This is the last weekend of the State Fair, which means Fair Park gets the city’s attention one final time and everywhere else gets a little easier. The better plan might be a pumpkin patch with a beer in it. Six picks below, and the free music is in the last section.
All weekend
State Fair of Texas, final weekend
Fair Park, 3809 Grand Avenue. Gates at 10AM, open until 10PM Friday and Saturday and 9PM on Sunday, with last entry at 9PM. Sunday, October 18 is the last day. If you have skipped it all month, this is the weekend to stop skipping it, with the understanding that closing weekend is the loudest version. Go on Friday if you want room to move. Details at Fair Park.
Pumpkin and Squash Show and Sale
Dallas Arboretum, 8525 Garland Road, at A Tasteful Place. Friday through Sunday, 9AM to 3PM. The Arboretum does autumn better than anyone in town, and this is the weekend the gourds are for sale, so you can take some of it home instead of just photographing it. Check the Arboretum for admission before you drive over. Details at the Dallas Arboretum.
Friday, October 16
Pumpkins and Pints
Dallas Arboretum, Pumpkin Village, 8525 Garland Road. 6PM to 9PM. The Arboretum after work, with a drink in your hand. Food and drinks are sold on site and outside food and drink stay in the car. Tickets go through the Arboretum, so buy ahead. It is one of only a few Fridays left in the series. Details at the Dallas Arboretum.
Saturday, October 17
Butterflies and Blooms Weekend at the Dallas Farmers Market
Dallas Farmers Market, 920 S Harwood Street. Saturday 9AM to 5PM and Sunday 10AM to 5PM. Live music in The Shed on both days, Macy Pearl from 11AM to 2PM Saturday and Liam Lee Taylor at the same hour Sunday, plus a mini marigold planting workshop at noon and a butterfly craft table for kids in the morning. Come early for the produce, stay for the music. Details at the Farmers Market.
Dia de los Muertos Festival at TUPPS Brewery
TUPPS Brewery, 402 E Louisiana Street, downtown McKinney. Noon to 9PM. A full day of programming: Matachines dancers at 1PM, mariachis at 2PM, Ballet Folklorico at 3PM, Aztec dancers at 4PM, the Catrina contest from 5PM and Havana NRG on the CUTX stage at 8PM. Bring a photo of someone you love for the ofrendas. It is worth the drive north for the afternoon alone. Details at TUPPS.
Sunday, October 18
Drawing from the Masters at the Meadows Museum
Meadows Museum, 5900 Bishop Boulevard, on the SMU campus. 1:30PM to 3PM. Artist Ian O’Brien teaches informal drawing right in the galleries, in front of the work, with materials provided. It is included with museum admission, which is $12 for adults, and you have to register ahead. A quiet counterweight to everything above. Details at the Meadows Museum.
The rest of it
If you do one thing, do the Fair on its last weekend, or the Arboretum on Friday night if crowds are not your thing. Saturday is the day to stack two: the Farmers Market in the morning while The Shed has music, then the drive north to McKinney for the afternoon at TUPPS, where the dancers and the mariachis run on the hour. Sunday is the quiet day, and the Meadows is the right room for it.
What got cut: the Plano cluster, including In the Heights at North Texas Performing Arts and the Hollydays Market, both real and both a long drive from anything else here. Every library story time and kids’ craft across McKinney, and the Heard Natural Science Museum’s Halloween nights, which are good and aimed at families. The Levitt Pavilion in Arlington has two free shows this weekend that did not make the six: Los Texmaniacs with Conjunto Baraja de Oro on Friday and In Halen with CB&J on Saturday, music from 7:10 PM both nights.
If the Fair is not your weekend, the Design District, Deep Ellum and Lower Greenville will all be easy tables while the rest of the city is in Fair Park.
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