Mesquite Championship Rodeo

Yeehaw! It's a real rodeo in the Resistol Arena, just outside of Dallas. Watch cowboys perform tie-down roping, steer wrestling, barrel racing, and bull riding. Bring your camera and grab some BBQ for dinner while you enjoy the show.

Fun Facts:
Steer Wrestling is an extremely athletic sport in which a horseback rider chases a steer, jumps from his horse, grabs the steer by the horns, and wrestles the animal to the ground. The entire event is timed until the steer is on its side and all four steer legs are off the ground. The cowboy with the fastest time wins.

In order for a bull rider to gain points in a competition, the rider must stay on the bull for at least eight seconds. Judges award points based on how much control and rhythm a bull rider maintains during those eight dangerous seconds.

Barrel racing is a popular equestrian sport for both men and women but was originally designed for women and remains popular for that gender today. The purpose of the sport is to ride a horse around a maze of barrels as fast as possible, while following a special pattern. The special pattern is often called a "cloverleaf."

Texas Rangers Baseball Game

See the 2010 American League Champions in action! The Texas Rangers play at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, where fans enjoy traditional ballpark amenities combined with unique youth-friendly facilities.

Be Sure to Explore:
Nolan Ryan is currently team president and part-owner of the Texas Rangers. Ryan holds the record for no-hitters and is the only player to have his jersey retired by three different teams: the Angels, the Astros, and the Rangers. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.

Seats at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington can put you closer to the action than most other baseball fields. Seats behind home plate are just 60 feet from home plate and the distance to the stands from 1st and 3rd base is under 57 feet!

The Texas Rangers played in their first World Series ever in 2010 against the San Francisco Giants. The team brought home their first American League pennant after beating the New York Yankees.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra

Under the direction of Jaap Van Zweden, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra provides an inspirational and cultural experience as they perform at the world-class Meyers Symphony Center.

Fun Facts:
The current musical director is Jaap Van Zweden. Van Zweden studied at The Julliard School and was an accomplished violinist by the time he was 15 years old.

Discovering new music is one of the best reasons to experience an orchestral performance. However, if you'd like to listen to some of the Dallas Symphony music prior to your visit, feel free to visit their website for a listing of classical songs.

Sixth Floor Museum

The Sixth Floor Museum is located in the building formerly known as the Texas School Book Depository on Dealey Plaza. Self-guided tours offer visitors a look out of the southeast window across the site of President John F. Kennedy's assassination. This incredible experience offers in-depth documentation and memorabilia to describe the events of November 22, 1963.

Did You Know?
One of the most important documentations of President Kennedy's assassintation was a film, taken by Abraham Zapruder. Mr. Zapruder filmed the parade and by chance captured the assassination. His footage is most valued for its view angle and was used by the Warren Commission during investigations.

One major reason conspiracy theories still circulate regarding the event is that there were over 100 witnesses all with different opinions. While many claimed to have heard bullets fired overhead from the Texas School Book Depository, others claimed to hear shots fired from the grassy knoll across the street. Still other witnesses believed to hear shots fired from another location entirely. These claims lead theorists to believe there was at least one other gunman assisting Oswald.

Ripley's Believe It or Not!® & Louis Tussaud's Palace of Wax

Prepare to be shocked by some of the world's most unbelieveable illusions and oddities. This bizarre museum offers interactive exhibits as well as Louis Tussaud's wax museum.

Believe It or Not:
Robert Ripley, founder of Ripley's Believe It or Not!®, published a drawing by Charles Schulz when Schulz was just a child. Schulz, the famed "Peanuts" cartoonist, sent the drawing to Ripley of his dog who ate strange objects.

Robert Ripley employed a full-time fact-checker in the early 1930's to research the accuracy of peculiar claims. The fact-checker spent most of his time working in the New York Library.

Robert Ripley had an odd habit of exaggerating or fabricating stories about his own life. He often reported different years of birth and made inaccurate claims about his education and his travels around the world.