October Is the Treasure of the Year: Fun in the Fort

October in North Texas is wonderful! There’s so much to do, the temperatures are dropping a little, and people are emerging from their air-conditioned houses to play. We’ve gathered some great activities and events for the whole family, so bookmark this page for family fun all month long!

State Fair of Texas
Through October 22
Fair Park, Dallas

Since 1904, people have flocked to Dallas in October to celebrate all things Texas. From the midway to the music, the fried foods (did you know that corny dogs were invented by the Fletchers for the State Fair?) to the prize-winning livestock, there’s something for everyone at the State Fair. So grab your family and friends, and meet me at Big Tex!

First Tuesdays: Tips to Tackle Small Garden Spaces
October 3
Stage West

Longtime landscape architect Michael Zerbach takes guests through strategies to better tackle small garden spaces, including how to incorporate fountains, furniture, art, and plants in outdoor spaces! We kick it off at 6pm. A drink and bar snacks are included with your ticket. Tickets are $20 for general audiences.

Fall Plant Sale ‘23
October 5-7
Fort Worth Botanic Garden

The annual Fall Plant Sale returns to the Fort Worth Botanic Garden campus! Stock up on fall plants while taking advantage of Garden professional consultations if needed. Add a shot of instant color to your flower beds with zinnias, marigolds, celosia, and more. Also, in the offerings this year will be a variety of citrus trees including Meyer and Key Lime trees. This event is free to the public.

Dracula – Alexandra F. Light and Carl Coomer, pc Steven Visneau

Dracula
October 6-8
Bass Performance Hall

Enter the terrifying domain of the legendary vampire whose insatiable bloodlust wrecks horror and destruction on his unwitting victims. Texas Ballet Theater’s 2023-2024 season starts with this wonderfully macabre ballet, choreographed by Artistic Director Emeritus Ben Stevenson, OBE. Dracula is suitable for mature audiences only.

Game ON!: A Mesmeric Celebration of Symphonic Game Music
October 7
Will Rogers Auditorium

Be among the first in Texas to experience the excitement and adrenaline-fueled drama of this awesome symphonic music, as the epic universes of The Elder Scrolls, Assassin’s Creed, Guild Wars 2, The Witcher 3, World of Warcraft, Ori, BioShock, and many others unfold before your eyes. Featuring concert premieres of stunning symphonic music from an unprecedented lineup of blockbuster video games, Game ON! combines unrivaled symphonic arrangements with stunning, never before seen HD video.

Family Festival/Fiesta de la Familia: Stories, Legends, and Tall Tales / Cuentos, Leyendas y Fábulas
October 8
The Kimbell Art Museum

Come one, come all for our celebration of stories, legends, and tall tales from across the Kimbell’s permanent collection. Event highlights will include art making, face painters, performances, dual-language story times, and much more.

The 1975
October 9
Dickies Arena

Over the last decade, The 1975 have firmly established themselves as the defining band of their generation with their distinctive aesthetic, passionate fanbase and unique sonic approach. The 1975 bring their “Still… at their very best” tour to Dickies Arena featuring special guest Dora Jar.

Movies That Matter: Mission: JOY
October 12
The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth

Deeply moving and laugh-out-loud funny, Mission: JOY is a documentary with unprecedented access to the unlikely friendship of two international icons who transcend religion: His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Tutu. In their final joint mission, these self-described mischievous brothers give a master class in how to create joy in a world that was never easy for them. They offer neuroscience-backed wisdom to help each of us live with more joy, despite circumstances. Inspired by New York Times bestseller The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World, the film showcases the exchange between these two Nobel Peace Prize winners that led to that book.

Christmas in Cowtown Holiday Gift Market
October 12-15
Will Rogers Amon G. Carter Jr. Exhibit Hall

Join the Junior League of Fort Worth for a week full of shopping, food, holiday cheer and time with family and friends!  This year, Christmas in Cowtown Holiday Gift Market will have something for everyone on your list. Shop with our wonderful merchants from all over the country showcasing everything from home goods, jewelry, clothing, children’s gifts, and much more.

In the Market’s 17^th year, the Junior League of Fort Worth continues to work tirelessly in the community of Fort Worth and beyond to partner with local nonprofit agencies to make an impact on our community.  Raising over $7,000,000 since its inception, the Market continues to help support women, children, and families in need.  Shopping at Christmas in Cowtown does more than just knock out your holiday gift list, it supports the essential impact these agencies have on our friends and neighbors.

¡Celebramos! Family Movie Night
October 15
Fort Worth Botanic Garden

Join us in the Horseshoe Garden with your family and friends as we feature Rio at 7 p.m.! No outside food/drinks/coolers/chairs are allowed. Bring your blankets and pre-order your picnic baskets from Rock Springs Cafe by calling 817-366-1100.

Candlelight: A Haunted Evening of Halloween Classics
October 18
Downtown Cowtown at the Isis

A one-of-a-kind experience in a candlelit setting. Candlelight concerts bring the magic of a live, multi-sensory musical experience to awe-inspiring locations like never seen before in Fort Worth. Get your tickets now to discover Halloween-inspired music at Downtown Cowtown at the Isis Theatre under the gentle glow of candlelight.

Nate Bargatze: The Be Funny Tour
October 18
Dickies Arena

Nate has been hailed this year as “The Nicest Man in Stand-Up,” by The Atlantic Magazine, a“Rising Star,” by CBS Morning and was featured as one of Esquire’s “Best New Comedians” by Jim Gaffigan. An Old Hickory, Tennessee native, Bargatze followed in the showbiz footsteps of his father, a former clown turned world class magician. Bargatze’s comedy is both clean and relatable and is appropriate for families. (He often brings his children with him on the road!)

Carter College Night
October 19
Amon Carter Museum of American Art

Free food. Free art. Free tunes. Calling all DFW college students! Enjoy an exclusive evening with free food and tunes for college and graduate students. Listen to music in the galleries, make some art, and get inspired by the Carter’s exhibition The World Outside: Louise Nevelson at Midcentury.

The Visit
October 20-November 12
Amphibian Stage

Just in time for Fall, Amphibian Stage will close their Main Stage season with a darkly comic tale from prolific Swiss writer, Friedrich Dürrenmatt. The Visit tells the story of a wealthy philanthropist returning to her hometown to save it from financial ruin…but the money comes with a deadly request that will test the morals of the town’s inhabitants. This larger-than-life classic will be brought to the stage in partnership with the University of Texas at Arlington’s Theatre faculty and students.

ArtsGoggle 2023
October 21
Near Southside

ArtsGoggle is Fort Worth’s premier festival of local arts. This free to the public, family-friendly event annually hosts more than 1,000 visual artists, 50 musical performances, artistic displays of every kind, food, drink, and fun for everyone. Unlike any event in Fort Worth, it exclusively focuses on highlighting the work of local artists, musicians, and performers of all mediums and experience levels. ArtsGoggle attracts a crowd of 60,000+ patrons that are as diverse as the Near Southside neighborhood where the event is hosted.

Kate Shepherd at the Modern
October 24
The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth

Kate Shepherd is a New York-based artist known for rigorous works that explore and complicate abstracted space, using rich color and manipulated surfaces that absorb and reflect their environments. For Tuesday Evenings, Shepherd shares the trajectory of her practice in a presentation she calls “A Progression in my Work, logical and radical.”

I’m Proud of You
October 26-November 18
Circle Theatre

“You know him, at least if you are of a certain age, as Mister Rogers, the icon of children’s television, America’s secular saint, loving and gentle, wise and compassionate. I knew him as my friend, Fred… I considered him to be one of my closest friends. In fact, it’s no exaggeration to say that if it were not for Fred Rogers, I might not be around today, alive to tell you my story…” Tim Madigan invites us into his memories and friendship with a man who shaped more than a generation—simply with his kindness.

Boo at the Zoo
October 27-29
Fort Worth Zoo

Enjoy trick-or-treating, themed entertainment, animal shows and more. This festive daytime event is free with Zoo admission or membership and packed with fun for the whole family.

7^th Annual Fort Worth Firefighters Chili Cookoff
October 28
General Worth Square

Come join us for our 7th Annual Fort Worth Firefighters Chili Cookoff, featuring recipes straight from the firehouse! Each year, we have around 30 different stations making red, green, and non-traditional chili. Admission is free, but tickets will be sold to sample the chili. All proceeds will go to the non-profit Fort Worth Fire Firefighter Charities, which allows us to give back to the community we serve.

Día de los Muertos
October 29
La Gran Plaza de Fort Worth

La Gran Plaza de Fort Worth will celebrate the departed with a “Día de Los Muertos” or “Day of the Dead” event. This special ceremony will feature religious blessings of decorated altars with offerings and a serenade of songs dedicated to the departed.