Before the Fourth

You're off on Tuesday, which means you're probably not going to be partyin' into the wee hours when you have to get up for work Wednesday. No, a logical person would take a vacation day Monday (having done the responsible family picnic-type stuff over the weekend), use said vacation day to achieve the desired number of patriotic sheets to the wind, sleep it off (after putting the flag out, of course) on Tuesday, maybe taking in a burger or fireworks before a respectable bedtime. You've got the drinks covered, but what are these weekend, uh, family events, you ask? Try some Thoroughbred racing starting 5 p.m. (grandstand gates open at 3 p.m.) Sunday at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie. Kids can rock the petting zoo, pony rides, bounce houses and more, and the day closes with a 20-minute fireworks display after the last race. (Same schedule applies for Monday.) Call 1-800-795-RACE or visit lonestarpark.com. Perhaps you require a more musical approach. Check out fireworks with accompaniment from our very own Dallas Symphony Orchestra on Sunday in Fair Park. Park opens at 6 p.m.; music begins at 8:30 p.m.; fireworks begin at 9:15 p.m. Visit fairpark.org. Now if symphonic is the way you want to go, but you really want to score points with a mini road trip and botany, head to the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, University Drive at Interstate 30, and take in one of Cowtown's symphony orchestra's Concerts in the Garden, specifically their Old-Fashioned Family Fireworks Picnic. Gates open at 6:30 p.m.; concerts begin at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 to $45. Call 817-665-6000 or visit fwsymphony.org.
Sun., July 2, 3 p.m.; Mon., July 3, 3 p.m.