Weekend Event Planner

These are the 13 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

There's quite a lot going on in and around Dallas this weekend, with a nice variety to entice a wide number of eventgoers. There will be festivals focused on art, movies, and environmentalism, along with a new — and timely — local theater production, a big-name concert, a golf tournament featuring celebrities, a live version of The Bachelor, and much more.

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

Thursday, April 21

Dallas Art Fair
The Dallas Art Fair will resume its regular schedule, returning to its longtime home of Fashion Industry Gallery. For its 14th edition, the fair will showcase thoughtful, engaging presentations from close to 100 international exhibitors and welcome a global array of artists, collectors, curators, and writers through its doors. The fair kicks off with a VIP preview night on Thursday, followed by public dates Friday through Sunday.

USA Film Festival
The 52nd Annual USA Film Festival will feature 24 different programs, including narrative features, documentary features, and short films. Festival highlights will include a salute to actress Sally Struthers in conjunction with a special 50th Anniversary screening of The Getaway; a salute to Dallas-Fort Worth journalist Bob Ray Sanders; and closing night film The Duke, starring Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren. The festival, which is free with reservations, will take place at Angelika Film Center Dallas through Sunday.

Ochre House Theater presents In The Garden: Марні троянди (Futile Roses)
As the world watches Russia's invasion of Ukraine in horror, Ochre House Theater will honor Ukraine with Марні троянди (pronounced "Marni Troyandy," Ukrainian for Futile Roses) as part of their newest series, In The Garden. While their city is being devastated by an invasion, a family strives to maintain their sanity, dignity, and seeks to find normalcy in a world turned upside down. The production, featuring the voice of Ukrainian actor Denys Lyubimov, will run through April 30.

Friday, April 22

ClubCorp Classic
The inaugural ClubCorp Classic, an officially sanctioned PGA TOUR Champions and Charles Schwab Cup event, will feature a star-studded field of 50 celebrity golfers competing alongside the pros. Celebrity participants like Anthony Anderson, Tim Brown, Greg Maddux, Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez, Tony Romo, Emmitt Smith, and Annika Sörenstam will compete with pro players like Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, John Daly, Mike Weir, Colin Montgomerie, and more. The tournament goes on through Sunday at Las Colinas Country Club in Irving.

Earthx 2022 Expo
At Earthx2022, attendees can learn more about how to take and inspire action towards a more sustainable future worldwide. This year's conference and family-friendly expo, taking place at Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center through Sunday, will feature hundreds of exhibitors and Earth Day activities like solar art classes, outdoor concerts, dance classes, and more.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents Bernstein’s West Side Story & Gershwin’s Piano Concerto
Those still on a high from seeing Steven Spielberg's update of West Side Story will love the Dallas Symphony Orchestra's latest concert, featuring conductor Thomas Wilkins and pianist Joyce Yang. Selections will include Florence Price's Dances In The Canebrakes, Gershwin's Piano Concerto In F, Ulysses Kay's Overture To Theatre Set, and Bernstein's West Side Story: Symphonic Dances and “America” from West Side Story. There will be three performances through Sunday at Meyerson Symphony Center.

Dallas Black Dance Theatre presents DBDT: Encore! - Rising Excellence
DBDT: Encore! - Rising Excellence has always been a catalyst for showcasing young artists. In a first for Dallas Black Dance Theatre’s organization, dance/choreographic duo Derion Loman and Madison Olandt jointly created The Long Wait, a drama of cosmic proportions that will make its world premiere. The program also includes Diaspora, a new work choreographed by Nycole Ray and Richard A. Freeman, Jr. There will be two performances — one Friday and one Saturday — at Moody Performance Hall.

Rain: A Tribute To the Beatles
Rain's performance takes people back in time with The Beatles, delivering a note-for-note theatrical event. In addition to the updated sets that include state of the art LED, high-definition screens, and multimedia content, Rain will bring the Abbey Road album and the legendary rooftop concert to life. The concert takes place at Majestic Theatre.

Saturday, April 23

The Bachelor Live on Stage
The Bachelor Live On Stage will be a wildly flirtatious and interactive evening, hosted by Becca Kufrin, featuring appearances by James Bonsall (season 17), Rick Leach (season 18), Connor Brennan (season 17), Ivan Hall (season 16), Justin Glaze (season 17), Andrew Spencer (season 17), and Rodney Mathews (season 18) from The Bachelorette. Local women will be hand-picked from the audience to participate in the journey unfolding on stage. The event takes place at Texas Trust CU Theatre at Grand Prairie.

TITAS/Dance Unbound presents Command Performance
TITAS/Dance Unbound's Command Performance always delivers one of the most exciting performances of the year. The event, taking place at Winspear Opera House, features TITAS-commissioned works created specifically for this gala performance, including works by some of the world’s leading choreographers such as Twyla Tharp, Dwight Rhoden, Jessica Lang, Mia Michaels, Sonya Tayeh, Bridget L. Moore, and WANG Yuanyuan.

Sunday, April 24

Nasher Sculpture Center exhibition closings
Sunday will be the last day to view two related exhibitions at Nasher Sculpture Center. Harry Bertoia: "Sculpting Mid-Century Modern Life" is the first large-scale museum examination of the artist’s career in the United States, bringing together close to 100 works from all facets of Bertoia’s extensive and diverse artistic practice. Olivia Block: "Sightings" is a complement to the Harry Bertoia retrospective, featuring a sound installation comprised from recordings of Bertoia’s sounding sculptures, which are part the exhibition.

Perot Museum of Nature and Science presents "Towers of Tomorrow with LEGO Bricks" closing day
Sunday will also be the last day to view "Towers of Tomorrow with LEGO Bricks" at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science. The exhibition features 20 iconic skyscrapers from across the globe constructed with more than half a million LEGO bricks. After interacting with the intricate structures, which include everything from the world’s tallest building to the Empire State Building, guests are encouraged to create their own "tower of tomorrow" in construction areas, which are equipped with more than 200,000 LEGO bricks.

John Mayer in concert
The last time we saw John Mayer in Dallas, it was as part of Dead & Company, where Mayer has carried on the legacy of Jerry Garcia with the surviving members of the Grateful Dead. He'll return as a solo act for the first time since 2019 in support of his 2021 album, Sob Rock. The concert takes place at American Airlines Center.

The Dallas Art Fair takes place at Fashion Industry Gallery through April 24.

Photo by Sylvia Elzafon

The Dallas Art Fair takes place at Fashion Industry Gallery through April 24.

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FIFA World Cup preview

France and Spain set for epic semifinal in last Dallas World Cup match

Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images

Kylian Mbappe #10 of France celebrates scoring a penalty for the team's first goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 match between Paraguay and France at Philadelphia Stadium.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Kylian Mbappé and France haven’t trailed at all at this year's World Cup. Neither has Spain with teenage sensation Lamine Yamal and clutch goal-scoring substitute Mikel Merino.

Only one of those teams can make it to the final.

France and Spain are both playing at their 17th World Cup, but have met only once previously on soccer’s biggest stage. They play Tuesday, July 14 at the home of the Dallas Cowboys in the first of two powerhouse semifinal matches.

After entering this tournament as FIFA’s top-ranked team, France has outscored its opponents 14-2. Mbappé, the 2022 Golden Boot winner, has eight goals to match Lionel Messi for the scoring lead this time, and is one behind the Argentina captain’s career record of 21 at the World Cup.

“We are focused,” France midfielder Adrien Rabiot said. “We are confident, of course, with the course we have done so far, and we have to be, but always with this humility that has characterized us since the beginning of the competition.”

The 27-year-old Mbappé has 20 goals in his 20 World Cup matches, including one in the 2018 win over Croatia when he joined Pele as the only teenagers to score in a World Cup final. And the star striker for Les Bleus had said he is fine despite exiting in the 77th minute of their 2-0 quarterfinal win over Morocco after scoring a goal.

Lamine Yamal, Spain, World Cup Lamine Yamal #19 of Spain controls the ball during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Quarter Final match between Spain and Belgium at Los Angeles Stadium.Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images

Yamal, who turned 19 on Monday, has already been part of two semifinal wins with Spain over France. He was just days shy of his 17th birthday when he scored in a 2-1 win during the 2024 European Championship semifinals, and Spain then won 5-4 in Nations League play last year.

“I believe if France has to fear anyone, it should be us, in my opinion,” Yamal said after Spain's quarterfinal victory over Belgium. “We were the ones that knocked them out before.”

The teen has only one goal while putting 10 shots on target after coming into this World Cup still nursing a left hamstring issue that forced him to miss the final weeks of the season for Spanish club Barcelona.

France defender Jules Koundé also plays for Barcelona, so he knows Yamal well and didn't feel disrespected by those comments.

“For me he is a sign of confidence. He always does it with (Barcelona). He trusts a lot in his virtues, in the virtues of the team where he plays,” Koundé said in translated remarks. “So I see nothing as an extra motivation for him and that’s it, that’s all.”

Spain has outscored opponents 10-1 since a stunning scoreless draw against surprising Cape Verde to open group play, but La Roja needed late decisive goals from Merino after he entered the last two games as a second-half substitute. All while goaltender Unai Simón set a World Cup record of 650 minutes without allowing a goal until Belgium found the net in the 41st minute of their quarterfinal game.

“I think that from the first game until today, the team needed to catch the rhythm, we had been without seeing each other for a long time,” Spain midfielder Alex Baena said, adding that with more games and practices “the better the team has been.”

Merino scored in the 88th minute for that 2-1 win over Belgium on Friday. That came after the Arsenal forward’s goal in the first minute of second-half stoppage time for the 1-0 win over Portugal in the round of 16 at the same stadium where Spain's semifinal match will be played.

Quartet of past champions
This is the first World Cup since 1990 that each of the final four teams are former champions.

Messi and defending champion Argentina, which beat France for the title in 2022, play England in the other semifinal match Wednesday in Atlanta.

The championship match is Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, across the river from New York City. A third-place game will be played Saturday in Miami Gardens, Florida.

Both have raised World Cup trophy since they last met in the tourney
In their only previous World Cup meeting, France beat Spain 3-1 in a round of 16 game at the 2006 tournament in Germany.

Both teams have won the World Cup since then. Spain claimed its only title in 2010, and France won its second World Cup in 2018.

France, which will be playing on its country's Bastille Day national holiday, is trying to join five-time champion Brazil and four-time winner Germany as the only teams to make three consecutive World Cup finals. Brazil did it in 1994, 1998 and 2002 — winning two titles and losing to host France in the middle of that run. Germany’s championship in 1990 came after being runner-up in the previous two World Cups — all playing as West Germany at the time.

Argentina beat France in a penalty shootout in 2022 after playing to a 3-3 draw.

This is France's seventh semifinal appearance, its fifth in the last eight World Cups. Spain's only other semifinals were in 1950 and then 2010 on the way to the title.

Wrapping up in Dallas
AT&T Stadium in North Texas - called "Dallas Stadium" for the tournament - will be hosting its tournament-high ninth game, and in that one-month run there have been some soccer superstar moments in the building that has hosted a Super Bowl and NCAA championship games for football and men's basketball.

Messi scored three goals in Argentina's two group games, the first on June 22 when after missing a penalty kick he broke the World Cup career scoring mark with the first of his two goals in a 2-0 win over Austria. He added another goal as a late substitute in the group finale June 27 against Jordan.

Cristiano Ronaldo, the 41-year-old superstar from Portugal, finished his sixth and final World Cup in the 1-0 round of 16 loss to Spain on July 6.

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