Road Trip!

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This article appeared in the Fall 2008 issue of Texoma Living!.

The Texoma Living! Travel Guide. Places to Go. Things to Do.

Now thru Oct 31

Bee There or Bee Square Bee Hive Exhibit

Want to know how important bees are to the production of food? See for yourself in the Heard Museum’s Living Lab. Watch the busy bees come and go (they have access to the outside, but not to the visitor area) and make honey in a series of very active hives.

For a complete listing of exhibits and dates visit the museum’s website at www.heardmuseum.org

Open Mon-Sat 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday 1-5 p.m.
Adults $8; Children 3-12, $5
Seniors $5; Under 3, free.

Now thru Dec 31

Dinosaurs Alive!
Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary in McKinney

Life-size animatronic dinosaurs return to the Heard. Dilophosaurus and T-Rex join their prehistoric homies Iguanodon and the Cryloposaurus. In all, eleven dinos will be flexing their muscles.

Oct 9-Oct 12

Grayson County Fair
Loy Park, Denison

The county fair is as much a part of the American fabric as hurling on the Tilt-A-Whirl. For those of us who can’t stomach the rides there are the exhibits and the livestock. A lot of local people volunteer to make the annual event a great time for the entire family. Admission $5 adults, Children under 12 and seniors 64+ $1; Midway Rides armbands $15, $13 in advance. For details visit www.graysoncountyfair.org.

Oct 3-May 17

Tutankhamun & the Golden Age of the Pharaohs
Dallas Museum of Art

This may be the hottest ticket in Dallas. In every one of the cities where this touring exhibit has opened, the crowds have been huge. Five million visitors have walked through the display of 50-plus treasures. Now in London, this is one of two touring exhibits (the other is Tutankhamun the Golden King and The Great Pharaohs that opens in Atlanta on November 15). Tix range in price from Adults $32.50; Children ages 6-17 $16.50; Students 18+ and Seniors 65+ $29.50. If you have a Kroger Plus Card you can save $3 on an adult admission. For info visit www.dallasmuseumofart.org

Sep 26-Oct 19

State Fair of Texas
Fair Park, Dallas

There’s more to the Texas State Fair than giant corn dogs and fried Twinkies. There are funnel cakes and fried cookie dough, too. The fair covers 277-feet-throbbing acres and hundreds of exhibits from prize pigs to coconut cream pies. Once you get past the shock of the $10 parking fee, you’ll feel better about the $14 Adult admission. Kids up to 48-inches tall and Seniors with ID are $10. Under age 3 can be carried or strolled in free. Discount tickets are easy to find, including at Kroger. For details visit www.bigtex.com.

Oct 6-Nov 25

33rd Annual Texas Renaissance Festival
Plantersville

Performers in elaborate costumes populate the Texas Renaissance Festival in Plantersville, Texas. There’s a costume shop at the festival where visitors to rent period clothing for the day.

There are plenty of renaissance festivals across the country, but none larger than the Texas Renaissance Festival in Plantersville just north of Houston. Last year over 373,000 visitors attended. The festival is open Saturdays, Sundays and Thanksgiving Friday from October 11 through November 30. Folks who really get into dressing up in tights, carrying swords and eating giant turkey legs take this stuff seriously. The result is an accurate re-creation (not counting the corn dog stands) of a 16th Century British village on 53 acres of lush forested hills. The festival has nearly 350 merchants selling wares. No renaissance festival would be complete without the obligatory knights and jousting and they’ve got ‘em. A news release touts that on certain weekends, “scalawag pirates and raucous Barbarians pillage” the New Market village, but we’re not sure how far that goes when it comes to the visitors. The festival has no bright-lighted ferris wheels. In fact, all of the rides are “human powered.” Hopefully, the human riders don’t provide the power. Each night there’s a big fireworks show over the lake. Admission for adults is $21, children 12 & under $10. It’s easy to find discount coupons. The Texas Renaissance Festival is located between Magnolia and Plantersville, 45 minutes northwest of Houston, or 4 hours, 13 minutes from Texoma. For more information visit online at www.texrenfest.com.