, the Christmas Capital of Texas, has a sizable entry at 60 feet. It's right next to the outdoor skating rink on the plaza lawn. There wasn't a ceremonious lighting of the tree this year in favor of a street lighting for the Parade of Lights. However, the lights will be on twinkling each night.

Kaleidoscope Park, Frisco

Newly opened Frisco park has put up its first-ever Christmas tree, featuring a 50-foot tree decorated with 42,000 twinkling lights synchronized to festive music. The tree was first lit by Frisco Mayor Jeff Cheney on November 22. The tree is located on the park's Activity Lawn.

Klyde Warren Park, Dallas

Downtown Dallas park will host the lighting of the Mayor’s Christmas Tree, a 50-foot-tall, 5,000-pound tree with nearly 40,000 LED lights. They'll host a tree-lighting celebration on December 7 at 6 ;pm, with festivities and music, including a Nutcracker performance and music from the Emerald City Band.

Allen Premium Outlets Mall, Allen

Allen has an admirable entry for an outlet mall: a 38-foot synthetic tree wrapped in 2,000 lights. Extra points for the synthetic. The lights first went up on November 21. Find the tree in the central court, right behind the Allen Premium Outlets sign.

Addison Circle, Addison

As part of Addison's Rockin' Around the Circle holiday activities, the town has set up a 32-foot tall tree, perched on top of a six-foot base, coming in at approximately three stories high. For an added touch, lights on the tree are even synchronized to Christmas music.

Hotel Drover, Fort Worth

The Stockyards hotel has installed a 30-foot Christmas tree located in The Backyard. They'll host a tree lighting on November 29, but only open to guests who stay overnight.

City of Carrollton, Carrollton

Carrollton has a 20-foot-tall tree located on the historic downtown square and they are doing up their tree lighting on December 7 with great fanfare, including photos with Santa, toy soldier stilt walkers, face painting, photo booth, and a 175-foot drone show to accompany the tree lighting. It starts at 7 pm.

Grand Prairie Premium Outlets, Grand Prairie

The outlet mall has a 20-foot-tall synthetic Christmas tree which they installed on November 22.

BONUS: Vitruvian Park, Addison

This isn't a singular tree lighting, but the park's 455 trees are wrapped in over 1.2 million sparkling LED lights as part of a tree lighting display on November 30. Additionally, there will be free Santa photos, letters to Santa, a live reindeer, classic holiday characters, an elf ballon artist, food trucks, and vendors.

holidays