Twelve months. Tons of fun, from the Stock Show and Super Bowl XLV to the Colonial and Concerts in the Gardens.
Obligatory disclaimer 1: This is not a comprehensive list of what's happening in DFW throughout 2011. It's a sampler that includes some dates we're looking most forward to this year.
Obligatory disclaimer 2: Dates are subject to change.
You can scroll through our list below, but we suggest you also take a look at our fabulous printable version of the DFW.com 2011 calendar o' fun. Download it, print it out and when somebody asks you: "Hey, when's the Main St. Arts Festival this year?," you, dear readers, will be in the know.
Oh -- and maybe you're wondering about our calendar pin-ups? When it came time to look forward to 2011, we looked back at some of our favorite images from the last two years of DFW.com Ink Edition for a little aesthetic assist.
Hope you have fun flipping through the calendar. See ya around town!
JANUARY Fort Worth is where the West begins, and every January we embrace that heritage with 3 1/2 weeks of rodeos and livestock shows, cowboys and corn dogs at the beloved Stock Show.
Jan. 1: TCU defeats Wisconsin, 21-19, in the Rose Bowl.
Jan. 8: Styx, Billy Bob's Texas
Jan. 14-Feb. 5: The 115th Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, Will Rogers Coliseum
Jan. 22-23: Third Annual Dallas Burlesque Festival, House of Blues
Jan. 23-April 17: "Ed Ruscha: Road Tested" exhibit, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
Jan. 27-Feb. 6: NFL Experience, Dallas Convention Center
FEBRUARY
Normally the dreariest of months in DFW, this February will be Super -- as in, all about Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium. Every day will be packed with parties leading up to Super Bowl Sunday on Feb. 6.
Feb. 1-5: Mamma Mia!, Bass Hall
Feb. 4: SuperBash 2011, Fashion Industry Gallery, Dallas
Feb. 5: Taste of the NFL, Fort Worth Convention Center
Feb. 6: Super Bowl XLV, Cowboys Stadium, Arlington
Feb. 14: Valentine's Day
Feb. 18: Empty Bowls: An Artful Taste To End Hunger, Will Rogers Coliseum
Feb. 18-20: TCU baseball season opener against Kansas
Feb. 18-19: Miranda Lambert, Billy Bob's Texas
Feb. 26-27: Cowtown Marathon, Will Rogers Memorial Center
Feb. 27: DFW.com Oscar Party, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
Feb. 27: Rangers spring training, Surprise, Ariz.
MARCH
Music will fill the air, and green beer will fill our glasses in March. And excuse us if we're a little gaga over another visit from an outrageous lady.
March 8: Mardi Gras
March 10-13: 35 Conferette, the Denton music festival
March 12: St. Paddy's Day 2011 Dash Down Greenville, Dallas
March 14: Spring break begins
March 14: Lady Gaga, American Airlines Center
March 15-April 4: NCAA Basketball Tournament
March 16-20: SXSW music festival, Austin (film portion of festival begins March 11)
March 17: St. Patrick's Day
March 18-19: Savor Dallas, Sheraton Dallas
March 23: Bill Nye, A Night with the Science Guy, UTA
APRIL
We can hardly wait for that first crack of the bat at the ballpark and to bite into a Bahama Mama at Main Street.
April 1: Opening day for the AL champion Texas Rangers in Arlington against the Boston Red Sox.
April 1: Billy Bob's Texas 30th anniversary
April 1-3: Deep Ellum Arts Festival
April 2, 4: NCAA Final Four, Reliant Stadium, Houston
April 8-9: O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 and Samsung Mobile 500, Texas Motor Speedway
April 9-May 30: Scarborough Renaissance Festival, Waxahachie
April 9: Susan G. Komen Greater Fort Worth Race for the Cure
April 14-17: Main St. Fort Worth Arts Festival
April 14-July 10: Lone Star Park spring thoroughbred season opens
April 16: Kenny Chesney, Cowboys Stadium
April 16: NBA playoffs begin. Go Mavs!
April 28-30: NFL Draft; Cowboys pick ninth.
April 29-May 1: Denton Arts and Jazz Festival, Quakertown Park, Denton.
April 29-May 22: The Wizard of Oz at Casa Mañana, Fort Worth
MAY
Spring is in full swing with the arrival of our beloved Texas wildflowers and two of our favorite annual parties: Mayfest and Colonial.
May 5-8: Mayfest, Trinity Park, Fort Worth
May 6-8: Texas Rangers vs. New York Yankees, Arlington
May 12: Fort Worth Cats home opener vs. Sioux City
May 13-15: Main Street Days, Grapevine
May 14: Spring ArtsGoggle, near southside, Fort Worth
May 14-June 5: Fort Worth Opera Festival, featuring The Mikado, Julius Caesar, Il Trovatore and Hydrogen Jukebox
May 19-22: Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, Fort Worth
May 22-Aug. 21: "Picasso and Braque: The Cubist Experiment," Kimbell Art Museum
May 26-29: HP Byron Nelson Championship at Four Seasons Resort, Las Colinas.
May 27: Alice Wonder opening night at Jubilee Theatre
May 27-29: National Polka Festival, Ennis
JUNE
Take a break from your sweet tomatoes and spend some time in the Botanic Garden, listening to the sweet sounds of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.
June 2-4: Concerts in the Garden, Fort Worth Botanic Garden (continues weekends through July 4)
June 3: Hip Pocket Theatre 35th season opens
June 8-July 3: Billy Elliot, Winspear Opera House
June 9-11: Firestone Twin 275s IndyCar Series race weekend, Texas Motor Speedway
June 10: Beastro at the Fort Worth Zoo
June 10-12: Don Quixote by the Texas Ballet Theater, Bass Hall
June 11: Komen North Texas Race for the Cure
June 26: New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys, American Airlines Center
JULY
We're heading into the dog days, but don't despair. A bevy of beautiful fireworks and a triple-scoop of peach ice cream will help us beat the heat.
July 4: Arlington Independence Day Parade
July 3: Kaboom Town, Addison
July 4: Fireworks, Concerts in the Gardens, Fort Worth Botanic Garden
July 4: Texas Rangers vs. Baltimore Orioles, Arlington. Fireworks after the game.
July 8-10: Taste of Dallas, Fair Park
July 9: Parker County Peach Festival, Weatherford
July 9-Oct. 9: "The Allure of Paper: Drawings and Watercolors From the Collection," Amon Carter Museum
July 22-24: Summer Balloon Classic & Airfest, Midlothian
July 23: Dallas Cowboys Training Camp begins, San Antonio (tentative)
AUGUST
Damn, it's hot. Put on your suit and dive in, or stay inside and enjoy the air conditioning at the Amon Carter. Don't forget to wish them happy 50th.
Aug. 1-Sept. 2: "Citizens at Last: The Women's Suffrage Movement in Texas," The Women's Museum, Dallas
Aug. 13: Amon Carter Museum's 50th Anniversary Bash
Aug. 13-21: Hairspray, Casa Mañana
Aug. 14: Hatch Chile Festival, Market Street, Colleyville
Aug. 19-21: Tax-free weekend
Aug. 22: First day of school
Aug. 25-Sept. 25: David Mamet's November, Stage West.
Aug. 28: Keith Urban at American Airlines Center, Dallas
SEPTEMBER
The Rose Bowl champs begin their 2011 march to glory, and so does the renovated Ridglea Theater. Also, is that the aroma of fried Twinkies we smell?
Sept. 1: Ridglea Theater slated to reopen
Sept. 3: TCU football opens at Baylor
Sept. 10: TCU home opener vs. Texas Tech
Sept. 15-18: Addison Oktoberfest
Sept. 15-18: GrapeFest, downtown Grapevine
Sept. 16: Hangman's House of Horrors opens in Fort Worth
Sept. 16-Nov. 12: Lone Star Park quarter horse season
Sept. 23-24: Jazz by the Boulevard, Cultural District, Fort Worth
Sept. 18: The Alan Ross Texas Freedom Parade (gay pride parade), Dallas
Sept. 30: State Fair of Texas opens at Fair Park
OCTOBER
Heated rivalries and haunted houses will get your blood pumping this month.
Oct. 1: TCU vs. SMU at Amon G. Carter Stadium
Oct. 1: "Ride the Rainbow" 30th Anniversary Gay Pride Parade & Festival, downtown Fort Worth
Oct. 8: Taylor Swift at Cowboys Stadium
Oct. 8: Texas-OU Red River Rivalry, Dallas
Oct. 16-Jan. 8, 2012: "Caravaggio and His Circle in Rome," Kimbell Art Museum
Oct. 16: Muddy Buddy Ride & Run, Cedar Hill State Park
Oct. 22-23: Fort Worth Alliance Air Show
Oct. 31: Halloween
NOVEMBER
The fam is coming to Texas for Turkey Day, so saddle up and take 'em to Billy Bob's and Cowboys Stadium, and they'll go home happy.
Nov. 3-6: AAA Texas 500 Weekend, Texas Motor Speedway
Nov. 9-13: Lone Star International Film Festival, Sundance Square
Nov. 5-Jan. 8, 2012: "John Marin: Modernism at Midcentury," Amon Carter Museum
Nov. 24: Dallas Cowboys' annual Thanksgiving Day game, Cowboys Stadium (opponent TBA)
Nov. 24: Turkey Trot, downtown Dallas
Nov. 25 : The Parade of Lights, Sundance Square
DECEMBER
Don't let all those holiday parties give you a bowl full of jelly. Run a marathon or leap into action at one of countless Nutcracker performances.
Dec. 2: A Candlelight Christmas in Ryan Place Holiday Home Tour, Fort Worth
Dec. 4: Dallas White Rock Marathon
Dec. 9: Texas Ballet Theater's The Nutcracker, Bass Hall
