Weekend Event Planner

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

It will be quite the varied weekend in and around Dallas, with a couple of genuine superstars in concert, a national tour of a Broadway musical, celebrities in town for a horror convention, and more. On the local side will be a chance to enjoy the NFL draft with fellow Cowboys fans, a special block party, new local theater, a mini film festival, and 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 28

Dallas Cowboys presents Cowboys Draft Party
The Dallas Cowboys' Draft Day Party will give football fans the opportunity to see previous and current Dallas Cowboys players, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, and mascot Rowdy, enjoy games and entertainment, and cheer for whoever the Cowboys pick in the NFL Draft. Thursday will feature a variety of activities on the Tostitos Championship Plaza, including coverage of the first round of the draft; Friday will feature a free youth camp and Draft weekend specialty menus at participating restaurants; and Saturday will feature the Draft Day 5K followed by The Star Draft Fest. All events take place in and around Ford Center at the Star in Frisco.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents "Mozart & Prokofiev"
The latest concert from the Dallas Symphony Orchestra will be "Mozart & Prokofiev," featuring conductor Leonidas Kavakos, violinist Alexander Kerr, and violist Meredith Kufchak. Selections for the concert, which will have three performances through Sunday at Meyerson Symphony Center, will include Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola, K. 364 and Prokofiev's Symphony No. 6.

Bon Jovi in concert
Over an illustrious career spanning more than three decades, Bon Jovi has earned their place among global rock royalty. They have been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, sold over 130 million albums sold worldwide, and have an extensive catalog of hit anthems. They'll play at American Airlines Center in support of their latest album, 2020's 2020.

AT&T Performing Arts Center presents Summer: The Donna Summer Musical
In Summer, three actresses play the role of musical icon Donna Summer at different points in her life — “Diva Donna,” “Disco Donna,” and “Duckling Donna” — while an inexhaustible ensemble of almost entirely women tear up the stage. The musical takes audiences through her tumultuous life and tempestuous loves, and includes a mega-watt dream list of musical hits, including “Bad Girls,” “MacArthur Park,” “She Works Hard for the Money,” and “Last Dance.” The production will play at Winspear Opera House through Sunday.

Friday, April 29

Texas Frightmare Weekend
The annual Texas Frightmare Weekend features celebrity appearances, autograph signings, screenings, exclusive parties, and horror memorabilia vendors from all over the country. Celebrity guests at the event, taking place at Hyatt Regency DFW Airport through Sunday, will include Scream stars Neve Campbell, Skeet Ulrich, Matthew Lillard, and Jamie Kennedy; Robert Englund, Brooke Bundy, and other stars of A Nightmare on Elm Street 3; Carl Weathers; Lance Henriksen; and many more.

Dallas Arts District presents Changing Perspectives Block Party
Dallas Arts District will present the annual Changing Perspectives Block Party: A Cultural Festival, featuring the Brooklyn Jumbies, Afro-Caribbean stilts dancers with Dallas’ Bandan Koro African Drum and Dance Ensemble. Their focal piece, Intervention Ocean Blues, is a work inspired by all forms of life that make the ocean their home. The event, taking place in Sammons Park, will also feature family-friendly activities including bubble sculptures, a photo booth, a community art project, and more.

Dallas International Film Festival presents Spring Preview Weekend
The Dallas International Film Festival will return with a full event in the fall, but they're offering this Spring Preview as a way to feature film premieres, film festival favorites, and upcoming new releases from around the world. Headlining the preview is opening night film Cha Cha Real Smooth, written and directed by Dallas native Cooper Raiff, and starring Dakota Johnson, Raiff, Leslie Mann, and Brad Garrett. Five other films will be screened through Sunday at Alamo Drafthouse Cedars.

Avant Chamber Ballet presents "Legacy of Diaghiley"
To finish their season, Avant Chamber Ballet presents an evening of world premieres and commissions with live music. The program is an homage to Serge Diaghilev and his company, the Ballet Russes, which changed ballet forever with groundbreaking commissions of music, score, and design in the early 1900s. Featuring the premiere of Fernanda Oliveira's Jeux and Katie Puder’s new production of Igor Stravinsky’s A Soldier’s Tale, the production will have performances at Sammons Center for the Arts on both Friday and Saturday.

Garland Civic Theatre presents Wait Until Dark
In 1944, Susan Hendrix, a blind Greenwich Village housewife, is imperiled by a trio of men in her own apartment. As the suspense builds, Susan discovers that her blindness just might be the key to her escape, but she and her tormentors must wait until dark to play out this classic thriller's chilling conclusion. Garland Civic Theatre will present the production at Granville Arts Center through May 15.

Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats in concert
Nathaniel Rateliff was mostly a locally-known musician in Denver until he formed the band The Night Sweats, with which he released a self-titled album in 2015. Two singles off that album, "I Need Not Ever Get Old" and "S.O.B.," garnered them national attention, and they've maintained that popularity through their most recent album, 2021's The Future. They'll play at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory.

Saturday, April 30

Celtic Woman: Postcards from Ireland
Celtic Woman will celebrate 15 years of music-making with this special concert at Texas Trust CU Theatre at Grand Prairie, bringing together their favorite songs from the journey so far, including "Orinoco Flow," "Teir Abhaile Riuf," "You Raise Me Up," and "Danny Boy." The tour, featuring Celtic Woman soloists Mairéad Carlin, Éabha McMahon, Megan Walsh, and Tara McNeill, is in support of their latest album, Postcards from Ireland.

Henry Rollins in concert
Henry Rollins spent a good portion of his life as a musician, either as a solo artist or with bands like Black Flag and Rollins Band. But he hasn't put out any new music since 2002, instead devoting much of his time to spoken word material. At this event at The Kessler, Rollins will faithfully recount the events of his life in the brief pre-COVID period since his last tour and when things got even stranger over the last several months.

Sunday, May 1

Justin Bieber in concert
It's been a long journey getting pop superstar Justin Bieber back to Dallas. The last time the Beebs was in town was 2016, but that's only because he canceled a 2017 date that was at the tail end of a long tour, and had his 2020 date at AT&T Stadium postponed twice due to the COVID pandemic. This date at American Airlines Center is technically a rescheduling of that 2020 concert, although he now has a new album to promote, 2021's Justice.

Justin Bieber will play at American Airlines Center on May 1.

Photo courtesy of Justin Bieber

Justin Bieber will play at American Airlines Center on May 1.

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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. According to their post, he showed symptoms of lethargy, reduced appetite, and signs of discomfort at the end of October. A necropsy will be performed.

"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.

For now, 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," and that is all you need to know about that.

The zoo has already said that they'll be shipping in other gorillas 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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