August is here! Don’t let the end of summer stop you from having a great time in DFW! This month, there are plenty of ways to keep yourself active and happy outside. Here’s our list of the top 35 things happening in Dallas this August that we can’t wait to check out:
1. Experience Enchanting Candlelight Concerts
You can experience an absolutely magical season here in Dallas, and part of that is thanks to the amazing spaces the city has to offer. Luckily, Fever Originals is bringing its wildly popular Candlelight concert series to beautiful venues for the season.
2-3. Partake in Whiskey Wednesdays
Good drinks, fine hors d’oeuvres—all that’s missing to make it complete is you! Hosted by The Whiskey Spot, this Whiskey Wednesday is dedicated to sharing a selection of great spirits from around the world.
Expand your drink knowledge with other whiskey enthusiasts, sample some fine food, learn about great whiskey pairings, and get a first-hand education in whiskey mixology. But it’s not just about the whiskey: you’ll also make connections that will live beyond that last taste of fine food and drink.
- Enjoy an exclusive tasting event! Learn more about the tricks of the trade in the world of whiskey with a talk through with experts. Taste an array of whiskeys, including premium whiskeys from around the world to limited edition craft whiskeys that you can’t find at your local liquor store. During the tasting, indulge in making a jarcuterie with premium meats, cheeses and vegetables. The best will be in with the chance of winning a prize!
4. Tantalize Your Taste Buds At This Dining In The Dark Experience
Imagine stepping inside a restaurant blanketed in darkness and being served a sublime three-course meal – the flavours and textures of which are intensified by your remaining senses. Sounds a little bit incredible, right? An experience that’s been backed by psychologists as an ‘amplified’ way to enjoy food, the enticing ‘Dining In The Dark’ event is now open in Dallas so you can “see” for yourself.
5. Take a Retreat at the new WorldSprings in Dallas
Texas’s first mineral springs and spa experience is now open in Grandscape with a world-class spa, Finnish saunas, outdoor mineral hot spring, and more!
6. Go Chasing Waterfalls
There’s no understating the natural beauty of the Lone Star State. This season, head the call to adventure and venture out to the state’s most gorgeous waterfalls and the hiking trails that take you there.
7. Let The Good Times Roll At This Inventing Gaming Alley
Whether you’re young or an adult, games never get old. And while you can find a bowling alley in any given city in America, you’d be hard pressed to find pin toss anywhere else in the world (to our knowledge). Bowl Games in Dallas is a one-of-a-kind gaming bar that offers shuffleboard, foosball, and the aforementioned pin toss – a bowling and football hybrid that leaves no joy to spare.
8. Embrace The Sea Life
If watching ocean documentaries on TV feels like paddling in the shallows, dive into a deep blue world of marine wildlife at Sea Life Grapevine. Get immersed in close encounters with gliding sharks, graceful rays, crafty octopuses, colorful clownfish, adorable sea turtles, and lots more!
9-11. Sneak Into A Speakeasy
There’s something special about speakeasies. The secretive, vicarious forbidden feel of transporting back to the prohibition make imbibing cocktails all the more tantalizing.
- Hope you’ve been reading, because you’re going to need your book smarts to get into the Rare Books Bar. In order to gain entry into this Frisco speakeasy, visitors must dial the librarian and ask for a classic piece of literature.
- The only sign post at this bar takes the form of two ambiguous As on a door in a crusty alleyway behind Henry’s Majestic. For those that can get past the initial sketch factor, however, a warm-lit cove of tantalizing libations await
12. Sip On Nitrogen-Infused Margaritas
Who knows who makes up these random holidays? There’s national sibling day, national donut day – there’s even a National Clean Your Desk Day – of which we’ve never celebrated not even once. But National Margarita Day, well that should’ve been something set in stone since the inception of this glorious country.
13. Pick the Perfect Peach
There’s nothing like a fresh peach in the summertime. You could take your chances getting handsy with the selection from H-E-B, Whole Foods, or otherwise, or you could go straight to the source at Ham Orchards.
14. Go Back To The Future
The 1980s are making a come back. Be it the nostalgia-saturated Stranger Things, kaleidoscopic fashion lines, or droves of new wave, synth-driven music flooding the sound waves. Travel back in time at McFly’s, the pub made in the image of what’s been called the most ’80s movie ever made.
15. Level Up at this Boozy Arcade
Some of weren’t around in the ’80s, but that doesn’t stop us from the feeling of vivid nostalgia we have for new wave hits, technicolored-patterned jumpers, and all the zaniness the decade had to offer. This season, Dallasites can blast back to the ’80s at the new FlashBack RetroPub in Bishops Arts District!
17-18. Sweetin’ Up at Dallas’ Best Bakeries
Treating yourself in the pandemic has become something of a lifestyle rather than a once-in-a-blue-moon event. If you need a sweet pick-me-up, or want to share the love, these Dallas bakeries have got all the goods.
- Withdraw for the Sprinkles Cupcakes’ ATM – Sprinkles is a small-batch bakery that whips up everything from decadent cupcakes to delicious ice cream.
19. Enjoy a Drink on the Patio
Enjoy the cool, crisp temperatures while you can, Dallas. Get out and about this southern winter at the city’s many great patios! Be it a sprawling, boot-stomping backyard or a rooftop vista with a view, there is a swell of wonderful outdoor venues to savor the season.
20-21. Sing (and Drink) From the Rooftops
Nothing quite says “living the highlife” like clinking glasses on a city rooftop. Touch the sky this season with a brunch, evening, or nightcap on the most jaw-dropping rooftops in Dallas.
- New York-based RH, formerly known as Restoration Hardware, has opened its first Texas outpost with a luxurious three-story establishment complete with a glass-encased rooftop restaurant.
22. Visit this Dazzling Bohemian Cafe
Located in the back alley behind Tejas in the heart of Bishop Arts, Casablanca is a vibrant cafe transporting patrons to the Silk Road with its unparalleled ambience and dazzling variety of craft cocktails and shared plates.
23. Go on a Culinary Journey from Bangkok to Bali
From the alleyway to the table, bar, and lounge, and back again, Elephant East in Harwood feels like a multi-sensory excursion to a faraway land and experience that you won’t want to miss!
24-25. Take Your Sweetheart To The Most Romantic Restaurants In Town
If you’re looking for somewhere sultry to dine out or have a drink this season, these local establishments will set the mood.
- The hidden speakeasy behind a dumpster – much less sketch than you think.
- A darkly romantic Tulum-inspired coctelería – Deep Ellum oasis with mezcal-mixed libations and serious mood.
26. Visit Llama Castle
Tucked in the North Texas countryside is the charming town of Royse City. There dwells a castle. It is no ordinary castle, mind you. In this Irish replica castle abides a fellowship of frolicking llamas, who await travelers and enthusiasts alike, to take them on hikes and learn of their llama ways.
27. Beat The High Score At This Retro Arcade
We weren’t around in the 80s, but that doesn’t stop us from being nostalgic for new wave-style synth pop, campy horror movies, fluorescent jackets, and an underground bustling arcade culture. If you want to wreck it like Ralph, grab your Walkman and head down to the National Video Game Museum in Frisco, home to their “Pixel Dreams” retro arcade.
28. Enter a Xmas Explosion at This Tex-Mex Restaurant
There’s no such thing as having too many holiday lights. Neither is there such a thing as having too many fajitas. Do Christmas, but make it Tex-Mex at Campo Verde in Arlington for the most festive fajita experience you’ll have all year.
29. Glamp In The Stars
New resident Texan, Elon Musk, promises that humans will land on Mars by 2026. If you can’t wait that long, you can spend a few nights at Basecamp Terlingua, an other-worldly glamping experience that integrates the future with the past, giving its visitors the impression of luxury camping in the cosmos.
30. Eat The Best Tacos In Town
31. Visit the Spa Castle
Spa Castle in Carrollton is like the amusement park version of a spa, only instead of rides they have Himalayan salt rooms and hydrotherapy pools. The innovative spa blends together traditional Asian and European styles to create a fun and luxury experience all on its own.
32. Smash the Champagne Button and Ferris Wheel Cupcakes
Stylish, glitzy, and vividly pink, the XOXO Dining Room in Dallas offers one of the most dazzling and photo-ready dining experiences in town. Whether its the cupcakes served in Ferris Wheels, striking pop-art, twinkling chandeliers, or bright XOXO wall, the dining room and lounge is Dallas’s go-to place to smash that champagne button – seriously, XOXO has champagne buttons.
33. Dine Royally
Savor the high life at Monarch Restaurant. Perched on the 49th floor of The National, Monarch is designed with floor-to-ceiling windows, giving restaurant-goers the chance to dine on their wood-fired Italian dishes with an epic view of the city.
34. Go Buckwild at This Rodeo-Themed Bar
Nostalgic Dallasites will remember the Rodeo Bar’s previous incarnation. Opened back in 1981, the iconic bar was renowned as an authentic, laidback hangout where one could drink ice cold beers and grab a bite without a fuss. After 40 years, the bar is back on the scene with its original grit, albeit, with a modern vibe.
35. Tee Off At This Eclectic Mini Golf Course
Everyone has their one go-to nostalgia activity. Whether its ski-ball, go-karts, bowling, or mini-golf, there’s a game all of us play every once in a while to bring us back to simpler times. If mini golf is that game for you, you can experience that childhood glee with all the perks of being an adult at Another Round in Dallas.
36. Cozy Up In The Nooks Of This Bookish Coffee Shop
For all the people out there who have ever been shushed at a library – this place for you. At the Funny Library Coffee Shop, guests are encouraged to crack up as much they are to crack open one of its many books.
See also: 10 unbelievable beaches in Texas