Fall is here and the holidays are around the corner!
Fall is flourishing, cooler temps are on the way, and the winter festivities have already begun. Soak up the crisp (albeit, slightly humid) autumn air while experiencing the cornucopia of events that await in Dallas this November!
1. Escape to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Just in time for the magical holiday season, the enchanting Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience is opening in Little Elm just outside Dallas!
Delight in an enchanting journey through a wooded trail, featuring mystical creatures and bewitching elements from the Harry Potter™ and Fantastic Beasts™ movies.
This captivating adventure unfolds in a stunning forest, meticulously crafted by acclaimed theatrical designers and creators of immersive experiences.
2-3. Be a Barbie Girl in a Barbie World
The World of Barbie in Dallas is a place where dreams come true! Explore, discover, and indulge in the diverse lifestyles and numerous careers of the iconic Barbie® doll through an array of engaging and interactive activities. Following its resounding success in Toronto and Los Angeles, the World of Barbie is now coming to Frisco, specifically at the Stonebriar Centre. Don’t miss out – grab your tickets today!
- Or, opt to enjoy sips after sunset at the limited-capacity, adults-only World of Barbie experience!
4-7. Experience an Amazing Candlelight Concert
Start your fall in Dallas magically with a Fever Originals wildly popular Candlelight series in the form of intimate concerts lit by candlelight at breathtaking venues. Highlights in November include:
8. Dine in the Dark
Have you ever been curious about dining in complete darkness? Research indicates that 80% of individuals rely heavily on visual cues when eating, and when that sense is removed, the hypothesis is that your other senses, such as taste and smell, become more pronounced, enhancing your dining experience.
Secure your tickets today for “Dining in the Dark,” an exceptional blindfolded tasting event featuring a surprise menu, and immerse yourself in a captivating and interactive adventure!
9. Blow your Minds at AirOtic Soirée
AirOtic Soirée is a unique and immersive cirque event in Dallas, blending top-tier circus artistry with the allure of a daring cabaret show. Make sure you’re part of this unforgettable evening!
10. Take a Spin in this Hidden Bowling Alley Inside Old Movie Theater
Recently opened, Bowlski’s Lakewood Theater is a live concert venue, candy counter, pool lounge, arcade, bar, and bowling alley. When it came to renovating the historical venue, Bowlski’s owners salvaged what they could of their predecessor.
11. Sip Bubbly in Eden
Adorned with colorful artwork, bespoke furniture, and lush greenery – not to mention their gorgeous garden terrace – Paradiso offers a lovely quaint setting with its Bar Eden lounge.
12. Experience the Holidays at the Arboretum
One of the picks of the bunch can be found at the esteemed Dallas Arboretum. One of the top botanical gardens in the world and one of the city’s top attractions, the 66-acre arboretum transforms each year for its popular “Holiday at the Arboretum” event.
13. Escape The Hustle & Bustle To These Gorgeous Woodland Cabins
With great weather, a bustling entertainment scene, and a wealth of subcultures and interesting neighborhoods many of us can be guilty of becoming all too comfortable passing week on week in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and forgetting to take a break from the urban monotony.
14. Enjoy Dallas’ Spectacular Zoo Lights Experience
The 106-acre zoological Park will once again host its beloved mile-long walk-thru experience from November 17 inviting guests to wander beneath millions of twinkling lights between dazzling 3D lighted sculptures and installations.
15. Pay Homage to USA’s Tallest Indoor Christmas Tree
The monolith tree, which is decked out with roughly 10,000 colored ornaments and nearly half a million lights requires the work of 50 employees at Galleria who come together and spend days building the five-ton steel frame before installing more than 1,700 branches and decorating the enormous evergreen.
16. 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.
17. 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.
18-21. 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 this quarantine, 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
22. 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.
23. 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!
24. Let Your Colors Out at This Concept Bar
iPhones at the ready, Dallas, for a new selfie sanctuary has come to town with the opening of Austin-based Wonder Bar. While the quirky, IG-ready watering hole has teased their opening for a while, the bar has finally opened.
25-26. 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.
27-28. 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.
29. Visit this Dazzling New Bohemian Cafe
A brand new oasis has opened in Dallas. 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.
30. 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!
31-32. 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.
33. 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.
34. Eat The Best Tacos In Town
35. 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.
36. 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.
37. Dine Royally
Savor the high life this fall 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.
38. 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.
39. Dine Inside A Blanket Fort
Back in the heyday of childhood there was no sanctuary like a blanket fort. If the sheer mention of such fortress of youth was enough to trigger a nostalgic revery, you’ll be happy to know that you can enliven your whimsical childhood memories at Ida Claire bistro in Addison, where the indoor and outdoor eatery is fixed with a trailer adorned top to bottom in warm and fuzzy fabrics.
40. 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.