Holy moly, where did September go? It’s already the first day of the State Fair and we have a comprehensive guide to all the new fried foods, plus a guide to all the happenings there. I hope everyone had a pleasant month, I can’t remember where mine went. This is the last weekend of September, which means Christmas decorations should be ready for purchase in a couple days. Until then, check out all of the fun stuff going on in North Texas.
FRIDAY
Today’s the first day of the Greek Food Festival of Dallas, which is going on all weekend. I’ll hazard a guess that you’ll find a gyro or two, among lots of other great Mediterranean dishes. It’s free to get in at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church. Everything starts at 4 p.m. and wraps up at 11 p.m. tonight.
If the final day of Holy Grail’s Oktoberfest is bumming you out, don’t worry! McKinney’s Oktoberfest celebration is starting today! What luck! It’ll be at the McKinney Downtown Square. It’s free to wander, but a few dollars will get you a tasty, authentic German beer from local brewery Franconia. There’s also food and games for the kids. In addition, there’ll be a couple benefit events for the Alzheimer’s Association: a pancake breakfast at Spoons from 8-10 p.m. and the Second Annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s starting at Spoons at 8:30 a.m. They’re both on Saturday.
Starting at 11 a.m. at the State Fair, you can check out the Celebrity Kitchen in the Creative Arts Building to see popular restaurant chefs show off their cooking prowess. It’s free with admission. See? It’s not all about fried butter.
At 5 p.m., you can check out the 2-day 7th Annual Amateur BBQ Cook-off at the Bass Pro Shop in Grapevine. The cook-off is benefiting Camp Craig Allen, an organization dedicated to physically disabled children and adults of North Texas. Tickets are $25 and will get you a BBQ dinner and $1,000 in casino chips for the tables. That’s not to mention the live bands and games going on. The second day is definitely more kid-oriented, so if that is something that interests you, I’d suggest going tomorrow.
SATURDAY
The sound of the Beer, Bourbon & Brisket Festival just makes me smile. Over at Panther Island Pavilion in Fort Worth, you can throw on your trunks and hang out in the river, chewing on tasty barbecue and watching bands like Somebody’s Darling and Whiskey Folk on the waterfront stage. If you’re at least 21, you’ll get to try all of the craft beer and bourbon samples at the tasting tent. I highly suggest having a visit. You can FLOAT and eat BRISKET, y’all. This stuff pretty much writes itself.
It’s still Holy Grail Pub’s Oktoberfest Week, but the fun ends on Monday. I’ve started to understand that the “Oktober” in Oktoberfest is more like a feeling than a time. As in “I feel like I should be drinking beer right now.” That’s absolutely fine with me. It goes on until midnight tonight, so stop in before you’re forced to wait until next September for more Oktober. There will be beer tappings, giveaways, and schnitzels.
SUNDAY
GMO OMG explores how large food corporations takeover and control seed diversity, and how this loss of diversity and corresponding lab-assisted genetic alteration of food affects the health of the planet. It’ll be showing at the Texas Theatre at 5 p.m. and again on Tuesday. This documentary appears during a time when many are starting to question what’s going on to our food behind-the-scenes. Check it out if you’re interested.
Jake Austin Medina is a D Magazine intern and a journalism major at the University of North Texas. His favorite vegetable is an onion.
