A family-friendly and growing community, Plano, Texas, is well-known for providing a strong job market and an amazing quality of life. One of its best features is the downtown Plano Arts District. This vibrant community is a flourishing venue for mouthwatering restaurants, international festivals, musical performances, and several unique shops and boutiques.
If you are looking for a pleasant way to spend a weekend, look no further than the downtown arts district. When you need to relax from a long week at work, consider visiting the events and venues listed below. The team at Huffines Chevy Plano highly recommends the Plano Arts District for its dynamic, easygoing, and creative vibe.
North Texas Performing Arts
North Texas Performing Arts (NTPA) is a non-profit organization that provides quality performing arts and drama education for youth ages 3 to 18. Not only are these youth having fun but they are developing several lifelong skills and valuable character traits. As the largest youth-dedicated theater troupe in the country, NTPA’s goal is to ensure all youth have an opportunity to discover and develop their passion for the arts.
While NTPA offers many programs and courses for youth in the Plano area, it also provides awe-inspiring theater productions presented by teams of very talented and creative theater troupes. A few of their most recent performances include “The Velveteen Rabbit,” “Disney’s Moana, Jr.,” “Footloose the Musical,” and “James and the Giant Peach.”
Plano International Festival
The Plano International Festival is a celebration of the rich cultural diversity of the city of Plano. This annual event offers multicultural displays, tons of entertainment and activities, and some of the most amazing food and drinks the city has to offer. The festival not only celebrates diversity but also promotes ethnic awareness and communication between the various cultural communities.
This family-friendly event features entertainment that includes a wide range of culturally enriching dances, musical selections, and vocal performances. In the Children’s Global Village, groups, businesses, and organizations from the community provide educational and hands-on activities for children of all ages. This year, STEAM activities for children are being added to the schedule. Engaging and hands-on events in science, technology, engineering, art, and math will be available throughout the whole festival. Don’t forget to stay for the culinary delights offered by the various food trucks from the Plano area.
The Men of Note Chorus
An a cappella chorus that provides amazing entertainment and education, the Men of Note Chorus is known for its melodic and talented voices. The mission of this community chorus is to use music as a bridge for helping others within the Plano community. For example, they have created and supported four Youth in Harmony events in local school districts.
Membership in the Men of Note Chorus is open to both male and female singers. Their most popular events include an annual Spring show, a summer patriotic performance, and a Christmas musical in December.
Spa Habitat
If you’ve been searching for a relaxing experience in downtown Plano, then you need to make plans to visit Spa Habitat. This therapeutic health spa offers a wide array of unique and calming experiences. The spa maintains a commitment to environmentally friendly practices, such as eco-friendly towels and linens and the use of wind power energy. You will be pampered using the finest organic, natural, and plant-based ingredients.
Experience massages and facials like the Farm to Spa massage that features a relaxing massage using lavender and eucalyptus aromatherapy oils. The Apothecary Mud Wrap is a body ritual that consists of a Hungarian apothecary mud application to tone, firm, and pull impurities from deep within the pores. You may also enjoy the Lavender Blueberry Foot Ritual that takes advantage of the healing qualities of lavender and blueberry while exfoliating and nourishing your sore and tired feet.
Dark Hour Haunted House
Plano’s premiere haunted attraction, the Dark Hour Haunted House, produces one of the best fear-inducing experiences that Plano has to offer. Professional actors, Broadway-theater production sets, and innovative technology create a genuine terror encounter for those who take delight in the gruesome and the macabre. Doing their best to produce frightful and horrifying productions, the Dark Hour Haunted House features several shows throughout the year such as “Saint Patrick’s Slay” in March, “Dog Days of Summer” in July, and of course, “Halloween” in September and October.
Jorg’s Cafe Vienna
Serving authentic Austrian and German food, Jorg’s Cafe Vienna was founded by Jorg Fercher, who is originally from Carpathia, Austria. This family-owned restaurant emphasizes an Old World atmosphere with a cozy dining room and bar, a Bier Stuben for private parties, and a Biergarten, an outdoor patio area where you can dine with family and friends. The menu at Jorg’s Cafe Vienna is chock-full of old family recipes and traditional German dishes including Oktoberfest Bratwurst, Austrian-Hungarian Goulash, Oma’s Paprika Schnitzel, Austrian Spaetzle Noodles, Braised Red Cabbage, and Marinated Sauerkraut.
Mallow Box
The Mallow Box is a S’mores Bar and Gourmet Marshmallow confectionary that features some of the most unique and comforting treats in Plano. Each of their marshmallows is made by hand, from scratch, with absolutely no preservatives. Their dessert shop includes a menu that offers a wide range of delicious and fluffy sweet treats. Choose from their Marshmallow Kebabs, S’Mores Bowls, S’Mores Shakes, and one of their amazing specialties, the Malookie, a cookie marshmallow delight. Their marshmallows come in a variety of flavors such as caramel, M&M, vanilla, chocolate, cinnamon, coffee, banana rum, pina colada, and maple pecan bourbon.
The next time you want to plan a weekend of merriment or relaxation, choose one of the performance venues, restaurants, or other engaging opportunities listed above. Plano has so much to offer. It would take several weekend visits to see all that this unique city has for locals and visitors alike.
Which one of the above hot spots are you planning to visit? Do you want to spend an afternoon relaxing at the Spa Habitat? Are you looking forward to trying some authentic Austrian food at Jorg’s Cafe Vienna? Is there another entertaining venue you would recommend? If so, contact us so we can add it to our list. Whatever you choose, you will certainly experience a fun and festive weekend making long-lasting memories with family and friends.
Image via Flickr by RichardBH