Weekend Event Planner

These are the 11 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

There is no one big event to unite people in and around Dallas this weekend. Instead, you have a variety of interesting choices, including two theatrical productions, a pair of unique comedians, classical music on a small and large scale, great dancers, a Chinese New Year celebration, a Groundhog Day celebration, and both the opening and closing of various art exhibitions.

Below are the best ways to spend your free time this weekend. Want more options? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.

Thursday, January 30

The Firehouse Theatre presents The Drowsy Chaperone
With the houselights down, a man in a chair appears on stage and puts on his favorite record: the cast recording of a fictitious 1928 musical. The recording comes to life and The Drowsy Chaperone begins as the man in the chair looks on. Mix in two lovers on the eve of their wedding, a bumbling best man, a desperate theater producer, a not-so-bright hostess, two gangsters posing as pastry chefs, a misguided Don Juan, and an intoxicated chaperone, and you have the ingredients for an evening of madcap delight. The Firehouse Theatre in Farmers Branch will present the production through February 23.

Theatre Three presents Imagine Broadway
Four of Dallas' top vocal talents — Marisa Diotalevi, Blake Hackler, Quintin Jones, and Cherish Robinson — will perform a concert showcasing Broadway's best musicals, including some familiar favorites from Theatre Three's history. The foursome will sing everything from classic show tunes to contemporary hits, with plenty of creative twists and turns along the way. All proceeds from the concert, playing three times through Saturday, will benefit Theatre Three’s programming.

Tim and Eric: 2020 Mandatory Attendance World Tour
Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim — aka Tim and Eric — are a comedy duo best known for their Adult Swim show, Tim and Eric Awesome Show. Their brand of surreal and absurd comedy is an acquired taste, but it has won them many fans over the years. The Tim and Eric Mandatory Attendance Tour, coming to Majestic Theatre, will be filled with more spoofs, goofs, and insanity, including some very special surprises.

Friday, January 31

Eisemann Center presents Piano Battle: Andreas Kern vs. Paul Cibis
The brainchild of internationally accomplished pianists Andreas Kern and Paul Cibis, the Piano Battle sees the duo go head-to-head on stage, entertaining the audience with a variety of classical pieces. The two artists, with distinctly different performance styles, take turns to perform pieces by composers such as Chopin, Liszt, and Debussy, or improvise based on the tunes the audience requests. The performance will be at Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts in Richardson.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents Salome
The scandalous subject of Salome put Richard Strauss’ opera-writing career on a fast, if not notorious, track. It’s about the depraved teen who, in exchange for a dance with seven veils, gets what she asks for, the head of John the Baptist, on a silver platter, then pays for it. In the hair-raising final scene, a crazed Salome sings some of the most spine tingling music you’ll ever hear. There will be two performances — one Friday and one Sunday — at Meyerson Symphony Center.

TITAS/Dance Unbound: Delfos Danza Contemporánea
Delfos Danza Contemporánea is Mexico’s premiere contemporary dance company, ranking among the best in Latin America. Cuando los Disfraces se Cuelgan (When the Disguises are Hung Up) is an evening-length reflection on appearances and the disguises we put on in order to navigate a world. This one-night-only performance will be at Winspear Opera House.

Saturday, February 1

Crow Museum of Asian Art presents Chinese New Year Festival (This event has been postponed due to coronavirus concerns)
Celebrating the Year of the Rat, the Crow Museum of Asian Art of The University of Texas at Dallas will present the 21st annual Chinese New Year Festival. The signature event will feature dragon and lion dances, musical and martial-arts demos, art making and calligraphy, specialty booths, wellness activities, colorful entertainment, and cultural performances. The event will be at NorthPark Center.

Dallas Museum of Art presents "My|gration" opening day
"My|gration" is an installation of works that will trace the migration of people, objects, and ideas in art across times and cultures. Composed of works from the DMA’s collection, "My|gration" highlights the contributions of artists who immigrated to the United States, examines how the movement of people is expressed through art, and illuminates ways cross-cultural connections inform artistic production. The exhibition will be on display through January 3, 2021.

DMA Arts & Letters Live: Selected Shorts
Selected Shorts comes to the Dallas Museum of Art for an evening of O. Henry Prize-winning stories. A selection of award-winning stories — Midrash on Happiness by Grace Paley, Nayla by Youmna Chlala, A Permanent Member of the Family by Russell Banks, and Oh Shenandoah by Maura Stanton — will be brought to life on stage through readings by acclaimed actors, including two-time Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Wendie Malick.

Sunday, February 2

Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden presents Arboretum Annie
Pennsylvania may have Punxsutawney Phil, but Dallas has Arboretum Annie, the groundhog meteorologist that will return to predict the weather based on if she sees her shadow or not at the Dallas Arboretum's sunrise ceremony. Guests can enjoy a full day of fun, starting with complimentary coffee or hot chocolate, breakfast food vendor sales in the garden, and a screening of Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray.

Art exhibit closings
Both Nasher Sculpture Center and the Dallas Museum of Art will close exhibitions on Sunday. Sightings: Anne Le Troter at the Nasher isa a sound piece based on Le Troter's research on fertility tourism and the history of sperm banks in the U.S., where the lack of governmental regulation has resulted in the rise of so-called “designer babies." Concentrations 62: Wanda Koop - "Dreamline" is the first U.S. solo museum exhibition for Koop, an established Canadian painter whose practice depicts how modern urban society intersects with the natural environment.

Tim and Eric: 2020 Mandatory Attendance World Tour will be at Majestic Theatre on January 30.

Tim and Eric/Facebook

Tim and Eric: 2020 Mandatory Attendance World Tour will be at Majestic Theatre on January 30.

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Animal News

Latest animal to die at Dallas Zoo is young male gorilla named Zola

Dallas Zoo

Zola RIP

Another animal at the Dallas Zoo has died an untimely death: Zola, a young Western lowland gorilla, died on Wednesday, November 5, at age 23.

The zoo does not know why Zola died. A necropsy will be performed. According to their post, Zola was euthanized after showing symptoms of lethargy, reduced appetite, and signs of discomfort at the end of October.

"Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to begin breathing on his own afterward, despite the extraordinary efforts of our veterinary and animal care teams," their post says. "With his comfort as our priority, we made the difficult decision to let him go peacefully."

The zoo did not announce Zola's death immediately, instead waiting two days until Friday afternoon at 3 pm. Politicians and government agencies prefer to choose Friday afternoons to post news that is negative or controversial, since fewer people, and definitely fewer journalists, are online on Friday afternoons. It's called the "Friday news dump."

The death is very inconvenient for the Dallas Zoo since they were just about to ship off their male gorillas, which also include Juba, B'Wenzi, and Zola's half-brother Shana, to the San Antonio Zoo. Animals are very dear to the zoo — until it's time to ship them off to another zoo.

The relocation of the other three male gorillas is "temporarily on hold" but the zoo says they will be moved "when the time is right."

Other gorillas will be shipped in to replace them — although we do not know which gorillas and from where. The Association of Zoos & Aquariums, the overseeing body for zoos, only divulges that kind of intel on a "need to know" basis. Right now, you and I do not need to know. If we did know which gorillas were coming and where they were coming from, we might ask questions that would force the zoo to explain what it's up to.

Zola was born at the Bronx Zoo in 2002 and became internet famous as the "breakdancing gorilla" for splashing in pools and puddles. Some animal experts attributed his actions to frustration at being locked inside a zoo. He was relocated to the Calgary Zoo in 2009 when he was only 7 years old — zoos always play up what great bonds and family ties their animals have, until it's time to ship them somewhere else, and then suddenly the bonds and family ties don't matter.

Unfortunately, Zola did not "integrate well" at the Calgary Zoo, so he got shipped off to the Dallas Zoo in 2013.

At least now he won't have to be relocated again.

Death count
Zola's death is one more in a long-running series of deaths at the Dallas Zoo in recent years, the most previous being Jata, a 7-year-old painted dog who died in June 2024. Jata also showed signs of lethargy and decreased appetite, reportedly due to kidney disease.

Whenever a death occurs, they always wax on about their "extraordinary" veterinary and animal care teams — and yet, so many of these deaths were either unexplained or completely caught their teams by surprise.

Zola the Western lowland gorilla is the latest to join this death march of animals at the Dallas Zoo:

Jata, one of the zoo's three African painted dogs, died in June 2024, at seven years old.
Ferrell, a 15-year-old giraffe, died in December, 2023, following "an unexpected fall in the barn" that injured the giraffe's jaw so badly, they were forced to euthanize him.
Ajabu, a 6-year-old African elephant who died on May 8, 2023, from the herpes virus.
Pin, a 35-year-old lappet-faced vulture, died on January 22, 2023, cause unknown.
Jesse, a 14-year-old giraffe, died on October 29, 2021, cause unknown.
Auggie, a 19-year-old giraffe, died in late October 2021 of liver failure.
Marekani, a 3-month-old baby giraffe, sustained a mysterious injury and was euthanized on October 3, 2021.
Kirk, a 31-year-old chimpanzee, died in August 2021 due to "surprise" heart disease.
Keeya, a 6-year-old Hartmann's mountain zebra, died in March 2021 due to a mysterious unexplained head injury.
Subira, a 24-year-old silverback gorilla, died suddenly in March 2020, due to a cough, or maybe cardiovascular disease. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Hope, a 23-year-old Western lowland gorilla, died suddenly in November 2019 after being at the zoo for only two years.
Ola, an 8-year-old female African painted dog, was killed in July 2019 by two other painted dogs, less than a month after she was transferred to the zoo.
Witten, a 1-year-old giraffe, died in June 2019 during a physical exam under anesthesia when he suddenly stopped breathing.
Adhama, a baby hippopotamus, mysteriously died in 2018.
Kipenzi, a baby giraffe, died in 2015 after running in her enclosure.
Kamau, a young cheetah, died of pneumonia in 2014.
Johari, a female lion, was killed in front of zoo spectators in 2013 by male lions with whom she shared an enclosure.

And in February 2021, they lost a crow called Onyx who was part of their "animal ambassador team," "participating in a training session" for a bird show. He was never found.

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