Weekend Event Planner

These are the 13 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

Holiday-themed events take center stage in and around Dallas this weekend. Five of the 13 events on our list feature some kind of holiday element, with other choices including a commemoration of the assassination of JFK, a new local theater production, a rock band anniversary tour, the return of a Tony-winning musical, a well-known comedian, 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, November 21

Chi Omega Christmas Market
The Chi Omega Christmas Market features more than 220 merchants showcasing holiday décor, women’s clothing and accessories, home accents, children’s clothing and toys, food items, and more. In its 41-year history, Chi Omega Christmas Market has distributed more than $8.5 million to the Dallas community through grants to local charities and collegiate scholarships. The event takes place through Sunday at Centennial Hall at Fair Park.

The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas presents Gingerbread House Grand Unveiling
The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas will debut a 20-foot tall Gingerbread House shopping suite with a bevy of holiday festivities in the hotel lobby. This year’s Gingerbread House was created by pastry chefs Corey Thomson and Zachary Manasan, winners of Netflix’s Sugar Rush Season 2. The reveal will be accompanied by special musical performances, photo opportunities with Santa and Mrs. Claus, and opportunities to shop handcrafted candies from hotel’s pastry chefs.

The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza presents JFK Commemoration Events
Friday marks the 56th anniversary of the assassination of JFK, and The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza will hold two commemoration events. "Three Hours in Dallas" on Thursday is an original musical composition scored to accompany an all-new compilation of historic motorcade film footage. Living History With Bill Mercer on Friday features a conversation with Mercer, the former KRLD broadcaster who was the first to inform Lee Harvey Oswald he had been charged with the murder of President Kennedy.

Dallas Theater Center presents A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol returns to the Wyly Theatre in a delightfully reimagined take on Dickens’ enduring classic. Three spirits have come to visit the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, this year played by Brandon Potter, to take him on a fantastic journey through Christmases past, present, and future. But will it be enough to save Scrooge’s soul? The production will run through December 29.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents Prokofiev Symphony No. 6
Violin sensation Maxim Vengerov solos in Bruch’s "Concerto in G minor," described by a contemporary violin virtuoso as rich and seductive. The concert will feature Prokofiev’s "Sixth Symphony," hailed by many as his greatest symphony. He described as agitated, lyrical, and austere; echoes of the recently-ended war suggested in its expressive language. The concert, conducted by Xian Zhang, will three performances through Saturday.

Kitchen Dog Theater presents Queen of Basel
During Art Basel, Miami’s weeklong party for the rich and famous, real estate heiress Julie reigns over the blowout her mogul father is throwing at his South Beach hotel. But after tangling with her father and a run-in with a tray of cocktails, Julie plots her next move in the hotel’s barely used storage kitchen. This explosive elixir of power, class, and race within the Latinx community, a contemporary take on Strindberg’s Miss Julie, will run at Trinity River Arts Center through December 15.

Sleeping Beauty Dreams
Sleeping Beauty Dreams is a contemporary dance and art experience that explores the age-old fable of Sleeping Beauty and, for the first time, reveals what Princess Aurora dreamed about during her 100-year slumber. Through a revolutionary fusion of visual arts, contemporary dance, lighting, real-time avatar technology, and electronic dance music, the performance unravels Princess Aurora’s passions, fears, and sinful desires. The event takes place at The Theatre at Grand Prairie.

Friday, November 22

Hooray for Holidays: Theatre Arlington’s Musical TV Special
Theatre Arlington will imagine what it would be like to have their own holiday TV special. A television network has decided to reboot one of its old blockbuster series, The Callahan Kids TV Show, for its 25th anniversary. The problem is that the kids are all grown up and comically ill-equipped to be on back on the air hosting a holiday special. The production will feature lots of singing, dancing, and all-around good fun featuring some of Theatre Arlington’s favorite performers, a children’s choir, and even an adorable dog. It will run through December 15.

Incubus in concert
Rock band Incubus comes back to Dallas as part of a nationwide tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of their breakthrough album, Make Yourself. That album, which contained hits like "Pardon Me," "Stellar," and "Drive," kick-started their career, leading to a series of top-5 albums, including 2017's 8. They'll play two concerts, one Friday and one Saturday, at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving.

AT&T Performing Arts Center Broadway Series presents Once
The winner of eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Once is a truly original Broadway experience that tells the enchanting tale of a Dublin street musician who’s about to give up on his dream when a beautiful young woman takes a sudden interest in his haunting love songs. As the chemistry between them grows, his music soars to powerful new heights, but their unlikely connection turns out to be deeper and more complex than your everyday romance. The production will have five performances through Sunday at Winspear Opera House.

Saturday, November 23

Dallas Museum of Art presents "Not Visible to the Naked Eye: Inside a Senufo Helmet Mask" opening day
The Dallas Museum of Art will present CT scans of a Senufo helmet mask from the Museum’s African art collection. This kind of mask is worn like a helmet by a medium at initiations, funerals, harvest celebrations, and secret events. Visible attachments on the mask include a female figure, cowrie shells, and imported glassware. The CT scans reveal unexpected materials beneath the surface and objects contained in the attached animal horns that empower the mask. The exhibition will be on display through January 2021.

Lewis Black: The Joke's On Us Tour
Lewis Black's live performances provide a cathartic release of anger and disillusionment for his audience. He is a passionate performer who is a more pissed-off optimist than a mean-spirited curmudgeon. Black is the rare comic who can cause an audience to laugh themselves into incontinence while making compelling points about the absurdity of our world. He'll perform at Majestic Theatre.

Sunday, November 24

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents Vienna Boys’ Choir in Concert
The internationally acclaimed Vienna Boys' Choir comes to Dallas for one night only. One of the finest boys' choirs in the world, they will perform an evening of beautiful Christmas melodies that are certain to inspire and uplift the spirit. The concert will take place at the Meyerson Symphony Center.

The Chi Omega Christmas Market will take place at Centennial Hall at Fair Park through November 24.

Photo courtesy of Chi Omega Christmas Market

The Chi Omega Christmas Market will take place at Centennial Hall at Fair Park through November 24.

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Movie Review

Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney go off in trashy film The Housemaid

Photo courtesy of Lionsgate

Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney in The Housemaid.

Both Amanda Seyfried (the upcoming The Testament of Ann Lee) and Sydney Sweeney (Christy) are starring in movies with Oscar ambitions this year. By sheer coincidence, the two actors are also co-starring in The Housemaid, a thriller coming out within weeks of their more ambitious works, one that is likely to be seen by many more people than those prestige plays.

Sweeney is given top billing as Millie, a down-on-her-luck ex-convict looking to land any type of job so as not to break her parole. She finds a too-good-to-be-true lifeboat with Nina (Seyfried), who hires her to be a housemaid for her large house on Long Island, where she lives with her husband, Andrew (Brandon Sklenar), and daughter, Cecilia (Indiana Elle).

After a warm interview, Nina almost immediately becomes highly erratic, whipping back-and-forth between happy-go-lucky and rageful. It seems clear that Nina is suffering from mental health issues, as she’ll often accuse Millie of misplacing or stealing items that she didn’t take. Andrew, apparently used to Nina’s tirades, tries to protect Millie from the worst, something that grows increasingly difficult as Nina ups the ante.

Directed by Paul Feig (A Simple Favor) and adapted by Rebecca Sonnenshine from the bestselling book by Freida McFadden, the film is likely the trashiest mainstream movie to come out in 2025. The first half of the movie relies not on story but on moments as Nina embodies the word “hysterical” to an unbelievable extent. The resigned acceptance of the abuse by Millie, as well as the saintly patience of Andrew, make almost every scene laughable, as nobody seems to be acting anywhere close to how a person would normally react to such extreme situations.

The scenes and the performance of Seyfried are so over-the-top, in fact, that it’s clear that the filmmakers are in on the joke. It’s next to impossible not to have a little bit of fun while watching the actors react to outrageous incidents as if nothing is out of the ordinary. The worse Nina acts, the more Millie and Andrew retreat into their chosen roles, and the funnier the film becomes.

Fans of the book will know that the story changes course, eventually turning into a more stereotypical thriller that also has some relatively gnarly visuals to offer. But the trashiness continues, with Sweeney’s, um, assets repeatedly on display in both clothed and unclothed ways. The sex appeal of the R-rated movie makes it an outlier, as recent studio films have shied away from asking their big stars to disrobe completely.

Both Seyfried and Sweeney are far from their Oscar hopeful roles here. Seyfried is given free rein to act as brazenly as she pleases, and she takes full advantage of that ability. Sweeney seems to have been told to be much more reserved, and unfortunately that results in too many wooden line readings. Sklenar continues his breakout streak (It Ends with Us, Drop) with a role that allows him to show more range than either Seyfried or Sweeney.

The Housemaid is an unusual type of movie to be released at a time of year when most films are either those aiming for awards or more family-friendly fare. Despite its many flaws, it’s still an enjoyable watch that features a variety of crazy scenarios not typically seen in movies nowadays.

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The Housemaid is now playing in theaters.

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