Weekend Event Planner

These are the 10 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

The rain in Dallas-Fort Worth has been absolutely brutal, and like it or not, it'll continue to have an impact on events on Thursday and Friday. To stay on the safe side, we're recommending mostly indoor events, including a blast-from-the-past concert, a new opera production, a gathering of TV and movie stars, a museum anniversary celebration, great dancing, 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, October 18

2018 State Fair of Texas final days
Like any other outdoor activity the past couple of weeks, the State Fair of Texas has been hit hard by the rain, even closing early on a couple of days. The rain will continue on Thursday and Friday, but the final two days on Saturday and Sunday look perfect, meaning you'll still have a couple of chances to enjoy the fried food, midway games, rides, concerts, and more at Fair Park without worrying about getting wet. They're even extending hours for more finale-weekend fun. Find discounts here.

Dallas Jewish Bookfest presents Mitch Albom
Mitch Albom was a well-known sportswriter for many years until his book Tuesdays with Morrie set his career in totally different direction. Albom will appear at the Aaron Family Jewish Community Center in support of his latest book, The Next Person You Meet in Heaven, in which readers learn how the accident that took Eddie's life took something from Annie as well: her left hand, which needed to be surgically reattached.

Ladies of the '80s: Debbie Gibson, Lisa Lisa, and Tiffany
100.3 JACK FM presents "Ladies of the '80s" with Debbie Gibson, Lisa Lisa, and Tiffany. It will be a totally awesome night of '80s hits at Allen Event Center, as the crowd will get to hear songs like Gibson's "Only in My Dreams," Lisa's "Head to Toe," and Tiffany's "I Think We're Alone Now."

Friday, October 19

Dallas Opera presents Carmen
The Dallas Opera's second production of the 2018-2019 season, Carmen is Bizet’s seductive masterpiece about an infamous gypsy who warns the men she attracts immediately: she is not a woman to be tamed. When she sets her sights on a trusting soldier, Don José, nobody is prepared for the events that follow. A simulcast at Klyde Warren Park, which was scheduled for Friday, has been moved to November 2 due to expected inclement weather. The opera will have six performances through November 4 at Winspear Opera House.

Dallas Fan Days
Dallas Fan Days is one of the best comics, sci-fi, horror, anime, and gaming events in Texas, filled with family-friendly activities, celebrity and comic guests, and more. Taking place at Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas through Sunday, the event will feature appearances by Jennifer Morrison (Once Upon a Time), Karl Urban (Star Trek), Jaleel White (Family Matters), wrestling icon Bret Hart, and Corbin Bernsen (Psych).

Saturday, October 20

Nasher Sculpture Center 15th Anniversary Celebration
Nasher Sculpture Center has become such an integral part of the Dallas art scene that it's hard to believe it's only been around for 15 years. They'll celebrate their anniversary with free admission all day, cupcakes, a live DJ, birthday button-making, and music from members of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Visitors can enjoy the Nasher's latest exhibit, "The Nature of Arp," on display through January 6.

National Soccer Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony with Imagine Dragons
Imagine Dragons will headline a concert that will follow the National Soccer Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Saturday at Toyota Stadium in Frisco. The rock band has released three albums in their career, including 2017's Evolve, which spawned hits like "Believer" and "Thunder." They'll be joined by opening act, The Revivalists. Inductees will include Brad Friedel, Cindy Parlow Cone, and Tiffeny Milbrett.

Neal Brennan in concert
You may not recognize Neal Brennan's name, but he's been responsible for some of the best comedy of the 21st century. He co-created Chappelle's Show with Dave Chappelle, co-writing and producing virtually every sketch on the show. He's also a writer and on-air correspondent on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. He'll perform a set of stand-up comedy at House of Blues Dallas.

Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games
Even though Michael Flatley is no longer performing, Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games continues to thrill audiences around the globe with its intoxicating mix of dance and music. The show, taking place at Majestic Theatre, features cutting-edge technology including a giant Radiant flat screen that spans the width of the stage, special effects lighting, dancing robots, and world champion acrobats.

Sunday, October 21

Dallas Museum of Art presents Gunther Forg: "A Fragile Beauty" opening day
Gunther Forg: "A Fragile Beauty" will survey the prolific and provocative career of the late artist, who died in 2013. This exhibition, the first major museum presentation of his work in the United States since 1989, will bring renewed attention to Forg’s work by examining his legacy in relation to key issues of the 20th century, including postwar nostalgia and loss and the utopianism of high modernism. The exhibition will be on display through January 27.

Nasher Sculpture Center celebrates its 15th anniversary on October 20 with free admission and more.

Photo by Tim Hursley

Nasher Sculpture Center celebrates its 15th anniversary on October 20 with free admission and more.

event-planner

Movie Review

Saturday Night is a fun frenetic you-were-there look at debut of SNL

Photo by Hopper Stone

Saturday Night recreates the hours leading up to the debut episode of Saturday Night Live.

Saturday Night Live is a comedy institution that just started its historic 50th season, a show that is ingrained into American pop culture in a way that few things have ever been. Of course, it wasn’t always that way, especially at the beginning. The tumultuous time leading up to its 1975 debut is the focus of the new film, Saturday Night.

The frenetic film mostly follows Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle) as he tries to herd a bunch of disparate pieces into the semblance of a TV show. Not only must he deal with the varying personalities of the show’s stars - Chevy Chase (Cory Michael Smith), Gilda Radner (Ella Hunt), Dan Aykroyd (Dylan O’Brien), Laraine Newman (Emily Fairn), John Belushi (Matt Wood), Garrett Morris (Lamorne Morris, no relation), and Jane Curtin (Kim Matula) - but also a constant barrage of questions from writers, producers, studio executives, and more.

The camera is in almost constant motion as Michaels moves from one part of Studio 8H in New York City’s 30 Rockefeller Plaza to another, putting out fires (sometimes literally), approving changes (up to literally the last second), and trying to display confidence in a product that had never been tested before.

Directed by Jason Reitman and written by Reitman and Gil Kenan, the film is best viewed as what it is, a dramatization of events on that first fateful night. Although there have been various accounts of what the early days of SNL were like (most notably Live From New York by James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales), only those who were there in person know what it was truly like to launch the show.

The film definitely fudges and conflates certain things, but it’s the general feeling that it gives off that matters the most. The pace is such that it’s nearly impossible to catch everything put on screen or understand the importance of every character. But what is readily apparent is the passionate-if-slapdash way Michaels and his crew are trying to organize the show, as well as the seemingly never-ending well of humor possessed by everyone on its staff.

Still, it’s fair to wonder for whom exactly the film is being made. While many of the people in the film are iconic and well-known, just as many are not, and only SNL superfans will know everyone who makes their way on screen. The speed of the film’s storytelling is great for the atmosphere it creates, but it doesn’t stop to explain who anyone is, so viewers who don’t have a good grasp of mid-’70s pop culture may find themselves a little lost.

The film is so packed full of people that you can’t give everyone their just due. LaBelle, who was a great stand-in for a young Steven Spielberg in The Fabelmans, proves just as adept in his portrayal of Michaels, save for the distinctive voice. Among the multiple other notable performances are Smith, Morris, Rachel Sennot as Michaels’ then-wife Rosie Shuster, and Nicholas Braun as both Andy Kaufman and Jim Henson.

Saturday Night is a loving tribute to a show with which most Americans have at least a passing familiarity, even if it sometimes feels like it was made just for the show’s most ardent viewers. The level of detail spent recreating the look and feel of SNL’s early days makes it a fun and compelling film, no matter if what it shows is completely true or not.

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Saturday Night opens in theaters on October 11.

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