The most-anticipated family attraction in North Texas just got a date: Universal Kids Resort opens July 1 in Frisco, off the Dallas North Tollway inside the Fields development. Three years in the making, tickets and hotel bookings are now live.

The park is 20 acres inside a 92-acre site and built entirely around the IP that kids already know by heart. Seven lands cover the full roster: Shrek's Swamp, Jurassic World Adventure Camp, SpongeBob's Bikini Bottom, Minions' Bello Bay Club, TrollsFest, Puss in Boots Del Mar, and Gabby's Dollhouse for the youngest visitors. The premise - a park designed specifically for young children rather than thrill-seekers - is genuinely new in the DFW market. No height minimums to disappoint a six-year-old, no rides that require a teenager to make sense of.

On the hotel side, all room types at the Universal Kids Resort Hotel are bookable now for stays beginning June 30. Rooms sleep up to five; family suites sleep six. The resort is offering a 1.5-day ticket option alongside standard 1-day and 2-day admissions, plus an annual Silver Pass with 12 months of access. There's also a "Create Your Own" package that bundles hotel, flights, and perks like Early Park Admission and resort-wide charging.

For McKinney families, this is a 25-minute drive to something no other U.S. city has yet. If you've been holding off on summer plans, July 1 is a clean answer. (Source: Universal Kids Resort)

McKinney's dining scene gets a proper Mediterranean entry: Ilio's is now open on Custer Road, bringing a menu that covers both sides of the Mediterranean - Greek classics alongside Lebanese staples. The kind of place that works equally well for a weekday lunch or a long dinner with good company. Open now | 210 N. Custer Rd. #130

Council approved a resolution allowing NRP Group to move forward with a 4% Housing Tax Credit application to the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs for "The Franklin Branch Apartments," a new affordable housing development. NRP Group was selected through a competitive city RFQ process in 2024. The project will include supportive services for residents - after-school programs, financial literacy, and first-time homebuyer assistance - at no cost to tenants. This is a state application, not a spending vote; council's approval says the city doesn't object to the financing going forward. (Source: City Council Regular Meeting, June 2, 2026)

The Comedy Arena picked up silver for Best Event Venue and bronze for Best Comedy Club in the 2026 DFW Favorites awards. The 305-seat room on Virginia Street got voted on by the DFW community. Congrats, to many more jokes! (Source: The Comedy Arena)

Council approved a rezone of 1001 North Kentucky Street from Neighborhood Business to TR1.8 Townhome Residential - a compact infill shift in the downtown core. Planning Director Lucas Reilly said the townhome use supports the mix of surrounding uses. P&Z recommended it unanimously before it reached council. (Source: City Council Regular Meeting, June 2, 2026)

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🧶 Crochet Try-It Session for Kids
A beginner-friendly 1-hour intro for kids ages 8-12: basic stitches, a bracelet project, and all materials included - plus a crochet hook to take home. Set inside La Madeleine on University Drive, small group (8 kids max). If they love it, the full 5-day Summer Crochet Club runs June 8-12 from the same spot.
La Madeleine French Bakery & Café, 3625 W University Dr, 4:45-5:45PM ($32.10)

💰 Lunch Bunch: How Money Works
MillHouse hosts a free midday talk covering debt payoff strategies, compound interest, and what financial advisors would rather you not know. Q&A at the end. All are welcome - bring your own lunch if you want.
MillHouse McKinney, 610 Elm St Suite 1000, 11:30AM-12:30PM (Free)

📚 Books, Besties & Barons Creek
The Boujee Bookshelf - a women's book club born in McKinney - turns one this month, and they're celebrating with a discussion of The Boxcar Librarian by Brianna Labuskes, wine, and the kind of community that takes a year to build. New members welcome.
Barons Creek Vineyards Tasting Room, 301 W Louisiana St, 2PM (Free - wine available)

🎤 Songbird Jones - Live at Harvest
This Dallas singer-songwriter writes the kind of songs that don't let go. An intimate Tuesday night at the Masonic Lounge, where the sound is close enough to feel real.
Harvest at The Masonic, 215 N Kentucky St, 6:30-9:30PM (Free)

🎵 Video Music Bingo
Real music videos on screen, bingo cards in hand, and a pub crowd that takes neither too seriously. One of the more fun formats for a Tuesday night out.
The Lion & Crown, 7951 Collin McKinney Pkwy APT 1600, 7-9PM (Free)

🎭 The Yes, And Improv Jam
Drop your inner editor at the door. Part workshop, part performance - and it works better the less seriously you take yourself. The Comedy Arena's midweek jams are genuinely fun.
The Comedy Arena, 305 E Virginia St, 7-9PM ($5-$15)

✍️ Creative Writers Workshop (Adults)
A low-pressure afternoon for adults who write - or want to. Bring a work in progress, a prompt, or just curiosity. The library's writing crowd is welcoming and the feedback is real.
John & Judy Gay Library, 6861 W Eldorado Pkwy, 1-2:30PM (Free)

🧵 Summer Sew and Stitch with Miss Sarah
Kids ages 7-18 learn both machine sewing and hand stitching in this Wednesday series at Jump Into Art Studios in Historic Downtown McKinney. All materials included. Classes run June 3 through July 8 - June 10 is the midpoint if your kid wants to jump in now.
Jump Into Art Studios, 404 N Church St, 4:15-5:45PM (Ticketed)

🎵 Paul Renna Live at Harvest
The Dallas singer-songwriter plays from his acoustic album Reflections - love, longing, and late evenings that stretch just a little longer than they should.
Harvest at The Masonic, 215 N Kentucky St, 6:30-9:30PM (Free)

🎸 Aidan Berlioz Live at the Lion & Crown
Layered guitar work and a voice that fills the room without filling it up. McKinney Wednesday gets an acoustic upgrade.
The Lion & Crown, 7951 Collin McKinney Pkwy APT 1600, 7-9PM (Free)

⚽ Chupacabras FC vs. Lubbock Matadors SC
The World Cup opens in North Texas Thursday - and Wednesday night, McKinney's own soccer club is playing under the lights at Ron Poe Stadium. The Chupacabras host the Lubbock Matadors in a USL2 home match that doubles as the perfect warm-up. Historic downtown venue, local energy, get your tickets at the link.
Ron Poe Stadium, 1 Duval St, 7:30PM-late ($10-$12)

👟 Stroller Strides Workout
Free outdoor stroller-friendly fitness session at District 121 - part of the June Thursday series. A solid morning move for parents who want to actually move before the day swallows them whole.
District 121, 5800 Town and Country Blvd, 9:30-10:30AM (Free)

🍽️ Farm to Table Dinner at Chestnut Square
Once a year, the grounds of Chestnut Square Historic Village become the most interesting dinner table in McKinney. This is it: a 5-course meal prepared by six local chefs - Jeff Qualls (Roots Hospitality), Noah Hester (Hamm's Meat + Market), Onel Perez (The Guava Tree), and more - using ingredients sourced directly from McKinney Farmers Market vendors. The night opens with a cocktail reception, includes live music by 380 Acoustics, and closes with a dessert display and a live auction (top lot: a private dinner for 12 cooked by the evening's chefs). Adults only.
Chestnut Square Historic Village, 315 S Chestnut St, 6-9PM ($150+)

🎷 Ross Redmond Trio Live at Harvest
Jazz piano, pop, and rock across five decades. The Ross Redmond Trio brings a polished, high-energy Thursday to the Masonic Lounge - the kind of set that makes you wonder why you ever stayed home on a weeknight.
Harvest at The Masonic, 215 N Kentucky St, 6:30-9:30PM (Free)

😂 The Comedy Mix
Three acts, one night: The Lab, Dad Bod Squad, and Ungrounded take the stage in a mixed-format variety show. Good for a group, good for a date, good for anyone who needs to laugh before the weekend.
The Comedy Arena, 305 E Virginia St, 7:30PM-late ($10-$23)

If you've driven down East Virginia Street near Main, you've seen them: three 100-foot concrete grain silos, and on their face, a giant photorealist portrait of a young woman glancing over her shoulder - paint so precise it looks like a photograph from a moving car.

The story of how that image got there starts with a Juneteenth celebration in the summer of 2022 and an Australian artist named Guido van Helten. Van Helten is known worldwide for oversized murals painted on abandoned or repurposed industrial structures - silos, water towers, factories - in places as far apart as Athens, Tehran, and suburban Melbourne. McKinney's city hired him to paint the historic grain silos, which had anchored the block long before the boutiques arrived, and give them a second life as a landmark.

Van Helten spent weeks in McKinney before he picked up a brush. He took more than 5,000 photographs, visited places of worship, talked to small business owners, and attended city events. He kept coming up short - struggling, as he often does, with the challenge of finding one image that represents a whole community. Then he went to McKinney's second annual Juneteenth celebration on a whim. That's where he found his muse: a 15-year-old girl named Zoe King, turning slightly to look back over her shoulder, her mother's arm still around her waist. He photographed her in that unguarded moment without her knowing.

Zoe found out she was on the silos the same way most McKinneyites did: a screenshot from Facebook, sent by her dad while she and her mom were driving to Oklahoma. She thought it was fake. It wasn't. Van Helten had painted her - her posture, her expression, her exact silhouette - at 100 feet tall, using mineral silicate concrete paint applied by hand from a scaffold. Just him, a brush, and a boom lift. "It shows the community and how we really are," Zoe said later. "People always stereotype Texas like we are all cowboys or something. But we are not like that. This is all our homes."

The silos themselves are older than nearly everything around them. McKinney was once a grain and cotton hub - the city held the title of blue jean capital of the world for a stretch in the early 20th century, and the silos at Virginia and Main were built to store the agricultural output that flowed through the county seat. They outlasted all of that, sat dormant through decades of downtown change, and now serve a different purpose: holding still while the city moves fast around them. (Source: City of McKinney Silo Mural Project)

Mon: 🌤️ Partly cloudy with a slight storm chance, high 91°F
Tue: ☀️ Sunny and hot, low rain chance, high 91°F
Wed: ☀️ Peak heat of the week, mostly sunny, high 93°F
Thu: ☀️ Sunny and dry, high 91°F

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