Texas Star Ferris Wheel | Photo by Kevin Brown, courtesy of The State Fair of Texas
Texas Star Ferris Wheel | Photo by Kevin Brown, courtesy of The State Fair of Texas
Planning a trip to Dallas-Fort Worth? Fantastic! We’ve got your annual events calendar here, filled with major must-see exhibits, events, and festivals the rest of this year and into next. A trip to Dallas should always include indulging in the city’s most iconic foods, knocking back drinks in its best bars, and exploring all the fun things to do indoors and out. But for an authentic slice of Texas culture, you may wish to plan your vacation around one of the many annual events that showcase the greatest in arts and culture, music, food and drink, and the glories bestowed upon us courtesy of Mother Nature. That’s where we come in. Browse the following list of recurring festivals and celebrations to incorporate into your perfect Dallas itinerary.
January
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Week
January 17–20, 2025
Dallas
Beginning the Friday before MLK, Jr. Day, the City of Dallas hosts a multitude of events honoring the civil rights icon. MLK Fest, the MLK Scholarship and Awards Gala, a job fair, and a candle-lighting ceremony highlight the diverse offerings. The celebrations and commemorations culminate with the MLK, Jr. Day Parade featuring more than 250 floats and community groups marching through the city.
Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo
January 17–February 8, 2025
Fort Worth
Since 1896, the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo has brought North Texans one of the best rodeo experiences in the nation. Extreme bull riding, the Cowboys of Color Rodeo, livestock and horse shows, live music, a carnival midway, and fantastic food highlight the multi-week event with options for the entire family of rodeo fans and newbies to the sport.
Courtesy of Dallas Arboretum
February
Dallas Blooms
February 22–April 13, 2025
East Dallas
More than half a million colorful blooms burst onto the scene as winter turns to spring at the largest annual floral festival in the southwest. Situated on the picturesque shores of White Rock Lake, the Dallas Arboretum also hosts the fall counterpart, Autumn at the Arboretum, each September-November, with more than 100,000 pumpkins heralding the season’s arrival.
North Texas Irish Festival
February 28–March 2, 2025
Fair Park
For those who can’t wait for the raucous Dallas Mavs St. Patrick’s Parade & Festival, the North Texas Irish Festival brings a full weekend of green-hued shenanigans to the masses. Live entertainment, traditional Irish food and beer, and various cultural exhibitions make this annual event the next best thing to a trip to Dublin.
March
Oak Cliff Mardi Gras
March 2, 2025
Bishop Arts District
Davis Street in Oak Cliff’s Bishop Arts District steps in as a French Quarter alternative at the area’s biggest celebration the Sunday before Fat Tuesday each year. A parade with floats and musicians, colorful costumes, and Big Easy-style food favorites take center stage at this pet-friendly party.
Lower Greenville Avenue St. Patrick’s Parade & Block Party
March 15, 2025
Lower Greenville Avenue
Lucky for you, Dallas hosts one of the biggest St. Patrick’s Day Weekend parties in the state. The all-day, shenanigans-filled celebration features multiple ways to show off your best green fashion ensemble, including a 5K run, rowdy parade, and massive block party that keeps the good times rolling until 2 am.
A woman walks at a wildflower meadow near Ennis, Texas, the United States, April 16, 2023. The 71st Annual Ennis Bluebonnet Trails Festival was held here from April 14 to 16. | Photo by Xu Jianmei/Xinhua via Getty Images
April
Ennis Bluebonnet Trails
April 1–30, 2025
Ennis
When the first bloom of the state flower of Texas appears, it’s officially springtime in DFW. Take to the 40-mile Ennis Bluebonnet Trails throughout the month for photo opportunities and flower-peeping galore. Better still, visit between April 11-13 for the Ennis Bluebonnet Trails Festival, when the wildflowers are typically at their peak for a weekend packed with music, food, and wine.
Fort Worth Food + Wine Festival
April 2025, exact dates TBD
Fort Worth
The FWFWF celebrates North Texas chefs’ culinary arts and diversity in a multi-day showcase of delicious talent with special days dedicated to burgers, tacos, and beer. In addition to the nonstop eats and drinks, the Fort Worth Food + Wine Foundation receives funds from the event to distribute as scholarships for local high school students seeking careers in the culinary arts, plus grants to area colleges and universities to enhance their programs.
Dallas International Film Festival
April 2025, exact dates TBD
Various locations
For over a week, the Dallas International Film Festival brings feature films, documentaries, and shorts to several area theaters. Gather with fellow movie lovers, Hollywood celebrities, and filmmakers at dozens of screenings, parties, panels, and Q&A sessions throughout the multi-day tribute to the cinematic arts.
Deep Ellum Community Arts Fair
April 2025, exact dates TBD
Deep Ellum
Shortly after its inception in 1872, the Deep Ellum neighborhood and warehouse district became a hub for musicians and artists of every imaginable type. The legacy continues today with numerous live music venues and galleries, making it the ideal locale for an annual arts fair. It delivers a uniquely Deep Ellum cultural experience to thousands of festivalgoers seeking the best in music, art, food, and drink.
Courtesy Scarborough Festival
May
Scarborough Renaissance Fest
Through May 27, 2024
Waxahachie
Step back in time to the 16th century for a multi-week festival occurring each April and May with more than 20 interactive stages across the grounds. Jousting, games of skill, peasants, royalty, time-honored crafts, festival foods, pubs, and taverns recreate the era of King Henry XIII with plenty of social media-worthy opportunities.
Carne Asada Fest
Memorial Day Weekend, 2025
The Cedars
Dallas’ Latin culture is so vibrant you can almost taste it. At this event, however, you literally get to savor the flavors that make Dallas a foodie destination like no other. During the one-day festival, multiple bands and DJs serve up music while festivalgoers work their way between booths selling tacos, elotes, paletas and margaritas. The Foodie Experience includes secret menu items, and the VIP Experience gets you a taste of all the food, plus two complimentary drinks.
Courtesy of Resource Center, a Dallas queer community center
June
Dallas Pride
June 1 & 2, 2024
Fair Park
As the first of two Pride celebrations in the city, Dallas Pride dates back to 1972 when fewer than 300 members of the LGBTQ community and their allies marched through the streets for a few thousand spectators. Today, the two-day event attracts top entertainers, a lengthy parade, and viewers in the tens of thousands. Then on September 15, our city’s second celebration, Pride in Dallas, returns to the streets of Dallas’ central queer district for another chance to march for equality or cheer on from the sidewalks.
Dallas Juneteenth Festival
June 16, 2024
Cedars
The Texas-born holiday of Juneteenth commemorates the moment on June 19, 1865, when enslaved people received the news that President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation had freed them from involuntary servitude. Today, Juneteenth serves as both a celebration and remembrance of the importance of Black and African-American culture and heritage. One of many events in North Texas, the Dallas Juneteenth Festival features live performances, soul food, art, and speakers to mark the occasion.
Courtesy of Kaboom Town
July
Addison Kaboom Town!
July 3, 2024
Addison
More than 500,000 spectators descend upon Addison each 4th of July weekend for one of the largest, longest, and most elaborate fireworks displays in the nation. An air show, food and drink vendors, and viewing opportunities throughout the town at businesses, hotels, and parks make this a must-see display of patriotism and good ol’ Americana.
National Day of the American Cowboy
July 26, 2025
Fort Worth
Experience a full day of activities dedicated to the region’s cowboy past, present, and future in the historic Fort Worth Stockyards. Browse the exhibits at the John Wayne: An American Experience museum, witness comedy gunfight shows, cheer on your favorite in the armadillo races or matinee rodeo, listen to live music, or catch the twice-daily cattle drive of the Fort Worth Herd (any day of the year except Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter, if you miss seeing it this particular day).
August
North Texas Fair & Rodeo
August 16–25, 2024
Denton
For 96 years, the North Texas Fair & Rodeo in Denton has given lovers of thrill rides, fried foods, and livestock wranglers a way to scratch that itch before the big State Fair of Texas arrives in September. Live music headliners and local acts perform on multiple stages at the fairgrounds, while people compete in various contests, from Rodeo Queen to Baking.
Riverfront Jazz Festival
August 30–September 1, 2024
Downtown Dallas
Don’t fear the August heat because this music fest takes place entirely indoors in the air-conditioned convention center downtown. Presented by the Black Academy of Arts & Letters, the annual event focuses on live jazz, R&B, blues, soul, and neo-soul across multiple stages with some of the biggest names in their respective music genres, as well as a stage dedicated exclusively to promising young artists.
Courtesy of State Fair of Texas
September
Plano Balloon Festival
September 19–22, 2024
Plano</
