Valentine’s Day things to do in DFW, both sweet and offbeat
There’s lots to love in DFW this week, ranging from wine and roses celebrations to Comic Con fan days to the ‘Twisted Love’ at Cutting Edge Haunted House. Throw in Monster Trucks, ballet and a reptile show, and their truly is something for everyone.
Grapevine’s Sweetheart Wine Trail lets you sample three wines with food pairings at each of seven wineries. It’s 11 a.m. -5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; $50 per person; grapevinetexasusa.com.
Cutting Edge Haunted House’s “Twisted Love,” Friday through Sunday nights, features some of the usual frighful attractions lit only by candlelight. $25.95-$47.95. 1701 E. Lancaster Ave., Fort Worth. 817-348-8444; cuttingedgehauntedhouse.com
‘West Side Story,’ times two: Our area’s major orchestras are dancing in sync this weekend, with dueling programs highlighting music from West Side Story. The Fort Worth Symphony puts it in a classical context, with Miguel Harth-Bedoya conducting Bernstein’s symphonic dances from West Side Story, along with music by Ginastera and Saint-Saens. Friday-Sunday at Bass Hall. $20-$82. 817-665-6000; fwsymphony.org. And the Dallas Symphony is playing the entire score live as the 1961 film is projected over the orchestra. Friday-Sunday at the Meyerson Symphony Center, 2301 Flora St., Dallas. $19-$109. 214-849-4376; mydso.com
Dallas ComicCon Fan Days: Geeks get plenty of face time with their heroes at this slightly smaller version of Dallas’ Comic Con. Celebs include Brent Spiner and Bruce Greenwood from different “Star Trek” generations, the stars of The Dukes of Hazzard and Austin St. John, the original Red Power Ranger. Attractions include costume contests, shopping, photo and autograph sessions, plus a special Valentine’s Day speed-dating event. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday at Irving Convention Center, 500 W. Las Colinas Blvd. Single-day passes $30-$45, $5 for under 12; two-day passes $60-$129. dallascomiccon.com
Klyde Warren Park’s “Hearts in the Park,” 3-9 p.m. Saturday, is a family-friendly costume party with a Roaring Twenties theme, games, crafts, dancing and an outdoor screening of The Great Gatsby at 6:30 p.m. Free. 2012 Woodall Rogers Freeway, Dallas; 214-716-4500; klydewarrenpark.org.
Schola Cantorum presents “Songs for Lovers” at the Kimbell Art Museum, with a cash bar, roses and chocolates. It’s 3 p.m. Sunday at 3333 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth. $20. 817-485-2500; scholatexas.com.
“Love Is in the Air” at Texas Discovery Gardens offers chocolate-covered insects (swoon!), an entomologist talking about “bug love” and a ladybug release inside the (truly romantic) butterfly house. $35, $50 per couple. 3-5 p.m. Saturday in Fair Park, 3601 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Dallas; texasdiscoverygardens.org.
North American Reptile Breeders Conference: Hold each other close as you check out thousands of reptiles, familiar and exotic — snakes, geckos, turtles, iguanas and more. Some are pet-ready and up for sale, others (some rarely seen snake breeds, for example) are just for gawking and wonder. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday at the Arlington Convention Center, 1200 Ballpark Way. $15 adults, $8 ages 5-12, free for younger. narbc.com.
Stolen Shakespeare Guild’s Battle of the Sexes: It’s festival time for Fort Worth’s Stolen Shakespeare Guild, which has chosen Valentine’s weekend to debut its The Taming of the Shrew, which premieres Friday as the first component of its Battle of the Sexes festival. Then, on Feb. 19, SSG opens The Tamer Tamed, John Fletcher’s reply to Shakespeare in which the women set out to tame the men. These two plays will run in rotation along with a children’s version of Romeo and Juliet through March 6, in the Sanders Theatre at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center, 1300 Gendy St. $10-$17; children’s show $5-$7. 866-811-4111; stolenshakespeareguild.org
Ballet Magnificat: Fort Worth’s Ballet Concerto sponsors a concert by one of the more interesting touring dance groups around, a Mississippi-based company with a Christian mission. We’ll see two pieces, Deliver Us!, set to music from the Dreamworks animated Bible film The Prince of Egypt, and The Arrival, about the Second Coming. 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Scott Theatre inside the Fort Worth Community Arts Center, 1300 Gendy St. $35. 817-738-7915; balletconcerto.com.
Last chance: Kimbell exhibits: For a brainy Valentine’s Day outing, show some love for one of Fort Worth’s great art institutions. Sunday is the final day for the Kimbell’s must-see “Gustave Caillebotte: The Painter’s Eye,” with 50 works by the impressionist master including the famed Paris Street, Rainy Day (take a selfie in front of a mock version in the lobby — umbrellas and top hats provided). Sunday’s also the last day for the fascinating “Castiglione: Lost Genius.” 3333 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth. $14-$18 for Caillebotte; Castiglione is free. 817-332-8451; www.kimbellart.org
Monster Jam at AT&T Stadium: Giant trucks with names like El Diablo, Grave Digger and Razin Cane will churn up the dirt on the floor of Jerry World on Saturday night, and we can’t image a more romantic notion. 7 p.m. Tickets $15-$140. One AT&T Way, Arlington. www.ticketmaster.com.
This story was originally published February 11, 2016 at 6:05 PM with the headline "Valentine’s Day things to do in DFW, both sweet and offbeat."