There are lots of fun things to do around Fort Worth on New Year's weekend this year. In addition to the numerous New Year's Eve parties planned around the area, a few of which also make the list below, you can extend your Christmas with a special performance, see a lauded foreign film, or celebrate a local music venue with three great concerts.
Below are the best options for your precious free time Thursday through Sunday. Don't like what you see? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.
Thursday, December 29
Marvelous Nerd Year's Eve
The inaugural Marvelous Nerd Year's Eve is a new kind of New Year's celebration: a four-day geek expo at Sheraton Dallas featuring over 30 celebrity guests, artists, and authors. Celebrities at the event, taking place through Sunday, include Stan Lee, Michael Rooker, Nichelle Nichols, Jason Mewes, Brian O'Halloran, Sean Gunn, Robert Picardo, Maurice LaMarche, Glenn Morshower, and more.
Mannheim Steamroller Christmas
Mannheim Steamroller Christmas by Chip Davis has been a favorite holiday tradition for over 30 years. The show, taking place at Bass Performance Hall, features the beloved Christmas music of Mannheim Steamroller, along with dazzling multimedia effects performed in an intimate setting.
Kevin Fowler in concert
Texas country music singer Kevin Fowler has been trying to make his way in the industry for 16 years now, releasing seven albums since 2000. He's slowly but surely made his way up the charts, including with his well-received 2016 album, Coming to a Honky Tonk Near You. He plays at Billy Bob's Texas.
Friday, December 30
Magnolia at the Modern: Elle
The latest in the Magnolia at the Modern series is Elle, which features Michèle (Isabelle Huppert), the head of a successful video game company who brings the same ruthless attitude to her love life as to business. When she's attacked in her home by an unknown assailant, she resolutely tracks the man down, drawing them both into a curious and thrilling game. The film plays nine times through January 8 at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.
Toadies in concert with Los Skarnales
There may be no more essential Fort Worth band than the Toadies. The band started in 1989, hitting it big in the mid-'90s thanks to their debut album, Rubberneck. The band has remained true to its roots over the years, holding its annual Dia de los Toadies event at Panther Island Pavilion for a few years. They are playing a retrospective of their career at Billy Bob's Texas.
Saturday, December 31
Fort Worth Symphony presents New Year's Eve Celebration
A strike by the musicians of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra wiped out their entire fall schedule, but they are putting that in the past by returning for their annual New Year's Eve concert. Ring in 2017 at Bass Performance Hall with a performance of Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue," a few other surprises, and a balloon drop at midnight set to "Auld Lang Syne."
New Year's Eve at Billy Bob's Texas: Eli Young Band with Green River Ordinance
Billy Bob's Texas is the quintessential Fort Worth music venue, so it would be disingenuous of it not to have two local bands finish out the year playing there. Eli Young Band, which started out of Denton and is still riding high off the 2014 No. 1 album, 10,000 Towns, and Fort Worth's own Green River Ordinance, which released Fifteen earlier this year, help Billy Bob's ring in 2017.
The Toadies are playing at Billy Bob's Texas on December 30.
