Things to Do in Grand Prairie

Since its opening in 1988, Ellen's Amusement Center has provided visitors with a full range of family fun, including mini golf, go-karts, and paintball. The 18-hole putt-putt course is littered with such whimsical obstructions as a diminutive oil rig, a mini rollercoaster, and the obligatory windmill. Racers negotiate hairpin curves on the tire-lined go-kart track. A crossfire of chromatic projectiles enlivens four paintball fields, where players dive behind bunkers on the speedball courses or camouflage themselves as commando squirrels on the woods field. The facility also boasts batting cages equipped for hardball and softball as well as a redemption arcade filled with two stories' worth of video games.

Since 1980, the Irving Arts Center Dallas has beckoned families and performers to its arts-focused grounds sprawled across 10 verdant acres. A quartet of galleries exhibits rotating collections of multihued magnum opuses, and a sculpture garden flourishes with innovative fountains and towering clay installation pieces that switch places when no one is looking. More than just a feast for the eyes, the arts center also educates youngsters and their familial units with summer camps and programs such as story time throughout the year.

While attending Austin College, two important things happened to Kirby and Kristi Carmichael: they fell in love with art, and with each other. When Kirby moved to Italy after graduation to expand his pottery education, Kristi followed. During that time, she discovered she had a knack for majolica painting––a craft that Renaissance-era artists used to decorate vases, jars, and plates, all of which Leonardo da Vinci invented. The couple realized they had a sturdy link between their talents, and eventually returned to the United States jobless, engaged, and ready to share what they'd learned.

In October 2005, the Carmichaels opened Quiggly's Clayhouse, where potters and painters alike have since been crafting masterpieces and sharpening their skills with lessons. The studio's flexible walk-in availability encourages artists to visit whenever inspiration strikes—be it for painting pottery, sculpting clay, fusing glass, or forging mosaics. Frequent themed events also bring groups together in the name of casual creativity, including adult wheel nights, ladies’ nights, and kids’ nights.

For the guests of Maximum Sports Connection, a Dallas Cowboys game actually starts three hours before kickoff. For both home and away games, the company hosts all-inclusive tailgate parties—with or without tickets to the game itself—that keep revelers sustained with burgers, brats, drinks, and raffles for Cowboys merchandise. Customers can dress the part with apparel from the online store to show off their fandom or eerie resemblance to Troy Aikman to current and former players during private autograph sessions.

In addition to game-day events, Maximum Sports Connection also hosts Saturday-night dinner parties where fans come together to break bread as sportswriter Mickey Spagnola and former Cowboy Nate Newton broadcast their weekly radio program, Radio Road Show. Stadium tours the day before or after a game enable fans to guide themselves throughout Cowboys Stadium, while off-season trips such as a weekend in the Bahamas give fans the chance to draw up defensive plays in the sand with current and former Cowboys.

Snapped Together's hand-built photo booths, armed with professional-grade cameras, lighting, and printers, spit out crisp, vivid photo strips within seconds while oozing retro charm. Its open-air booths made with mahogany and brushed aluminum channel the photo booths of yesteryear but without all the nasty chemicals and posing for days to get one picture. Staffers transport these open-air models—as well as traditional booths—to a cornucopia of events and stand by to help add photogenic pizzazz to weddings, birthday parties, and charitable fundraisers. After shindigs, hosts can bring home a flash drive brimming with images, a memento almost as priceless as a contact lens used by Ansel Adams.