Weekend Event Planner

David Bowie tribute and fast cars top best weekend events in Dallas

Mid-January brings a nice hodgepodge of events to the Dallas area. Among the new things starting this weekend are three theater productions, all of them from local companies, a driving experience like no other, a big arts event at Fair Park, and the memorial for a music legend.

Below are the best options for your precious free time Thursday through Sunday. Don't like what you see? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.

Thursday, January 14

Arts & Letters Live: Eric Weiner
Author Eric Weiner tends to write about life's big questions, such as how different places in the world deal with happiness or God. In his newest book, The Geography of Genius, he explores the history of places and the connection between our surroundings and our most innovative ideas. Weiner will talk about this book in an Arts & Letters Live event at Dallas Museum of Art.

Second Thought Theatre presents Martyr
Second Thought Theatre kicks off its 2016 season with an area premiere about religious fundamentalism gone wrong. The play is the story of Benjamin, who is obsessed with the Old Testament. As the teen’s behavior becomes increasingly aggressive, his teachers, his mother, and his fellow students begin to worry that Benjamin’s religious fixation has gone too far. The production will run at Bryant Hall next to the Kalita Humphreys Theater through February 6.

Friday, January 15

Fittipaldi Exotic Driving
Most of us could never dream of even sitting in a Ferrari or Lamborghini, much less owning one. Now, thanks to the new Fittipaldi Exotic Driving at Texas Motor Speedway, you can actually drive one on a race track — for a price. Taking place one weekend a month for the rest of 2016, drivers will have the opportunity to choose one of four luxury cars in which to take six laps around TMS' infield track.

Uptown Players and Turtle Creek Chorale presents Aida
Uptown Players and the Turtle Creek Chorale will collaborate again to present a concert version of Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida, with a combined cast of more than 100 actors, singers, and members of the TCC. Aida is an epic tale of love, loyalty, and betrayal chronicling the love triangle between Aida, a Nubian princess stolen from her country; Amneris, an Egyptian princess; and Radames, the soldier they both love. It will play three times at Dallas City Performance Hall through Sunday.

Saturday, January 16

6th Annual Artopia
Artopia, presented by the Dallas Observer, is a celebration of Dallas culture that incorporates food, drink, art, music, and fashion into one evening. Featured highlights include an immersive art experience by Jeremy McKane, musical performance by Dezi 5, and fashion shows with DJ Sober. Artopia will take place at Centennial Hall at Fair Park.

The David Bowie Music Video Party
The death of music legend David Bowie was a shock and a loss that many people are feeling. This event at the Alamo Drafthouse in Richardson, the third of three local Bowie tributes, will be a chance for fans to grieve and sing along to some of Bowie's most well-known songs.

Sunday, January 17

The Complete Works of Shakespeare: Twelfth Night
We are just over three years into Shakespeare Dallas' quest to present staged readings of every single work Shakespeare ever wrote. The 28th in the series will be Twelfth Night, Shakespeare’s comedy of gender confusion in which a girl disguises herself as a man to be near the count she adores, only to be pursued by the woman he loves. There will be two performances in Hamon Hall at Winspear Opera House, one Sunday and one Monday.

Tool in concert with Primus and 3Teeth
It's only been a couple of months since Tool lead singer Maynard James Keenan was in town playing with side project Puscifer. Fans will get the real deal with this concert at Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie, and perhaps a hint at when Tool's new album will finally come out, which has been held up due to some crazy legal wranglings. They'll be joined by Primus and 3Teeth.

Fans can grieve the death and celebrate the life of David Bowie at a special music video party at Alamo Drafthouse in Richardson on January 16.

Photo by Greg Gorman

Fans can grieve the death and celebrate the life of David Bowie at a special music video party at Alamo Drafthouse in Richardson on January 16.

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Racket sports

Trendy Austin padel club Padel39 lobs first DFW location into Carrollton

Photo by Juan J Valdes

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A popular padel club from Austin is serving up its first location in Dallas-Fort Worth: Padel39 has purchased and taken over the existing Dallas Padel Club, at 3000 Belmeade Dr.

According to a release, multimillion-dollar renovations are underway and are expected to be complete by summer 2026. The revamp includes:

Seven new outdoor courts are being added to the current three indoor courts (with completion expected by March 2026).
Full food and beverage capabilities for a premium sports bar that is open to the public.
A fitness area for members that is affiliated with HYROX, recovery areas, wellness facilities (sauna, cold plunge, etc.), upscale locker rooms.
Upscale lounging and coworking space.

For those not up on their racket sports, padel is a cousin of pickleball, tennis, and racquetball. The sport has been wildly popular in Spain and Latin America for decades and is one of the fastest-growing sports in the U.S. Like pickleball, it's a doubles game played on a small court, and players hit off glass walls.

Padel was invented in Acapulco, Mexico, by Enrique Corcuera; Padel39 bears the first two numbers of all Acapulco ZIP Codes.

Padel39 co-founders Will and Naomi Boyce.Photo by Juan J Valdes

The company was founded in 2024 by husband-and-wife William Boyce and Naomi Boyce; William played tennis for the University of Texas at Austin.

Padel39 currently has two locations in Austin, with a third opening in March. They say they aim to open 12 to 15 Padel39 clubs in Austin, Dallas, and Houston by 2028. After Carrollton, a location will open in central Dallas in late 2026/early 2027, they say.

“We currently introduce 200+ new players to the sport each month, while maintaining a core group of repeat clients who return for the fitness, competition and vibrant community,” William Boyce says in the release. “Each new location fulfills our vision to put Padel39 and Texas at the epicenter of the padel community.”

In addition to offering courts to play on, Padel39 features on-court programming, tournaments, social events, and physical wellness opportunities such as courtside Pilates and morning yoga.

Padel39 Padel39 courts and lounge areas at a location in Austin. Photo by Josh Graziadei

While Padel39 offers memberships, all guests are welcome to play, they say. According to the website, each club is priced differently. At the flagship location in Austin, Padel39 memberships start at $89 per month or $890 per year, but players can also rent courts as needed for 90 minutes at $30.

“We set out to create a modern take on a country club; a place where members and guests could ‘play and stay,’” Boyce says. “We’ve built that and more. We work to improve the experience for our guests each day.”

Outdoor construction on the Carrollton club is expected to be completed by March. Indoor food and beverage, fitness and lounging renovations will be finished by summer, they say. The club will remain open during renovations.

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