What's there to do here? (Dallas, Fort Worth: receptions, house, theater)

[CMDallas]

So I'm a native, and I have a friend coming over around Christmas time.
I'm sort of clueless as to where to take him.
Unique sort of stuff?
what can you suggest?
He's coming in from the Northeast. He goes to Boston a lot...
Is there some nice downtown-ish area. I'm looking for a cool area to basically do nothing but watch people walk by with shops and restaurants.
If you've ever been to Boston, I'm looking for a Chinatown-ish area or the equivalent of Boston Commons.

Can someone give me a personal review of Downtown Dallas? I'm considering that, but I don't think it would hold to Boston...but I haven't been down to Downtown since Springtime, and it was rather brief.

General suggestions are open too.

I've lived here basically my entire life, I'm not a fail native ...but I'm drawing a blank here.

[TurtleCreek80]

Um, just curious- why are you trying to show your friend things in Dallas that are like Boston (Commons, Chinatown, bustling downtown streets)??? He's coming to Dallas so show him Dallas:

shopping areas that are get dressed up for Christmas: Highland Park Village, NorthPark, downtown Neiman Marcus

the Arboretum or White Rock Lake for scenery

Southfork, Grassy Knoll/6th Floor Museum, Billy Bob's & Stockyards in Ft Worth for something uniquely DFW (unless he's a Kennedy....skip Grassy Knoll)

for looking at homes decked out for Christmas- drive through Highland Park, up Swiss Avenue, or down Lakewood Boulevard.

for great indie restaurants- Bishop Arts District or Deep Ellum

[Mister Nifty]

Originally Posted by CMDallas

So I'm a native, and I have a friend coming over around Christmas time.
I'm sort of clueless as to where to take him.
Unique sort of stuff?
what can you suggest?
He's coming in from the Northeast. He goes to Boston a lot...
Is there some nice downtown-ish area. I'm looking for a cool area to basically do nothing but watch people walk by with shops and restaurants.
If you've ever been to Boston, I'm looking for a Chinatown-ish area or the equivalent of Boston Commons.

Can someone give me a personal review of Downtown Dallas? I'm considering that, but I don't think it would hold to Boston...but I haven't been down to Downtown since Springtime, and it was rather brief.

General suggestions are open too.

I've lived here basically my entire life, I'm not a fail native ...but I'm drawing a blank here.

I agree with the last poster. Go for understatement by sticking close to Preston Road. As a major retail and wholesale capital, Dallas is all about shopping. Go to Highland Park, Preston Center, Northpark, and the Galleria. If that doesn't exhaust them, then zoom up to Stonebriar. If they still desire to go to downtown Dallas and to the Uptown area, then take them there. This is how I think the Dallas - Fort Worth area should be marketed. Start off with its true heart and soul which is the south's primary shopping center in Highland Park Shopping Village, and to the four other commercial shopping districts in the Dallas area, with these being Preston Center, Northpark, the Dallas Galleria, and Stonebriar.
When marketing Dallas - Fort Worth by trying to dazzle by starting off at downtown Dallas and the Uptown area, it leaves people with the impression that there really isn't much to it.

[artsyguy]

Aside from the intense shopping experiences you can also experience the gigantic art district. The Dallas Museum of Art is amazing. The Crow Collection of Asian Art is always free and holds social events for the public every third Friday of each month. The Nasher museum of art is good, too. The new Opera house is gargantuan.

Art receptions and exhibition openings occur every six weeks on dragon street and on Deep Ellum. The top contemporary art galleries on dragon street are Samuel Lynne Galleries, Craig-Head Green, The Cameron Gallery, Mary Thomas, 11-11, and HCG Gallery.

Other excellent contemporary museums in Dallas are The MAC (one of the best in Dallas), The Dallas Contemporary, The Valley House Sculpture Garden, The Madi (features contemporary geometric art) and Meadows Museum (they feature Spanish fine art).

Deep Ellum has an annual arts and music festival that is free. Deep Ellum offers excellent but grungy nightlife. I suggest The Lizard Lounge, Purgatory, Excuses Extreme, Viper Lounge, Mokah Art Gallery, Arnetic, The Nightmare, The Prophet Bar, Kettle Art, Hal Samples, Tractor Beam art gallery, and much more.

Greenville avenue offers several nightspots and small shops (i.e., Granada Theater, M Street Bar, etc).

Check out The Richardson Wildflower Festival and CottonWood Arts Festival. Both are very huge events.

The Bishop arts district is another art district that holds a few block parties, bazaars, and parades a year. They even celebrated Bastille Day and Mardi Gra in 2010.

Downtown features The Dallas World Aquarium and Zoo (which is amazing), Farmer's Market, and Latino Cultural Center.

Cedar Springs road holds an annual Halloween costume block party that is free and open to the public. It is a lot of fun. And a few of the nightclubs do not have cover charges on that night. The citizens of Dallas, Texas even organize a Halloween parade on that road. Cedar Springs also has an annual gay pride parade and festival. The road also has a strip of colorful restaurants and nightclubs.

Addison, Texas which is located in north Dallas features World Fest once a year. They also organize Shakespeare festivals (i.e., Dallas Shakespeare) and other events (e.g., Oktoberfest). Most of the events are held on Addison Circle. However, Beltline road in Addison has a lot of shopping, bars, comedy clubs, liquor stores, and restaurants to keep everyone entertained and happy.

The best shopping can be had at West Village, The West End, NorthPark shopping center, The Galleria Mall, and a variety of other massive shopping centers located around Dallas, Texas (i.e., Grapevine Mills, Shops at Willow Bend, and Stonebriar Shopping Center). $1 movies at Cinemark Plano Movie 10.

Originally Posted by CMDallas

So I'm a native, and I have a friend coming over around Christmas time.
I'm sort of clueless as to where to take him.
Unique sort of stuff?
what can you suggest?
He's coming in from the Northeast. He goes to Boston a lot...
Is there some nice downtown-ish area. I'm looking for a cool area to basically do nothing but watch people walk by with shops and restaurants.
If you've ever been to Boston, I'm looking for a Chinatown-ish area or the equivalent of Boston Commons.

Can someone give me a personal review of Downtown Dallas? I'm considering that, but I don't think it would hold to Boston...but I haven't been down to Downtown since Springtime, and it was rather brief.

General suggestions are open too.

I've lived here basically my entire life, I'm not a fail native ...but I'm drawing a blank here.

[artsyguy]

White Rock Lake is really nice. But Cedar Hill State Park is also very good if you like hills and nature trails.

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

the Arboretum or White Rock Lake for scenery

[Mister Nifty]

Originally Posted by artsyguy

Aside from the intense shopping experiences you can also experience the gigantic art district. The Dallas Museum of Art is amazing. The Crow Collection of Asian Art is always free and holds social events for the public every third Friday of each month. The Nasher museum of art is good, too. The new Opera house is gargantuan.

Art receptions and exhibition openings occur every six weeks on dragon street and on Deep Ellum. The top contemporary art galleries on dragon street are Samuel Lynne Galleries, Craig-Head Green, The Cameron Gallery, Mary Thomas, 11-11, and HCG Gallery.

Other excellent contemporary museums in Dallas are The MAC (one of the best in Dallas), The Dallas Contemporary, The Valley House Sculpture Garden, The Madi (features contemporary geometric art) and Meadows Museum (they feature Spanish fine art).

Deep Ellum has an annual arts and music festival that is free. Deep Ellum offers excellent but grungy nightlife. I suggest The Lizard Lounge, Purgatory, Excuses Extreme, Viper Lounge, Mokah Art Gallery, Arnetic, The Nightmare, The Prophet Bar, Kettle Art, Hal Samples, Tractor Beam art gallery, and much more.

Greenville avenue offers several nightspots and small shops (i.e., Granada Theater, M Street Bar, etc).

Check out The Richardson Wildflower Festival and CottonWood Arts Festival. Both are very huge events.

The Bishop arts district is another art district that holds a few block parties, bazaars, and parades a year. They even celebrated Bastille Day and Mardi Gra in 2010.

Downtown features The Dallas World Aquarium and Zoo (which is amazing), Farmer's Market, and Latino Cultural Center.

Cedar Springs road holds an annual Halloween costume block party that is free and open to the public. It is a lot of fun. And a few of the nightclubs do not have cover charges on that night. The citizens of Dallas, Texas even organize a Halloween parade on that road. Cedar Springs also has an annual gay pride parade and festival. The road also has a strip of colorful restaurants and nightclubs.

Addison, Texas which is located in north Dallas features World Fest once a year. They also organize Shakespeare festivals (i.e., Dallas Shakespeare) and other events (e.g., Oktoberfest). Most of the events are held on Addison Circle. However, Beltline road in Addison has a lot of shopping, bars, comedy clubs, liquor stores, and restaurants to keep everyone entertained and happy.

The best shopping can be had at West Village, The West End, NorthPark shopping center, The Galleria Mall, and a variety of other massive shopping centers located around Dallas, Texas (i.e., Grapevine Mills, Shops at Willow Bend, and Stonebriar Shopping Center). $1 movies at Cinemark Plano Movie 10.

Too bad the person couldn't visit during the STATE FAIR of TEXAS http://www.bigtex.com/sft/ . That is the best time to demonstrate how the Dallas - Fort Worth area is a major exhibition center. Start off at the museums at the Dallas Fair Grounds, then go to Longhorn exhibit at the Dallas Convention Center http://www.dallasconventioncenter.com/, go shopping at the Dallas Design District http://www.dallas-design-district.com/, and, finally, show them the Dallas Market Center http://dallasmarketcenter.com/MarketCalendar.aspx.

[artsyguy]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVor82jtjIE


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KtFyG4SHWk


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K30G0LSpT_E


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkB1kHvCi1I

[artsyguy]

The drive to Cedar Hill State Park and Cedar Ridge Preserve is rejuvenating.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MYs7...eature=related

[Lakewooder]

Well the 'scene' at the Rattlesnake and Live Oak Bars at the Ritz-Carlton is always good for people watching -- it reminds me of the 80s at the Mansion Bar. But most folks are pretty friendly and not putting on airs. The Mansion had those posers but they were fun to watch - most people were friendly there too..but you know it was the 80s! Live Oak Bar has a huge fireplace where you can sit on the hearth or in a nearby chair.

Across the street from the Ritz is Sambuca which usually has live music - and Ocean Prime Bar across the other way is another good people-watching spot - large outdoor covered bar - which will probably be draped-in for the weather. Pommodoro/Arcodoro is now at the Crescent - usually decorated nicely and good for a walk-though at least (Nobu is inside). The ZaZa is just up the street but it's a bit more subdued in the winter - however the pool will probably be covered and there's a bar out there -the Oasis. All very Dallas-y. For your hangover on Sunday afternoon, you can't beat Primo's on McKinney or if you get up early enough, there is Breadwinner's brunch next door.

[k_s]

I've only been to the Arboretum during the summertime months. Can someone really experience it during winter?