Fall lands on the calendar this week, even if the thermometer hasn’t gotten the memo. Between a wine festival taking over Grapevine, the Cowboys’ home opener, back-to-back J. Cole shows, a ballet company built around one of history’s more scandalous writers, and a full night of gallery openings across the city, there’s enough here to fill every night through Sunday. Here’s what’s worth building a week around.
This Calander has family friendly options, date night and even singles fun-filled activities available. Check it out.
Monday, September 14
Uchibā turns its monthly Uncommon Ramen series over to Joshua Zacharias and Brenda Perez of Restaurant shua tonight, running a Vietnamese-leaning menu that includes a lemongrass pork neck ramen finished with nước mắm caramel and pickled green papaya. Dishes run $19.50 to $22.50, dinner service is 5 to 10 p.m., and reservations go through Uchibā’s booking page — walk-ins are welcome if there’s room. Good pick for a date that doesn’t need a special occasion attached to it.
Wednesday, September 16
El Carlos Elegante starts its Flavors of Heritage tasting menu tonight, a multicourse Hispanic Heritage Month menu running through October 31 for $99 a person, with an optional $55 wine pairing or $50 tequila flight. This is the one to book if you want a sit-down splurge without waiting for a special occasion. Reserve ahead — tables for this kind of menu go fast on weekends.
Thursday, September 17
GrapeFest opens on Grapevine’s Historic Main Street today and runs through Sunday. It’s the 40th year for what’s billed as the largest wine festival in the Southwest, with Texas wineries alongside guest pours from Napa Valley, carnival rides, a KidZone, and live music on multiple stages. Admission is free all day Thursday and until 5 p.m. Friday; after that it’s $12 for adults, $6 for seniors and kids 6 to 12. Bring the whole family Thursday if you want to dodge the gate fee, or make it a date night once the crowd thins out.
Addison Oktoberfest is also on this week at Addison Circle Park, with German beer, sausage, and pretzels, plus polka bands and games for kids — the town’s own materials disagree on whether it opens Thursday or Friday, so check the site before you plan around a specific day.
On the art side, the Dallas Contemporary Arts Council hosts the 46th Cecil Wallace Fordham Award in Visual Arts reception at Artspace at Lawyers Title from 4 to 6 p.m., free and open to the public. On the concert side, Tame Impala brings The Deadbeat Tour to American Airlines Center at 7 p.m.
Friday, September 18
Texas Ballet Theater opens its new season at the Winspear Opera House with Casanova, Kenneth Tindall’s take on the writer’s life, running through Sunday. It includes mature themes, so this one’s for the grown-ups, not the family outing.
Thomas Rhett plays American Airlines Center at 7:30 p.m. on the Soundtrack to Life Tour, and Billy Idol brings his It’s a Nice Day To… Tour Again to Dos Equis Pavilion the same night. For something smaller, Tanner Usrey plays the Kessler Theater in Bishop Arts at 7 p.m., and Black Marble headlines Club Dada in Deep Ellum at 8.
If you’d rather stay free and outdoors, the Nasher Sculpture Center hosts ’til Midnight starting at 6 p.m., no admission required — this month’s edition pairs live music from Yolanda Cruz and The Daydreamers with an outdoor screening of Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Saturday, September 19
The Dallas Arboretum opens Autumn at the Arboretum today, with more than 100,000 pumpkins, gourds, and squash spread through the garden and a Pumpkin Village themed around modern artists this year. It runs through November 1, so there’s no rush, but Saturday morning is a good time to beat the heat and the crowds both.
Saturday is also the big night for gallery openings across Dallas, with receptions clustered mostly between 3 and 8 p.m.: Missy Finger: Radical Vision and David Willburn: Surface both open at James Harris Gallery from 3 to 7 p.m., Misty Keasler: Selected Works from the Series On Belonging opens at Liliana Bloch Gallery from 4 to 8 p.m., James Surls: From the Old Growth opens at Passage Arts on the same schedule, and Pedro Vélez: The Page Turner opens earlier, from 1 to 4 p.m., at Spazio Morandi. Most of these are free and walkable if you pick a neighborhood and stick to it.
On the concert calendar, J. Cole plays the first of two nights at American Airlines Center, Lily Rose headlines the Granada Theater, and blues legend Jimmie Vaughan plays the Longhorn Ballroom’s backyard amphitheater, a rare chance to see a Dallas guitar legend on a stage built for him.
Sunday, September 20
The Cowboys host the Washington Commanders at AT&T Stadium for their first home game of the season, kickoff at 3:25 p.m.
J. Cole closes out his two-night stand at American Airlines Center, Empire of the Sun plays Dos Equis Pavilion, and Chief Keef headlines the Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving. For something quieter, jazz trumpeter Nicholas Payton plays Windmills Craftworks inside Grandscape in The Colony at 7 p.m., good for a date that wants conversation along with the music.
Two museums are worth building a morning around: the Dallas Museum of Art reopens its Center for Creative Connections this weekend, a hands-on space built for families with young kids, starting at 11 a.m., and the Meadows Museum runs a pair of free family programs, a Sensory Cart at 1 p.m. and a Drawing from the Masters session at 1:30 p.m.
That covers the week. GrapeFest and the Casanova run at the Winspear both continue through the weekend if you want to stretch either one across multiple days.
