Weekend Event Planner

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

This weekend around Dallas has so many different types of events going on that there's something for everybody. Choices include the opening of a virtual reality venue, a film festival, two local theater events, a precursor to the State Fair of Texas, three concerts, great magic, a different kind of basketball, and more.

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

Thursday, August 15

Dreamscape Opening Day
Dreamscape, located on the second level of NorthPark Center, lets adventurers of all ages experience the magic of immersive and full sensory storytelling as they are transported to fantastic new worlds via virtual reality. The venue opens with three separate experiences — Alien Zoo, The Curse of the Lost Pearl: A Magic Projector Adventure, and The Blu: Deep Rescue — with different ones to come in the future.

Women Texas Film Festival
Women Texas Film Festival focuses solely on the work of female filmmakers. This year’s edition will showcase 17 feature-length films and 29 short films, including opening night film, CRSHD, and closing night film, Emmett (Boy Genius). The festival, going on through Sunday, will take place at multiple locations, including Texas Theatre, Alamo Drafthouse Cedars, Methodist Dallas, and Wild Detectives.

Star Wars screenings
If you're a fan of the original Star Wars trilogy, you won't have any trouble finding screenings of each of the three films this weekend. Episode IV: A New Hope (aka just Star Wars) will screen outside at Toyota Music Factory on Thursday as the start of a three-week series of all three films, while The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi will screen at the Majestic Theatre on Thursday and Sunday, respectively.

Cara Mia Theatre Co. presents Latinidades: A Festival of Solo Shows
Latinidades is a unique festival of solo shows featuring performers, stories, and experiences from around the United States. Taking place over four weekends at Latino Cultural Center, it will showcase three different shows, including Evolution of a Sonero (August 15-18), Your Healing is Killing Me (August 22-25); and Ursula, part of last season’s Teatro En Fuga: A Festival of New Works (August 29-September 8).

Friday, August 16

North Texas Fair & Rodeo
The North Texas Fair & Rodeo is an annual nine-day event that offers activities for all ages, including live concerts, horse and livestock shows, contests, cook-offs, food, fun, games, and more. Headlining performers will include Tracy Lawrence, Pat Green, Easton Corbin, Kody West, and more. The fair will take place at the North Texas Fairgrounds in Denton through August 24.

Anomaly: The Magic of Robby Bennett and Other Curiosities
Magician Robby Bennett will perform spellbinding routines with gripping stories and hilarious anecdotes as narration in this event at Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts in Richardson. He will even take someone from the audience and turn them into a genuine magician in a matter of minutes. Bennett's blend of fantasy and comedy makes it a unique kind of performance.

Dallas Theater Center presents Public Works Dallas’ As You Like It
Dallas Theater Center, in collaboration with Southern Methodist University’s Meadows School of the Arts and AT&T Performing Arts Center, presents Public Works Dallas’ As You Like It, a groundbreaking community engagement and participatory theater project designed to deliberately blur the line between professional artists and Dallas community members. As You Like It is an immersive dream-like tale of faithful friends, feuding families, and lovers in disguise. The production will have five performances through Sunday.

Grace VanderWaal in concert
Grace VanderWaal wowed legions of viewers with her voice and ukulele skills when she won the 11th season of America's Got Talent in 2016. Now the ripe old age of 15, she has released one EP, Perfectly Imperfect, and one album, Just the Beginning, and comes to Dallas in support of her latest single, "Ur So Beautiful." She'll play at Granada Theater.

Saturday, August 17

Big3: 3-on-3 Basketball League
Created in part by rapper/actor Ice Cube, the BIG3 is a three-on-three professional basketball league, which combines superstar players and fan interaction before and after the games to make for an exciting live experience. The games feature half-court play and rules designed for competition and intensity. Each of the 12 teams is full of former NBA players like former Dallas Maverick Jason Terry, DeShawn Stevenson, Drew Gooden, Greg Oden, and more. There will be six total games played at American Airlines Center.

Sunday, August 18

Nasher Sculpture Center presents "Sheila Hicks" Closing Day
Nasher Sculpture Center will close "Sheila Hicks," an eponymous exhibition of new and recent work by the American-born, Paris-based artist. For her exhibition at the Nasher, Hicks created a new, site-specific installation in the garden, a sweeping gesture spanning portions of the outdoor space, and installed recent fiber sculptures in the Lower Level Gallery.

Lyle Lovett and His Large Band in concert
A singer, composer, and actor, Lyle Lovett has broadened the definition of American music in a career that spans 14 albums over three decades. Coupled with his gift for storytelling, the Texas-based musician fuses elements of Americana, swing, jazz, folk, gospel, and blues in a convention-defying manner that breaks down barriers. He'll perform at Winspear Opera House.

Vampire Weekend in concert
Since their debut in 2008, Vampire Weekend has evolved into one of the most popular rock bands around. They've scored three No. 1 albums in a row, including 2019's Father of the Bride, on the strength of songs like "A-Punk," "Horchata," and "Harmony Hall." They'll play at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving, with support from opening act Christone "Kingfish" Ingram.

Dreamscape, a virtual reality experience at NorthPark Center, will open to the public on August 15.

Photo courtesy of Dreamscape

Dreamscape, a virtual reality experience at NorthPark Center, will open to the public on August 15.

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Racket sports

Trendy Austin padel club Padel39 lobs first DFW location into Carrollton

Photo by Juan J Valdes

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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.

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