Love & Loss: A Losing Game

Deciding whether to join the party or avoid it altogether is one thing local sports fans and romantics share. Your team didn’t make the Super Bowl? The Cowboys never really had a chance, but my Steelers were a little closer, so I feel your pain. (Make that a “we.” My husband and my editor are both true #SteelCity boys. I just married into it.) If football has been dominating your life and you suddenly have some openings in your schedule, now is the time to reevaluate your extracurriculars. To that end, here are some winning ideas.

Thursday – Friday, February 5-6, 2026

Division Brewing (506 E Main St, Arlington, 682-259-7011) is hosting two evenings of Edgar Allan Poe, with actors reenacting the author’s works on love and loss, including “Annabel Lee,” “Morella,” “The Raven,” and “Tell Tale Heart.” In keeping with the spirit of the event, you are encouraged to wear Victorian Gothic attire. For a more immersive, intimate experience, it will take place at nearby Growl Records (509 E Abram St, Arlington, 682-252-7639), a shop owned by the brewery that shares a backyard. Doors open at 6:30pm, and the show starts at 7pm. Tickets are $49.87 on Eventbrite.com and include a commemorative pint glass and two beers.

Friday, February 6, 2026

Don’t forget that the Kimbell Art Museum (3333 Camp Bowie Blvd, Fort Worth, 817-332-8451) will celebrate the Year of the Fire Horse at a Lunar New Year Happy Hour from 5pm to 7pm. This event is co-hosted by the Kimbell and Fort Worth Sister Cities International, a nonprofit that promotes Fort Worth by fostering global connections through education, the arts, culture, economic development, and humanitarian assistance in sister cities, including Guiyang, China, where the holiday is celebrated annually. Highlights include traditional Chinese music by the Dallas Guzheng Association, Lunar New Year artmaking, and an Asian-themed art scavenger hunt. This event is free and open to the public. Kimbell happy-hour refreshments will be available for purchase.

Saturday, February 7, 2026

Galentine’s Day, an unofficial “ladies celebrating ladies” holiday made popular by Parks and Recreation is being celebrated early this year at Panther Island Brewing (501 N Main St, Fort Worth, 817-882-8121). Galentine’s Party 2026 runs from 1pm to 4pm and will feature giveaways, shopping with local vendors, a permanent jewelry booth, and the opportunity to meet adoptable dogs. Beer, mimosas, and nonalcoholic beverages will be on tap. There is no cost to attend, and all ages are welcome.

Meanwhile, in Tolar, about an hour southwest of here, Sledge Distillery (8210 Paluxy Hwy, 817-888-8119) has its Opening Weekend Hootenanny from 2pm to 10pm. There’ll be spirits, food (3pm-9pm), and entertainment, including mahjong lessons (2:30pm), a paint-and-sip session to create a colorful buffalo picture (3pm-5pm), and live music by Toby Hutchison (6pm-9pm). There is no cost to attend any of the above, except for paint-and-sip, which is $46.90 per person. For more information, go to SledgeDistillery.com/our-events.html.

Sunday, February 8, 2026

Today is the day: Super Bowl Sunday. If you’re watching the #BigGame to witness “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat,” you’re reading the wrong column. (Stuff. You’re looking for our Stuff column.) I’m just here for the party. If you sportos are still with me, you may want to stick around.

When you run into your redneck cousin at the game-watching party and the “wHo IS bAD BuNNy?! this AIN’t ’muriCAN!” halftime show commentary starts, pointing out that Puerto Rico is actually a part of these United States might not suffice. For a brief tutorial on all things Bad Bunny, and to study up on some smart-ass talking points, check out the documentary The Affect: Bad Bunny on the Peacock or YouTube TV apps. Trust me. It will be well worth the 20 minutes to “dive into the world of Bad Bunny, from his Puerto Rican roots and genre-defying sound to a historic homegrown residency.” You could also shout out, “Happy Gilmore 2!” That also might work.

Monday – Tuesday, February 9-10, 2026

Before Fort Worth native and TCU grad Bob Schieffer was the face of CBS’ highly rated Face the Nation, he was a reporter for the Star-Telegram. In late 1965, at the age of 28, the Star-T agreed to let him go on the assignment of a lifetime: Schieffer made history as one of the first correspondents from a major Texas newspaper to cover the Vietnam War overseas. He made it his personal mission to locate, interview, and photograph service members from Texas, especially from Fort Worth, and bring their stories home to loved ones. During his time in-country, he located 235 soldiers from Texas and interviewed dozens of them.

Those experiences were detailed in his 2003 memoir, This Just In: What I Couldn’t Tell You on TV, and in numerous firsthand reports, letters, and photos archived at UTA’s Special Collections & Archives of the Central Library (702 Planetarium Pl, Arlington, 817-272-3393). Many of these items are featured in a new campus exhibit, Our Man in Vietnam, along with portraits that Schieffer painted last year of some of the Texas soldiers he met during the war. The exhibit runs now through Sat, Apr 4, but if you attend the grand opening on Monday from 4pm to 7pm, you can meet the man himself. There is no cost to attend.

Then at 7:30pm Tue, Schieffer will speak at the next installment of the biannual Maverick Speakers Series at UTA’s Texas Hall (701 W Nedderman Dr, Arlington, 817-272-5584). Schieffer will discuss his time in Vietnam, his storied journalism career, and his newfound passion for painting. Arrive early to take advantage of the extended exhibit hours, 5pm-7pm. Tickets are only $5 at Libraries.UTA.edu/schieffer/.