While many events in and around Dallas have either been postponed or canceled during the coronavirus pandemic, organizations have adapted to the new world to offer a variety of in-person and virtual events. With Thanksgiving around the corner, this weekend will be the unofficial kickoff of the holiday season, with a variety of holiday-themed events starting up.
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, November 12
DIFFA/Dallas’ 25th Annual Holiday Wreath Collection: Home for the Holidays
DIFFA/Dallas’ 25th annual Holiday Wreath Collection, appropriately named Home for the Holidays, will be a reimagined event, featuring the holiday-themed auction taking place over a week. The online event will include some nostalgic-style holiday specials, featuring designer wreath highlights and holiday performances. Additionally, a selection of DIFFA Wreaths will be on display to the public between 3-6 pm daily through Friday at the Tower Club in Downtown Dallas.
43rd Annual Chi Omega Christmas Market
The Chi Omega Christmas Market will transition to a virtual format for the 2020 edition. The virtual market will allow shoppers the ability to participate in the 43-year tradition from the safety of their own homes, shopping from a curated gift guide, and giving back to some of North Texas’ most deserving beneficiaries whose work has not halted during these unprecedented times. The market will continue through November 21.
Junior League of Collin County presents 'Neath the Wreath Holiday Gift Market
As with many events in 2020, the Junior League of Collin County is bringing the tradition of the ‘Neath the Wreath Holiday Gift Market to the community virtually. Visitors are asked to consider a donation in lieu of a ticket to directly to support the projects and initiatives of JLCC. They can also purchase raffle tickets to win signature items and participate in the online Silent Auction on November 14. The event will continue through Sunday.
Nasher Sculpture Center presents Giovanni Valderas: "Grit/Grind" opening day
The Nasher Sculpture Center will present the second exhibition for Nasher Public in the Nasher Store gallery, "Grit/Grind" by Dallas-born artist Giovanni Valderas. The exhibition takes its point of departure from the American dream of freedom, mobility, and success that owning a car has traditionally represented. Valderas will place a single object in the gallery — a large, brightly colored piñata he created as a full-scale replica of the 1986 Nissan Sentra that was the first car his Guatemalan mother bought and in which she learned to drive. The exhibition will remain on view through December 6.
Sound Unseen Film + Music Festival
The Sound Unseen Film + Music Festival will virtually present its films across two states – Minnesota and Texas – for the first time in the film festival’s history. The film lineup for the 21st annual film festival will feature Darius Marder’s Sound of Metal as the Opening Night selection; Frank Marshall’s highly anticipated documentary The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart as the Centerpiece film; and Alex Winter’s Zappa as the Closing Night selection. The festival takes place through Sunday.
Radiance! A Holiday Light Spectacular
This new holiday event, taking place at Dr Pepper Ballpark in Frisco, is more than a mile long and will take about 20 to 30 minutes to drive through the entire experience. A special Radiance! radio station frequency will be provided for guests to enjoy iconic holiday tunes as they experience the wonder, which includes 160 feet of animated RGB light tunnels. Food and beverages and special items, including hot chocolate, cookies, unique holiday treats, LED balloons, glow stick cotton candy, and more, will be available for purchase. The event will run through January 3, 2021.
Dallas Children's Theater presents Social Justice Play Series
This is the final week to view the last production in Dallas Children's Theater's Social Justice Play Series, #Matter. The virtual play is about two former high school friends who debate matters of life and race. Written by award-winning playwright, poet, and changemaker Idris Goodwin, the play will feature a talkback with Goodwin on Friday. It will be available to stream through Sunday.
Friday, November 13
Gaylord Texan presents Lone Star Christmas
Gaylord Texan will once again present the annual Lone Star Christmas, featuring I Love Christmas Movies, which will allow guests to experience beloved holiday movies, including The Polar Express, A Christmas Story, Elf, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and The Year Without a Santa Claus, in a completely new way. It will also include an outdoor holiday lanterns attraction, a Build Your Own Snowman event, ice skating, snow tubing, gingerbread decorating, and more. The event will go on through January 3, 2021.
Lakewood Home Festival
The Lakewood Early Childhood Parent Teacher Association will adapt to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic by changing up its annual Lakewood Home Festival. They'll have a “Lakewood Live” virtual auction party on Friday, followed by a street-view only event on Saturday and Sunday from 10 am-5 pm. This year's tour home addresses will be revealed just before the big weekend.
Saturday, November 14
The Trains at NorthPark
The Trains at NorthPark will mark its 22nd year at NorthPark Center with more than 750 railcars on a 1,600-foot elaborate configuration of tracks and scenes. Located on the 2nd floor between Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom, it features cityscapes like Dallas, replete with the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge and Fair Park; New York with Times Square and Grand Central Terminal; Washington, D.C. with The White House; San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge; and more. The event will take place through January 3, 2021.
"Live from the West Side: Women of Broadway"
"Live from the West Side: Women of Broadway" is a virtual concert series featuring show-stopping female singers. This month's performer will be Tony Award winner Laura Benanti. Streamed live from New York’s Shubert Virtual Studios, the show will feature a mix of Broadway showtunes, pop songs, and personal stories from the life of Benanti. Viewers can also submit questions in advance for each artist to answer during the show.
Dallas Burlesque Festival: Drive-In Edition
The Dallas Burlesque Festival returns for its 12th year, this time as a drive-in show. Taking place in Lot 8 next to Dos Equis Pavilion at Fair Park, it will allow the audience to enjoy world-class burlesque and celebrate glitter, glam, and the art of the tease from the comfort of their own vehicle or in an allotted space next to their vehicle. There will be two LED HD video screens in place to enhance the visual experience.
Dallas Black Dance Theatre presents Director's Choice
Dallas Black Dance Theatre will present a virtual edition of Director's Choice, featuring the world premiere of Joshua L. Peugh’s I AM LARGE, as he uses DBDT dancers’ perspective to pose through a collage of music and dance styles the question, “What is Dallas Black Dance Theatre?” Viewers will reimagine the relevance of Dr. Martin Luther Luther King, Jr’s 57-year-old speech “We Shall Overcome” in Tommie-Waheed Evans’ Bodies as Site of Faith and Protest. The dancers will perform across the Dallas landscape and explore the ideas of bodies uniting in protest through faith.
The Trains at NorthPark starts at NorthPark Center on November 14.
