With summer and triple-digit temperatures in the rearview mirror, it is time to look ahead to fall and all the outdoor activities that can be enjoyed in the cooler autumn weather.
In North Texas, outdoor festivities abound. Here are a few to get you started:
Fans of German culture, food, beer, polka bands, weiner dogs, and pretzels don’t have to wait until October to celebrate the Addison Oktoberfest. The four-day event, which will be held from September 19 to 22 at Addison Circle Park, will feature live entertainment, games, races, dancing, food, and fun. Entrance to the festival is free on Thursday, and tickets for the weekend range from $5 to $15.
Look to the skies at Oak Point Park that same weekend, September 19 to 22, for the Plano Balloon Festival. Morning activities include hot-air balloon launches, while Balloon Glows, featuring 30 lighted hot-air balloons, will illuminate the nighttime skies. On Thursday evening, the view can be enjoyed against the backdrop of a family-friendly symphony.
Other events include a parachuting exhibition, a drone show, and a fireworks show. Tethered balloon rides will be offered in the evening, weather permitting. Food, beverage, and merchandise vendors will also be on hand. Tickets range from $5 to $10.
Of course, the Big Daddy of fall events in North Texas is the State Fair of Texas, which runs this year from September 27 through October 20 at Fair Park. The carnival rides, the midway games, the exhibit halls, the food, the music and dance performances, the livestock shows — it might just take you all 24 days straight to see and do it all.
Individual day tickets are $10 and up, and season passes are $50 and up.
The Cottonwood Art Festival, held every spring and fall at the scenic Cottonwood Park in Richardson, is always popular. Hundreds of visual artists from across the U.S. and beyond bring the best of their unique creations to sell at vendor booths. You can chat with the artists and watch as some demonstrate their artistic techniques, or just sit back and relax in the beer garden while enjoying live music.
Plenty of food and beverage vendors will be on hand to help quench your hunger and thirst, and the kids will have a great time making their own art at the ArtStop in the Children’s area. This season’s festival is on October 5 and 6, and admission is free.
If you only think of springtime bluebonnets when you think of Ennis, think again. Fall is a beautiful season to visit the little town about 35 miles south of Downtown Dallas, and Ennis Autumn Daze on October 25 to 27 is as good an excuse as any to make the trip.
Visitors can stroll through a pumpkin patch or wind their way through a hay maze, with plenty of photo ops. The festival, which will be held in the historic downtown area, will feature a cornhole tournament, live music, carnival rides, and more. Admission is free for everyone on Friday family night and $5 on Saturday and Sunday for guests aged 13 and up.
How about the Dallas Brew Festival in Old City Park on November 9 for some grown-up fall fun? More than 60 breweries will hand out samples of more than 200 varieties of beer, plus food trucks will offer a selection of eats. Lawn games and live bands playing cover music from the 80s and 90s will help round out a chill evening. Tickets begin at $50 and include beer samples.