Weekend Event Planner

Rob Schneider and Neon Trees headline best weekend events in Dallas

As May bleeds into June, you'll find more eccentricity in our weekend event planner. All the activities are still worth your while, but they tend to be a bit off the beaten path.

Below are your 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, May 29

Mockingbird Station presents Summer Luau Pool Party
Summer is almost here, and when it gets hot, there's no better activity than hanging out by the pool. Mockingbird Station is opening up its pool at The Lofts for a Summer Luau Pool Party, complete with free food and drinks, hula girls, music from DJ Blake Ward, and a great view of the sunset from the rooftop deck. Actual swimming is optional.

John Waters: This Filthy World
Writer/director John Waters is responsible for some of the most lurid films in history, like Pink Flamingos and A Dirty Shame. This Filthy World, playing one night only at The Kessler, is a one-man show in which Waters recounts how he got started in the movie business and his dealings with Hollywood.

If that's not enough Waters for you, you can also head to Texas Theatre on Friday night for a screening of Hairspray, complete with pre-screening discussion and contests for dance and costumes. Waters is not scheduled to be there himself, but stranger things have happened.

Friday, May 30

Improv Addison present Rob Schneider
The name Rob Schneider still has a certain cachet in the comedy world despite the fact that Schneider is not quite as prominent as he once was. The former Saturday Night Live cast member has had some ups and downs in both movies and television, a career which he'll likely mine for his stand-up act at Improv Addison through Sunday.

Tune-yards in concert with Sylvan Esso
Tune-yards, or if you want to go with the funky "correct" spelling, tUnE-yArDs, is actually just one person, Merrill Garbus, who uses drum loops and other trickery to put on a memorable show. With opening act Sylvan Esso, she appears at the Granada Theater in support of her third album, Nicki Nack.

Saturday, May 31

Dallas Heritage Village presents Front Porch Showdown
If you love bluegrass music, there is no better place to be this weekend than Dallas Heritage Village for the Front Porch Showdown. Ten bands play for 15 minutes each to prove that they are the bluegrassiest of the bluegrass, with the audience voting for their favorites. The event, which also includes food trucks and arts and crafts, ends with a performance by Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Bluegrass Band, who put a bluegrass spin on classic Beatles songs.

Texas Ballet Theater presents Swan Lake
As usual, Texas Ballet Theater has bounced back and forth between Dallas and Fort Worth for the 2013-2014 season, but Fort Worth is the sole beneficiary of the final show, Swan Lake. The classic ballet that tells the tragic story of Odette, a girl turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer, plays at Bass Performance Hall Friday through Sunday.

Sunday, June 1

BFD 2014
The name of this festival at Gexa Energy Pavilion is a pretty big clue as to what kind of music to expect: hard rock, and lots of it. Five Finger Death Punch is the headliner, with Steel Panther, Theory of a Deadman, Hellyeah, Killswitch Engage, Pop Evil, The Pretty Reckless, Tom Keifer of Cinderella and Nothing More rounding out the lineup.

Dallas Museum of Art presents Cities and Cultural Investment: A Snapshot
The Dallas Museum of Art is part of one of the best arts districts in the country, and this free event is a conversation about why it's so important for cities to invest in culture. DMA director Maxwell L. Anderson moderates the discussion, which is the only public event of the ongoing conference of the Association of Art Museum Directors.

Neon Trees in concert with Smallpools and Nightmare & the Cat
Neon Trees have been on an upward trajectory since their debut in 2010, thanks to songs like "Animal" and "Everybody Talks." Still, they have yet to hit the big time, as they play at the House of Blues Dallas in support of their 2014 album, Pop Psychology, with Smallpools and Nightmare & the Cat as opening acts. Catch them now or you'll be swimming with the masses at a bigger venue next year.

Rob Schneider is the headliner at Improv Addison May 30 through June 1.

Rob Schneider Facebook

Rob Schneider is the headliner at Improv Addison May 30 through June 1.

unspecified

Racket sports

Trendy Austin padel club Padel39 lobs first DFW location into Carrollton

Photo by Juan J Valdes

undefined

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.

padel pickleball sports