Visit Us

Club Information

Welcome to Dallas!

Official club name: The Friendship Force of Dallas 

Arrival: Arrive at DFW (Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport). Hosts meet the Ambassadors at the airport in private cars.

Hosting: The maximum number of Ambassadors our club can host: 15

Membership: Our members live in Dallas or within a 45 mile radius and our club now includes about 90 members from all walks of life who enjoy traveling and meeting new people here and in other places.

About Dallas

The region: With a population of over one million (about 7.1 million for Dallas, Fort Worth and surrounding towns), Dallas is the ninth largest city in the US and the fastest growing city in the United States. It is a large financial, manufacturing and technology/ telecommunications center, has the largest wholesale merchandise mart in the world, the third largest film production center, and is home for hundreds of major corporate offices.

Dallas hosts millions of visitors every year, and has many exciting attractions, including great restaurants and shopping facilities. It is mostly new, vibrant and exciting, with a touch of the old West mingled with the latest fashions and innovations.

The weather: Ambassadors may visit Dallas any time, but we recommend March through May or September through November for the best weather. It is hot in the summer (June – August), often about 95-100 degrees F or 35+ degrees C. We have air conditioning and survive nicely.
 
Visitors: Did you know that Dallas is rated one of the country's top five travel destinations?

In 2016 the Dallas Arboretum was included in Architectural Digest’s “list of the world’s 15 most breathtaking botanic gardens.”

Also in 2016 Dallas earned 3 stars and a “worth a trip” rating from Michelin Guides, impressing the Michelin visitors, according to the Dallas Morning News – (August 7 article). They especially liked the art deco buildings at Fair Park, a “hidden gem.” The Dallas review is included in Michelin’s “Louisiana and the Southern Cities” Green Guide – for now published only in French.

Check out these websites for more information:

the article and summary ratings:
http://www.hotwire.com/destination/travel-value-index2.jsp

Get more information on Dallas from these websites:

http://www.thedallaspage.com
http://www.fortworth.com
http://www.guidelive.com
http://www.dallascvb.com (Convention and Visitor's Bureau)
http://www.visitdallas-fortworth.com/visitors_guide
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g55711-Activities-Dallas_Texas.html
http://www.dallas.worldweb.com/
http://o.canada.com/travel/from-traditional-sounds-to-contemporary-vision-the-arts-district-of-dallas/

NEW! See a great video taken from a drone:
A Man Spent A Week Flying Over Dallas. What He Captured Will Blow You Away.

Texas Fun Facts

Did you know:
- There are 254 counties in Texas
- Texas has 624 miles of coastline running along the Gulf of Mexico
- The King Ranch, located in Kingsville, Texas is bigger than the state of Rhode
  Island
- Texas was the 28th state to enter the union, joining the United States on Dec. 29,
  1845
- More wool comes from the state of Texas than any other state in the U.S.
- Texas gets its name from the Hasinai Indian word tejas, meaning friends or allies
- The capitol building in Austin opened May 16, 1888. The dome stands seven feet
  higher than that of the nation's Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Texas State Symbols:
- Flag: Known as the Lone Star Flag
- Motto: Friendship
- Nickname: The Lone Star State
- Bird: Mockingbird
- Flower: Bluebonnet
- Insect: Monarch butterfly
- Tree: Pecan
- Mammal: Texas Longhorn

For more state symbols and facts,see http://dev.tourtexas.com/

Activities

When Ambassadors come, we offer a program from the following list of activities. Sorry - there isn't time to do everything listed here, but we ask the Journey Coordinator of the visiting club about the members' interests so we can offer some activities they would enjoy.

During our inbound Journeys we introduce visitors to Dallas sights such as the:

- Downtown area - Pioneer Plaza (cattle drive sculptures)
- Arts District: Dallas Museum of Art, Winspear Opera House, Wyly
  Theater, Trammel Crow Museum of Asian Art, Nasher Sculpture Garden,
  Dallas Performing Arts Center
- Reunion Tower (revolving restaurant and observation deck)
- Dallas World Aquarium
- Perot Science Museum
- Klyde Warren Park
- Victory Plaza area

 
                   

          

We may include architecturally interesting places such as:
- The Meyerson Symphony Center designed by I.M. Pei
- Guadalupe Cathedral
- Texas State Fair Grounds (large selection of 1930s Art Deco buildings housing
  permanent museums - Hall of State, African-American Museum and Discovery
  Gardens and more)
- SMU and the Meadows Spanish Art Museum
- Thanksgiving Square

   

And historical sites such as:
- The Sixth Floor (J F Kennedy) Museum
- The Wilson district of historic homes and Swiss Ave
- Dallas Heritage Park
- The George W. Bush Presidential Center
- Dallas Historical Museum in the Old Red Courthouse

          

Many incoming groups like a taste of the old West in Fort Worth or at:
- The Mesquite Rodeo
- The Texas State Fair (October only)
- Southfork (site of filming of the TV series "Dallas")

      

We include our world-class Dallas Arboretum -

      

And sometimes our ecologically innovative Trinity River Audubon Center

             

- or technology center at Texas Instruments Digital Light Processing Plant.

Nearby places of interest include:

- Fort Worth - visiting some sights such as the Historic Stockyards, Bass Hall, Kimbell
  Art Museum, Amon Carter American Art Museum, Sid Richardson Museum of
  Western Art, the Cowgirl Hall of Fame, Japanese Garden, Bureau of Printing and
  Engraving, Water Garden and Sundance Square
- The small towns of McKinney, Denton or Waxahachie
- Horse farm tours
- The Gaylord Resort
- Dallas Cowboy Stadium

     

  
     

     

Individual hosts or day hosts may take their visitors to:
- Shop at an outlet mall, flea market or the elegant Northpark or Galleria shopping
  centers
- The Dallas Aquarium (actually a jungle featuring monkeys, birds, otters and gardens
  as well as beautiful fish)
- One of several flight museums with vintage airplanes
- Sporting, music or theatrical events
- The Dallas Zoo or Fort Worth Zoo
- Fossil Rim Wildlife Park
- Local parks, lakes and hiking trails
- Jazz, pop and classical concerts
- Festivals
- Salsa or country-western dancing
- Theater
- Some of the great Dallas restaurants
- And did we mention shopping?

     

For career-oriented groups, we can arrange meetings with professionals in your field.

We host welcome and farewell parties including a festive meal, music and program as well as arrange in-home dinners for smaller groups with club members and Ambassadors.
 
   

After the Journey is over many members continue to correspond or visit again; many have visited their guests or hosts in their countries as friends or hosted them privately on return trips. Texas hospitality is something the Dallas club is proud to offer!

Some Comments

Previous ambassadors to our club and city have said:

"Your club is so big, well-organized, and active..." Gail Boyd, ED, Friendship Force San Francisco Bay Area

"The people in the Dallas club really know how to make one feel the 'western' spirit.' The rodeo, horse farm, barbeque lunch...how exciting!" Anonymous

"The people in the Dallas really turn out for events, even when it is pouring down rain..." Lori English, ED, FFSFBA



"At the Arboretum we were blown away by the beautiful landscapes that awaited us at every turn..."
 

" 'Thank you' seems an inadequate phrase for all the special things you did for us this week. We became a member of your family the minute we entered your home." Judy Hornsby, ED Cincinnati
 

Our Japanese friends from Tokyo enjoyed our kitchen table as it became the venue for all our discussions including how to play Jenga. They were awed for several hours at the 6th Floor Memorial Museum to JFK. An October visit allowed them a visit to the Texas State Fair.

Canadian friends from Medicine Hat enjoyed our agenda for the week that did not overload them; got to know us in small dinner groups, included a real rodeo and had plenty of picture taking opportunities. A chance to visit a large Arabian horse farm with recent colts reminded them we are in the west.

Romanian friends from Brasov spent several hours walking the world-class Dallas Arboretum when it was in full bloom. At their request we had a career day where they met professionals in similar businesses such as medical, legal, social work, construction and newspaper publishing.



Top

We invite you to watch a slideshow about our club so that you are sure to include FFDallas in your exchange plans. This 8+ minute video is a composite of photos from our Medicine Hat Canada, Tokyo Japan, and Lima/Tarapoto Peru inbound exchanges showcasing our typical exchange activities.

Our newsletter editor at the time, Ken Walker, picked interesting photos of people that show places we
visit or activities we engage in. These photos, with a few captions, speak for themselves.

Watch the slideshow on YouTube
by clicking on the link below. It is best viewed
full screen; click the icon
corner after the show starts.

http://tinyurl.com/ffDallas-exchanges
 or
See a new FFI video at: https://vimeo.com/207845443