We have turned the calendar to May, and in Fort Worth that means it's time for one of the most fun festivals of the year. Other choices this weekend include CultureMap's annual Tastemaker Awards, two comedians, screenings of an acclaimed new film, a local theater production, and five concerts featuring a variety of genres.
Below are the best ways to spend your precious free time this weekend. Want more options? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.
Thursday, May 2
Trinity Collaborative presents Mayfest
Mayfest is an annual four-day family festival that features live music, festival food, carnival rides, performing arts, pet adoptions, more than 60 art and gift market vendors, children's activities, special attractions, and more. It takes place through Sunday at Trinity Park.
CultureMap Tastemaker Awards
The CultureMap Tastemaker Awards are the celebration of Fort Worth's top restaurant and bar talent, as selected by their peers. The mission is to shine a spotlight on the people making the local restaurant scene special and honor their innovation, energy, and creativity. CultureMap's signature tasting event and awards ceremony will celebrate all of the nominees and unveil the winners, and guests will sample bites and sip specialty drinks along the way. It will be at The 4 Eleven.
Improv Arlington presents Sam Jay
Comedian and writer Sam Jay is best known as a writer for Saturday Night Live, her 2020 Netflix comedy special, 3 in the Morning, and as the co-creator and co-star of the HBO series PAUSE with Sam Jay and the Peacock series Bust Down. She'll perform five times through Saturday at Improv Arlington.
Amphibian Stage Productions presents Phoebe Robinson
Phoebe Robinson is a multi-talented stand-up comedian, New York Times best-selling writer, and actress. She is best known as the co-creator and co-star of the hit podcast turned TV show, 2 Dope Queens. She's also made her presence known in publishing as the author of the New York Times bestseller, You Can’t Touch My Hair & Other Things I Still Have To Explain and Everything’s Trash, But It’s Okay. She'll perform three times through Saturday at Amphibian Stage, with support from different local comedians at each show.
Friday, May 3
Magnolia at the Modern: La Chimera
For Arthur (Josh O’Connor), the Chimera looks like the woman he lost, Beniamina (Yile Yara Vianello). To find her, Arthur challenges the invisible, searches everywhere, and goes inside the earth, all in search of a mythical door to the afterlife. On an adventurous journey between living and dead, forests and cities, celebration and solitude, the intertwined destinies of these characters unfold. The film, which is in Italian with English subtitles, will screen six times through Sunday at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.
Theatre Arlington presents Steel Magnolias
Steel Magnolias is the heartwarming tale of love, friendship, and resilience in a small Southern town featuring a group of women as they gather in a charming beauty salon and share their joys and sorrows, reminding us that the bonds of friendship are unbreakable. The production will open on Friday, running through May 19 at Theatre Arlington.
UNT One O'Clock Lab Band Spring Showcase
The UNT One O’Clock Lab Band will present their spring showcase to close out the 2023-2024 BNSF Popular Entertainment Series. The band has seven Grammy nominations and over 60 recordings to its credit, as well as multitudes of great composers, performers, and educators all throughout the music world. They'll play at McDavid Studio.
Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra presents "Beethoven’s Violin Concerto: Beethoven and Shostakovich"
Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 is one of the few works to unite both critics and the public in their positive opinions. To open the concert, Beethoven’s Egmont Overture suggests societal unease in its churning rhythms before five famous knocking notes open Beethoven’s Violin Concerto. Youthful violinist Stephen Waarts takes to the stage for this staple of violin repertoire while FWSO music director Robert Spano helms the orchestra. There will be three performances through Sunday at Bass Performance Hall.
Ashley McBryde in concert
Country singer Ashley McBryde's first album in 2018 was called A Girl Going Nowhere, but she quickly proved that title wrong, as her first two albums reached the top 10 on the Billboard Country charts. She's won a handful of awards from the various country music organizations, and took home a Grammy Award in 2023 for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for "Never Wanted to Be That Girl," her duet with Carly Pearce. She'll play at Billy Bob's Texas in support of her 2023 album, The Devil I Know.
Saturday, May 4
Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth presents "Powerhouses"
Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth presents "Powerhouses," featuring violinists Gary Levinson and Will Hagen, pianist Dénes Várjon, violist Juan Miguel Hernandez, and cellist Julian Schwarz. The program includes Brahms' Piano Quartet in G minor and Piano Trio in C Major, as well as Farrenc's Piano Quintet, No. 1. The performance will be at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.
Mike Ryan in concert
Singer Mike Ryan made his return to Billy Bob's Texas in 2023 after a seven-year absence, and now he's becoming a regular again, playing there for the third time in just over a year. The San Antonio native is a favorite all around Texas, playing at multiple festivals and concert venues. He'll play in support of his 2023 EP, All We Have is Now.
The CultureMap Tastemaker Awards will take place at The 4 Eleven on May 2.
