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Mark your calendars: The most awesome events happening in Dallas in 2016

We're thinking that 2016 just might be the best year ever, so we've rounded up some big fun to mark on your calendar.

First, a couple of disclaimers. Of course, we couldn't fit everything we're excited about into one list, and a lot of fabulous events haven't released or set their precise dates for 2016. All the more reason to stay with us on our fantastic voyage into the new year.

With four months down, here's what's up next:

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MAY

19 Itzhak Perlman and Emanuel Ax come to the Winspear Opera House for a makeup date from a scheduled 2015 concert that was postponed due to Perlman being ill.

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25 Go to the Cabaret as AT&T Performing Arts Center presents the national tour of the Broadway revival at the Winspear Opera House. Through June 5.

27 Bryan Singer returns to direct the next installment in the mutant series X-Men: Apocalypse.

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27-29 Czech heritage festivities at the National Polka Festival include a parade, many chances to dance to live polka music and plenty of food (kolaches!). The event is at various locations in Ennis.

JUNE

3-5 Geek out at the Fan Expo Dallas, the con's biggest annual event, at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas.

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Miranda Lambert, who grew up in Lindale, will join Kenny Chesney for a June show at AT&T...
Miranda Lambert, who grew up in Lindale, will join Kenny Chesney for a June show at AT&T Stadium.(Wade Payne / Invision/AP)

4 Miranda Lambert will team with Kenny Chesney for a bigger-than-life AT&T Stadium gig.

7-19 Feel the Earth move under your feet at Beautiful :The Carole King Musical, presented by AT&T Performing Arts Center at the Winspear Opera House.

10 Happily, it's not just "One Night Only." Dallas Theater Center presents Dreamgirls at the Wyly Theatre. Through July 24.

11 Jane Lynch's nationally touring musical comedy-variety production See Jane Sing hits the House of Blues.

18 North Texas-raised pop star Selena Gomez will take the stage at American Airlines Center.

Selena Gomez , who grew up in Grand Prairie, hits American Airlines Center June 18.
Selena Gomez , who grew up in Grand Prairie, hits American Airlines Center June 18.(Matt Sayles / Invision/AP)

JULY

3 The Kaboom Town fireworks display will bring about 500,000 people to Addison to ooh and aah.

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4 Celebrate Independence Day with Fair Park Fourth, a family festival and fireworks show among Dallas' collection of Art Deco buildings, including the Cotton Bowl.

8 Comedian-slash-ventriloquist Jeff Dunham, who is known for characters like Walter and Achmed, will do stand-up at WinStar World Casino and Resort.

12-17 Come and meet those dancing feet on 42nd Street. Bass Hall presents the national tour of the musical. (It's also being presented by Dallas Summer Musicals June 28-July 10 at Fair Park Music Hall.)

Who you gonna call? "Ghostbusters" has a whole new crew in 2016.
Who you gonna call? "Ghostbusters" has a whole new crew in 2016.(Columbia Pictures / TNS)
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15 Ghostbusters gets a reboot with Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon.

15-31 B.J. Cleveland stars in It's Only a Play, Terrence McNally's hit Broadway comedy about theater folk waiting for reviews. Who could ask for anything more? 

AUGUST

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5 The Dixie Chicks play Gexa Energy Pavilion as part of a long-awaited comeback tour. Ticketmaster.

5 Incarcerated supervillains are sent out on supersecret missions in Suicide Squad.

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18-21 Yaa Halla Y'All features Middle Eastern dance and music performances and workshops at the Grapevine Convention Center. Plus, it has an awesome name.

26 Melvin Ferd the Third is dumped into a vat of radioactive toxic waste, only to emerge as a superhero in The Toxic Avenger, the wacky regional premiere of a musical by the popular and prolific Joe DiPietro and David Bryan. Through Sept. 11. uptownplayers.org.

SEPTEMBER

2-4 Spend Labor Day weekend enjoying music along with the aroma of competitive barbecuing at the Bedford Blues & BBQ festival.

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Maurice Aldridge with Metro Portapit loads a rack of chickens to the smoker during a...
Maurice Aldridge with Metro Portapit loads a rack of chickens to the smoker during a previous Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival.(Nathan Hunsinger / The Dallas Morning News)

12 Colleyville's Demi Lovato will be back home co-headlining with one-time North Texas resident Nick Jonas at American Airlines Center.

15-18 GrapeFest brings new wines, new vendors and new bands -- and huge crowds -- to historic downtown Grapevine.

17 Autumn at the Arboretum, the Dallas Arboretum's seasonal fest, features opportunities to wander among 150,000 blooming fall flowers and check out the Pumpkin Village, which will be filled with 75,000 pumpkins and gourds. Cute photo ops abound. Through Nov. 23.

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23-25 Check out colorful hot-air balloons, sky divers, fireworks, concerts and children's attractions at the Plano Balloon Festival.

The littlest dancers are the cutest at the Greek Festival of Dallas.
The littlest dancers are the cutest at the Greek Festival of Dallas.(Ben Torres / Special Contributor)

23-25 Enjoy all things Greek -- food, music, cooking demonstrations and more -- at the 60th annual Greek Festival of Dallas.

30 Big Tex, deep-fried everything and animals aplenty are among the things to look forward to at the State Fair of Texas in Fair Park. Through Oct. 23.

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OCTOBER

7-9 Southlake Oktoberfest has a weiner dog race and parade, live entertainment, and plenty of vendors selling food and beverages.

Dancing is part of the fun at Southlake Oktoberfest.
Dancing is part of the fun at Southlake Oktoberfest.(Alexandra Olivia / Special Contributor)

9 "Divine Felines: Cats of Ancient Egypt" features cats and lions in ancient Egyptian mythology, kingship, and everyday life at the Dallas Museum of Art. Through Jan. 8, 2017. dma.org.

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16 "Monet: The Early Years" at the Kimbell Art Museum is devoted to the youthful genius of Claude Monet. Through Jan. 29, 2017.

20-30 Let your darker side give in; Phantom of the Opera is taking over Bass Hall.

28-30 The Red Steagall Cowboy Gathering in the Fort Worth Stockyards will offer music, rodeo action, cowboy poetry, Western swing dances and a wagon train and trail ride.

NOVEMBER

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1-2 Hello, it's her. Adele's American Airlines Center shows sold out lickety-split.

4 Benedict Cumberbatch returns to the sci-fi scene with the titular role in Doctor Strange.

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7 The "12 Days of Christmas" exhibit at the Dallas Arboretum will have festive pavilions, each representing a day from the beloved song. Through Jan. 1, 2017.

9-13 Elite Rodeo Athletes' World Championship event features top talents competing for $3 million in prize money at American Airlines Center.

26 Men dress as women, women dress as men and everyone sings along at Theatre Britain's annual panto, a fractured fairy tale with lots of audience participation. The company will present The Sleeping Beauty at Cox Building Playhouse in Plano. Through Dec. 30.

DECEMBER

3 The Dallas Children's Health Holiday Parade is the closest thing that Dallas has to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Think big floats and a TV broadcast.

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3 Klyde Warren Park's holiday celebration will feature family fun to make everyone merry.

Who said you have to be a runner to have fun at the Dallas Marathon?
Who said you have to be a runner to have fun at the Dallas Marathon?(Allison Slomowitz / Special Contributor)

11 The Dallas Marathon is the day when downtown Dallas and its surroundings become miraculously runnable (really, it's only 4.25 miles from the Omni to the Kalita Humphreys Theater). If you're not a big-time runner, you can still do the relay or make a sign and cheer your heart out.

Compiled by Ann Pinson, Sara Frederick Burgos, Hannah Wise, Tiney Ricciardi, Leslie Barker, Nancy Churnin, Shannon Sutlief, Michael Granberry and Hunter Hauk