Weekend Event Planner

The Wizard of Oz onstage tops best weekend events in Dallas

We seem to be living in a backward world. Last week — a time when many people were on spring break — was packed with top-flight events. Now that everybody is back in town, this weekend has significantly less to offer.

But don't despair: There are still a few things worth checking out. Below are your 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, March 20

Undermain Theatre presents We are Proud to Present a Presentation…
The official name for this play, making its regional debut at Undermain Theatre, consists of 27 words, essentially providing a synopsis of the plot. The production is actually kind of a play within a play, as a group of actors gear up to portray the extermination of the Herero tribe of Namibia by the Germans. But how each actor identifies with the character they're playing makes for some funny and tense situations. It plays through April 19.

Dallas Summer Musicals presents The Wizard of Oz
We all know and love The Wizard of Oz, and now there's more of it to love as Dallas Summer Musicals presents the stage version. Playing at the Music Hall at Fair Park through March 30, the musical has every song and iconic moment from the film, as well as a few new songs from Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber and some surprises along the yellow brick road.

Friday, March 21

Gin Blossoms in concert
When the Gin Blossoms were at their peak in the early 1990s, fans would've killed to see them in a venue as small as The Kessler. But 20 years later, the band is purely a nostalgic act, despite putting out two albums since 2006. The band, famous for songs like "Hey Jealousy," "Found Out About You" and "Follow You Down," plays two shows at the renovated Oak Cliff theater.

Dallas Opera presents Die tote Stadt (The Dead City)
The Dallas Opera starts to bring its 2013-2014 season to a close with Die tote Stadt, the classic German opera from composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Playing at Winspear Opera House through April 6, it tells the story of a man obsessed with his dead wife who must try to let go of her memory in order to truly live again.

Saturday, March 22

2014 Dallas Vintage Clothing and Jewelry Show
You could hunt and peck at various antique and vintage stores around the Dallas-Fort Worth area, or you could just do some one-stop shopping at the Dallas Vintage Clothing and Jewelry Show, which starts Friday and goes through Sunday at Addison Conference Centre. Dozens of vintage dealers from around the country display their wares — and hope you buy.

Contemporary Art Dealers of Dallas Art Bus Tour
The latest bus tour from the Contemporary Art Dealers of Dallas takes the art adventurous from Holly Johnson Gallery in the Design District to Kirk Hopper Fine Art in downtown Dallas before heading a bit out of town to Webb Gallery in Waxahachie. The price of the tour includes both the bus ride and lunch from Boster Catering.

Savor Dallas International Grand Tasting
This is one of the few Savor Dallas events that hasn't yet sold out, so act now to secure your spot. Now in its 10th year, this finale features tastes from top local restaurants, hundreds of wines, and selection of beers and spirits. A VIP Tasting Package gets you into both the Reserve Tasting earlier in the day and early entry into the International Grand Tasting.

Sunday, March 23

Dallas Holocaust Museum presents screening of Besa: The Promise
The Dallas Holocaust Museum is currently displaying "Besa: Code of Honor," and this is the second of two feature-length documentary screenings related to the exhibit. The film details how Albania, with a majority Muslim population, managed to successfully hide and protect almost all of the Jewish refugees within its borders during World War II.

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra presents Twilight of the Gods
The latest concert from the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra aims to bring a little thunder to the Bass Performance Hall. Featuring three performances Friday through Sunday, the orchestra plays Peter Sculthorpe's "Earth Cry," with a prominent didgeridoo element, Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 and Wagner's Götterdämmerung.

Dallas Summer Musicals presents The Wizard of Oz at Music Hall at Fair Park through March 30.

Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann

Dallas Summer Musicals presents The Wizard of Oz at Music Hall at Fair Park through March 30.

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setting the bar high

Playful Dallas neighbor tops America's best parks list for 2026

Plano Parks and Recreation/Facebook

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Plano and its stellar parks have set a new record in 2026 as the 13th best park system in the country — and the No. 1 best in Texas, according to the just-released ParkScore Index.

Every year, land conservation nonprofit Trust for Public Land rates the park systems in the 100 largest American cities with regard to their accessibility, equity, acreage, investment, and amenities.

Plano's No. 13 ParkScore ranking is a new all-time high for the Dallas suburb; it appeared 17th nationally in 2025, ranked 16th for the two years before that, and was 15th in 2021 and 2022.

The majority of Plano residents (85 percent) live within a 10-minute walk of a park, compared to the 76 percent national median. About 10.5 percent of land within the city limits is dedicated to parks. The city also spends far more to maintain its park system — about $228 per resident — than the national median $198 per resident.

Plano Park - Arbor HIlls Nature Preserve Dallas suburb sets new record for best parks in the U.S. Plano Parks and Recreation/Facebook

The city's hard work is paying off: in March, Plano Parks and Recreation reopened Glen Meadows Park after extensive renovations, which included a new pavilion, updated playground, more seating, and new trails.

Another Dallas-area neighbor that deserves high praise is Irving, which Trust for Public Land said was the nation's biggest gainer this year. Irving's park system jumped 28 places, from No. 99 last year to No. 71.

"Irving’s rise was driven by increased investment from the 'Let’s Play Irving' initiative, which funded several important projects scheduled for completion in 2026 and 2027," a release said.

Dallas proper ranked 38th this year after previously ranking 34th in 2025.

"Over the past 10 years, Dallas has connected an impressive 330,000 residents to a park, trail or greenspace within a 10-minute walk of their home, and the city is poised to make further progress next month, when it opens the Bushmills Neighborhood Green as part of the Dallas Greening Initiative," the report said.

Elsewhere across the Metroplex, Frisco jumped seven spots and now ranks 30th, and Arlington moved up one spot as No. 45. Garland ranked 64th (up from No. 67) and Fort Worth soared to No. 58 (up form from No. 72).

Molly Morgan, the Texas State Director and Associate Vice President of Trust for Public Land, said in the release that Texas' high-scoring performance in the annual index has proved that it is making park accessibility a statewide priority.

"Cities across the Lone Star State are making serious investments, opening new parks, partnering with school
districts, and closing gaps that have existed for decades," Morgan said. "They’re showing what’s possible when
Texas gets serious about parks."

Morgan added that there's still more work to be done to increase park accessibility to the 9 million Texans that don't have a park within a 10-minute walk of their homes.

parks reports parkscore report trust for public land plano dallas irving