Celebrating Birthdays Creatively in Dallas
If you live in the Dallas/Fort Worth TX area, try these on for size:
Make a splash with a swim party at the Coppell Aquatic and Recreation Center, 234 E. Parkway Boulevard, Dallas, 214-307-7077.
A party to kill for is showing that crime pays, at least when it spices up a festivity with a whodunit laced with plenty of humor. The CrimeScene Company mostly performs at Spaghetti Warehouse.
Improv yourself (for adults) if you’re feeling a little touchy about the relentless march of time by heading to this rooftop pool at The Fairmont Dallas, 1717 N. Akard Street, Dallas. For kids do the roommates thing. Parents of burgeoning sophisticates who would prefer to spend the night away from home with a few friends may want to consider the Fabulous Package at the hotel. The hotel opened with much fanfare in 1969 as Texas’ first luxury hotel. Dubbed “the arts district hotel,” the Fairmont remains at the center of the city’s many attractions. Entertainment is an integral part of the Fairmont Hotels & Resorts tradition.
Your ride is waiting for the adults in your party anyway because you can celebrate your special day aboard a vintage 1920s streetcar operated by the McKinney Avenue Transit Authority, 3153 Oak Grove, Dallas. For more information, go to mata.org.
For kids try mind over matter in a fun party with challenging opportunities to explore, play, and experience mind-stretching fun at the Engineer It! exhibit at the Sci-Tech Discovery Center in the Shops at Willow Bend, 6121 at the Dallas North Tollway, Plano.
In hot weather try Cool Pools for kids that includes a feng shui combination covering hair, makeup, and clothing, use of the Water House and a green tea manicure and pedicure.
You and your friends can join in the Pretty Woman Package and soak in the Water House before getting up-dos and having makeup applied. Go to Benu Spa & Salon, 5555 E. Mockingbird Lane in Dallas. The spa is named after the benu, a bird that starts its day by flying to a treetop and singing its praise to a new awakening. The spa’s motto is “Rise and shine, transform, and live with brilliance.” The spa staff has created retreats all over the globe but they say this one is the first of its kind. The Water House offers a soak, a shower, and a shared experience. There’s a whirlpool, rain shower, steam cave, and locker facility (complimentary with spa services). You can get a massage, facial care, body mask, herbal shower, warm olive oil and herb wrap, scrub, energy Elixir refreshment, or a scalp massage, among many other treats.
Or try the whistle blower for kids by leaving the heavy lifting, or rather, pulling, for your party to “Puffy” steam locomotive that pulls 1920s restored coaches of the Grapevine Railroad. Experience the 1896 Steam Engine #2248 (“Puffy”) on Saturdays and Sundays. There are substitute engines as operating conditions demand. Tickets aren’t available online after 10 a.m. the day of the trip. You can travel from Grapevine to the Fort Worth Stockyards round-trip or to the Trinity Run (Stockyards to 8th Avenue). The #2248 is the product of the Cooke Locomotive Works of Patterson, NJ. The 4-6-or ten-wheeler was built for and used by Southern Pacific long past the time that many steam engines had been replaced by diesels. When her flue time ran out in late 1959 she was retired and bought by a private collector, Charles T. Brown. In 1990 “Puffy” was purchased by the Fort Worth and Western Railroad and was fully restored at the 8th Avenue Yard in Fort Worth.
The Grapevine Vintage Railroad ‘s four 1925 day coaches were bought from the Strasburg Railroad in Strasburg, PA. Each luxurious coach contains enough walkover seating for 72 guests. The Railroad has two open air touring coaches built in 1927 by the American Car Foundry for the Wabash Railroad. Today the Railroad operates over approximately 21 miles of the Cotton Belt line, linking the historic communities of Grapevine, Colleyville, Smithfield, and Fort Worth’s Stockyards.
This route was the first serious attempt to develop an extended railroad system on the North American continent. The Cotton Belt route arrived in Grapevine in 1888.
The Trinity River Route in Fort Worth offers visitors a chance to take in the sights, sounds, and tastes of the area.
