If you've grabbed a drink at a TUPPS watch party this summer, you've probably seen the small passport cards by the door. Downtown McKinney, Visit McKinney, TUPPS, and the McKinney Chupacabras teamed up on a free scavenger hunt: pick one up at Visit McKinney, TUPPS, or ProRel Soccer Shop, get it stamped at participating downtown businesses for discounts, and turn in a full card for a TUPPS t-shirt and four Chupacabras tickets.

It's tourism-board gamification, plain and simple - a way to nudge watch-party crowds into wandering a few more blocks downtown. But it costs nothing to play, and if you're already heading to TUPPS this week for Mexico or the USA, grabbing one on the way in is free upside. (Source: Visit McKinney - Downtown Summer of Soccer Passport)

This East McKinney nonprofit just doubled its capacity to house and support single mothers working toward a degree or certificate. The new community has two residential buildings with eight two-bedroom units each, plus green space and playgrounds for the kids. Shiloh Place covers housing, childcare, and tuition for moms enrolled full-time in school while working part-time - nearly 300 people showed up for the ribbon-cutting.
Opened June 4 | East McKinney

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McKinney council members tabled discussion of a proposed downtown parking garage during a June 16 work session, deciding to wait until the McKinney Economic Development Corp. lines up an office tenant for the old City Hall lot first. Three garage concepts were on the table, ranging from 407 to 613 parking spaces near Hunt and Kentucky streets. City Manager Paul Grimes said the holdup is about timing, not cost - once an office user is locked in, the city will know how big a garage that tenant actually needs. (Source: Community Impact, June 17)

Heads up if you drive through downtown: Elm Street is closed to traffic while crews finish relocating water and wastewater lines ahead of the state's planned widening of SH 5. The closure is expected to lift in early August, though other stretches between Elm Street and US 380 will see lane closures as the work continues. It's part of a $26.8 million utility project that's now about 70% complete. (Source: City of McKinney Capital Improvement Program)

🫀 Physical Therapy Seminar Series: Cardiovascular Health
A free monthly seminar at the Senior Recreation Center, this month focused on heart health. No membership needed, just register ahead of time.
Senior Recreation Center, 1400 S College St, 9-10AM (Free, registration required)

💃 Line Dance
Forty minutes of absolute-beginner steps followed by beginner-level practice at 4:45. Come for one session or stick around for both - either way you'll leave knowing a new dance.
Senior Recreation Center, 1400 S College St, 4-5:30PM ($18 for 6 classes, membership required)

✂️ Ribbon Cutting: C3 Wellness
The McKinney Chamber celebrates a new business on Stonebridge Drive with a quick ribbon-cutting. Low-key way to see what's new and meet the people behind it.
C3 Wellness, 2801 S Stonebridge Dr Suite 108, 4:30-5PM (Free)

🎵📺 McKinney Video Music Bingo
Bingo cards meet music trivia at the Lion & Crown's midweek staple. Know your one-hit wonders from your deep cuts? Prove it.
Lion & Crown McKinney, 7951 Collin McKinney Pkwy APT 1600, 7-9PM (Free)

🎨 Paint & Sip: 4th of July Edition
Grab a drink and paint a patriotic masterpiece - beginners and pros both welcome. A toast to freedom, brush in hand.
Cocktail Creamery, 205 E Virginia St, 7-9PM (Check ticket price on event)

📚 How to Start a Nonprofit
A practical library session for anyone who's ever thought about turning a cause into an actual organization - what the legal setup involves, what funding looks like, and what to plan for in year one.
John & Judy Gay Library, 6861 W Eldorado Pkwy, 7-8PM (Free)

🀄 Collin County Euchre Meetup
Weekly euchre at Barro's Pizza - five bucks to the pot, cash prizes for first through third place (third gets their five back). Play starts as soon as the RSVPs show up, or promptly at 7.
Barro's Pizza, 2730 S Central Expy, 7PM ($5 buy-in)

🎶 Courtney Marie Live at the Lion & Crown
A singer-songwriter set under the patio lights - original songs and timeless favorites to close out a Wednesday.
Lion & Crown McKinney, 7951 Collin McKinney Pkwy APT 1600, 7-10PM

⚽ Summer of Soccer Watch Party: Mexico vs. Czechia
The headliner of the day - Mexico takes the field at 8PM, with Canada-Switzerland, Qatar-Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Brazil-Scotland also on the slate. TUPPS will be loud.
TUPPS Brewery, 402 E Louisiana St, 2PM-late (Free to attend)

🚶 Stroller Strides
A parent-and-baby fitness class that gets you moving without leaving the little one behind. Strollers welcome, judgment not.
District 121, 5800 Town and Country Blvd, 9:30-10:30AM (Free)

🦅 Wildlife in Balance
A library program on how local wildlife and McKinney's growth are managing to coexist - or where the friction actually is. Come with questions about that raccoon in your attic.
John & Judy Gay Library, 6861 W Eldorado Pkwy, 7-8PM (Free)

⚽ Summer of Soccer Watch Party: USA vs. Turkey
The one you've been waiting for. USA kicks off at 9PM, with Australia-Paraguay also on at 9PM, and Germany-Ecuador plus Netherlands-Tunisia earlier in the day. Get there early - this one will pack out.
TUPPS Brewery, 402 E Louisiana St, 3PM-late (Free to attend)

Drive through downtown McKinney and you'll see it before you see almost anything else: the 500,000-gallon water tower at the corner of South Chestnut and Davis streets. It went up in 1953, built and fabricated by the Pittsburgh-Des Moines Steel Company, and for half a century it actually did its job - holding water for the city's distribution system.

The tower was decommissioned in 2003 once McKinney's water system outgrew it. Most cities would have torn a tank like that down the moment it stopped being useful. McKinney didn't. By then, the tower had become something more than infrastructure - it was a skyline marker, the thing longtime residents use to know they're home.

That sentiment showed up in a big way in 2025, when the city approved a $4.5 million restoration project to preserve the structure rather than demolish it. The vote wasn't close to unanimous on every detail, but the instinct to save it was: McKinney residents had made it clear over the years that the tower mattered to them as a piece of the city's identity, not just a relic.

These days the tower doubles as a community canvas - the city lights it up in different colors for holidays, sports wins, and other occasions. Next time you see it glowing downtown, you're looking at a 70-year-old piece of plumbing that the city decided was worth keeping around for reasons that have nothing to do with water pressure.

(Source: Community Impact, June 13, 2025)

Mon: ⛈️ Mostly sunny and humid with a thunderstorm in spots into the early afternoon, high 93°F (feels like 103°F)
Tue: 🌤️ Humid with clouds and sun, high 95°F (feels like 102°F)
Wed: ⛈️ Humid with a thunderstorm in the afternoon, high 92°F (feels like 101°F)
Thu: 🌥️ Partly sunny, high 94°F (feels like 99°F)

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