2011 DALLAS/FORT WORTH TEXAS FAMILY FUN EVENTS and AUTISM AWARENESS EVENTS!!!
FEBRUARY 26, 2011-Autism Awareness Day Family Celebration - Dallas Museum of Art The Dallas Museum of Art is having a special free Family Celebration designed just for children on the Autism Spectrum and their families. Visit the Museums Center for Creative Connections and participate in special programming before the Museum opens to the public. 9 a.m.-11 a.m. Pre-registration is required, space is limited. For more information or to register for the event, please email your name, phone number, and the number of people in your family who will attend to: ablake@DallasMuseumofArt.org or call 214-922-1251.
MARCH 2, 2011-SPREAD THE WORD-pledge to end the use of the R-word. University of HoustonMembers of the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association and Best Buddies at the University of Houston will be taking pledges and handing out informational flyers and talking points! Sadaf Ali nsslha_uh.chapter@yahoo.com 832-622-7554
MARCH 6, 2011-TEXAS BEST BUDDIES FESTIVAL OF FRIENDSHIP The University of Texas at Austin 1 University Station Austin, TX 78712
9-9:30 Opening Ceremonies 9:30-10:00 Walk 10-11 Speakers 11-12:30 Festival of Friendships 12:30 Awards Ceremonies FOR MORE INFORMATION & TO REGISTER: www.bestbuddiestexas.org/houstonwalk
APRIL 2, 2011-WORLD AUTISM AWARENESS -UN World Autism Awareness Day (WAAD) encourages all Member States to take measures to raise autism awareness throughout society and encourage early diagnosis and early intervention. Additionally, WAAD will celebrate the unique talents and skills of persons with autism and will be a day when individuals with autism are warmly welcomed and embraced in community events around the globe. By bringing together autism organizations all around the world, we will give a voice to the millions of individuals worldwide who are undiagnosed, misunderstood and looking for help. Please join us in our effort to make this possible. www.autismawarenessday.org
APRIL 2, 2011-10th Annual Spring Into Nash! 10:00 am to 2:00 pm Nash Farm, 626 Ball Street • Near Historic Downtown Grapevine. Additional parking is across the street at Cannon Elementary and at the Botanic Garden. For more information call: 817-410-3185 Family Fun! (Admission Free, Coupons required for select activities) Play Heritage Games * Pony rides * Meet Farm Animals * Milk a Goat * Tractor Rides * Water the Kitchen Garden * Horseshoe * Sack Races * Home made Ice Cream * Treadle Lathe * Milk a Cow * Leather Stamping * Jump Rope Making *
APRIL 14, 2011-MAIN STREET FORT WORTH ARTS FESTIVAL -This is a FREE festival! Come join the fun, browse the art and enjoy the food and music! Thursday, April 14, 2011: 10:00a.m. - 10:00p.m. Friday, April 15, 2011: 10:00a.m. - 11:00p.m. Saturday, April 16, 2011: 10:00a.m. - 11:00p.m. Sunday, April 17, 2011: 10:00a.m. - 8:00p.m
APRIL 22, 2011-HOMESTEAD FARMS 4TH ANNUAL EARTH DAY CELEBRATION!-Mark your calendar and tell your friends about our 4th annual Earth Day Celebration! 10am-7pm; join us on your day off to celebrate our earth and spring, including an Easter photo opportunity with bunnies, baby chicks and ducks, $1 snow cones, $1 hay rides and more! For more information e-mail Sarah at sfarris@homestead-farms.net.
APRIL 22-23, 2011-DALLAS EARTH DAY CELEBRATION!-Earth Day Dallas features two days of engaging exhibits, compelling speakers, music, entertainment, food and fun for everyone. It’s an exciting time for North Texans to come together to learn how we can all make a positive impact on our community and our world, and how we can grow a greener Dallas together. www.earthdaydallas.org Eco Expo: Universities, corporations and non-profit organizations bring you exhibits that showcase green products and research, plus emerging green technology.
• Tasty Truck Stop: Food trucks featuring delicious organic and local fare line up for your eating enjoyment throughout the event.
• Speaker Series: Hear compelling, enlightening lectures from an impressive line-up of speakers from environmental experts to advocates.
• Lean Green Film Shorts: Be engaged, educated and entertained by film shorts brought to you by the Dallas Film Society.
• Zero Trash Picnic Bash: Your kids may not like eating their greens, but the whole family will have
fun as you learn how to be more green at this family picnic.
• Street Performers: You won’t have to look far to find fun and entertainment throughout the Earth Day festival.
• Green Smart Art Stations: Kids will have a blast at all the free Earth Day arts & crafts stations.
• Style Show: Local artists and designers take on the challenge of creating wearable art from recycled materials. Come vote on your favorites.
• Free Yoga: Bring along your mat because Earth Day has free yoga classes for anyone and everyone.
• Music: Music will fill the air and keep your toes tapping all day.
• Bike Rally: Celebrate the spirit of Earth Day by joining with fellow cyclists to bike to the event.
APRIL 23, 2011-HOUSTON EARTH DAY CELEBRATION!-Get ready to Party for the Planet! More than 15,000 patrons are expected to attend the city of Houston's largest celebration of Earth Day complete with day-long family entertainment, environmental education, the Green Expo for consumer green products and services and this year's new Eco Landscaping "green gardening" Zone. 10:00a.m. to 4:00p.m.at Houston's own Discovery Green! info@airalliancehouston.org
APRIL 17, 2011-SPRING into ASIAN ART 1-4 p.m. Kimball Art Museum Ft. Worth, TX From peach-blossom screen paintings to Japanese wind-sock constructions, celebrate the arrival of spring with art-making activities inspired by popular Asian traditions. Program highlights include Japanese drum performances by Dondoko Taiko of Fort Worth. No reservations required. Admission is free. For more information, call 817-332-8451, ext. 297.
APRIL 16-17, 2011-SPRING FESTIVAL IN THE JAPANESE GARDEN-(FORT WORTH) 3220 Botanic Garden Blvd Fort Worth, TX 76107 Bring the entire family and enjoy traditional Japanese dance, music, martial arts demonstrations, papermaking, and tea ceremonies with the elegant backdrop of the Japanese Garden. A Fort Worth tradition for over 30 years, this spring's festival promises to be the best yet! Admission: Adults $5.00, Children (4-12yrs.) $3.00. www.fwbg.org
MAY 15, 2011 Annual DFW Dragon Boat, Kite and Lantern Festival. The festival features colorful kite flying and exciting dragon boat races, cultural performances, a lantern festival, plus traditional Asian food, arts and crafts and educational activities. Come enjoy a day of fun and exciting cultural diversity and educational activities. This event is free to the public to attend. 9:00-6:00 p.m. Lake Carolyn Irving, Texas www.dfwdragonboatfestival.com
JUNE 10-12, 2011 DALLAS AKON CONVENTION A-Kon® is the oldest continually running, anime-based convention in N. America. Celebrating it’s 21th year in 2010, A-Kon® hosts anime fans and guests, and offers other items of interest ranging from gaming, to independent film, all in the quest to provide the best experience for the fans and bring the most engaging, and educational, entertainment to the anime community. www.a-kon.com
OCTOBER 1, 2011-ASIAN AMERICAN CULTURAL FESTIVAL- Admission is FREE and it’s just $3.00 to park. Traders Village is centrally located in Grand Prairie, Texas just minutes from Six Flags Over Texas, off Highway 360 on Mayfield Road. Traders Village . . . why shopping, festivals and family fun were invented!®. For more info call 972-647-2331.
OCTOBER 8TH, 2011-NASH FARM 11TH ANNUAL FALL ROUND UP! 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Call 817-410-3185 for more information Nash Farm, 626 Ball Street • Near Historic Downtown Grapevine Additional parking is across the street at Cannon Elementary & the Botanical Garden's parking lot. It’s fun at the farm for the entire family! Activities will include stick pony barrel racing, stick pony buckin’ broncs, hayrides, petting zoo, pony rides, blacksmith demonstrations, cotton picking and hot dogs and hamburgers for sale from Grapevine AMBUCS
OCTOBER 15TH, 2011-15th ANNUAL ASIAN ARTS EGG ROLL FESTIVAL & HEALTH FAIR (Grand Prairie, TX) Tarrant County Asian American Chamber of Commerce proudly presents the 15th Annual Asian Arts Egg Roll Festival & Health Fair. Join us for a day of celebration of Asian cultures, art and food. Bring your entire family to enjoy this unique cultural event and experience a little bit of Asia right here in the Heart of Texas! ADMISSION IS FREE, and Parking is just $3 per car. For more information, please go to www.tradersvillage.com
OCTOBER, 2011 HALLOWEEN PARADE & COSTUME CONTEST–(Wills Point, TX) Darkwood Haunted Mall, Wills Point, tx is organizing the only real Halloween Parade and Costume Contest in Texas. Open to all ages. Pets, groups, businesses, clubs are invited to participate in costume. Walkers, floats and vehicles. Costume Contest to follow parade at 239 N. 4th, wills point. Details at www.wphalloween.com
OCTOBER 22-23, 2011 FALL FESTIVAL IN THE JAPANESE GARDEN at THE FT. WORTH BOTANICAL GARDENS! 3220 Botanic Garden Blvd Fort Worth, TX 76107 817-871-7686, Saturday 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Sunday 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Feast your eyes on the spectacular fall color of the Japanese Garden while you and your family enjoy traditional Japanese dance, music, martial arts demonstrations, papermaking, and tea ceremonies. Admission: Adults $5.00, Children (4-12yrs.) $3.00, under 4 free. www.fwbg.org
OCTOBER 22-23, 2011 FORT WORTH ALLIANCE AIR SHOW (Fort Worth, TX) The US Navy Blue Angels and the US Golden Knights are coming October 24-25, 2009 to Fort Worth, Texas. Bring the family for a full-day of daring aerobatic maneuvers, static displays, children's activities, food and more. Gates open at 9:00 a.m. Admission is free. Parking is $20 per vehicle. Aerial performances start at 9:30 a.m. and last until the late afternoon. The same show is held both days. The Fort Worth Alliance Air Show is a non-profit event with the goal of raising funds for its primary beneficiary - the USO of Dallas/Fort Worth. For more details visit www.allianceairshow.com
NOVEMBER, 2011 42ND ANNUAL GREEK FOOD FESTIVAL OF FORT WORTH! (Fort Worth, TX) The 42nd Annual Greek Festival of Fort Worth will be held at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Fort Worth featuring Greek food, Greek dancing, and live Greek music. Taste wonderful homemade Greek food and learn to dance as the Greeks do! Wonderful culture for the entire family. For details of this festival, please visit www.fortworthgreekfestival.com
NOVEMBER, 2011 WALK NOW FOR AUTISM DALLAS/FORT WORTH-Join Autism Speaks as we tackle autism! Experience the power of thousands united by a single cause by joining Walk Now for Autism. Start a corporate, school or family team today!
Walk Now for Autism offers everyone a fun-filled experience with entertainment, refreshments, an autism community resource fair, and much, much more. Be sure to raise $100 to earn your commemorative Walk Now for Autism t-shirt. We look forward to seeing you at the event!Be sure and check back for the date and venue of the 2009 Dallas/Ft. Worth Walk Now for Autism. Are you interested in joining the 2011 Walk Now for Autism Planning Committee? Contact us at Dallas@AutismSpeaks.org for information on how to get involved.
DECEMBER 1, 2011-PARADE OF LIGHTS! (Grapevine, TX) Thousands of merrymakers will witness an enchanting display of more than 100 colorfully lighted floats that will pass through Historic Downtown Grapevine. Rolling to the tune of numerous marching bands playing holiday music, the Grapevine Parade of Lights is North Texas’ largest lighted Christmas parade. The parade starts at Main St. and Vine St. and heads north on Main St. to Wall St. The parade is free and open to the public. For complete details, please visit www.grapevinetexasusa.com
DECEMBER 4 , 2011-NIGHT OF HOLIDAY MAGIC 4:00p-8:00p The City of North Richland Hills will celebrate its 11th annual Night of Holiday Magic on Saturday, December 4 at NRH2O Family Water Park, 9001 Boulevard 26. Residents are invited to join us from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. for holiday music, dance, crafts, mini train rides, a marshmallow roast, snow tubing hill, tree lighting and fireworks show, photos with Santa, shopping in the holiday market and more. Be sure to bring your cameras and take advantage of the beautiful holiday scenes. They make great backdrops for holiday family portraits. Admission is free and parking is free. Parking will be at the Tarrant County College Northeast Campus, across the street from NRH2O. Please bring a new, unwrapped toy or canned food for the City's annual toy and food drive. Admission to A Night of Holiday Magic is free and parking is free. The City asks you to please bring a new, unwrapped toy for the Santa Cops Toy Drive and canned food for the Community Enrichment Center's Food Pantry.
There will be a charge for the following activities: Mini Train Rides - $1.Snow Tubing Hill - $2.Children's Holiday Village - $3 to enjoy 12 holiday craft activities.Photos with Santa will be taken by Legends Photography. A variety of photo packages will be offered for sale. The City of North Richland Hills has partnered with Chesapeake Energy to bring a real snow experience to North Texas! Yes, that is real snow in North Richland Hills! The Chesapeake Energy Snow Tubing Hill will be set up at Night of Holiday Magic on December 4, 2010 and will provide winter fun for the whole family. Visitors to Night of Holiday Magic will be able to slide down the 3-lane, 12-foot-tall hill and glide across 110 feet of fresh snow. The snow hill will have extended hours from 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. to give everyone time to enjoy this unique feature. The cost to slide down the snow hill will be only $2 per person. Only one person per tube will be allowed. Tubers must be old enough to ride alone and at least 42 inches tall.
Bring the entire family to Night of Holiday Magic and enjoy all the wintry fun the Chesapeake Energy Snow Tubing Hill has to offer. It will be the perfect start to your holiday season! visit http://www.nrhtx.com/HolidayMagic/index.html or call 817-427-6600.
DECEMBER, 2011-16TH ANNUAL CHRISTMAS NATIVITY DISPLAY! (Arlington, TX) Come celebrate this Christmas season with us at our 14th Annual Nativity Display. We will be featuring a collection of over 1,500 Nativity sets from around the world, three days of musical performances, and a special Christmas Devotional live via satellite! Admission and parking will be free for the whole family; absolutely no donations are to be accepted. All of the displays and performances will be handicap accessible. For more information on this event, please visit them online at www.arlingtonnativity.org
DECEMBER, 2011-CHRISTMAS ON MAIN STREET! -(Grapevine, TX) Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from November 27 thru December 20 come visit with Santa Claus, Take a complimentary horse drawn trolley ride, Join Ellie the elf, Frosty the Snowman and a Santa stilt walker for children's activities and "reindeer games" Enjoy complimentary KettleKorn, Strolling entertainment in period costumes along with Rudolph, a talking Christmas tree and Frosty the Snowman, Free fun activities for the entire family like horse drawn carriages, exciting reindeer games and much more family fun to get your in the holiday spirit. Visit www.grapevinetexasusa.com for more details.
DECEMBER, 2011-THE NUTCRACKER! (Fort Worth, TX) A Texas Ballet Theater favorite since the late 1960s, this grand production is a holiday tradition performed annually at Bass Performance Hall and the Music Hall at Fair Park. Audience members will delight in Artistic Director Ben Stevenson’s staging of the holiday story of Clara, whose Nutcracker Prince takes her to the Land of Snow and the Kingdom of Sweets. With dozens of local children performing in the production, a tree that grows to 40 feet and a life-sized Nutcracker, children and adults will be enchanted by a production that makes lasting memories for all. Make The Nutcracker a part of your holiday plans now. Details to this event may be found at www.texasballettheater.org
DECEMBER, 2011-A.W. PERRY HOMESTEAD MUSEUM'S ANNUAL OLD-FASHINONED CHRISTMAS!(Carrollton, TX) Victorian Carolers stroll the grounds of the museum spreading holiday cheer and guides provide informal tours of the historic home decorated for the season. Children can make an old-fashioned Christmas tree ornament in the craft tent and homemade style cookies and hot apple cider will be served. Bring your whole family to this popular celebration. The A. W. Perry Homestead Museum is located one block north of Belt Line Road and west of Josey Lane at 1509 N. Perry Road. Call 972-466-6380 for information or visit the City of Carrollton online at www.cityofcarrollton.com
DECEMBER, 2011-ADOLPHUS CHILDREN'S PARADE! (Dallas, TX) Capital One Bank Presents the 22nd Annual Neiman Marcus Adolphus Children's Parade. Dallas is a far cry from the North Pole. Yet, for the last 21 years, St. Nick and his entourage of marching bands, giant inflatables, costume characters and dancers have commenced the holiday season in North Texas at the Neiman Marcus Adolphus Children's Parade. More than 350,000 parade-goers join Santa in downtown Dallas every year on the first Saturday of December to share in the cherished holiday tradition. This year's Parade is scheduled for Saturday, December 5 at 10 a.m. In 2008, after 15 years, Neiman Marcus retired as the title sponsor of the parade. Capital One Bank joined the Parade as a sponsor and is the new title sponsor of the 2009 parade. For complete details to this event, please visit www.childrensparade.com
DECEMBER, 2010-SNOWFLAKES, SUGARPLUMS & SANTA! (Fort Worth, TX) If you want to experience the sugarplum magic of the holiday season, plan a weekend visit to Sundance Square. You'll see a dazzling display of glittering lights, buildings decked in holiday finery, and restaurants and retail stores all wrapped up and filled with sweet surprises. Look for Santa Claus, too! He can be found each weekend near the towering 56' Fort Worth Christmas Tree in Sundance Square. The jolly old elf is back from the North Pole and is bubbling over with holiday cheer. Come see his enchanting Nutcracker home located on Main Street between Third and Fourth streets. His bright red sleigh sits atop a bold and beautiful stage that is guarded by a 10' Nutcracker Prince and Mouse King. The majestic tree, adorned with thousands of lights, snowflakes and bright red balls, serves as a perfect backdrop for photos. For details on this event, please visit www.sundancesquare.com
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