Weekend Event Planner

These are the 8 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

While many events in and around Dallas have either been postponed or canceled during the coronavirus pandemic, organizations have pivoted to virtual or socially distanced events to continue offering the masses some entertainment while we need it the most.

Below are the best ways to spend your free time this weekend. While not every event is out of the house, they all promise to provide a nice distraction from the everyday life.

Thursday, March 25

Thin Line Fest — A Virtual Pop-up Experience
Thin Line Fest, the biggest documentary film festival in Texas, returns, virtual pop-up style. The festival will feature world-class cinema and music delivered directly to viewers, including 27 features, 44 shorts, and 17 musical performers, all livestreaming for free. Going on through Sunday, the fest’s virtual platform offers attendees the chance to mingle with filmmakers, musicians, and other attendees in virtual venues between screenings and performances.

Texas Ballet Theater presents "The Poetry of Expression: Part I "
Texas Ballet Theater will present new works created specifically for a digital format in its first all-digital mixed repertoire production. The production features The Story of You by Carl Coomer, in which viewers can follow the dancers on a journey of self-discovery and expression, through the concrete and the abstract; and VREC by Riley Moyano, in which viewers can take an adventure through dimensions, experiencing different sites and styles of dance. The production will be available to stream through April 9.

Friday, March 26

AURORA presents Daniel Iregu: Antibodies
AURORA will present Antibodies, a new interactive artwork by Montreal-based artist Daniel Iregui, at West End Square, the first public green space in Dallas’s West End Historic District. Iregui’s interactive digital sculpture reacts to the movement of park visitors via motion sensor and will be installed as the inaugural project within West End Square’s Innovation Arcade, a section of the park designed to showcase a rotation of temporary digital installations. The sculpture, which will be on view at the east side of the park through April 4, is accompanied by a web-based version of the artwork that can be viewed at aurora.antibodies.webcam.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents "Lush Life"
Vocalist Bernard Holcomb joins conductor Jeff Tyzik to bring the music of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn to life in this tribute to one of the most iconic collaborations in the history of American music. The concert will have three performances through Sunday at Meyerson Symphony Center.

Avant Chamber Ballet presents "Together We Dance"
Avant Chamber Ballet presents "Together We Dance," an inspiring program bringing together three of Dallas’ premier dance companies — Avant Chamber Ballet, Bruce Wood Dance, and Dallas Black Dance Theatre. Avant Chamber Ballet will present a trio of ballet choreographed by director and founder Katie Puder, all performed with live music by Cezanne Quartet. There will be one performance on Friday and one Saturday at Annette Strauss Square.

Saturday, March 27

Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts presents An Evening with C.S. Lewis
The year is 1963 and C.S. Lewis, the famous British author, is hosting a group of American writers at his home near Oxford. They are about to experience a captivating evening with a man whose engaging conversation and spontaneous humor made him one of the great raconteurs of his day. In this production, running at Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts in Richardson on Saturday and Sunday, Lewis recalls the people and events that inspired his thought and shaped his life; his friendship with J.R.R. Tolkien; the American woman who turned his life upside down; and more.

Monster Jam
Monster Jam fans will witness a fierce battle for the event championship, with each skilled Monster Jam athlete tearing up the dirt with gravity-defying feats in 12,000-pound Monster Jam trucks going head-to-head for points in Freestyle, the Skills Challenge, and Racing competitions. The all-star truck lineup at AT&T Stadium on Saturday and Sunday marks the first time in regular competition that the three Anderson siblings will battle against each other in the same Monster Jam event.

Casting Crowns in concert
Christian rock band Casting Crowns has been at the top of the Christian music scene for the past 20 years. Each of their eight studio albums, including 2018's Only Jesus, made it to at least No. 2 on the Billboard Christian charts, and six of the eight made the top 10 on the Billboard 200. They'll play a special outdoor concert in the parking lot outside of Globe Life Field in Arlington.

"Together We Dance," taking place at Annette Strauss Square on March 27, will feature Avant Chamber Ballet, Bruce Wood Dance, and Dallas Black Dance Theatre.

Avant Chamber Ballet presents Sisterhood

Photo by Rhi Lee Photography

"Together We Dance," taking place at Annette Strauss Square on March 27, will feature Avant Chamber Ballet, Bruce Wood Dance, and Dallas Black Dance Theatre.

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Movie Review

The Magic Faraway Tree is a whimsical family lark that fails to take root

Photo courtesy of Vertical Entertainment

Andrew Garfield, Delilah Bennett-Cardy, Claire Foy, Phoenix Laroche, and Billie Gadson in The Magic Faraway Tree.

With kids and families always on the hunt for entertainment, it’s typically a safe bet for a movie studio to offer up something new, even if it is a film based on an old property. The Magic Faraway Tree, based on a series of books that started in the 1930s, is a very old property, one that its filmmakers have tried to liven up with a few stars, a lot of whimsy, and a boatload of CGI.

The Thompson family, led by stay-at-home dad Tim (Andrew Garfield) and breadwinner mom Polly (Claire Foy), are forced to move to a rundown country home when Polly gets laid off. The kids - Joe (Phoenix Laroche), Fran (Billie Gadson), and Beth (Delilah Bennett-Cardy) - are used to the perks of city life like wifi and electricity, and each of them rebels in their own way to their new lot in life.

Fran, enticed by a fairy named Silky (Nicola Coughlan), is the first to venture out of the house, making her way to a magic tree that transports her to a world full of strange characters like Moonface (Nonso Anozie), Saucepan Man (Dustin Demri-Burns), Dame Washalot (Jessica Gunning), and more. Her adventures there not only broaden the world she thought she knew, but may be the key to helping her ailing family.

Directed by Ben Gregor and written by Simon Farnaby (Paddington 2, Wonka), the film is a pleasant enough lark, but it fails to fully capture the imagination. The five-member family has a lot going on, from an initially-mute Fran to a domestic situation that raises more questions than it answers. The film tries to incorporate an anti-technology message through Tim’s hatred of a smart refrigerator (voiced by Judi Dench!) and the kids' addictions to devices, but it’s quickly shed in favor of other options.

Once Fran makes it to the Magic Faraway Tree, there’s a nice shift in the storytelling, but it’s unclear what the ultimate goal is. It’s a good idea to have Fran, the youngest of the children, convince her older, more cynical siblings about the virtues of the magic world, but the conflict in the real world doesn’t seem to rise to the level needed for the escape the tree provides.

There also seems to be a missing link in the storytelling for viewers to understand the importance of the fantastical characters. The visuals of seeing Moonface and his crescent moon-shaped hair, a man with a suit full of banging pots, and more are fun for a while, but not enough to carry the whole film. A last-minute revelation feels like it was something that should have been disclosed much earlier to help strengthen the emotions of the story.

A two-time Oscar nominee, Garfield is making his first foray into family movies (if you don’t count playing Spider-Man), and while he does a good job, he doesn’t make the best fit for the semi-goofy role. The same goes for the Emmy-winning Foy, who isn’t given much of anything to do. The movie puts the story on the shoulders of the three child actors, and while each of them acquit themselves well, none of them are so outstanding as to be noteworthy.

With nearly 90-year-old source material, The Magic Faraway Tree needed to be something truly special to stand out in the 21st century movie world. Unfortunately, it features a mostly forgettable story that features some fun visuals, a couple of cute kids, and not much else.

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The Magic Faraway Tree is now playing in theaters.

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