Tasha's To Do List: April 16-19

KRLD -- The Academy of Country Music Awards is coming to North Texas this weekend! There's plenty of concerts and events surrounding the big show. Tasha Stevens fills you in on everything that's happening this weekend.

-- Thursday is Free Third Thursday at Trinity River Audubon Center. You know what they say about free stuff. It is always better when it's free. Drive 10 minutes from downtown Dallas and enter a world of peace and quiet. Until your boss calls you.

-- Save up some eating room. The 4th annual Frisco StrEATS Food Truck and Music Festival in Downtown Frisco Saturday will have 18 Food Trucks, Music and a Classic Car Show.

-- Wild West Watauga Fest at Capp Smith Park is happening Thursday through Sunday. The 25th annual festival features live music from Incognito, Me & My Monkey and PooLive Crew among others -- plus carnival rides, beer & food trucks. You know. The must-haves in life.

-- Celebrate Mother Earth this Saturday at the Dallas Arboretum. They'll have a bunch of stuff for the kids to do, like chemistry experiments exploring density, endothermic and exothermic reactions; a space science trip around the solar system; and much more.

-- Asleep at the Wheel kicks off this year's Cool Thursdays at the Dallas Arboretum with some great western swing -- something they describe as jazz with a cowboy hat. This week's costume contest is "Biggest Texan in Town" so dress as your best Big Tex!

-- Forget The Voice and American Idol. This is the ultimate voice competition. If you can shatter glass with your voice, you are the be all end all. Okay. I don't know if these guys can shatter glass…but I bet they come close. See nineteen of the best young opera singers in the country compete at Winspear Opera House in a vocal competition presented by The Dallas Opera and The Dallas Opera Guild this weekend. Six finalists will be chosen in the semifinal round on Saturday, and the final round is Sunday.

-- This is one of my all-time favorite movies behind Caddyshack and National Lampoons Vacation. Check out Alamo Draft House's Action Pack: Mean Girls Quote-Along Friday night in Richardson.

-- The North Texas Comic Book Show: Spidey Weekend is set for the Doubletree Hotel Market Center this Saturday and Sunday. Try not to geek out too much when you meet Amazing Spider-Man artists Ron Frenz and Carlo Barberi, plus Amazing Spider-Man writer Tom DeFalco and Spectacular Spider-Man writer Danny Fingeroth.

-- I love all dogs, but basset hounds hold a special place in my heart. That is why I am really excited about the 6th annual Bone Soiree Gala -- a special fundraiser event to benefit neglected, abused and unwanted basset hounds. The evening includes complimentary champagne and appetizers, a silent auction and a seated dinner during a live auction. Check it out at the Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Prairie this Saturday.

-- If you love a guitar played well, be sure to check this out Thursday. The Brasil Guitar Duo will perform an extensive repertoire of classical guitar duos at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth.

-- Did you know that you don't have to travel to Holland to visit a tulip farm? You can do it right here in the Lonestar State! Texas Tulips in Pilot Point is run by a family who grew tulips in the Netherlands for 40 years. In 2011, they moved to Texas and set up a tulip company. You can visit the farm now through April 20, pick what you want and create your own mix of tulips.

-- Now is your chance to give back and help babies who are born too soon or sick who can't fight for themselves. The March for Babies is this Saturday in Dallas at White Rock Lake or in Fort Worth at Panther Island Pavilion.

-- The Wylie Jazz Arts Fest is happening this Saturday from 1 – 3 on the lawn of the Wylie Municipal Complex. Groove to professional jazz musicians, shop for fine art and unique crafts, and chow down on some great food.

-- You have been waiting for it and it will be here this weekend. The Electric Zombie Run is happening at Fair Park Friday, and if you can run in the dark and carry a glow stick, you will be good to go. If you finish your 5K run in 30 minutes or less, you'll be labeled a "Survivor." If you finish after 30 minutes, you are "Zombified."

-- This Saturday, head over to Good Records for Record Store Day and their 15th Birthday Celebration. What makes it even cooler is the fact that Steve Earle will make an appearance Saturday -- this before his show the following night at the Granada.

-- There is a ton of stuff going on in relation to the ACM broadcast that is happening Sunday at ATT Stadium. This Saturday, take part in the ACM Charity Motorcycle Ride and Concert with country cutie Dierks Bentley. This deal benefits the ACM Lifting Lives charity, Folds of Honor Foundation, Wounded Warrior Project, and other local military and child abuse advocacy groups. The Ride takes off from two locations: Strokers Dallas and Longhorn Harley-Davidson in Grand Prairie. It ends at Maverick Harley-Davidson in Carrollton with a concert featuring Montgomery Gentry, Thompson Square and others.

-- Friday and Saturday at Globe Life Park in Arlington, party with the Party for a Cause Festival: 50 Years of Music and Memories. This thing is part of the big ACM awards happening Sunday at ATT Stadium. In a nutshell, practically every artist in county music attending the ACM's Sunday night is performing at this deal Friday and Saturday.

-- Over at the Fort Worth Zoo Friday evening, you'll find me trying to get a glimpse of my man Keith Urban. The ACM Lifting Lives Gala will feature Keith Urban along with Little Big Town Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood. This will be simultaneous country shows — one at the Omni Dallas Hotel featuring Lady Antebellum and Hunter Hayes; and one at the Fort Worth Zoo with Keith Urban and Little Big Town. They will be emceed by Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, who will alternate between venues.

-- Scarborough Renaissance Festival goes Celtic this weekend. Jigmacool will be performing Celtic music on the all new Brothers stage and the Shandon School of Irish Dancers will be performing on the Whimsey Stage at 2:00 pm both Saturday & Sunday. Each day's Celtic special events will include the Bonnie Knees Contest at 11:00 am, Children's Highland Games at 12:00 pm, Tug O'War at 3:00 pm and the Scottish Egg Eating contest at 4:00 pm. The 35th season of Scarborough Renaissance Festival runs every Saturday & Sunday and Memorial Day Monday through May 25.

-- Spring is here, and the ground is ready for planting due to all the rain we have had, so head over to the Plant Sale this Saturday and Sunday at Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary. You can browse a huge selection of the best plants for North Central Texas.

-- One of the best places to see Texas bluebonnets is Ennis, Texas -- about 30 miles south of Dallas on I-45. Lucky for us, this weekend is the Ennis Bluebonnet Festival.

-- This chick makes me sick. Nobody should be allowed to be that pretty AND that talented at the same time. See Toni Braxton Saturday night Winstar.

-- Steve Earl is rocking the Granada this Sunday.

-- If you thought chicks were all about drama, follow the news reports about these guys and Scott Weiland. Geez guys! Let it go!!! You won't have to worry Friday night, though. They'll just be singing at the House of Blues. See Stone Temple Pilots with former Linkin Park lead vocalist Chester Bennington.

-- BrickWorks Fest/Art in the Park is happening this weekend in Kennedale. Friday night, The Kennedale Chamber of Commerce will present the 1st annual San Jacinto Day / Texas Independence Day Parade. Plenty of cool stuff for the kids this weekend. They'll have bounce houses for the kids, mechanical bull rides for you, pony rides and my favorite -- fair hair. You know. Painted hair.

-- You gotta be at the Dallas Museum of art Saturday afternoon at 2:30 if you are a fan of the movies Coming to America, Twilight Zone, Animal House, American Werewolf in London and the Thriller music video. The 2015 Dallas International Film Festival is offering A Conversation with Director John Landis.

-- You want to see a great rock show and a dude with absolutely no body fat? Be at the Gas Monkey Bar and Grill Friday night for the BuckCherry show. Lead singer Josh Todd will show you a bod many of us dream of but will never have in this lifetime.

-- There is no love lost between these guys and Motley Crue … but they aren't touring together now, so it is all good. See Godsmack at Southside Ballroom Friday night.

-- It isn't often that I dig an offshoot of a band I love, but this is one of those times. I think I actually like Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx work with his new band Sixx AM more than his Crue stuff. See what I am talking about Friday night at the Bomb Factory.