Tag Archives: things to do in dallas

9th Annual Dallas Blues Festival – March 30

29 Mar

This Saturday, all the best blues comes to Dallas. Dallas is no stranger to the blues so this festival will be home for the artists and fans alike. This dynamic lineup includes Bobby Womack, Bobby Rush, Mel Waiters, Floyd Taylor, Shirley Brown and Theodis Ealy. The blues is alright and so is this festival! Floyd Taylor’s review of his late father’s music (Johnnie Taylor) is the best on the market. Johnnie’s tunes span decades of music that put listeners in a ‘soul heaven’. The Dallas singer marked the industry with hit after hit, his son does a phenomenal job covering his music and others! Bobby Womack is a legend among legends! His name is synonymous with blues and soul music. The ‘Bravest Man in the World’ is still going strong after intimating his recent, surprising health struggles but is still going strong and promises to deliver the award winning shows he’s known for!

Shirley Brown

Shirley Brown


The “Woman to Woman” legend Shirley Brown is bringing her soulful style to the Dallas Blues Festival.

Her legendary style and still smooth voice make her the perfect addition as the sole female headliner for the festival. Malaco Blues/R&B legend Mel Waiters is sure to have his whiskey, don’t forget to have yours! Don’t worry, Bobby Rush won’t be ‘studdin’ ya but is sure to have a song for all the “Hen Pecked” fellas, ‘Chicken Heads’ and “Young Tenderoni” in the house Saturday night! Of all the acts, Theodis Ealy is sure to get you on your feet…well, at least ‘stand up’ when he breaks out in his hit! Blues lovers and music lovers alike are sure to enjoy this festival. These artists bring amazing energy and years and years of road experience to this show as it convenes on the Dallas Convention Center this week.

bobby womack
The festival will be in Arena, A 200S at the Dallas Convention Center. The festival begins at 7 pm. The address for the Dallas Convention Center is 650 S. Griffin St, Dallas, TX, 75202.

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Gospel Music writer for the Examiner, Win Willis, is a musician and sound engineer from Fort Worth, Texas. Win Willis is a lover of all styles of music and loves to share and discuss music with other avid music lovers.

2013 SWAC Basketball Tournament – March 12-16

11 Mar

The SWAC Tournament returns to Dallas March 12-16th!!

Follow the 2013 SWAC Tournament Bracket HERE!

For 5 straight days, which also happen to fall on Spring Break in Dallas, seven basketball teams representing HBCU’s in the Southwestern Athletic Conference will battle on the court for the title as 2013 Toyota SWAC Tournament winner. In the meantime and in between time, there are all kinds of events, activities and concerts planned for entertainment!SWAC_Logo_2013_large_v2

Monday, Mar 11
SWAC Kickoff – 6:30pm
Top Golf Dallas

Tuesday, Mar 12
SWAC Alumni Mixer– 7:30pm
Button’s Addison

Wednesday, Mar 13
College Expo – 8am – 2pm
Curtis Culwell Center

SWAC Unplugged
featuring Dwele, Raheem DeVaughn, RC & The Gritz – 10pm-2am

TICKETS & INFO
The Prophet Bar (2548 Elm St, Dallas)

Dwele Live in Concert 3/13

Dwele Live in Concert 3/13

SWAC Goes Hip Hop – 8pm – 2am
Performing Artists: Slim Thug, z Ro, DJ Mr. Rogers
TICKETS & INFO
Southside Music Hall

Thursday, Mar 14
College Expo – 8am – 2pm
Curtis Culwell Center

Happy Hour – 5pm-12am
$5 before 8pm
Beamers Night Club
(2343 Walnut Hill Ln, Dallas)

Attraction Thursdays SWAC Weekend JumpOff- 10pm – 2am
SharkBar
Grambling-Alum

Friday, Mar 15
Happy Hour – 5pm-10pm
Hosted by Grambling State University Alumni
Luna DeNoches


Spring Soiree – Urban Splendor 9:00pm – 2:00am
30 years and older
MORE INFO
West End Event Center

SWAC Madness – Draft Picks 2:00pm – 7:00pm

Saturday, Mar 16
The Official SWAC Post-Tournament Concert – 10am – 1pm
Performing Artists: Maze featuring Frankie Beverly with Special Guest Salt & Peppa and K-Ci and JoJo
TICKETS & INFO
Verizon Theater
1001 Performance Place, Grand Prairie

FULL SCHEDULE OF THE 2013 SWAC TOURNAMENT & EVENTS


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To check game results click here.
The Championship Game for the Women will be Saturday at 5pm and the Men’s will be at 7pm.

Click Here for Tickets and Tournament Packages!

Curtis_Culwell_Center-321x214

~2013 SWAC Tournament~
Curtis Culwell Center
4999 Naaman Forest Boulevard
Garland, TX 75040

Be The Match Walk Run DFW 5K 2013

27 Feb

You can Run. You can Walk. But you can’t hide…especially in a lime green Be The Match Walk+Run t-shirt! btm runMost importantly you CAN help fight blood cancer. Every four minutes someone is diagnosed with a blood cancer like leukemia or lymphoma, and many times the only only hope for a cure is a marrow transplant. How else do you think Robin Roberts was able to get back in her seat on GMA? Many people are afraid of the thought of this – donating bone marrow. While it seems daunting the process is not as bad as it seems. However, this post isn’t about recruiting for donors (although you should seriously consider), but focuses on another way everyone (even the “less brave”) can help support the fight.robin-roberts_abc-gma_240x340_76 The DFW Be The Match Walk Run will be Saturday, March 2nd, at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie. This time the horses won’t be the ones racing, but runners, survivors, caregivers, friends and supporters will “saddle up” in hoodies and headbands as their most comfy Nikes hit the pavement for 3.5 miles. The 5K race will commence at 9:00am, while the 1K starts just 5 minutes after.

Gather your teams, customized t-shirts, jogging tights and head to the race tracks the 2013 Be The Match 5K Run. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!
Then pick up your packets early on Friday at Sports Authority in Irving.

Whether you’re running in honor of a loved one, running with a corporate team or supporting a family member/friend that is presently in their fight with a blood cancer the Be The Match DFW race is right where you need to on Saturday, March 2nd! Take some time after the race to visit the Be The Match Connect Area where you can leave messages of hope for patients or add special photos and mementos to the Messages of Hope banner.small_Event_Map

Schedule of Events

7:30am – Event Village Opens

8:45am – Tot Trot

9:00am – 5K Starts

9:05am – 1K Starts

Be sure to Stop by the event village and sign the Messages of Hope banner! At the end of the DFW event, the banner will tour marrow transplant centers and registry drive events. Sign up to Be The Match for someone left with one more chance at life, or be the one to spread the word and make a difference. The 2013 BTM Walk+Run is just one way to say you care and help in fundraising and remembering loved ones. Join a community of fighters March 2nd at Grand Prairie Lone Star Park. See you at the racetrack!

you-have-the-power

Lone Star Park | 1000 Lone Star Parkway, Grand Prairie, TX 75050

*Take a couple of minutes to also check out the official Be The Match Blog and learn more not only about BTM, but also the many lives this movement affects!


North Texas Food Bank’s Empty Bowls 14th Annual Luncheon at the Meyerson

24 Feb

The table is set for North Texas Food Bank’s yearly fundraiser luncheon at the Meyerson! empty_bowlsEmpty Bowls 2013 will be held on Friday, March 1, 2013, at Dallas’ long-standing symphony center from 11:00am to 1:00pm. Enjoy a taste of savory soups, breads and desserts by several DFW restaurants all under one Arts District roof. Make it your lunch break and make it a point to support NTFB. You’ll even go home with your very own custom hand crafted bowl made by a local artisan. Not only will you help fill empty bowls for locals in need of food, but you’ll take home a beautifully designed bowl yourself.

    Tickets
    Advanced Tickets Online: $35
    “No Bowl” Tickets: $25
    VIP Tickets: $100

The 14th Annual Empty Bowls luncheon, presented by Kroger, at the Morton Meyerson is just another one of the North Texas Food Bank’s grand opportunities for you to help your fellow North Texans find their next meal.soup breadbowl

To vote for the 2013 People’s Choice Award at Empty Bowls click here! Vote for your favorite restaurant and/or food item at the luncheon. Each vote is $1 and you only get 5 votes. VIP guests get early entry at 10:30am.


On the first Friday of March enjoy your lunch and feed a bunch!

meyerson_edit

Meyerson Symphony Center | 2301 Flora St. Dallas, TX 75201

Free 100 Red Envelope Giveaway Valentine’s Day at Victory Plaza

12 Feb

red in the air

Between the Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day give yourself a reason to celebrate with lots of FREE luxurious stuff! Be one of the first 100 to Victory Plaza Thursday, Feb 14th, and win one of the mystery gifts found inside a red envelope. The 100 Red Envelope Giveaway at Victory Plaza in Dallas will begin at noon outside Shooter’s Dallas in the streets of AT&T Victory Plaza. Author of Passion Power Play, Lasonda Campbell is doing her “Oprah version” of Cupid’s Holiday by partnering with numerous Dallas businesses to make this free giveaway a success. red-envelopeValentine’s Day 2013 in Dallas will be remembered by those who make the 100 Red Envelope Giveaway because gifts will include items like gift certificates, fragrances, dance lessons, dinner for two at North Dallas Restaurants, free spa treatments, books and more!

The Red Envelope Extravaganza taking place on Valentine’s Day (February 14th) is free to the public and spreading love all throughout Victory Lane and around the clear windows of WFAA and even into the bathroom stalls of Shooters Dallas. Come get a piece of that fancy luvin’ during your lunch break this Thursday at Victory Plaza! Who needs a boo-thang or dart in the assterisk just to get into the spirit of Valentine’s?! Get your FREE-on by simply showing up. And while I’m not talking about the car coolant, you might need that too after being surrounded by so many sizzling prizes!

ValentinesDay-OT

Shooter’s Restaurant is located at 2500 Victory Avenue Dallas, TX 75219. You can’t miss it if you’re already at the Plaza.

P.S. – Come camera-ready!

2013 Hot Chocolate Run 5K/15K Dallas Fair Park

3 Feb

Don’t end up like Augustus. Get off your marshmallow, throw on some sneakers and head to Dallas Fair Park for a “world of pure imagination”. This Saturday, February 9th, the Dallas Hot Chocolate Run will unite lovers of chocolate from across the metroplex for a 15K and 5K run benefiting the Ronald McDonald House program. “America’s Sweetest Race” is sweeping the nation and that includes North Texas. While doing your Chocolate Run you may even spot an Oompa Loompa on the course.

hotcocoaThe 5K is scheduled to start at 7:30am and the 15K will commence at 8:10am. All runners/upbeat walkers are required to stay at a 15 minute mile pace or faster (like 4 miles per hour) for the Hot Chocolate Race, so choose to walk briskly or stay on the sidelines with your cup of hot cocoa.

The Hot Chocolate Expo will be located inside the Automobile Building and registered runners can pick up their race packets Thursday 2/7 (11a-8p) and Friday 2/8 (11a-8p). Not telling what’s inside the Chocolatey Expo, besides goodie bags and race packets but it’s sure to be a treat! and probably plenty more that our greedy Augustus would love to get his chubby hands on. This is the only location where race packets will be distributed. Parking here is $10.

Included in your goodie bags are some fancy-looking hoodies that you’ll want to keep forever. If the “chocolate” part of this Dallas event wasn’t enough to get you signed on, the sweater is definitely an added benefit. Get registered here!

Hot Chocolate Dallas Race Registration

Will Run for Chocolate

Will Run for Chocolate


Love chocolate? If you’re interested in being a Hot Chocolate volunteer click here.

You don’t have to win a golden ticket to get into these gates. Simply register online for the 2013 Hot Chocolate Run in Dallas and be a part of the milky mad dashes around the Cotton Bowl with other chocolate lovers like yourself on a crisp February morning. Ronald McDonald House will thank you and so will your winter gut!

Neiman Marcus Adult Crawl 2012

2 Dec

NeimanMarcus_Logo_SquaredDespite some of his unpopular actions, rapper Kanye West suggest in one of his songs that “you gotta crawl before you ball”, But what if you could switch it up and do them both simultaneously?! This holiday season you can both crawl AND have a ball (or perpetrate inside one of the fancier department stores like you’re Ballin’) when attending the first ever Neiman Marcus Adult Crawl! Throughout the month of December North Texas Food Bank and Neiman’s are putting on a Holiday Window Display and Adult Crawl December 6, 13 and 20! Every Thursday before Christmas the Neiman Marcus Window Tube will transform into a playground for grown folks – yep, that even means you!

Crawl Nights are every Thursday before Xmas

Crawl Nights are every Thursday before Xmas – Photo by D Magazine

To be a part of NTFB’s Adult Crawl Night at Neiman Marcus one just has to donate $20 and be over the age of 18. After that the fun begins and you return to your childhood but right among one of the ritziest downtown retailers. You’ll even get a complimentary beverage from the NM Espresso Bar. Plus it’s all going towards a great cause – the North Texas Food Bank, who’s pretty FED UP with Hunger! NTFB is ecstatic to be Neiman Marcus’ holiday charity of choice this year. Not only will you get a little exercise this holiday season, but your $20 donation to the food bank will go mighty far so you’ll feel good to have helped out other fellow North Texans in need! The NTFB Adult Crawl will be from 5pm to 7pm every Thursday before Christmas, so make sure your knees are in good shape and that back is too!

CRAWL NIGHTS

DECEMBER 6
DECEMBER 13
DECEMBER 20

ntfbfup

Neiman Marcus – Downtown Dallas | 1201 Elm Street #2800

City Arts Festival 2012

20 May

Things are heating up at Fair Park with the 2012 City Arts Festival this Memorial Day weekend! For three days in a row North Texans will enjoy one of the largest outdoor art exhibits in Dallas, along with tons of family activities, food truck treats and music. The festival is FREE to get in with Fair Park parking about $10. May 25 – May 27 are the select dates for CityArts 2012. Also, included at the CityArts Festival is ArtFest, a showcase of original pieces by nearly 150 renowned national and Texan artists. The popular juried art show is put on by The 500 Inc., who for over 40 years has used ArtFest to help raise funding for cultural arts organizations in Dallas.
Some of you might remember when the festival was held downtown in the arts district, but big the large outdoor event that it is, two years ago CityArts was moved to the more spacious Home of our State Fair to provide ample space and help place emphasis on some of the city’s coolest museums.

The 2012 CityArts Festival is presented by Big City Crushed Concrete, which is a company that helps reduce landfilled concrete waste by usting crushed concrete products. They have provided the construction industry significant economic and environmental benefits by recycling clean concrete rubble into TXDOT Grade rock materials for over 23 years.

The City Arts Festival of Dallas is FREE and open to the entire public. Check out the main features of this artsy fartsy fest:

Art Classes
Art Cars
Marketplace
Musical performances
Chef Demonstrations
2 Outdoor Films
(Friday & Saturday)
Kid’s Activities
Food



Come Memorial Day weekend the fairgrounds will be drenched in color with so much to offer visitors. Anyone attending the festival will receive reduced admission to the museums of Fair Park at select times. The Magnolia Art Lounge will offer art classes for adults and teens. “Cartists” display some of their best work and creativity on automobiles. See how creative they can get using vehicles as a “canvas”. A mix of both musical and dance acts will take stage while food trucks roll up offering some of Dallas’ best meals on wheels. Keep on eye on the Esplanade Fountain for “dancing water” shows throughout the weekend!


Art will be jumping out at North Texans from all areas in all aspects, whether it’s the culinary arts, dance, paint, music, graphic design, architecture, sketch, street arts and whatever else you can think of. If it’s art-related, it’s at CityArts. Don’t bother looking for tickets because this festival is FREE!

2012 CITYARTS FESTIVAL DATES/HOURS

Friday 5/25
6PM – 10PM

SATURDAY 5/26
11AM – 10PM

SUNDAY 5/27
11AM – 6PM

Fair Park
1300 Robert B. Cullum Blvd.
Dallas 75210

Taste Addison 2012

13 May

Let “Festival Season” in DFW commence with the 2012 Taste Addison! Your tastebuds won’t know what hit them after an evening spent circling the best eateries Addison has to offer. With over 60 restaurants from the area participating, tasters can enjoy generous helpings of the menus at reduced prices. Some call them samples, while others call them taste tests, but no matter select items are showcased on these menus. The three day festival will be held at Addison Circle May 18-20 so you have all weekend for eating the “Best of Belt Line Rd”.

While the focus of the Taste of Addison of course is delicious fare, other family friendly activities will add to the food festival. Musical entertainment, wine tasting seminars, celebrity chef demonstrations, carnival rides, midway games and kids entertainment can also be found at Taste of Addison 2012. All carnival rides range between $3 and $7. Some of my favorite restaurants that are sure to be at Taste Addison 2012 include: BJ’s, Buttons, Blue Mesa, Freebirds World Burrito, Los Lupes, On the Border, Pastazio’s Pizza, Clay Pit and Tiff’s Treats. To see a full list of the participating Addison restaurants click here.

Admission
Friday: $15
Saturday: $5 (before 5pm) $15 (after 5pm)
Sunday: $5

Kids 3 and Under: FREE

*Tickets available for $10 anytime tickets at DFW area Albertsons

Parking
Parking is available for FREE at the corner of Dallas Parkway and Arapaho Road.

Click here for Volunteer Opportunities at this year’s Taste Addison

Unfortunately pets are not allowed on the festival grounds.

Schedule
Friday 5/18……..6pm – Midnight
Saturday, 5/19….Noon – Midnight
Sunday, 5/20……None – 5pm


Addison Circle Park
4970 Addison Circle Drive

8th Annual Dallas Blues Festival

18 Mar

North American Entertainment’s 2012 Dallas Blues Fest will be March 24th at the Dallas Convention Center. The 8th annual Dallas Blues Fest is open to the public with ticket admission. All Blues fans are welcome to come out for soul stirring performances by artists like Sir Charles Jones, Mel Waiters, Latimore, Millie Jackson, Floyd Taylor, Clarence Carter and Denise LaSalle.

Enjoy classic themes and sounds of the blues resognating through the convention center from 10:30am to 11:30pm. Last week the city went Green. Now it’s time to go “Blue”! Celebrate a form of music that has forever impacted America and continues to live on in the South. It will be a full day of everything blues, high energy performances, community and fun.

*Tickets to the Dallas Blues Festival are about $55 each.*

Dallas Convention Center
650 S. Griffin Street
Dallas, TX 75202