Weekend Event Planner

These are the 12 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

It's another stacked weekend in and around Dallas, with big events taking place no matter which way you turn. They include CultureMap's celebration of the city's best restaurants, three big-name concerts, a documentary film festival, an Earth Day-themed festival, two new local theater productions, a visit from a renowned comedian, and more.

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, April 19

Thin Line Film Festival
Documentaries are often overshadowed by narrative films at other film festivals, but the Thin Line Film Festival puts them front and center. Among the features being screened will be Jane about Jane Goodall, DisneyNature's Born in China about pandas, and 29 others. The festival, taking place through Sunday at various venues in Denton, will also feature short films, music, and photography exhibits.

5 Seconds of Summer in concert
Now that the members of One Direction have all gone their separate ways, the boy band mantle has been picked up by 5 Seconds of Summer. The Australian quartet served as the opening act for One Direction multiple times, and now they'll be the headliner, touring in support of their new album, Youngblood. If you can't catch this small-scale concert at House of Blues Dallas, they'll be back later in the year at the Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory.

CultureMap Dallas Tastemaker Awards
It's time to celebrate two of the things we love most: food and drink. The return of the annual CultureMap Tastemaker Awards will honor the top restaurant and bar talent in Dallas and Fort worth. The event, sponsored by Woodford Reserve, Ben E. Keith, Whole Foods Market, Compass Real Estate, and Korbel, will take place at Sixty Five Hundred. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Bonton Farms.

Kitchen Dog Theater presents Pompeii!!
A cautionary tale of a society’s last doomed day in skits, scoots, skedaddles, and songs, Pompeii!! uses the flamboyance and joy of a vaudeville performance as a metaphor for the cycles of moral and social decline of both Ancient Rome and the roaring '20s, all the while giving the hairy eyeball to modern-day society. The production will run at Trinity River Arts Center through May 6.

Friday, April 20

Concours d'Elegance of Texas
Concours d'Elegance is is one of the state’s largest vintage motoring and luxury lifestyle events. Taking place over the course of three days at venues around Arlington, it features a world-class gathering of selected vintage motorcars. Texas Tour & Track Day takes place at Six Flags Over Texas on Friday, the Texas Classic Auction takes place at Arlington Convention Center on Saturday, and the main event takes place at Richarc Greene Linear Park on Sunday.

George W. Bush Presidential Center 5th Anniversary Celebration
The George W. Bush Presidential Center will celebrate its fifth anniversary with free admission, family activities, new artifacts, and special guests. During the week-long celebration, taking place through April 27, visitors will explore never-before-seen artifacts including unique gifts and one-of-a-kind memorabilia. Bush-Cheney alumni who worked alongside President and Mrs. Bush, and Bush Institute experts, will be stationed throughout the galleries, sharing behind-the-scenes stories and intriguing facts with museum patrons.

EARTHx
EARTHx brings together environmental organizations, businesses, academic institutions, government agencies, speakers, interactive programming, and subject matter experts along with live music and sustainable beer and food pavilions. The three-day festival, taking place at Fair Park through Sunday, creates a fun and engaging atmosphere for thought and experiential learning while encouraging attendees to be the change they wish to see in the world. It also features the final three days of EARTHxFilm.

Improv Addison presents Margaret Cho
Comedian Margaret Cho has always been the Agent Provocateur of stand-up. Never one to shy away from a taboo topic, she considers no subjects off limits. Her socially aware, no-holds-barred brand of comedy has made her both a thought leader and a tolerant teacher to those with open minds and open hearts. She'll perform five times through Sunday at Improv Addison.

Dallas Theater Center presents The Trials of Sam Houston
On the eve of the state’s secession in 1861, Governor Sam Houston is torn between loyalty to Texas and loyalty to the United States. As he weighs the terrible choice he must make, certain of the devastating cost of either path, Houston tells Jeff Hamilton (his slave and office clerk) of a time when he, and the Union itself, stood trial. The world premiere drama will play at Kalita Humphreys Center through May 13.

Saturday, April 21

Grand Prairie Main Street Fest
The City of Grand Prairie Parks, Arts and Recreation Department presents the 7th Annual Main Street Fest. Taking place in downtown Grand Prairie on Saturday and Sunday, the festival will feature headlining performances from country, red dirt country, rock, and conjunto music singers, novelty shows, carnival rides, an arts & crafts area, business expo, food and beer gardens, the Earth Day KIDZONE, and more.

Foo Fighters in concert
Believe it or not, the Foo Fighters are rapidly approaching their 25th anniversary. Formed in the wake of Kurt Cobain's death in 1994 by Dave Grohl, the one-time solo project is now a group that has released nine albums and counting, including 2017's Concrete and Gold. Their popularity has only increased through the years, and it's sure to be a packed crowd for this show, which kicks off concert season at Starplex Pavilion. They'll be joined by opening act, The Struts.

Sunday, April 22

Lee Ann Womack in concert
Country singer Lee Ann Womack is also now an oldie but a goodie, as her debut album came out in 1997. Twenty-one years and nine albums later, Womack remains a presence in the country music scene. She'll play at The Kessler in support of her 2017 album, The Lonely, the Lonesome, and the Gone.

The George W. Bush Presidential Center will celebrate its 5th anniversary with a special celebration, April 20-27.

Photo courtesy of George W. Bush Presidential Center

The George W. Bush Presidential Center will celebrate its 5th anniversary with a special celebration, April 20-27.

event-planner

Movie Review

Rose Byrne fights for her life and car in new movie 'Tow'

Photo courtesy of Roadside Attractions

Rose Byrne in Tow.

Actor Rose Byrne had a banner year in 2025, getting her first Oscar nomination for her starring role in If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You. Although she came up short in that race, she’s getting another chance to prove her acting bona fides in the new film, Tow.

In the “inspired by a true story” movie, Byrne plays Amanda, a down-on-her-luck woman who lives in her car and can’t find a job. Living in Seattle, she tries to stay in touch with her daughter, Avery (Elsie Fisher), who lives with her dad in another city, but circumstances sometimes limit their communications, especially when her car is stolen.

The good news is that her car is found relatively quickly. The bad news is that the tow company is charging her to get her car back, money she can’t afford. Now truly homeless, she does everything in her power to right the wrong, even taking the company to court. Without much luck, she has to start staying in a women’s shelter run by Barbara (Octavia Spencer), where she makes friends with Nova (Demi Lovato) and Denise (Ariana DeBose), among others.

Directed by Stephanie Laing and written by Jonathan Keasey and Brent Boivin, the film has relatively low stakes going for it and never really tries to make the story feel deeper than it is. The situation Amanda finds herself in is clearly a tough one, and any empathetic person would feel for her and want her to overcome her plight. But the filmmakers keep things light and never try to up the drama in any significant way.

The issue Amanda is dealing with, being price gouged by a predatory towing company, is one with which many people can relate. But aside from helpfully underscoring Amanda’s frustration by showing the increasing number of days she is without a car, they never establish why they felt this particular story was one worth telling. Her personal issues, including a growing estrangement with her daughter, fail to conjure any big emotions.

The filmmakers are very loose with their storytelling, especially when it comes to side characters. The presence of the women she meets at the shelter, and Kevin (Dominic Sessa), the young lawyer who offers to help her, never makes full sense other than a need for her to have other people with whom to interact. A tighter focus on what Amanda was going through would’ve helped both her and people around her feel more important.

Byrne is a dynamic performer who’s shown great skill at both drama and comedy, but there’s nothing special about her performance here. Hampered a bit by a blonde wig and false teeth, she feels out of sorts for much of the film. The unusually high-powered supporting cast - both Spencer and DeBose are Oscar winners - makes things interesting on first blush, but none of them outside of Sessa is given much to do, so they’re mostly wasted.

Tow will be a disappointment for anyone hoping to see more great stuff from Byrne. While she remains a fine actor, her performance and the story as a whole are nowhere near the level shown in her previous film. The real life predicament shown in the film also never rises to the level of being of something worth showing to the masses.

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Tow is now showing in theaters.

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