Things to Do in Lancaster

The Dallas Symphony Orchestra speeds up audiences’ heartbeats from adagio to allegro with a thrilling lineup of classical and contemporary performances. Radiating the enthusiasm and boasting the musical chops of the Fab Four themselves, Twist and Shout will give the symphony a night off on May 11, taking the stage for a night of Beatles classics sure to delight hair-shaking moptops and headbanging whiskbrooms. The Meyerson's world-class acoustics and magnificent, shoebox-style chamber will imbue hits including "Hey Jude," "Yesterday," and "A Hard Day's Night" with a epic quality—not unlike having Charlton Heston read a grocery list aloud.

The AT&T Performing Arts Center is a cluster of cultural facilities and venues at the heart of the Dallas Arts District.

For more than three decades, the Hudson family has fostered a fun, safe environment for exercise at Red Bird Skateland. The glossy roller rink welcomes the public during open skate hours, and hosts birthday parties as well. Bashes can be held during public skate hours, or birthday kids can opt for private celebrations, which lets partygoers skate unimpeded by strangers after feasting on cake.

For 35 years, Valerie Compton has dipped her toes into every aspect of fitness. She followed up her experience in track and field and tennis by building her career as a personal trainer, and she later branched out into Power Pilates, Spinning, and nutrition. When she designed BarreFusion in 2006, she struck upon the latest trend in fitness. Today, Valerie surrounds herself with instructors who channel their experience as classical dancers, gymnastics, and triathletes to lead rigorous barre classes.

Valerie starts her instruction with a BarreLite class that introduces newcomers to the proper forms and techniques to master fundamentals. From there, she encourages students to test out a number of other classes. The popular BarreFusion class combines Pilates, yoga, ballet, and light weights to sculpt legs and cores. She also offers Spinning classes that challenge students with a high-energy, aerobic workout that mimics cycling in front of stampeding wildebeests.

Returning for their fourth year of family fun, Dallas Kids Expo’s organizers thrill children and parents with a one-day whirlwind of activities, exhibition booths, and kid-friendly demonstrations at Dallas Market Hall. Amid the spacious expo grounds, a fleet of exhibitors—from pediatric dentists to craft stores—welcome wanderers into their booths, cordially introducing their wares and services via games of charades. Appearances by Bob the Builder bring smiles to kids' faces, and information sessions for parents on child-rearing topics are hosted by local child-rearing gurus. As the day continues, kids work off excess energy at the petting zoo or by starting their own five-cent tax-preparation-service booth.

The frosty rink at Americas Ice Garden is always abuzz with wintry activity, hosting skaters ready to carve out figure eight8s during public hours or rehearse for impending competitions at freestyle skates. Athletes just breaking into the sport can attend skating and hockey classes, or commit to two weeks of drama and vocal exercises of saying "triple lutz" 10 times fast at ice-theater camps. The fun but demanding camps culminate in a production staged on the ice for a crowd of spectators. When thespians clear out, the rink is free to once again host parties or broomball matches.

Sunlight streams through 12 stories' worth of glass prisms, exploding into rainbows that dance on the trees, plants, and spouting fountains that fringe the well-chilled oval at its home in the heart of the Plaza of the as. The prisms are suspended in a next-door atrium, home to many shops and cultural attractions near the ice garden, including the Dallas Museum of Art.