Dallas Events & Festivals: State Fair, Dallas Blooms & Year-Round Calendar

The State Fair of Texas runs about 24 days each fall at Fair Park in East Dallas, typically from late September into mid-October. The 2026 fair ran September 25 to October 18 and drew 2,083,178 visitors by the fair's own count; 2027 dates had not been posted as of October 25, 2026. Big Tex, the 55-foot talking cowboy, greets fairgoers. Other staples are Fletcher's Corny Dogs, the Midway rides, the auto show, the livestock shows and the Big Tex Choice Awards for new fair foods. Official fair lots charge $25 to park, so many visitors take the DART Green Line to Fair Park Station or MLK, Jr. Station, both at fair entrances.

Dallas Blooms is the Dallas Arboretum's spring festival, which the Arboretum bills as the Southwest's largest annual floral festival. It typically runs from late February into April (2026: February 21 to April 12) across the Arboretum's 66 acres, with tulips, daffodils and other spring bulbs; the Arboretum has described plantings of about 500,000 bulbs in past seasons. The admission page listed adult daytime tickets at $21.95 Monday to Thursday and $25.95 Friday to Sunday in October 2026, plus $15 parking, so a weekday visit costs less. The Arboretum had not posted 2027 dates as of October 25, 2026.

The Deep Ellum Arts Festival, which took over several blocks of Main Street each spring for 28 years, ended after its April 2022 edition; its producer said it could not finance another year (D Magazine, September 2022). Since 2023 the neighborhood has held the Deep Ellum Community Arts Fair, organized by the Deep Ellum Community Association. The 2026 fair, its fourth, ran April 3 to 5 over Easter weekend across eight blocks from Taylor Street to Crowdus Street, with more than 150 exhibiting artists, four music stages and free admission. It is a good first look at the neighborhood's artists and music scene.

Several, if you know where to look. Klyde Warren Park downtown offers free programming, including fitness classes, movie nights and live music, with food trucks on a posted schedule. General admission to the Dallas Museum of Art is free (tickets are still required, and the museum is closed Mondays and Tuesdays). The Deep Ellum Community Arts Fair each spring is free to attend. For a monthly list, check the Visit Dallas events calendar (visitdallas.com).

Next on the calendar is Lights All Night, an electronic music festival returning to Fair Park on December 30 and 31, 2026, according to Dallas Park and Recreation. In spring, the free Deep Ellum Community Arts Fair puts more than 100 music acts on four stages over three days (2026 figures). Deep Ellum, long the center of the Dallas music scene, has clubs booking touring and local acts year-round. For country music, Billy Bob's Texas in the Fort Worth Stockyards books live country acts through the year.

Spring and fall. Spring brings Dallas Blooms (typically late February into April) and the Deep Ellum Community Arts Fair, though April and May are also the peak months for severe storms. Fall brings the State Fair (late September to mid-October) and Autumn at the Arboretum (September 19 to November 1 in 2026), and October's average high at DFW Airport is a comfortable 78°F. June through August is the slow season for daytime outdoor events, with average highs of 92°F to 96°F. For winter, Holiday at the Arboretum runs November 11, 2026 to January 3, 2027, the final season of its 12 Days of Christmas gazebos, and Lights All Night closes the year at Fair Park.