Mark Your Calendar

Make time for year-round fun in family-friendly Frisco

Even though summer is already waning, there's always something to look forward to in Frisco. Less than 4.5 hours from Houston, this north Dallas suburb has a year-round calendar of awesome events and festivals.

Whether you're looking for your next getaway or planning further ahead, take a look at what's coming up in the City That Plays.

August
Watch America's Team training practice at its headquarters, The Star in Frisco, during Dallas Cowboys Training Camp. Admission and parking are free and open to the public, and available on a first-come, first-served basis. In addition to open practices, the team hosts a week-long Back To Football celebration that includes family-friendly activities, a movie night, special offers from The Star District retail and restaurants, and more.

Coming soon in 2021:

September
Come see what life was like for the cowboys during Shawnee Trail Cowboy Day. The free event offers something for everyone, including food trucks, live entertainment, a beer and wine garden, costumed photos, kids crafts and games, armadillo races, and more.

October
Willkommen to Frisco Oktoberfest, which kicks off with an opening ceremony and traditional keg tapping. From the bierstein hoisting competition to the bratwurst eating tournament, there's plenty of fun brewing.

Lace up your sneakers and bring the whole family to enjoy the Frisco Arts Walk and Run at Hall Park. The run route takes you through the scenic Texas Sculpture Garden with pop-up musicians, dancers, vocalists, actors, visual artists, and more along the way. You'll even pass by the future spot for the Frisco Performing Arts Center.

Celebrate the latest class of inductees during the National Soccer Hall of Fame Induction Weekend, which always includes a big-name concert to cap it all off.

November
Christmas in the Square draws over 750,000 visitors annually to enjoy the free daily holiday light and music show that features 180,000 lights, 200 dancing snowflakes, 10 miles of wiring, and eight miles of extension cords.

The Texas Legends begin their season in November — they are are the National Basketball Association’s G League affiliate team of the Dallas Mavericks.

December
Ring in the holiday season with Merry Main Street, which begins with a Santa and friends parade and follows with a holiday gift market, kids holiday store, food vendors, a tree lighting ceremony, and performances from Frisco Elementary School choirs.

The 2021 college bowl season returns to Frisco with the Tropical Smoothie Cafe Bowl at Toyota Stadium, which ESPN will air for the fourth year.

Coming in 2022:

January
College football continues into the new year with NCAA Division I Football Championship Series. Frisco has hosted the game every year since 2009 and has the contract to host through 2025.

February
The WOGA Classic and Valeri Liukin Invitational is four great competitions in one iconic location, Ford Center at The Star in Frisco. It brings together competitors from countries all over the world in women's and men's artistic gymnastics, acrobatics, trampoline, and tumbling. See future Olympians compete from such participating countries as China, England, Russia, Canada, Mexico, the U.S., and more.

March
The Frisco College Baseball Classic is a premier early-season NCAA Division I collegiate baseball tournament that takes place annually at Riders Field.

The Texas Pinball Festival features more than 470 games and draws nearly 5,000 attendees, who savor three consecutive days of unfettered gamer bliss (games are set to free play with the price of your admission). Sample bites from a variety of food trucks and be on the lookout for this year’s celebrity guest. Famous past guests have included Lou Ferrigno, Cassandra Peterson, and John Rhys-Davies.

Arts in the Square is a juried fine arts and crafts festival featuring over 120 of the best local and regional artists selling their handmade creations. Feast your eyes on incredible art, sit and relax by Simpson Plaza, listen to local talent, watch ongoing performing arts, enjoy interactive art activities, and treat yourself to the food and spirits available at the variety of award-winning restaurants onsite.

FC Dallas starts its season of exciting Major League Soccer during March, with matches continuing through November.

Conference USA returns to Frisco with its premier basketball event at Ford Center at The Star. The Air Force Reserve C-USA Basketball Championships features 24 men's and women's basketball teams playing 22 games with C-USA titles and NCAA automatic bids on the line.

April
Sip on delicious wines, listen to live music, go grape stomping, eat tasty food, and do lots of great shopping with local vendors at Frisco Uncorked.

Catch a Frisco RoughRiders game when the season kicks off in April, and cheer on players in the Class AA affiliate of the Texas Rangers.

May
Frisco StrEATS Food Truck and Music Festival is North Texas' longest-running food truck festival, with live music, a unique shopping experience, craft beer and wine gardens, and countless children’s activities.

From rides to games and food to music, the Frisco Fair has it all and more. Admission is free — you just pay to play, ride, and chow down.

Watch the area's newest professional sports team, the Frisco Fighters, as they compete in the Indoor Football League beginning in May.

June
Music in the Square, the free summer concert series, returns with a diverse set of local performing artists. This year will see the addition of professional staging, sound, and lights to showcase the artists in the best possible way.

July
The real star of Frisco Freedom Fest is one of the largest fireworks finales in all of North Texas, following the annual FC Dallas match. But there's also Party in the Plaza, a Children's Expo, and the Taste of Frisco to be enjoyed.

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For a complete list of events in Frisco, head to www.visitfrisco.com/events.

Frisco Oktoberfest is coming in the fall.

Photo courtesy of Visit Frisco

Frisco Oktoberfest is coming in the fall.

promoted festivals

washed-up debate?

Ken Hoffman soaks up the deluge of controversy surrounding how often to change bath towels

Photo via Unsplash

How often should you switch out the thing on her head?

Former ESPN anchor turned author Jamele Hill caused a stir on Twitter when she revealed — omigosh – "I change my bath towel every 3-4 days. I feel that's about right. Am I wrong for this? Changing your towel every day feels excessive to me."

Is nothing personal anymore? Thousands replied with their bath towel routines and schedules. Some said they use the same towel more days, some said fewer, many thought Hill had it about right, and as always, some went Howard Hughes weird — using paper towels to dry certain, let's say "enclosed" body parts. In that case, I would recommend Bounty, the quicker picker upper. That’s the last place you want your paper towel to shred and fall apart.

So I change my towel every 3-4 days. I feel like that’s about right. Am I wrong for this? Changing your towels every day feels excessive to me.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) February 22, 2023

One person said, “I change my bath towel at the same time I change my tires, when there’s a hole in them.”

The debate hit 11 when ESPN football analyst Dan Orlovsky dropped this pearl of personal hygiene: “How many times do you use a bath towel post-shower till you throw it in the laundry? I’m 30 times or so till it goes in.”

After 30 showers a bath towel can throw itself in the laundry. Orlovsky once played quarterback for the Houston Texans, so his thinking may be rattled.

Question is:

How many times do you use a towel post shower till you throw it in laundry? I’m 30 times or so till it goes in

And no I agree but that air better be HOT
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) March 15, 2023

Online sports pages lit up with posts titled, “Dan Orlovsky reveals bizarre hygiene take that has people cringing.” And “Dan Orlovsky has disgusting bath towel routine.” And “Dan Orlovsky is absolutely disgusting.”

Last week Charles Barkley dropped this shower-related bon mot during March Madness coverage. He said, when he played in the NBA, teams had so little time to get to the airport after games that players often showered in their uniforms.

While that makes no sense and I don’t believe it, here’s an even odder story about one NBA player, an all-time legend, and his post-game routine:

Wilt Chamberlain began his NBA career in 1959 playing with the Philadelphia Warriors. To show you how long ago that was, Chamberlain, as a rookie, was the NBA’s highest-paid player. He made $30,000 that year.

According to Wilt lore — and I believe it this time — Chamberlain, although he played in Philadelphia, lived in New York City. He had a plush apartment in Harlem. He commuted to Philadelphia by train every day.

Trouble was, the last train from Philadelphia to New York left at 10 pm, so Chamberlain had to rush from the arena to the station after games to catch that train. He didn’t have time to take a shower and change clothes, so still in his sweaty uniform, he threw on a trench coat and rode the train home to New York.

While Chamberlain was known to exaggerate details about his life, especially his exploits with women, I’m buying that he wore his uniform on mass transit after NBA games.

My bath towel schedule sometimes aligns with Hill’s three-to-four day limit. Sometimes I go shorter, sometimes longer.

I have my own bathroom. And the laundry room is in my bathroom. That gives me the ease and luxury of using the washing machine as my hamper.

When it gets full, I hit “quick wash” and start. I don’t separate towels and regular clothes because you’re not supposed to use bleach on towels, even white ones. Did you know that? It’s because cotton isn’t naturally white and bleach will harm and wear down the fibers.

Also, don’t use too much soap when you’re washing towels and never use fabric softener. That will make your towels less absorbent over time. Take that, Hints from Heloise. (Editor's note: Don't tempt us to e-mail her, Ken.)

When you don’t share a bathroom, you don’t run the risk of sharing a bath towel, which would have me taking a bath in Purel.

To me, bath towels are like T-shirts. I have a hundred T-shirts, but I generally wear only five to 10 of them — I have my favorites. My go-to is a gray T-shirt with a Henley collar. It’s exactly like the T-shirt that Paul McCartney wears in the Beatles video for Revolution.

My bathroom closet has about five stacks of bath towels. I use one — a thick, thirsty, fluffy purple beach towel that is rivaled only by a mother’s womb for serenity. (Editor's note 2: Ummm...)

After each use, I hang it over the shower rod, fully extended to enhance drying time. Hanging a towel on a hook is dumb. It crumples together and doesn’t allow maximum surface area to dry. Plus, living in Houston typically means you have relatively high humidity in your house, which increases drying time. Drying yourself with a damp towel is a yuck.

Hanging your bath towel over the shower rod also makes it convenient to wipe the stray toothpaste off your face just before you leave the bathroom to go to work.

So what’s the best, recommended routine for swapping out your bath towel? The New York Times polled several health experts on the subject. Most said Jamele Hill was on target: after three showers is a good schedule.

You listening, Dan Orlovsky?

Mark Your Calendar

Make time for year-round fun in family-friendly Frisco

Frisco Oktoberfest is coming in the fall.

washed-up debate?

Ken Hoffman soaks up the deluge of controversy surrounding how often to change bath towels

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