The CJ CUP Byron Nelson tees off this week at TPC Craig Ranch, with practice rounds Monday and Tuesday, the Pro-Am Wednesday, and four tournament rounds Thursday through Sunday. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler returns to defend the title he won at the same course last year, headlining a field that includes Jordan Spieth, Si Woo Kim, Aaron Rai, and a long list of FedEx Cup names.

The purse is $10.3 million, the largest in the tournament's history. Tickets start at $25 for grounds passes and scale up to premium hospitality. Practice-round tickets are the budget play if you just want to walk the course and catch big names up close without the weekend crowds.

For McKinney, this is the city's flagship sporting weekend - more than 150,000 visitors expected across the run, hotels booked out from Frisco to Plano, and a multimillion-dollar economic ripple that's why the city extended the tournament contract through 2030 earlier this spring. The Salesmanship Club of Dallas, which runs the event, has raised more than $200 million for children's charities over the tournament's history.

If you're going, plan for storms - the forecast looks wet most of the week. (Source: PGA Tour & The CJ CUP Byron Nelson, May 2026)

The 24-hour DFW coffeehouse chain is returning to McKinney for the first time since 2012, when the old location closed after highway construction wrecked the foot traffic. The new spot will fill the former Jungle Burger space - all-day breakfast, big coffee menu, late-night burgers, the works. Summer Opening Date TBA | West McKinney

The Ugly Mug Coffee House on Stonebridge rebranded to Muggzie's on April 14, same coffee, matcha, sandwiches, and pastries under a friendlier name. New sign, same regulars. Now open | 2801 S. Stonebridge Drive, Ste. 101

The McKinney Community Development Corporation, the half-cent sales-tax engine voters approved back in 1996, marked its 30-year mark this spring. The numbers: $330M invested across parks, recreation, affordable housing, and community amenities. Parks alone got about $160M of that, helping grow McKinney's parkland from 650 acres to 3,000+ acres and trails from 3 miles to 90+. MCDC's strategic priorities were on the May 14 joint meeting agenda alongside the Parks Board. (Source: McKinney Community Development Corporation, May 14, 2026)

At the same May 14 joint meeting, the Parks Board recommended Council apply for Collin County Parks and Open Space Project Funding Assistance for upgrades at Wattley Park. The grant would offset the cost of improvements the city is already lining up. (Source: McKinney Parks, Recreation & Open Space Advisory Board, May 14, 2026)

🏌️ THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson (May 19-24)
The PGA Tour's stop at TPC Craig Ranch runs all week. Practice rounds Mon-Tue, Pro-Am Wednesday, tournament Thursday-Sunday. Scheffler defends his title.
TPC Craig Ranch, 7177 Stacy Rd, McKinney (8000 Collin McKinney Pkwy gate), all week ($25+ tickets)

🏛️ City 101 Seminar Series: McKinney Performing Arts Center
The city's once-a-month City 101 series goes inside MPAC this month - a deep dive into the restoration, programming, and what's next for the old courthouse turned performing arts venue. Free, registration encouraged but walk-ins fine.
Senior Recreation Center, 1400 S College St, 11AM-12PM (Free)

🎵 Music Bingo Mondays at The Common Table
Four rounds, four ways to win, two cards per round. Songs across the decades drop in snippets and you race the card. Prizes for winners, dinner for everyone.
The Common Table McKinney, 6651 Alma Rd #350, 7-9PM (Free to play)

🎶 Sostenuto Spring Concert: "TESTIFY!"
McKinney's community choir takes on Robert Ray's Gospel Mass plus a program of spirituals, gospel, and hymns at First McKinney Baptist Church. Suggested $15 donation - Sostenuto's a 501(c)(3) keeping the lights on for free choral music.
First McKinney Baptist Church, 1615 W Louisiana St, 7:30-9:00PM ($15 suggested donation)

📖 Lunch Bunch: Short Short Stories with Joyce Harlow Hill
Author and assemblage artist Joyce Harlow Hill on writing punchy short-shorts using the three-act structure and a dash of Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey. Bring your own lunch, leave with a stronger first chapter.
MillHouse McKinney, 610 Elm St, Ste 1000, 10:30AM (Free)

📸 How to Take a Great Headshot Photography Workshop
Legacy Portrait Photographer Zoe Martin walks photographers through the full headshot pipeline - phone consult, wardrobe, lighting, posing, delivery. Beginner to intermediate, camera optional but encouraged.
MillHouse McKinney, 610 Elm St, Ste 1100A, 1-3PM ($79)

🔬 Mad Science at the John & Judy Gay Library
A weekly STEAM session for K-5 kids - science, tech, engineering, art, and math wrapped into something hands-on. A solid drop-off-and-shop-the-corner-of-Eldorado hour for parents.
John & Judy Gay Library, 6861 W Eldorado Pkwy, 4:30-5:30PM (Free, registration required)

🎸 Chadwick Cook at Harvest at The Masonic
A no-backing-tracks, any-style, 2,000-song-deep solo set in the Masonic Lounge - downtown's most intimate live-music room.
Harvest at The Masonic Lounge, 215 N Kentucky St, 6:30-9:30PM (Free)

🧶 Unwind with Yarn at the John & Judy Gay Library
A one-hour drop-in for adults to learn the basics of crochet or knitting. Stress-free, instructor-led, and you walk out with enough to actually finish a project.
John & Judy Gay Library, 6861 W Eldorado Pkwy, 7-8PM (Free, registration required)

🌱 Lessons from the Land
A hands-on family gardening workshop - prepping soil, starting vertical gardens, choosing seeds, watering, plus safe canning. Family-friendly, single price for solo or whole family.
2000 W White Ave, 6-8:30PM ($28)

🀄 Mahjong 101 at Lone Star Winery
A small-group, beginner-friendly mahjong class - rules, card reading, basic strategy, then guided play at the table. All materials provided, wine and snacks on hand. Tiles, drinks, and a little friendly competition.
Lone Star Winery, 103 E Virginia St, 6-8:30PM ($71)

🎸 Chip Davis at Harvest at The Masonic
A duo set spanning 50s standards through current hits at the Masonic Lounge. Order the seasonal menu, settle in, let someone else carry the night.
Harvest at The Masonic Lounge, 215 N Kentucky St, 6:30-9:30PM (Free)

🧠 Weekly Trivia at TUPPS
The Grain Room's weekly trivia night - team up, sharpen your trivia game, win bragging rights and TUPPS merch. A solid midweek out.
The Grain Room at TUPPS, 721 Anderson St, 7-9PM (Free)

🎨 Anime & Art at the John & Judy Gay Library
A teen-only (6th-12th grade) hangout with anime-inspired arts and crafts. Drop your kid off, walk Eldorado for an hour.
John & Judy Gay Library, 6861 W Eldorado Pkwy, 4:30-5:30PM (Free, registration required)

🎨 Cantarito Paint Night & Bouquet Bar
Paint your own cantarito - the clay cup Mexican carnivals were built on - step-by-step at El Mejor, plus a build-your-own bouquet bar and a custom happy-hour menu. Proceeds benefit the McKinney Día de los Muertos Festival.
El Mejor Mexican Kitchen + Cantina, 119 W Virginia St, Ste 100, 6-8:30PM ($50)

🌮 Tacos and Tequila at the McKinney Flour Mill Outdoor Garden Cafe
An in-person hangout at the Flour Mill's outdoor garden cafe - tacos, tequila, fresh air, the kind of night where you stay an extra hour.
McKinney Flour Mill, 601 E Louisiana St, 6-8:30PM ($60)

🎸 Aaron Hendra at Harvest at The Masonic
Thursday-night live music in the Masonic Lounge - a smooth set paired ridiculously well with the seasonal menu and the bar program.
Harvest at The Masonic Lounge, 215 N Kentucky St, 6:30-9:30PM (Free)

🎤 Open Mic Night at TUPPS
The brewery's outdoor beer hall flips into an open-stage night for music, comedy, and the occasional why-did-they-let-this-happen moment. Sign up at the door, watch from the bench.
TUPPS Outdoor Beer Hall, 721 Anderson St, 6:30-9:30PM (Free)

🐦 3rd Thursday Bird Walk at the Heard
A naturalist-led walk through the 289-acre sanctuary at peak spring-migration. Binoculars provided if you don't have your own. Beginner-friendly and oddly meditative.
Heard Natural Science Museum, 1 Nature Place, 8-9:30AM (Free with admission)

🎤 Tyla Taylor at Zin Zen Wine Bistro
A mix of classic rock and R&B with a soulful flare in Adriatica's wine bar. Settle in, order a glass, let the soul carry the night.
Zin Zen Wine Bistro, 6841 Virginia Parkway, 7-10PM (Free)

If you've walked the McKinney square, you've walked past the McKinney Performing Arts Center - the big brick building at 111 N Tennessee, two stories tall, sitting dead in the middle of downtown like a stone weight. Most people don't know it started as the county courthouse, and they really don't know it's on its third life.

The original courthouse opened in 1876, the same year Texas was getting back on its feet after Reconstruction. It was French Second Empire style with a steep mansard roof, two towers, and patterned shingles - reportedly the tallest building in Texas north of San Antonio when it went up. Collin County government ran out of that building for 51 years. Then in 1927, the county gutted it, added a third floor and a basement, swapped the wood framing for steel and concrete, and gave it the buff brick exterior you see now.

By the early 2000s, the building had outlived its courthouse purpose. The city worked with the Texas Historical Commission to restore it and reopened it in 2006 as the McKinney Performing Arts Center - a 400-seat theater on the second floor, banquet space on the third, and exhibit galleries woven through. It became the anchor for downtown's revival.

And now it's closed again. MPAC shut its doors February 1 for a top-to-bottom renovation that's scheduled to run through fall 2026 - restoring architectural details, upgrading infrastructure, and pulling the building's courthouse history back into the theatrical experience. Third act in progress. (Source: City of McKinney, McKinneytexas.org)

Mon: ⛈️ Windy with a strong afternoon thunderstorm, high 86°F
Tue: 🌧️ Showers and thunderstorms, humid, high 82°F
Wed: ⛈️ Cloudy with a thunderstorm, humid, high 78°F
Thu: 🌧️ A shower and thunderstorm, humid, high 74°F

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