September on the doorstep and fall is around the corner. While you might have already cracked into the Pumpkin Spice Lattes, there’s still plenty more summer-soaked things to do before the season runs out.
Don’t let you summer in Dallas fade away, check out our list of 28 things to do to make the most out of this September!
1. State Fair of Texas
The State Fair of Texas returns to Dallas this September with a month of Big Tex-approved festivities. Featured attractions include a Texas-sized music festival, state fare rodeo, midway rides, carnival games, an auto show, and of course. ALL the food.
2. Red Bull Flutag
The adrenaline-packed, high-flying event of the season is soaring into Dallas this September for the return of Red Bull’s Flutag competition. The 100% free event allows visitors to watch as teams who’ve built aerial contraptions attempt to soar over Levy Event Plaza in Irving.
3. Take On Glow Or Go’s 5 Immersive Challenge Rooms
Glow or Go is the high-octane experience where your reflexes, smarts, and teamwork will be put to the test in a race to restore color to the world. There’s life-sized arcade games, secret-agent-style lasers, an IRL “Floor is Lava” game, and so much more. Click here to get your tickets and see if you have what it takes to make it through all five rooms!
4. 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.
5. Dallas Moon Festival
On Saturday, September 6, Flag Pole Hill Park will host a spectacular Mid-Autumn Festival complete with live music performances, street food, and artisan wares. Here, visitors will be able to delight in cultural activities, authentic Asian food, and more in a special-one day event!
6. Autumn at the Arboretum
Dallas’ favorite fall tradition returns to the Dallas Arboretum this September for its 19th year. Revel in this gourd-geous display of autumnal foliage including 100,000 pumpkins, 150,000 blooming plants, and one Texas-themed pumpkin village. Autumn at the Arboretum runs from September 20 to November 2.
7. Dallas Cowboys: Return of the NFL
This is going to be the Cowboys year, we can feel it… Watch America’s team in action with the return of NFL football this September. If you can’t score stadium seats, watch the games from the best sports bars in Dallas.
8. Plano Balloon Festival
Fly over to Plano this September for the return of the annual Plano Balloon Festival. Launching September 18, the four-day festival regularly features a kaleidoscopic display of hot-air balloons taking flight, parachute team demos, concerts, rides, food, and more!
9. Pumpkin Nights at Howell Farms
The most smashing horror event of the season returns to North Texas this September: Pumpkin Nights is set to feature over 7,500 hand-carved pumpkins assorted in fantastic themed spaces including Forbidden City, Spider Alley, and more for spooky season!
10. 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.
11. Scare Yourself Silly At Dark Hour Haunted House
DFW’s number-one haunted house event is Dark Hour, a nightmarish world created with state-of-the-art studio effects that will send shivers down your spine as soon as you step inside. And on top of being a highly reated haunted house, Dark Hour offers add-ons like their VIP Interactive Scare Stations and a visit to the North American Cryptid Museum. Think you’ve got what it takes. Then get your tickets here!
12. 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.
13. 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.
14-16. 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
17. 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.
18. 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.
19-20. 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.
21. 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.
22. Enter a Portal at Meow Wolf
Explore an alternative universe at Meow Wolf inter-dimensional immersive art collective in Grapevine. The experience is comprised of over 30 uniquely designed rooms that weave experimental art and compelling storytelling.
23. Go Dancing at the World’s Largest Honky Tonk
Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth Stockyards is a storied institution and honky tonk haven. The restaurant, music venue, and dancehall spans 100,000 square feet, featuring a Texas-sized dance floor, memorabilia museum, bull-riding ring, 30 bars, and more.
24. Watch Cinema with Texas Spirit
The It Came From Texas film festival returns for its second year this September to the Plaza Theatre in Downtown, Garland. Here, movie-lovers can enjoy a variety of films new and old that capture the spirit of Texas, as well as panel discussions, interactive screenings, and more.
25. Visit Llama Castle
Photo credit: @blayke.ryan/@emslikewhat
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.
26. 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.
27. Eat The Best Tacos In Town
Yeah eating tacos on Tuesdays is fun, but you ever eat tacos every day of the week and experience true bliss? The taco gods smile upon the DFW area. From authentic, no frills taquerias, to trendy taco stands, to fan favorite franchises, the area has it all. Read on if you want to talk taco.
28. Enjoy open-air Concerts Under the Stars
This month, Dallas’ Concerts Under the Stars will feature nostalgia-filled tributes to Frank Sinatra, as well as Billy Joel and Elton John. Taking place at the Artisan and Sky Blu Rooftop in Dallas, the starlit evenings are complete with lively tunes, stunning views, and classic cocktails. Learn more here.