Weekend Event Planner

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

This weekend, you'll find events spanning the spectrum of entertainment, including two unique movie events, a concert featuring a live performance by a famous film composer, three interesting and varied theater productions, a gathering of global soccer fans, a visit from one of the biggest rappers on the planet, and much more.

Below are the best options for your precious free time Thursday through Monday. Don't like what you see? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.

Thursday, July 13

2017 Asian Film Festival of Dallas
The 2017 edition of the Asian Film Festival of Dallas, taking place through July 20 at Angelika Film Center Dallas, will feature its first showcase of films directed and produced by women. It will also have more films than any other year, with 70 films screening throughout the week, including five short blocks and 35 feature films. Fans can expect films in multiple genres from the U.S., Singapore, Thailand, China, Hong Kong, Indian, Japan, Korea, and Tibet.

AT&T Performing Arts Center presents Finding Neverland
Finding Neverland tells the incredible story behind one of the world's most beloved characters: Peter Pan. Playwright J.M. Barrie struggles to find inspiration until he meets four young brothers and their beautiful widowed mother. Spellbound by the boys’ enchanting make-believe adventures, he sets out to write a play that will astound London theatergoers. The musical will run through July 23 at Winspear Opera House.

Hans Zimmer: Live on Tour
Composer Hans Zimmer is responsible for some of the most memorable film scores of all time and has won multiple Grammys, Golden Globes, and Academy Awards. This concert at Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie will be a multi-layered experience for concert-goers, featuring music from Zimmer's multi-decade career, including pieces from Gladiator, The Lion King, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Dark Knight trilogy, and Inception.

Friday, July 14

2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup
Frisco is one of nine cities hosting early-round games of the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup, pitting national soccer teams from North America, Central America, and the Caribbean against each other. While the U.S. and Mexican teams will be playing elsewhere, local soccer fans will still get to see Costa Rica face off against French Guiana and Canada play Honduras at this doubleheader event at Toyota Stadium.

Bastille on Bishop
Bishop Arts District will present the 8th annual Bastille on Bishop celebration, an evening full of entertainment, food, wine, petanque, and wonderful people to celebrate the beautiful country of France and their traditions. Oak Cliff was the original settlement of the French colony called La Reunion, and the neighborhood has picked up the mantle with great pride and love for the French culture. Make sure to buy your tickets in advance, as glasses used to consume drinks outside are not sold at the event.

Kendrick Lamar in concert with Travis Scott and D.R.A.M.
Kendrick Lamar is considered by many to be the best rapper in the world right now, with both of his past two albums — 2015's To Pimp a Butterfly and 2017's DAMN — hitting No. 1 on the Billboard charts. Fans at this concert at American Airlines Center will get to see exactly why, as well as experience the talents of opening acts Travis Scott and D.R.A.M.

2017 Festival of Independent Theatres
The Festival of Independent Theatres, playing at Bath House Cultural Center through August 5, pairs together independent theater companies for a different experience almost every night. The festival will feature productions from WingSpan Theatre, Echo Theatre, Audacity Theatre Lab, Fun House Theatre and Film, L.I.P. Service Productions, and Dustin Curry and Company.

Uptown Players presents La Cage Aux Folles
After 20 years of un-wedded bliss, Georges and Albin, two men partnered for better-or-worse, get a bit of both when Georges' son (fathered during a one-night fling) announces his impending marriage to the daughter of a bigoted, right-wing politician. Georges reluctantly agrees to masquerade as 'normal' when he meets the family of the bride-to-be. But Albin has other plans, with hilarious results. The production will run through July 30 at Kalita Humphreys Theater.

Saturday, July 15

Dallas Gallery Day
Dallas Gallery Day returns for its sixth installment, featuring over 20 participating spaces. Newcomers to the event include Ginger Fox Gallery and Jen Mauldin Gallery in Bishop Arts, along with Bivins Gallery in Uptown and the Goss-Michael Foundation, which returns to the mix for the first time in its new space on Monitor. The first 15 people arriving at any of the participating spaces will receive the highly coveted Gallery Day T-shirt. There will also be an after-party at SITE 131 from 6-8 pm.

Trees' 9th Anniversary Show with The Polyphonic Spree
The history of the iconic Deep Ellum Club Trees Dallas is close to legendary. The original incarnation, which was open from 1990-2005, hosted such notable bands as Nirvana and Radiohead. The club re-opened in 2009 under new ownership, and they'll celebrate what they're saying is their 9th nnniversary, but which is actually the 8th, with a concert featuring The Polyphonic Spree, Sealion, and Cure for Paranoia.

Sunday, July 16

Dallas Film Society presents Movie Madness Marathon
The Dallas Film Society is presenting its inaugural Movie Madness Marathon. All you have to do is watch four of the biggest movies of the summer — Despicable Me 3, Spider-Man: Homecoming, War for the Planet of the Apes, and Baby Driver — over the course of a day and ask your friends for pledges of any amount to help raise a minimum of $500 to support the cause. The event at Studio Movie Grill Spring Valley will include giveaways after every completed film, prizes for those raising the most funds, and more.

Granada Theater presents Free Week Dallas
For the second year in a row, the Granada Theater is opening its doors for a week-long celebration of free music as a way of saying "thank you" to the fans. Free tickets will be available each day at the door. If you want to guarantee entry, $5 will get you in, and your first beer or cocktail is on the house. Bands performing through July 23 include Valise, Micky + The Motorcars, Quaker City Night Hawks, and Night Drive.

Uptown Players presents La Cage Aux Folles at Kalita Humphreys Theater through July 30.

Photo by Mike Morgan

Uptown Players presents La Cage Aux Folles at Kalita Humphreys Theater through July 30.

music sports event-planner galleries theater movies

Dudes Doing Things

Behind-the-scenes look at the Dude Perfect media empire in Frisco

Dude Perfect

The five buddies who now comprise Dude Perfect had no intention of creating a brand or even a business 16 years ago when they started making a video of basketball trick shots while they were attending Texas A&M.

“My dad would say we were procrastinating studying for finals at that time, which he is 100 percent correct,” said Coby Cotton, whose twin brother Cory is also part of the group. “We were just having fun, and that’s one thing that I am grateful to say has continued.”

When they posted that first video on YouTube in April 2009, the nearly 3 1/2-minute clip was just a way to share with family and friends what they were doing on an $80 portable basketball rim they bought for the backyard.

Things have expanded far beyond that small circle. And the tricks got much bigger, like the world record shot made from 856 feet high in Las Vegas two summers ago on the third day of attempts.

Dude Perfect now has more than 61 million subscribers on YouTube, with 482 videos that have gotten more than 18.5 billion total views. An "Average Dude vs. Steph Curry" video did 16 million views just four months ago.

The group’s family-friendly content has gone beyond just basketball shots and is big business, among the top 1 percent of channels on the second most-viewed website in the world.

Professional athletes, celebrities and musicians want to be part of their productions, both short form and longer videos. Among those who have taken part in recent Dude Perfect projects are Tom Brady, Caitlin Clark, and Paul Skenes; the pitcher was blindfolded when he struck out 6-foot-6 Cody Jones, the DP member known as “Tall Guy.”

Dude Perfect dudes: twins Coby & Cory Cotton, sandwiching Garret Hilbert, Tyler Toney, and Cody Jones.Dude Perfect

The group last year hired its first CEO after acquiring at least $100 million in capital from a private investment firm. There are plans for a Dude Perfect theme park, and earlier this year the group opened a new headquarters. The facility located in a North Texas warehouse district includes a full basketball court with moving rims on one wall, half a football field with a regulation goalpost, a pickleball court, a putting area, a hidden candy vault and room for expansion to include experiences for fans.

“A sports lover’s Barbie dreamhouse” is how new CEO Andrew Yaffe described the 80,000-square-foot facility.

“If you ask the guys what they intended in 2009, I don’t know that this would have been in their wildest dreams,” said Yaffe, who previously was a senior NBA executive overseeing the league’s social, digital and original content. “We think about this is what a media company looks like in 2025. And it’s really exciting to think about what that can be in 2030 or 2035.”

More than trick shots
Dude Perfect has evolved from that original video shot with a single camera into successful content creators, with a mix of sports and comedy that is more than just basketball shots. The group will embark on another live tour later this year.

There have been nearly 50 episodes of “Overtime” since 2018, a variety show usually around 25 minutes with a variety of segments and often special guests. Curry in that recent episode took part in a 3-point shooting contest using a football, Frisbee, pickle ball and soccer ball before finally a basketball.

There are occasional videos such as “All Sports Golf Battle” when on a course without actual golf clubs, including once at Augusta National when Bryson DeChambeau used items like a tennis racket, Frisbee and pool stick. “Stereotype” videos poke fun at any number of groups or events.

“They’ve built a media empire that brings families together, whether it’s trick shots, epic challenges, live events or experiences that truly redefine what it means to connect with fans,” said Brian Albert, who leads Google’s US YouTube video deals and creative teams. “They are creator trailblazers.”

Safe for families
Even before each of the Dudes became fathers — there are now 16 children ages 10 and under between them, and another on the way — they wanted to be one of the world’s most trusted brands for families to enjoy together.

“Early on, we met through some Bible studies and so we knew we weren’t going to cuss in our videos, we weren’t going to have alcohol promotion,” Jones said. “Early on, it actually hurt our brand because people were going to YouTube in order to kind of have that wild side of things. And since, it’s only helped because we’ve become brand safe.”

Tyler Toney, the bearded Dude often front-and-center in videos, said that is the best thing they hear from parents.

“But it wasn’t until we had our own kids where we’ll be up here at the office filming and then I go home and now I’m on my TV at home and my boys are watching,” Toney said. “I get to hear myself a lot and it gets old, and I apologize now to all the parents for how loud we are in a lot of the videos. But it’s cool to see that even in our families the importance of that, having that quality entertainment that we can enjoy with our own kids.”

For the record books
Dude Perfect’s first record for longest shot came from the third deck of Texas A&M’s football stadium in the fall of 2009. That came months after the initial video of trick shots, which had been followed by one they did at a Christian-based camp that summer.

They made a shot from atop the 561-foot tall Reunion Tower in Dallas in 2014, a record then broken by another group before Dude Perfect reclaimed it in Las Vegas.

“We’re not hoping to have to improve on the world’s highest shot from The Strat in Vegas any time soon,” Coby Cotton said. “That was an exhausting experience.”

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