Weekend Event Planner

These are the 7 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

As a new year begins, event organizers are easing into things slowly, with fewer new events than usual in the Dallas area. The focus is mostly on local happenings, like two local theater productions, a classical music concert, a ballet, an Elvis tribute artist, and two art exhibition closings. Theater lovers will also enjoy an up-close look at the national tour of a Tony-nominated play.

Below are the best ways to spend your precious free time this weekend.

Thursday, January 6

AT&T Performing Arts Center presents What the Constitution Means to Me
Playwright Heidi Schreck’s boundary-breaking play breathes new life into the Constitution and imagines how it will shape the next generation of Americans. Fifteen-year-old Heidi earned her college tuition by winning Constitutional debate competitions across the United States. In this hilarious, hopeful, and achingly human new play, Shreck (portrayed by Cassie Beck) resurrects her teenage self in order to trace the profound relationship between four generations of women and the founding document that shaped their lives. The play will run at Winspear Opera House through Sunday.

East Dallas Arts presents Romeo & Juliet Shakespeare in Motion
East Dallas Arts will take on a Shakespeare classic with Romeo & Juliet Shakespeare in Motion, a movement and dance retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Directed and choreographed by 17-year-old Tilda McSpadden, the production — running through Sunday — will feature a local Dallas cast ranging in age from 15 to 22.

Friday, January 7

Cry Havoc Theater Company presents The Forever Quest
Cry Havoc Theater Company will begin its eighth season with a new devised work, The Forever Quest. In a chaotic, unpredictable word, the greatest gift we can bestow on children is resiliency. The Forever Quest, Cry Havoc’s first production made by teens for young audiences ages 6 and up, will explore the importance of friends, one’s chosen family, and trust in one’s own abilities. The production will be at South Dallas Cultural Center through January 15.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents "Ravel + Urioste"
In the Dallas Symphony Orchestra's latest concert, Black composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s rhapsodic violin concerto will be played by the young Mexican-American violinist Elena Urioste. The remainder of the concert, playing at Meyerson Symphony Center through Sunday, features the great French composer Maurice Ravel in some of his most colorful orchestral works, including his hypnotic, ever-expanding Boléro.

Saturday, January 8

Plano Metropolitan Ballet presents Aladdin
Plano Metropolitan Ballet presents its annual fairy tale ballet Aladdin, a story of mystery, thrill, and beauty all told via the wonders of original ballet choreography. There will be five public performances of the ballet through January 22 at Courtyard Theater in Plano.

Irving Arts Center presents Elvis Birthday Concert with Kraig Parker & the Royal Tribute Band
It may be hard to believe, but Saturday marks what would have been Elvis Presley's 85th birthday. To celebrate the King's day, Irving Arts Center will put on this special concert featuring Kraig Parker, who has been hailed as the ultimate image of Presley. Backed by a 10-piece group, the Royal Tribute Band, Parker looks and sounds just like the king of rock 'n’ roll with his powerful voice, electric moves, and charisma.

Sunday, January 9

Dallas Museum of Art closings
The Dallas Museum of Art will close two exhibitions on Sunday. "Point, Line, Plane: The William Jordan and Robert Brownlee Bequest" honors a gift from the estate of distinguished art historian William B. Jordan and his husband, Robert Dean Brownlee, highlighting a selection of nearly 70 works donated to the DMA by Jordan and Brownlee. "Pursuit of Beauty: The May Family Collection" offers a look at the exemplary Dallas-based collection of American art that was built over nearly 60 years by Thomas and Eleanor May and their children, featuring works by influential artists like Cecilia Beaux, William Merritt Chase, Winslow Homer, and John Singer Sargent.

What the Constitution Means to Me will play at Winspear Opera House through January 9.

Cassie Beck in the national tour of What the Constitution Means to Me

Photo by Joan Marcus

What the Constitution Means to Me will play at Winspear Opera House through January 9.

museums theater event-planner concerts

World Cup match recap

Japan and Sweden play to 1-1 draw in World Cup match at Dallas Stadium

Japan v Sweden: Group F - FIFA World Cup 2026

Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images

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ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Daizen Maeda gave Japan the lead and Anthony Elanga took it away six minutes later, helping Sweden to a 1-1 draw Thursday night, June 25 that sent both teams to the knockout round of the World Cup.

Elanga’s impressive left-footed strike from just outside the right corner of the box in the 62nd minute was his second goal of this year’s tournament. Elanga has scored only three goals in 49 games for Newcastle, but zero in 32 Premier League matches.

Six minutes earlier, Maeda settled a nifty pass from Ritsu Doan with his left foot in the penalty area and easily beat Jacob Widell Zetterstrom with his right foot.

It was Japan’s seventh goal of the tournament, the country’s most for an entire World Cup. That topped the six the Japanese scored while reaching the round of 16 in Russia eight years ago.

Japan is advancing out of the group stage for the third consecutive World Cup and fifth time in seven tries since first reaching the round of 16 as co-hosts in 2002. The Japanese team finished second in Group F behind the Netherlands and will play Brazil in Houston on Monday.

“For the good of football in Japan, I think it would be a very good experience,” coach Hajime Moriyasu said through a translator of his 16th-ranked team facing No. 5 Brazil. “We do believe there's a chance for us to win. And then we hope that we will be able to move one step further move on to the next stage.”

The Swedes have advanced to the knockout round the past four times they’ve qualified for the World Cup going back to 1994 — when they reached the semifinals the last time the U.S. hosted soccer’s biggest event.

Sweden will have to wait to find out its opponent in the round of 32 next week.

“We have to probably recover the players first and make sure that physically we’re in a good place for whoever we play,” coach Graham Potter said. “We’ve got to be on our toes in terms of logistics. I would say if you had said to me when we first came that would be the challenge we’d face, I would have absolutely taken it.”

Elanga had another chance to score in injury time, with his right-footed attempted forcing goalkeeper Zion Suzuki to make a diving deflection.

On the ensuing corner kick, Suzuki deflected Alexander Isak’s header off the crossbar and into the air, eventually ending the scoring chance with a leaping grab in a crowd of players.

The Blue Samurai's bag-waving, chanting fans among 70,137 at the sold-out home of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys were persistent as a scoreless game dragged into the second half. Japan seemed content to sit back and play for a draw that would have guaranteed the same spot in the knockout round as a win.

Just like that, things changed when Doan put Maeda in perfect position to score.

Elanga wasn't anywhere near scoring range, but Suzuki appeared screened and reacted late as the shot beat him to the far post.

Just three minutes later, Isak was inside the penalty area with a great scoring chance, but Suzuki deflected it wide and over the end line, angrily gesturing toward some of his teammates as Sweden lined up for another corner kick. The Swedes had eight corner kicks to only two for Japan.

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