These are the 15 best things to do in Fort Worth this weekend

April 20,2023

See full CultureMap article by Alex Bentley here.

Fort Worth Art Fair
The second annual Fort Worth Art Fair is not to be confused with that other event, taking place entirely in Sundance Square Plaza. It is also a showcase for art and music, with over 100 artists on display from participating local galleries and a variety of daily concerts. The fair will go on through April 23.

Fort Worth Botanic Garden presents Japanese Spring Festival
At Fort Worth Botanic Garden's Japanese Spring Festival, visitors can enjoy performances by Taiko drumming groups, traditional dances, karate experts, and Master Swordsman G.K. Sugai; displays of the miniature worlds of bonsai trees from the Fort Worth Bonsai Society, demonstrations in Origami, Calligraphy, and Japanese Games; and more. The festival takes place on April 22 and 23.

This weekend across Fort Worth is so packed full of big events that we are going to break with format and group them by subject matter instead of dates. There is something for everybody to do over the next four days, so staying home is not an option.

Below are the best ways to spend your precious free time this weekend. Want more options? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.

FESTIVALS

Main St. Fort Worth Arts Festival
The Main St. Fort Worth Arts Festival showcases 215 jury-selected visual artists, live music on two stages, authentic local cuisine, the family-friendly “TCC Makers Zone,” craft beer, wine tastings, and more across 18 square blocks throughout downtown Fort Worth. The festival, taking place through April 23, will once again be sharing downtown with...

Fort Worth Art Fair
The second annual Fort Worth Art Fair is not to be confused with that other event, taking place entirely in Sundance Square Plaza. It is also a showcase for art and music, with over 100 artists on display from participating local galleries and a variety of daily concerts. The fair will go on through April 23.

Fort Worth Botanic Garden presents Japanese Spring Festival
At Fort Worth Botanic Garden's Japanese Spring Festival, visitors can enjoy performances by Taiko drumming groups, traditional dances, karate experts, and Master Swordsman G.K. Sugai; displays of the miniature worlds of bonsai trees from the Fort Worth Bonsai Society, demonstrations in Origami, Calligraphy, and Japanese Games; and more. The festival takes place on April 22 and 23.

Ubbi Dubbi Festival
The annual Ubbi Dubbi Festival will feature an expanded festival site and a new fourth stage. The two-day festival on April 22 and 23 will feature performances by over 40 electronic music artists, including Adventure Club, Bonnie x Clyde, Fairlane, Kaskade, Slushii, and more. It will take place at Panther Island Pavilion.

MUSIC

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra presents Meet the Composer: Brian Raphael Nabors
In advance of Brian Raphael Nabors' work Of Earth & Sky: Tales from the Motherland receiving its world premiere with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra this weekend, the Alabama native will speak about the composition at this special event on April 20 at Kimbell Art Museum

Rauw Alejandro in concert
Puerto Rican singer Rauw Alejandro has taken the Latin music world by storm, releasing three albums in three years, with each of them going multi-platinum. Naturally, he's already collaborated with some of the other big names of the genre, including Shakira, Bad Bunny, Luis Fonsi, and more. He'll play at Dickies Arena on April 20 in support of his 2022 album, Saturno, joined by Jabbawockeez.

Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real in concert
It must be weird and difficult being the offspring of a music legend, but Lukas Nelson has managed to forge his own path apart from his father, Willie. He and his band, Promise of the Real, have been together since the late 2000s, releasing eight country rock albums in 13 years, including the forthcoming Sticks and Stones. They'll play at Billy Bob's Texas on April 20.

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra presents "A Night at the Ballet: Brian Raphael Nabors, Humperdinck, Griffes, Ravel, and Stravinsky"
In a unique artistic collaboration, the Texas Ballet Theater will perform in a joint program with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra to selections like Stravinsky's Suite from The Firebird, Griffes' Pleasure Dome of Kubla Kahn, and more. The program will be balanced out by Of Earth & Sky: Tales from the Motherland, a world premiere work by Brian Raphael Nabors. There will be three performances, April 21-23, at Bass Performance Hall.

Tracy Byrd in concert
Country singer Tracy Byrd was part of the early 1990s country boom alongside acts like Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, and more. He became a success thanks to hits like "Holdin' Heaven," "Lifestyles of the Not So Rich and Famous," "Watermelon Crawl," "The Keeper of the Stars," and more. He's released 10 albums in his career, with the most recent being 2016's All American Texan. He'll play at Billy Bob's Texas on April 21.

Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth presents Joy in So Many Words
Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth presents Joy in So Many Words, which will introduce the audience to a composer, Albert Roussel, who is rarely heard, and two guest artists who are making their debut with CMSFW. Jordan Bak, viola and Alexander Kobrin, piano, join artists Gary Levinson, Michael Klotz, Wendy Sutter, and Brian Perry for this performance at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth on April 22.

Austin Allsup in concert
Fort Worth native Austin Allsup is best known for his success on season 11 of NBC’s The Voice in 2016. As a member of Team Blake, Allsup was able to walk the line of a country outlaw and renegade rock n’ roller persuaded by passion and purity to his craft, making it to the top 10. Allsup has released a total of four studio albums, most recently This Weary Land in 2016. He'll play at Billy Bob's Texas on April 22.

THEATER

Theatre Wesleyan presents Bat Boy: The Musical
Bat Boy is a rock musical comedy/horror show based on a 1992 Weekly World News story about a half-boy, half-bat who grew up living in an isolated cave in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia. With a beat-driven rock score that pays homage to the rock musicals of the late '60s and early '70s, Bat Boy provides a compelling theatrical metaphor for the dangers of prejudice, intolerance, and provincialism. The production will have four performances, April 20-23, at Thad Smotherman Theatre at Texas Wesleyan University.

Amphibian Stage presents Baba
Baba chronicles the tender, funny, and complex relationship between a newly-immigrated father and his U.S.-born daughter. Freedom and family collide when Mohammad’s search for the American dream leads Layla on a quest home to Egypt 30 years after the story begins. The production runs through May 7 at Amphibian Stage.

Casa Mañana presents Disney's High School Musical
The smash-hit movie musical comes to life on stage in Disney’s High School Musical. Troy, Gabriella, and the students of East High deal with issues of first love, friends, and family all while balancing their classes and extra-curricular activities. The production runs April 22-May 7 at Casa Mañana Theatre.

MOVIES

Magnolia at the Modern: iMordecai
When Mordecai (Judd Hirsch), a Holocaust survivor, is given a new iPhone, an unexpected series of events upends his world. The heartwarming Miami-set comedy, based on a true story, co-stars Sean Astin and Carol Kane. There will be seven screenings, April 21-23, at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.