Labor Day is Monday, September 5, but the fun starts on Thursday and continues through the weekend. Here are some fun things to do this weekend. Some of them are free!
Fun
The Riverfront Jazz Festival at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in downtown Dallas kicks off Friday with a headlining concert by Dallas native and Neo-Soul godmother Erykah Badu. Additional shows take place on Saturday and Sunday. For more information, visit the Black Academy of Arts and Letters website. Tickets start at $69.00.
Get out into nature with a stroll through the Dallas Arboretum. From Saturday through Monday, there will be special activities, concerts, crafts, craft beer tasting, cooking classes, and plenty of Instagrammable moments to capture at the arboretum. For more information, visit the website. All special events are included with the regular garden admission price.
The Dallas Comedy Club is celebrating its first anniversary this weekend with stand-up acts and improv. Tickets are $10.00.
In Richardson, the Texas Gospel Music Festival at the Eisemann Center starts on Friday evening with The Crabb Family, Triumphant Quartet, Comedian Mickey Bell, and The Guardians. The entertainment continues on Saturday with Greater Vision, Lynda Randle, and Legacy Five performances. Sunday’s lineup includes Ernie Haase & Signature Sound, Sandi Patty, Booth Brothers, and Hebron Road. Tickets start at $30.00.
Enjoy Labor Day with three days of relaxing jazz in Irving at the Las Colinas Jazz and Arts Festival at the Irving Convention Center. The shows start on Thursday evening and continue through Saturday. Featured artists include Najee, Brian Simpson w/ Steve Oliver, and Joe McBride. Tickets are $50.00 and up.
This Saturday is National Cinema Day. Grab some popcorn and see your favorite movie with $3 admission at the theaters across the metroplex, including AMC, Regal, and Alamo Drafthouse.
Plano brings you the vacation vibes with a Labor Day Weekend luau at Legacy Hall. Everyone will be on island time when the hall transforms into a tropical island. There will be a limbo competition, a pig roast, and live hula and fire dancers to honor the end of summer, along with tributes to Kenny Chesney (come out, #NoShoesNation). There will also be a Jimmy Buffet homage for those who enjoy margaritas. Get there early or reserve your seat; this will be hot. General admission is $15.00.
Fun and Free
Start your Sunday morning with goat yoga at the Toyota Music Factory in Irving. The goats will be ready for a good stretch at 10:00 a.m.
If you are looking for fun things to do that are easy on your pockets, head to Grand Prairie for the 15th Annual Mid-Autumn Festival at the Asia Times Square Outdoor Plaza. The celebration has lots for kids to do, including face painting and a lantern competition. There will be goodie bags and moon pies celebrating the eighth lunar month.
If you do not mind jumping in the car for a trip to Marfa, Texas, the Marfa Lights Festival happens Friday, September 2 – Sunday, September 4. Expect music, performances, and a parade on Saturday.
On Monday, September 5, the city of Garland will host the 76th Annual Labor Day parade, starting at 9:00 a.m. The parade will begin at Glenbrook Drive and Avenue F and go towards Austin Street. The parade will turn right onto Austin Street and end at Austin and N 6th Street.
The Garland parade is hosted by the Noon Exchange Club of Garland not the city.