Weekend Event Planner

These are the 8 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

While the majority of events around Dallas have either been postponed or canceled, there are a few that have popped up to offer the masses some entertainment while still adhering to the social distancing necessary during the coronavirus pandemic.

Below are the best ways to spend your free time this weekend. While they're not all outside of the house, they all promise to provide a nice distraction from the everyday life.

Thursday, August 13

Women Texas Film Festival
The fifth annual Women Texas Film Festival focuses solely on the work of visionary female filmmakers. Pivoting to an all-virtual presentation, it will open with Olivia Peace’s teenage comedy Tahara, and Lisa Donato’s Gossamer Folds will be the Closing Night Selection. The festival, taking place through Sunday, features LGBTQIA+ stories, provocative documentaries, and Texas-based female filmmakers throughout its lineup, which includes 11 feature films and 36 short films.

Ochre House Theater presents Mousey
Ochre House Theater Cinema is streaming its 2018 production of Mousey, a dark musical written and directed by Carla Parker. Available for free at any time on Ochre House's YouTube channel, Mousey tells the story of how things have gone rotten in the world of toys. Mrs. Mousey begins to suspect that there is more to life than just being a toy and launches into the dangerous journey that questions the very existence of their innocent lives. Rebellion and unrest erupt and turn the toys’ once-harmonious lives into bitter-sweet chaos, where once peace-loving and compliant toys turn on one another in search of a Utopia that does not exist.

Friday, August 14

Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum Reopening Day
As part of a coordinated plan among six downtown Dallas museums, the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum will reopen to the public Friday. They are highlighting the special exhibition "The Fight for Civil Rights in the South," a photographic exhibit that chronicles the African American struggle for civil rights and social equality in the 1960s, including the burning of the Freedom Riders bus and the March from Selma to Montgomery.

Dallas Museum of Art Reopening Day
The Dallas Museum of Art will also reopen on Friday, greeting visitors with two new exhibitions. "For a Dreamer of Houses," which was to have opened in March, presents contemporary artworks that evoke personal spaces and consider the politics of places we identify with. The presentation will debut major recent acquisitions, immersive installations, large-scale works, and more. "Dalí’s Divine Comedy" showcases Salvador Dalí’s most ambitious illustrated series: his colored wood engravings of the Divine Comedy.

Addison Weekend Drive-In Concert Series
The Addison Weekend Drive-In Concert Series, where guests can listen to live music from a variety of Dallas-Fort Worth bands, returns. Attendees will be able to enjoy the shows from the comfort of their vehicles, or bring lawn chairs to sit next to a car. Music will be transmitted via both speaker system and FM radio. This weekend features performances by Extended PLAY on Friday and Joseph Veazie on Saturday.

Saturday, August 15

Christopher Jackson: Live from the West Side
In Christopher Jackson: Live from the West Side, the Tony Award-nominated actor best known for originating the role of George Washington in the cultural phenomenon Hamilton will perform songs from his favorite musicals, pop standards, and original material, and share stories from his time affiliated with In The Heights and Hamilton. Audience members for the virtual concert will also be invited to text in questions, some of which will be answered during the live event.

CarBaret's "Back to School Special" - Fast Times at Ridgemont High
CarBaret, which takes place in the parking lot outside of Brizo in Richardson, will present a "Back to School Special" featuring the 1982 Cameron Crowe coming-of-age classic, Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Pre-show entertainment will be provided by Yippee Ki-Yays and DJ Devin Pike. The drive-in menu kitchen + bar will feature a menu of beer bratwurst, grilled kebabs, and veggie tacos that will be delivered to cars or chairs.

Sarah Jaffe in concert
Originally a live, in-person concert until, you know, COVID, singer-songwriter Sarah Jaffe will take the virtual stage for a Texas Tunes concert. Streamed live from Medical City Lewisville Grand Theater in Lewisvlle, Jaffe will perform songs from throughout her career, including her most recent album, 2017's Bad Baby.

Ochre House Theater's 2018 production of Mousey is available to stream via their YouTube channel.

Photo by Justin O'Keith

Ochre House Theater's 2018 production of Mousey is available to stream via their YouTube channel.

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This Week's Hot Headlines

Dallas Steak and Ale opening gets derailed in this week's top stories

Steak and Ale

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Editor's note: It's time to look back at the top Dallas news of the week, which includes a change in plans for Steak and Ale and major transportation updates. Plus, two closures, including one with rock star ties. Get the details on the most popular Dallas stories below, then check out this guide to Memorial Day weekend fun.

1. Local opening of Dallas chain Steak and Ale gets derailed. The long-in-the-works return of Steak and Ale in Dallas is being shelved for now. The casual steakhouse chain, which in its heyday had nearly 300 locations, is no longer opening a location it planned for in Grand Prairie.

2. Dallas farm-to-table champion Profound Farms closes produce operation. A Dallas farm-to-table champion is pulling the plug: Profound Microfarms, the small farm in Lucas that provided locally grown produce to chefs and the general public for nearly a decade, is shutting down its growing operation and discontinuing deliveries.

Profound Microfarms is shutting down.Photo courtesy of Profound Microfarms

3. Greyhound bus finds new location to replace downtown Dallas terminal. There's a new location for the Greyhound bus terminal, which had been in downtown Dallas for more than 85 years. Flix North America, the parent company of FlixBus and Greyhound, will be relocating service to a new intercity bus terminal in northwest Dallas in late September 2025.

4. Dallas approves $14.5 million for Buckner DART station project. The Dallas City Council unanimously approved a $14.5 million incentive for the Palladium Buckner Station Project, a proposed mixed-income and transit-oriented development project at the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Buckner Light Rail Station at 8008 Elam Rd.

5. Rock & Brews restaurant founded by KISS members closes in The Colony. A restaurant chain with rock star ties is closing. Rock & Brews, founded by KISS members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, will close its location in The Colony after nine years.