Weekend Event Planner

These are the 10 best things to do in Dallas on Thanksgiving weekend

Thanksgiving weekend around Dallas brings the usual array of holiday-related events, but this year will feature a good variety of non-holiday happenings. They include a first visit by a Tony Award-winning musical, a classic family movie paired with a symphony, and two local theater productions.

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.

Wednesday, November 27

Dallas Summer Musicals presents Dear Evan Hansen
A letter that was never meant to be seen, a lie that was never meant to be told, a life he never dreamed he could have. Evan Hansen is about to get the one thing he’s always wanted: a chance to finally fit in. Dear Evan Hansen is the deeply personal and profoundly contemporary musical about life and the way we live it. The Tony Award-winning musical will play at the Music Hall at Fair Park through December 8.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter will finally come to the stage at Meyerson Symphony Center. Audiences can relive the magic of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in high-definition while hearing the Dallas Symphony Orchestra perform John Williams’ unforgettable score live to picture. The concert, conducted by Joshua Gersen, will be performed four times through Sunday.

Thursday, November 28

YMCA Dallas Turkey Trot
Before you indulge in turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and pie, it might be a good idea to get some exercise in. You can do so at the Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot, one of the largest multi-event races in the country. Runners and walkers can participate in the 5K, 8- Mile Race, or the 1K Junior Trot, all starting at Dallas City Hall. Proceeds will benefit the diverse programs of the YMCA.

Grand Prairie Parks, Arts and Recreation presents Prairie Lights
Now that Thanksgiving is here, it's time to get into the various Christmas light displays around Dallas-Fort Worth. Prairie Lights at Lynn Creek Park kicks things off with 4 million lights and hundreds of all-new displays lining and arching over two miles of path. Halfway through the drive, visitors can get out of their vehicles for a stop at Holiday Village, featuring food, gifts, photos with Santa Claus, a brand-new indoor Holiday Show, and the Holiday Magic Lighted Walk-Through Forest. The lights will be on display through December 31.

Friday, November 29

Grapevine Vintage Railroad presents North Pole Express
Grapevine Vintage Railroad’s North Pole Express, presented by Great Wolf Lodge, is a unique traditional Christmas experience. On the train, every child will receive Frosty Chocolate Snow Milk, a Christmas cookie, and a “We Believe” Silver Bell. The train continues on to the North Pole where, upon arrival, guests stroll through the snowy North Pole Forest and visit Santa’s workshop for a Broadway-style Christmas performance and a complimentary photo with Santa. The event will continue through December 23.

Vitruvian Lights
Vitruvian Park in Addison transforms into a holiday destination during Vitruvian Lights, when over 1.5 million sparkling LED lights are wrapped around more than 550 trees. On opening night, the lights will be turned on during a lighting ceremony featuring Mayor Joe Chow. Guests can enjoy live music by the Jordan Kahn Orchestra, take photos with Santa, write and send letters to Santa, pet Santa’s reindeer, meet classic holiday characters, and purchase bites from gourmet food trucks. The lights will remain on every evening through January 1.

Texas Christkindl Market
In its ninth year, the Texas Christkindl Market is one of the largest open-air holiday markets in the Southwest. Inspired by a cherished German tradition, guests can shop for holiday gifts, decorations, and one-of-a-kind finds. Guests can also get a photo with St. Nikolaus, indulge in German treats and eats, and enjoy festive music and entertainment. The market will be open through December 22, and new this year, there will also be an outdoor 5,000-square-foot ice rink open through January 12, 2020. (Note: A tree lighting ceremony originally scheduled for November 29 has been moved to Sunday, December 1, at 7 pm, due to inclement weather.)

Theatre Three presents Noises Off
They say all the world is a stage, but perhaps the drama behind the scenes is where the real story is at. Noises Off provides a sneak peek onstage and backstage of an amateur traveling theater production from final rehearsals through opening night and the subsequent touring season. But can this troupe keep their offstage antics behind the curtain, or will the drama waiting in the wings find its way center stage? The production will play at Theatre Three through December 22.

Texas Ballet Theater presents The Nutcracker
Texas Ballet Theater's version of The Nutcracker, playing at Winspear Opera House through December 8, features exquisite costumes and dazzling choreography. Audiences can experience the most magical Christmas tradition of the season as Clara and her Nutcracker Prince battle an army of mice and travel through a winter wonderland to meet the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Kingdom of Sweets.

Saturday, November 30

Cara Mia Theatre Co. presents Swimming While Drowning
Angelo and Mila are 15 and homeless. Angelo is a dreamer, Mila is a street-wise hustler, but when they become roommates at a shelter for LGBTQ teens, they build a fragile bond that inspires them to reach for understanding and self-acceptance. Emilio Rodriguez’s poetic coming-of-age story, presented by Cara Mia Theatre Co. at Latino Cultural Center through December 15, celebrates the healing power of hope and the beautiful mystery of being a teenager.

Vitruvian Park in Addison hosts Vitruvian Lights starting on November 29, running through January 1.

Photo by Stevan Koye

Vitruvian Park in Addison hosts Vitruvian Lights starting on November 29, running through January 1.

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Books News

Indie Bird's Bookstore to open store & cafe at Preston Royal Dallas

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Brick-and-mortar bookstores continue their thrilling comeback, with a new one coming to a prominent North Dallas corner: Called Bird’s Bookstore, it's an independently-owned store opening in the Preston Royal shopping center at 6025 Royal Ln. #207, in a former massage place next to Eatzi's, where it will debut in August.

Bird's Bookstore promises to be a unique retail destination incorporating elements of Scandinavian, Japanese, and mid-century modern design with books, magazines, and artisanal products.

Owners Drew and Emily Dawson are a young couple inspired by design, history, and travel. Drew previously worked in the nonprofit sector to private equity before pursuing this decade-long dream. Emily is a former graphic designer who founded Emily by Design, a wardrobe consultation company in 2022.

The couple first conceptualized the idea when they began dating 11 years ago while students at the University of Texas at Austin.

“Initially, it was an idea that we wanted to execute towards retirement age,” Drew says. "But as I saw Emily follow her passion and open her own vintage clothing styling business a year and a half ago, I said, 'It's time for me too. I want to follow my passion and open this bookstore.' There's really no time like the present."

Drew estimates that the shop will carry about 3500 adult fiction and nonfiction books at at time, along with 2500 kids and young adult books.

“I like everything,” Drew says. “I like incredibly thick history books, memoirs, biographies, horror — all of it. We’ll be selling everything, including self-help and kids' books, since the area has a ton of families, and Emily and I have our own little one on the way."

Emily and Drew DawsonCourtesy

While Drew handles the bulk of the book selection, Emily will oversee coffee table books, design books, and magazines.

“We're going to have a strong selection of about 20 magazines covering the design and creative fashion industries, like Neptune, The Gentlewoman, and L’Etiquette," Emily says. "I'm anticipating there will be a draw for that because — other than certain shops in New York — there's not a place where you can buy these titles in person."

Bird’s will also sell stationery and paper goods from European and Japanese vendors, as well as plates and bowls from Marcello Ortega of Marcello Andres Ceramics.

The store will also house a small cafe serving coffee from Oak Cliff Coffee Roasters and baked goods from acclaimed Bresnan Bread and Pastry in McKinney.

The couple keep their eyes on current reading trends, using sites like TikTok’s “BookTok” community, as well as literary social media outlets like Goodreads. Emily credits these platforms — as well as book clubs by celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, and Jenna Bush Hager — for keeping bookstores alive.

Dallas-Fort Worth is witnessing a small independent bookstore revival with Interabang Books nearby, plus Wild Detectives and Poets Bookshop, which just opened a second outpost in Deep Ellum.

With the opening of Bird’s Bookstore, they hope to not only cultivate a space for those passionate about books, but also eliminate the burnout that comes from being attached to screens all day.

“I think there's a fatigue of everything being online,” says Emily. “And I think there's a yearning for a community space that is beautiful, and feels like a second home — a place where you can get amazing customer service. We're excited to hopefully be that place for some people.”

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