It's a brand new year — happy 2015! — but a lot of the events this weekend focus on wrapping up the past rather than looking to the future. Among the things you can say goodbye to are local college football, holiday season events and possibly a historic Dallas theater.
Below are the best options for your precious free time Thursday through Sunday. Don't like what you see? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.
Thursday, January 1
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic: Baylor vs. Michigan State
The Big 12 conference got the raw end of the initial College Football Playoff; neither TCU nor Baylor made the final four despite stellar seasons. Baylor can try to exact a measure of revenge in the Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium, in which they face off against a strong Michigan State team looking to end on a high note as well.
AT&T Performing Arts Center presents Blue Man Group
It's only been a couple of years since Blue Man Group paid a visit to Dallas, but they're always worth checking out again. Playing at Winspear Opera House through Sunday, they blend together performance art, rock music, comedy and audience participation for a unique show that can't help but make you smile.
Dallas Theater Center presents The Book Club Play
Dallas Theater Center is wasting no time continuing its 2014-2015 season, transitioning quickly from A Christmas Carol, which ended on December 27, to The Book Club Play at Kalita Humphreys Theater. The comedy is about, duh, a book club that becomes the subject of a film documentary, leading to some hilarious consequences. It runs through February 1.
Friday, January 2
Viva Dallas Burlesque presents DC vs Marvel
It's going to be a Marvel-ous beginning to 2015 in Dallas-Fort Worth, with two different officially licensed comic-themed events coming to the area. This is not one of those, but Viva Dallas Burlesque's monthly show at Lakewood Theater is notable because it may very well be the last show of any kind the venue hosts. The new ownership wants to change it into something different, possibly restaurants. If you want to enjoy the Lakewood in its current configuration, this is your last chance.
Pegasus Theatre presents Another Murder, Another Show!
If you've never attended one of Pegasus Theatre's Living Black & White shows, you owe it to yourself to be wowed by what makeup and lighting can do. The latest, playing at Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts in Richardson through January 25, once again finds detective Harry Hunsacker trying to solve a murder, this time at a theater awards show.
Saturday, January 3
Ben Folds with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra
Rock/pop singer Ben Folds is about to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his breakthrough in the music industry, which started with the self-titled Ben Folds Five album in 1995. Since then he's had success with both the numerically challenged group, which has only three members, and as a solo artist, a rich catalog he mines for this performance at Bass Performance Hall with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.
Theatre Three presents I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change
Many theater companies have annual traditions, and for Theatre Three, it's staging I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change year after year. This is the 15th rendition of the musical revue that lets the actors sing and dance their way through all the phases of romance and marriage. Normally a Valentine's Day show, they're starting a bit earlier than usual, with the final show scheduled for February 15.
Sunday, January 4
Holiday show closings
Much to many people's chagrin, the holiday season must come to an end at some point, and that point is this Sunday. This is your final chance to take in a slew of holiday-themed events, including 12 Days of Christmas at the Dallas Arboretum, the Trains at NorthPark and Sparkle! Christmas at the Anatole.
Blue Man Group makes a mess of Winspear Opera House through January 4.
Figure skater Mariah Bell. Getty Images